Do you feel differnet from non-ADDers? Do you feel like you just think differently and aren't of the same kind? I feel completely outcasted by my friends just because I think that am processing everything differently. But then at other times I feel like theres no way I am ADD, that I am the same as them. Is this a normal feeling..and normal confusion? Do you all think that you are just not the same as your non-ADD friends??

i feel different everyday man. sometimes I feel like the life of my group of friends, other times i just suck at conversing and feel like the outcast. so, to answer ur question, YES!

for me in a way that's a hard question to answer......

Yeah I feel different but I think that's how I've always felt and in many ways looked at by family and friends over the years as different, for the good and the bad.......

What I'm trying to say is I know no other way, so is it just me, my family and friends or am I different?......

I have always felt different from non ADDers, I think it's because I have severe ADD and I just can't think very well through the thick fog.

I was watching old clips of the tonight show with Johnny Carson, and he had George Gobel(I think thats his name) as a guest. Not specificaly speaking of ADD, he said, do you ever get the feeling the world is a black tuxedo and you are a pair of brown shoes ??? It nearly made me fall off my chair laughing.

Yes, I feel different. All the time.

How can others manage to keep so organized?
Why is some of that stuff so important? I don't get it.
And...
How do I get to where I want to be, and how do THEY know how to do that?
(sigh)

We all process information differently. There are no two people who learn exactly alike. So, yes I feel different but it's not a bad feeling. Most days I see ADHD as an advantage and wish the rest of the world would just get with the program, I get so frustrated with people who cannot do more then one thing at a time. It doesn't make them bad people so why should my limits make me a bad person or leave me with feelings of insecurity.

Do you feel differnet from non-ADDers? Do you feel like you just think differently and aren't of the same kind? I feel completely outcasted by my friends just because I think that am processing everything differently. But then at other times I feel like theres no way I am ADD, that I am the same as them. Is this a normal feeling..and normal confusion? Do you all think that you are just not the same as your non-ADD friends??

Yes it's a normal feeling that you have , as i think everyone does to some point. Even so called ''normal people'' feel outcast sometimes.

My advice , same as Nucking_Futs, i think it's an advantage also to be as i am..And God knows i would never never would want to be ''normal'' YUCK how boring lol.

Digitl

I don't know if I feel different cause I dont know what at "normal" person feels like! I have been add all my life, i was not diagnosed till I was 13 or so, but I have had the disorder forever. I dont know how else to feel or think!

I always feel i am on the outside looking in; that everyone belongs to an exclusive club to which i cannot be admitted; that i was plucked from an alien planet and dropped on earth; that everyone is in on a big joke or secret that i am not privy to.

This is in no way meant to trivialize your struggles, because I know exactly how you feel. But I think that everyone to a certain extent, ADD or not, has these feelings.

And it makes sense. We're taught our whole lives that we are unique... no two people are the same... we all have different strengths and weaknesses. We feel different because we are different.

The more I read up on all of this stuff the more I feel alot of it is a matter of perspective. You watch Smallville or a Superman movie and you see Clark Kent lamenting over being different, not being able to totally relate with others. But yet how many of us would not give everything to be superman... to have those super powers... to be *different*.

I think that's why The Matrix was as popular as it was? I think it was because everyone relates with that idea of being different.

So what if we learned to look at our differences as superpowers instead of weaknesses? I'd gladly take the kryptonite condition if it meant I could fly.

Greg

yeah, well, i'd love to be able to twitch my nose and make things appear, dissapear, or clean themselves....that kind of different would be fun. This kind of different is out of the "average" or "norm" - on the fringes of the bell curve.

Yeah, obviously we're never going to have supernatural powers... but perhaps some of the ADD benefits can be as above normal as one can get. For instance the abillity to work exceedingly well under high pressure situations in which most people typically shut down.

I know this girl that's a climbing phenom. She set all these records for rock climbing when she was really young, beating people ten years older than her. At one point she got the opportunity to go to the Nike testing facility where they found that her tendons had a rediculously high level of instant contact strength. As it turned out she was genetically predisposed to be really really good at climbing...

Now, here powers weren't super natural... but they gave her a natural, almost unfair, edge over the competition.

Surely our unique chemistry gives us similar advantages in different areas. We just gotta keep trying enough things till we figure out what it is. (And given our ADD trying enough things shouldn't be that difficult)

Greg



yeah, well, i'd love to be able to twitch my nose and make things appear, dissapear, or clean themselves....that kind of different would be fun. This kind of different is out of the "average" or "norm" - on the fringes of the bell curve.

In my life, I'm on a stage where a play is being performed. All the other members of the cast seem to know their lines perfectly, and the carry them off smoothly and effortlessly. I've been watching them out of the corner of my eye, trying to figure out just what my lines are, hoping I'll get it before someone figures out that I'm absolutely clueless about the whole thing.

I like that way of seeing it Swamp Donkey. Thats exaclty how it feels...

I personally feel that we are indeed different from those that do not have the disorder. I most definately process information differently than my friends who do not have this disorder. How do I know this for sure? I do not, I just have a very strong feeling of this. Our brains behave abnormally, causing us to in turn think abnormally. As far as the outcast thing is concerned, yes. I too am an outcast. People like us aren't typically going to fit in with people in normal social circles. I most certainly don't. We are different, in good and bad ways. Sometimes I feel like if people like us were able to function normally that we would be a bunch of geniuses.

In my life, I'm on a stage where a play is being performed. All the other members of the cast seem to know their lines perfectly, and the carry them off smoothly and effortlessly. I've been watching them out of the corner of my eye, trying to figure out just what my lines are, hoping I'll get it before someone figures out that I'm absolutely clueless about the whole thing.

*leans over to SD and whispers* I've forgotten my lines. :eek: But, hey honestly I think life is a little more fun making it up as we go.

you got it . I have alway felt different... dont know how else to be and that bugs me...just want to fit in.:mad: auntchris

I think I've forgotten or not known my "lines" so often that I've become good at faking it.

Of course then I had to ruin it by finding a boyfriend who could tell there was something wrong with some of the things I say.

Hi, I'm new here.

Hi ..just a comment to "auntchris"

I am not sure if I would like to fit in.....by default....just the social skills to fit in when I want to, or need to. yeah that sounds egocentric...but I like to have a choice.

cheers otto

In my life, I'm on a stage where a play is being performed. All the other members of the cast seem to know their lines perfectly, and the carry them off smoothly and effortlessly. I've been watching them out of the corner of my eye, trying to figure out just what my lines are, hoping I'll get it before someone figures out that I'm absolutely clueless about the whole thing.
and when it comes to ad-libbing, i just freeze up, and hope the floor will open and swallow me up.....

I feel different all the time, but I think about it more than non-adders.
There are many people that I notice who lack 'brakes', but don't view themselves as having AD/HD, and I'm puzzled sometimes why I'm the one who's medicated, and they're not. They don't obsess on how their behavior is taxing on others, as I would at times.
As for processing ideas differently, the only time it's a hinderance is when I can't focus on what I'm supposed to be focusing on, lol!

I personally feel that we are indeed different from those that do not have the disorder. I most definately process information differently than my friends who do not have this disorder. How do I know this for sure? I do not, I just have a very strong feeling of this. Our brains behave abnormally, causing us to in turn think abnormally. As far as the outcast thing is concerned, yes. I too am an outcast. People like us aren't typically going to fit in with people in normal social circles. I most certainly don't. We are different, in good and bad ways. Sometimes I feel like if people like us were able to function normally that we would be a bunch of geniuses.
i agree.

i really didnt fit into any group of people in highschool. i would hangout with individual people, but never really was in a 'normal' social group. college has been the same way. i noticed that most of my 'normal' friends have 'normal' social groups with whom they tend to hangout with. i think im more of a loner than an outcast. ive found that there are a lot of times id rather be myself than with a group of people. i also get bored with getting to know people. id rather talk about something with a little more depth than 'what's your major?'.

i noticed that i tend to have akward convo. with people too. i dont do the normal, blah blah blah deal. if i noticed something about them, ill say that straight out. for example, i might say something like, 'have you read any of that authors other books' or 'what is that book about' if i see someone reading. then instead of asking the person about themselves, ill ask more about other writers or whatever they like instead of focusing on the 'what is your major', 'what classes are you taking' blah blah.

i was told by my mother, that i speak slow and a bit on the low side. maybe its the fact that if i spoke at the rate i thought, no one could follow me. and maybe, i realized that words have the power to build or destory a person. with this kind of power, i want to make sure that if i do say something, it might be slightly appor. since as everyone else as said, it's like being in a play and not knowing your lines. speaking slow also gives me a few added seconds if i need to find a word that i cant think of for my sentence. the only way i can improvise enough of the lines to at least make it seem like i know them is to make them slow, thoughtful and meaningful sentences and remarks that people can digest.



a wallflower punch talks to judy
in a crowded corner where anybody can listen in
but they don't read page to page or speak easy
now they're gonna go say the words
in the wrong order again
they walk in a circle
through all the sidewalk scenes they used to be apart of one time
now everybody just stares and whispers
driving around up and down division street
i used to like it here
it just bums me out to remember
can't you ever treat anyone nice?
i think i'm gonna make the same mistake twice
they draw the curtain
wait for a call
pretty lucky if they get any kind of response at all
can't you ever treat anyone nice?
i think i'm gonna make the same mistake twice
i'm gonna make the same mistake twice

-elliott smith -'punch and judy'

I think I feel like that the most when I realize that people are talking and I am thinking about something totally different or when someone is telling me a story or about something but my impulsiveness wants to yell out "just get to the point". I never felt different before I was diagnosed but now that I know that I am ADD I do feel different at times. Nothing has changed except being diagnosed so I think that it can play with our minds. Non Adder's have issues just like us.

interesting thoughts here.

greggybogus, great posts....

i don't feel different because i have add. i feel different because i'm me and truthfully, i really like the differences!!! i also tend to zone in really quickly on the differences in other people, and that's a cool thing. different isn't a handicap in my world. i used to have a bumper sticker (i would not put it on my car because i can't stand them) that i loved....you've probably seen it...."why be normal?" what is that anyhow? sounds awfully boring to me!

I am not sure any more. I just want a place in this world were I belong. I have always been the outcast in school and home at least that is how it feel. I was not strong enough as a child to say OH It doesnt matter what they think. It is hard to tell yourself that when you hve a history of gettign hurt. still try to work on it maybe i will feel different later down the road.

I have felt different from everyone my entire life. One the one hand I hate it because I've always wanted to fit in. On the other hand, sometimes it feels good to be on the outside looking in, observing, thinking to myself how foolish people can be. How much I wish I was like them. I'm a goat among lambs or a lamb among goats. Why do I always feel stupid? I do often question what is being taught, but is that how Einstein, Yo Yo Ma or Bobby Fisher felt in life? I'm no genius, but why do I always feel BELOW everyone?

In my life, I'm on a stage where a play is being performed. All the other members of the cast seem to know their lines perfectly, and the carry them off smoothly and effortlessly. I've been watching them out of the corner of my eye, trying to figure out just what my lines are, hoping I'll get it before someone figures out that I'm absolutely clueless about the whole thing.

Amen to this! Perfect description of how I feel sometimes. I am not able to read social cues of people I don't know well...and end up feeling like a fool talking to them...so I usually keep all conversation to a minimum. I do, however, like some of the differences...I can multitask better than everyone I know...and that makes my job a lot of fun (police dispatcher)...but then again finishing things....lol.

Yeah, what Pembroke first said.

I feel different ALL the time. Everyone else knows something I don't. Out of step with life. Out of synch. And it's extremely exhausting....

That's unfortunate if your friends outcasted you.

To be honest, I always tried my best to treat my ADD in a positive light. I had a good doctor and he has told me to try and be open minded.

What has happened when i interact with those who do not have ADD is the typical. Usually there is awe yet puzzlement. I seem to be such an amazing talent yet I am apparently a slacker. I sometimes tell them I feel that I am a nobody and as a result don't do squat. They have absolutely no clue where that comes from and continue wondering why I feel that way.

Today I have improved since that incident. I am able to tell myself when I am in need of attention and care (support for instance) or in need of a good old fashioned freefall dive into "late work hell" (that's a bit of an overdramatization).

And while I do feel a bit different from those who are not diagnosed, I learned to be proud of my abilities yet humbled by my incapabilities. I try to achieve a balance, one that will help me stay aloft in this world suited for the non hunters :)

No it's not easy but hey, it keeps me alert and prepared for change!