Why is it that Im either:

Too Early or Too Late
Can't Concentrate for more then 15 mins or concentrate for hours.
Hypoactive or hyperactive
I can't start or I can't finish something
Very poorly organised or overly organised
Have a terrible memory one minute then then have a perfect memory the next

There's no 'in between' with me. It's just a little or alot, If you get what I mean.

Is this anything to do with ADHD? Does anyone else feel like this?

That's... exactly how I feel... wow. Don't know if it has to do with adhd though. Would be interesting to find out.

It has everything to do with adhd. It is kind of typical, imo.
I've fought those same battles.

Me :D

... absolutely
? perhaps? these various observations break down to
- want to do
or
- not want to do.
Noting that you might 'need to' or 'think that you want to' - but that 'wanting to' isn't ever something which can be turned on or off.
I believe at any given time - 'wanting to' is the result of a complex set of decisions which are not consciously made - with the conclusion being either 'want' or 'not want'.

When we want to do something we *want* to do it ...
->- the +(s) you list,

When we don't.
Ho Lordy!
->- How about just saying - the -(s) in your list.

incidentally we (from above) == ADDers
... and the reason for this behaviour - because we're closer to the bit of ourselves which is actually in control.

Yes, I am "Yin" and "Yang" simultaneously, also. Well, is it simultaneously or personified?:confused: :confused: :confused:

So it's an ADHD thing then?
Do you think it's a good thing or a bad thing?

I mean in some ways it could be a good thing, but only the 'All' bits of it, like High energy, hyper focus and perfect memory could be great in some situations. But they also have disadvantages. For exmaple, I don't want my high energy and my 'bad memory' kicking in during in an exam. But it seems like I have no choice.

there is no good or bad we are the way we are you do the best an the more you leren the better at things you can be ....do they giev you exat time in exams? dorm

The original post describes my experience rather well.

When I'm "on" I can accomplish amazing things. I am motivated, energetic, and productive. I can learn pretty much any task set before me quite easily. I can maintain my concentration for hours.

When I'm "off," I'm pretty much useless. I have no energy and no internal motivation. I just can't get myself started. I feel foggy-headed and barely awake. I'm extremely unproductive, even more disorganized, and terribly absent-minded. I look at my computer screen and even the most basic pieces of code are incomprehensible to me. I don't even feel competent enough to do my job. I read things over and over and can't absorb anything. Sometimes I can't even focus on something I enjoy doing and just restlessly switch from one activity to another every 10 or 15 minutes.

I've been struggling for years to gain some control over this, although it was only last year when I was able to conceptualize it as ADD. Reading about how ADD could be conceived of as primarily a functional difference in the brain structures which regulate attention, arousal, and motivation really made a lot of sense. Perhaps in some cases it's mostly a central nervous system that is chronically underaroused.

When I get bored for too long, I can feel myself starting to switch "off." If I can't get away from it (i.e. work), I can be "off" for weeks or months until something snaps me out of it. When something manages to flip that switch, *bam* I'm motivated, energetic, and able to concentrate again.

But I don't really have any in-between states. And that has caused me to screw up a lot of professional relationships because I am seen as unreliable and inconsistent.

for me, it's like being either completely unable to do a particular task or part of a task, or else overshooting and hyperfocusing or trying too hard or otherwise going too far. Just a consequence of using less efficient neural pathways, I'd imagine.

So it's an ADHD thing then?
Do you think it's a good thing or a bad thing?

Yes it is a an ADD thing. . . ADD is a “condition of extremes”

Do I think it is good or bad

Both and neither. . .

Wanting or not wanting to do some thing is neither good nor bad it simply is. . . weather or not this is perceived as good or bad is strictly contextual and perceptional.




Perhaps in some cases it's mostly a central nervous system that is chronically underaroused.

Correct when stuck . . . brain fogginess or fidgets some times can be relived by a brief brisk walk or other exercise. . the anxiety frazzle brain snaps crackle blank screen by brief meditation if one is not on medications which allow for more conscious control by being stimulants them selves!




Just a consequence of using less efficient neural pathways, I'd imagine.

Or using the one you have inefficiently . . .perceptive perspective in context of environment thus my point. . . .

Describes me perfectly!

I personally like the hyperfocus, perfectionist side. It drives my wife crazy though. When I do a project, there is no "good enough". I frequently go over the top. Those times are when I feel my best. I feel truly alive. Unfortunately, as my wife pointed out, I focus at the expense of my other reponsibilities. I become distracted when doing other things (like family obligations) and can get impatient and cranky when I can't get to my projects. Because of that, I wish I could be less hyperfocused.

I hate the lost, foggy part. I feel useless and depressed. The longer I go without getting things done, the more depressed I feel, and the more lethargic I become, and the less I get done..... I used to call them my "funks". I had to actively do something to get out of them (start a project, go for a run, set a goal). The funks are a little less deep now on medications, but they are still there. I notice that if I don't set goals for myself or list out projects, I get lost and just wander around physically and mentally.

Apparently, today is a hyperfocus day:D

My mom told me years ago that her 'all or nothing' came from her dad, that he had to do things all the way or not at all.

But her 'all the way' really meant that she would be fired by extravagant enthusiasm and huge plans, and at some point it petered off into the scattered fossilized detritus of abandoned projects and dreams. Outside of the things that caught her fire, she simply couldn't motivate. I don't think she often saw things 'all the way' thru... sometimes most of the way, but finishing anything was a big issue, even if very little was left.

When I first read about ADD I thought, 'this is me.' The more I read, the more I realized, 'this is SO my MOM!' followed by the inevitable..... 'Sheesh, after all that work I turned out to be like my mom after all!:eyebrow: (Run screaming hollowly off into the distance.... yikes!) Well, I like to think I've managed mine better though not knowing what it was. But I definitely recognize those aspects of ADD in myself in daily life. Little surprise that we were both diagnosed with ADD in later years.

For me the all or nothing is hyperfocus or distraction.... great difficulty transitioning from task to task in normal work. Meds are definitely helping.

I am the paradox of extremes... Does anyone get the complex broken down methodology to figure out things that are common sense to others w/o ADHD?? I get that A lot lately. Impatient as hell yet overdoing procrastination.

But her 'all the way' really meant that she would be fired by extravagant enthusiasm and huge plans, and at some point it petered off into the scattered fossilized detritus of abandoned projects and dreams. Outside of the things that caught her fire, she simply couldn't motivate. I don't think she often saw things 'all the way' thru... sometimes most of the way, but finishing anything was a big issue, even if very little was left.

When I first read about ADD I thought, 'this is me.' The more I read, the more I realized, 'this is SO my MOM!' followed by the inevitable..... 'Sheesh, after all that work I turned out to be like my mom after all!:eyebrow: (Run screaming hollowly off into the distance.... yikes!) Well, I like to think I've managed mine better though not knowing what it was. But I definitely recognize those aspects of ADD in myself in daily life. Little surprise that we were both diagnosed with ADD in later years.Your mother sounds exactly like my father. I've been trying all of my adult life to avoid becoming like him -- now in his sixties, hasn't been "employed" in over 30 years, a long string of failed business attempts, he feels like a "wasted life." I think it's pretty clear that my father struggled with the same ADHD issues that I do. I need to get him to read a book or two of mine, if only for the sake of enlightenment.

I need to get him to read a book or two of mine, if only for the sake of enlightenment.

Might want to try Edward Hallowell's "Answers to Distration" as I could never finish a book about ADD until after I was being treated for it. . . answers to distraction was written so the reader could skip around in it and read only those parts that were of interest.