Hi,

New here and I have a problem. I am NOT medicated because I worry that I'd just develop a tolerance and it seemed more of a pain to find the correct med.

I have severe ADD (w/o hyper) and I am constantly bored. I go through phases or rather obsessions. These are my hyperfocusing topics that I need to plow through before the interest suddenly ends because of boredom and I'm on to the next thing.

My main problem is that I LOVE to get a buzz - an alcoholic buzz. I'm no way near an alcoholic but I really enjoy having a couple almost every evening - just to get that great buzz. I know why. It's because of my ADD and my boredom. Having a buzz takes me away from my bored mindset and gives me new and more interesting take on life at that moment and new, fresh thoughts.

I totally use "buzzes" as my medication to alleviate boredom. The buzz is something different, something new than the regular humdrum ADD thoughts and confusion I live with every darn day.

Does anyone know what medication best reduces the boredom? I cannot go through my life drinking like this. I need medication. I am ready now. Do any of you have experience with self-medicating w/alcohol and have gotten over it? Does this urge to drink to eliminate boredom EVER go away?

I am near tears as I'm a mother of 2. I am frazzled and ready to explode at the end of the day and I cannot turn to a few drinks every other night for solace. I cannot quit on my own. What medication should I try?

Thanks,
Kathy

Wow. You need to get out and do something with your life Kathy - get a hobby or something. It sounds like you may have some anxiety issues as well as the 'boredom' you feel.

Do any of you have experience with self-medicating w/alcohol and have gotten over it?Yes. Of course drinking also makes me hypomanic, since I am bipolar and I worked too hard for stability to mess it up. But yea, I used to consider drinking to be an activity and stopped that cold. I dunno how I did this but its always been an ability I have had.

Maybe it began to bore me, too!

Does anyone know what medication best reduces the boredom? I cannot go through my life drinking like this. I need medication. I am ready nowIn all honesty, I don't think that there is such a thing as medication to treat boredom. That's one of the chronic problems that we have to learn to cope with, meds or not. I had to look and find a hobby that suited me and that took me quite some time. Now that I have found it, however, I am very seldom bored because I know that I can always return to it.

Gosh, Ben, you make me sound like a loser. I might have to rephrase my problem. Because of ADD, I get bored with things easily.

Actually, being a mother, I CONSTANTLY have things to do and have MANY hobbies and interests. I am not saying I have nothing to do all day.

I am talking about the feeling of CONSTANTLY needing to go on to the next item of interest; of losing interest in something all the time. Do you ever feel that some activities bore you more than they bother others, like non-ADD people?

I always thought a MAJOR symptom of ADD was the inability to stay interested in things for a long time and hence the inability to tolerate boredom. It doesn't mean that since I have ADD and can't tolerate boredom that I actually have nothing to do. It's just that certain things that are part of my everyday life bore me. Do you see what I mean?

Our focusing ability is barely there so how can we adequately and truly focus on something when it is hard to concentrate for long periods of time? This, for me, creates a need to do something else. So it seems as though some of us with ADD get bored easily. Does that make sense? Perhaps this is not true for you. But it is true for some who have ADD. Like me.

Go ask the doctor who diagnosed you whats best? Sounds like you havnt gotten an official diagnoses

Of course some activities are more boring than others. Balancing the checkbook is always going to be less fun than just about anything else, for example. It's always easier to engage with fun stuff than with boring stuff.

It sounds like you already know that a) individuals with ADD are disproportionately likely to experience problems with substance use/abuse, and that b) treating the ADD symptoms in these cases can also help the substance use/abuse problem (but don't expect it to be a magic fix).

I wish I had a nickle for each time I've typed this, but gagsadd, get yourself to a psychiatrist, not a family doctor. Going directly to an expert should help to reduce the hassle. Only they will be able to help you figure out which med regimine will help your ADD (we're *all* different; ritalin stimulates my brain in the right way, but adderall helps one of my close friends much better). A pdoc will also be able to monitor you carefully throughout the treatment process.

It's vital that you are truthful with them about your regular alcohol use. If they've ever treated adult ADD, they've probably heard it all before and won't judge you for it. Plus, it will also figure into your treatment plan (e.g., perhaps no strattera, etc.).

Good luck!

Because evidently you have the other half of my brain!

I have never in my life heard anyone so accurately describe the EXACT thing I have been trying to describe to people for YEARS and I hope I have a good suggestion for you.

Because of the boredom that you speak....I spent about seven years as a pretty hard-core alcoholic (ONLY a fifth of Jack was a GOOD day). When you tell people you drink because of stress...they understand...when you tell them you drink because you are bored...well that gets another type of reaction altogether. They think you are being childish and lack self-control. But as you and I know this is not a bored that people think of in the traditional sense as in "wow there is nothing to do on a Saturday afternoon...I am BORED." THIS boredom borders on painful. I would venture to say they will coin different terminology for this state when they get a better grasp on ADHD Inattentive in adults.

I know what you mean about the changing activities....I have always tried and failed to explain this to people. Right now it is computer games. Once I get my daughter squared away...I will literally hyperfocus on them for hours...often staying up way past bedtime because I can't tear myself away. But I could wake up tomorrow and be totally bored with the whole thing and want nothing more to do with it for several months and need something new. I played video games non-stop for a year then one day lost interest and just stopped abruptly. I got a bonus at work (Once I started Adderall) ..went and bought the X-Box 360 I was coveting forever and I swear to my maker..I never took it out of the box....I couldn't develop interest in that right there and then. The times in between are the worst. I marvel at how people can come home and eat dinner, watch a few TV shows then stumble off to bed. I couldn't even imagine such a thing. I need something very interactive and interesting to be able to relax. I HATE driving....why?...Its B O R I N G. All you can do is sit there in the car and drive. Needless to say I have the majority of people around me (except my daughter who is the same way) thinking I am totally and completely off my nut ..fun way to live. So I did what we have a habit of naturally gravitating to.....drinking....we think its just to numb us out of it and to pass the time....but no way...there is much much more to it than that.

Its this nasty little bugger called dopamine that we are unfortunate enough to lack. It is the root behind ADHD and all the fun things we are talking about that make us...shall we say...unique. All I can tell you is this.....I tried the Methyphnidate (sp?) drugs (Concerta, Ritalin, Focalin)..really didn't have any luck. Doc finally gave me Adderall when I was a hair's breadth away from a lost job (one I could VERY ill afford to lose). Someone walked into my brain and flipped a light switch. I began to work at work (and ENJOY IT) even when the task wasn't especially scintillating, I was able to enjoy many different facets of everyday life (not just the hyperfocus activities and drinking) and as hokey as it sounds...finally found some inner peace. The Adderall swiftly addressed my dopamine issue and like magic..I finally began to feel how I imagined other normal people to feel. And guess what....alcohol is completely a thing of the past....I don't crave it, think about it, or even become tempted to it when out with others drinking. I don't know if this result is typical but I like to pass this on to others to demonstrate the wonders of properly addressing a chemical imbalance in the brain.

Not entirely a fairy tale...Adderall kinda punked out on me about a month ago...but I found an outstanding Psychiatrist who completely understands this condition and is working me through the problem to find a workable solution. For quite a while I had the wonderful experience of trying to get a doc to prescribe a controlled substance to a recovering addict. I sat there and thought....I drank because of an imbalance with dopamine....you have something to correct the imbalance and stop the alcoholism.....but THAT substance is addictive so we cant give THAT to an alcoholic...talk about the most frustrating paradox on earth. The doctors who are educated know better to think someone will go from alcoholic to tweaker in the pop of a pill bottle...statistics completely back up the fact that folks being legitimately treated for ADHD with stimulants have an extremely LOW chance of becoming an amphetamine abuser. WHY? Anyone enlightened can see the obvious logic...solve the problem that causes you to be an addict and you will be an addict no more even IF the cure is addictive.

So....my story...new doc started me on Vyvanse and Wellbutrin (Vyvanse is brand spanking new and is made by the company that produces Adderall and is very close in makeup). It didn't really take but we decided that since I never tried to Adderall/Wellbutrin combo...we will try that next.

See a good qualified Psychiatrist and do yourself a huge favor and TRY to treat the ADHD with one of these newer meds (A good Doc will do a comprehensive ADHD screening and will be enlightened about treatment once you are diagnosed). It is trial and error....one brain may hate Ritalin and love Adderall (me) another...it may be the other way around....but I can tell you it has totally and completely changed my life. It is very well worth a try!!!!

Tracy
39yo single mom of teen :-)

After I filed that last post I noticed your profile.

I was born and lived until age 30 in Vineland NJ.....about 30 minutes away from CMCH. Spent every childhood summer down the shore and am almost exactly two months younger than you 8/22/68.

Okay....hmmmm....something in the S Jersey water maybe? Nahh...ADHD is probably one of the TAMER side effects of Jersey water. :) :) LOL :) :)

Gosh, Ben, you make me sound like a loser. I might have to rephrase my problem. Because of ADD, I get bored with things easily. OK perhaps we can be more helpful if you tell us exactly what things you get bored with easily?

Actually, being a mother, I CONSTANTLY have things to do and have MANY hobbies and interests. I am not saying I have nothing to do all day.
I am a SAHM mom myself. There is plenty to do all day...and most of it is mundane and yes, quite boring.

I am talking about the feeling of CONSTANTLY needing to go on to the next item of interest; of losing interest in something all the time.I honestly do not think all of us feel that way. I know that I don't have a constant drive to find one source of stimulation after another. I lose interest in some things, sometimes. ADHD is a disorder of inconsistency; rarely do the terms "always" or "never" apply.
Do you ever feel that some activities bore you more than they bother others, like non-ADD people? Of course. This is one of the hurdles we have to leap while bending ourselves into a shape that better fits a world designed for NTs, along with a host of other differences.

I always thought a MAJOR symptom of ADD was the inability to stay interested in things for a long time and hence the inability to tolerate boredom.Actually? I wouldn't say that this issue rated as high as distractability, or hyperactivity, or the tendency to not follow through with things, or procrastination.

ADHD is not about a total inability to pay attention, either. Its more like attention inconsistency. We are perfectly capable of paying attention when something interests us, or engages us in a way that we like. By the same token, we are perfectly capable of remaining interested in many things, as they grab our attention, for variable periods of time. Yes, sometimes for a long time and other times for about a nanosecond.

Example from my life: I have a graphics program that I absolutely love. It has managed to hold my attention for about a year now. I believe this is because I have the freedom to vary what I create with it, as my whims dictate. Thus, I do not become bored with it very often and when I do? Its not for very long at all.

And for the record, we are not "unable to tolerate" boredom...we can tolerate it. We just tend to find this necessity annoying and difficult. We would probably prefer to avoid boredom if at all possible, but let's face it, many of the tasks required for daily living are quite boring. Yet another challenge we face. A drive to constantly seek stimulation is yet another challenge, and not all of us will feel this way.
It doesn't mean that since I have ADD and can't tolerate boredom that I actually have nothing to do. It's just that certain things that are part of my everyday life bore me. Do you see what I mean?
Well, that's not 100% accurate. You can learn to tolerate boredom...but you probably will not like it very much, both the need to deal with boredom and the learning to tolerate it will more than likely be very frustrating.

I certainly can relate to the drudgery of housewifery. However, I am medicated and have been working on my issues for quite some time. I was always capable of having some things hold my attention for long periods of time anyway. In fact some things interest me so completely that they border on obsessions for a while.


Our focusing ability is barely there so how can we adequately and truly focus on something when it is hard to concentrate for long periods of time? This, for me, creates a need to do something else. So it seems as though some of us with ADD get bored easily. Does that make sense? Perhaps this is not true for you. But it is true for some who have ADD. Like me. Again, our focusing ability is inconsistent...at times barely there and at other times so intense as to block out everything else...perhaps you have not heard of hyperfocus?

This situation of yours seems, to me, to be a good reason to seek medication. It may create more consistent focusing ability, and decrease the distractability that messes with concentration. It will NOT alleviate boredom, however. It may assist you in learning how to better tolerate boredom...and you will have to exert some effort in that direction.

I will not even attempt to touch on the concept of drinking as relief from boredom.

And so there is no risk of comparisons, I will state that I also have severe ADHD. Very severe, and according to my doc one of the worst cases he has seen.

I have to respectfully disagree that it will definitely not alleviate boredom. Obviously we can't say for sure and our brain chemistry is so individual to each of us but I am here to tell you in my case it absolutely did in most cases.

As far as the statement "drinking to alleviate boredom"...I think...although I can't think of any other way to put it...that that is a mischaracterization. I think we use the word boredom in place of a more descriptive word for the issue. I think restlessness would be a better word but still does not accurately describe the feeling. I guess the best I can come up with is its not....man here I am at home...nothing to do but stare at the tube...I'm bored. Its more like..."okay given I have another 40 years to live....lets calculate how many hours I now have to try to find ways to stimulate my brain to fill up all this time where I don't know what to do with myself." I know it sounds ridiculous but that is the clearest way I can think to verbalize it. I would venture to say its a different brand of depression....and I can tell you it is debilitating. Not only the feeling itself but for the reason we are experiencing right here....its horrible but almost impossible to explain. I can qualify that the feeling is horrible because I have benchmarks to rely on with depression.....I have been hospitalized twice with SEVERE clinical depression....one time the original reason I was taken in was because I collapsed: reason - dehydration...I was so debilitated...I just couldn't get up the energy to drink any water for a few days...and didn't even notice.

Okay that was kind of a tangent..but I guess what I am trying to say is that depression manifests in a myriad of ways. That particular kind...the only way I personally can think of to vocalize it is depression.

I didnt raead all of the posts... due to my lack of attention but responding to the first post I understand what you mean by getting bored easily, and I totaly understand drinking as medication.. as it turns out a lot of people have self midicated (unknowingly) with alcohol. Which I have been doing for some time now. i cant offer any advice because today is my first day on medication, i can just say that you are not alone , and hang in there. I think as you treat your problem medically you may find less things "Boring".... at least thats what I'm hoping for :)

Thanks, everyone!

To CrazyFeet, I have plowed through at least 10 books on ADD and really am familiar with everything involved. I think you are really taking my exact words literally and I probably should have taken the time to use appropriate words suggested in one of the posts.

I should have not said "can't tolerate boredom." I should have said I have a hard time dealing with activities that don't fully hold my attention or stimulate my brain.

And in my first post I did mention hyperfocusing, so I am well aware of that. How could I not be - it's all I seek to do everyday! I always need to have something of interest or excitement to think about or do. That is how I do tolerate the mundane everyday activities; I just latch onto a thought, idea, or something I can hyperfocus on later and then I'm able to think in dreamland as I do the laundry...

I guess I'm better off than it appeared in my first post, but I was really trying to get at my urge to drink and how it relates to my ADD. I wanted to see if anyone has success stories where they self-medicated w/alcohol and when they started on a med lost the urge to drink. And TLV's story was perfect! I'm finding a doc today!!!

I am sorry if my reply was off-putting in any way, Gagsadd, its just my "style" shall we say? Its not meant to offend, its meant to be helpful. Often if I take things literally and reply as such, the OP is provoked into thinking harder about exactly what they really do mean. This thinking process can lead them to defining things for themselves and finding some solutions on their own in the process ;). My intentions were never to upset you, OK?

And how I forgot that you specifically mentioned hyperfocus in your first post by the time I replied? :o That's an easy one! Just look at the time of night I posted...clearly, by then, the dexedrine had long ago gone bye-bye. Whoopsie! I am sure you have a pretty clear notion of how this happens, considering your own degree of ADHD. Though that does bring up a pretty good point...if it is during the evenings that the boredom becomes intolerable for you, the meds may have worn off by then and you may need to develop a plan B for getting through that.

Hyperfocus is an amazing thing...sometimes. I have a sticky on that HERE (http://www.addforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=31430&highlight=blurbs+hyperfocus)...maybe you'd like to have a look at it? Hyperfocus is a part of who we are after all. Possible food for thought, that thread. A lot of good replies, specifically about the hyperfocus phenomenon.

Good luck to you and please come back to let us know how things turn out for you with the doctor and medications? Shared info and support is what this place is all about, after all. :)

Chronic boredom and inattention are related. The creativity and novelty seeking in ADD/ADHD is the brains natural struggle to stimulate itself out of that bored state. I've not tried enough meds to say if treating the underlying inattention will reduce boredom levels.

But yea, I used to consider drinking to be an activity and stopped that cold. I dunno how I did this but its always been an ability I have had.
I think it's a general ability of all ADDers to do this. The habit/addiction is there because of a lack of stimulation of the brain. I think ADDers can just shrug their shoulders and say "Meh", and move along...... to something else addictive nevertheless, but ADDers aren't tied to anything in particular.



I have severe ADD (w/o hyper) and I am constantly bored.
I'm combined, (or maybe just plain inattentive, but with "normal" hyperactivity - although I haven't been tested yet). I can understand this constant boredom - however I tend to turn it around. That is I generally get myself into this situation:

1. I wake up - and the stream of thoughts start. They are mostly based around "If I do this, then wow! that'd be cool!", (venture capitalist mind), or "If this and this happens but around the other way, then it'd be different", ("research & discovery" mind).

2. I latch on to several 'cool ideas', or some 'cool ideas' based on my R&D mind.

3. I continue to think about other things.

4. Then, either one of two things happen:

4a. I suddenly realize that all the things I've thought up will take too long/too much effort/too much money, and then throw all the ideas away -> I suddenly get bored. Suddenly everything is too hard. If I'm in this mood I get into 'experimentation' mode - I'll experiment with different foods, exploding things, and general abandonment.

4b. I start up the several 'cool ideas' I've thought of as projects all at once. 50%-80% of the way through I get bored because they're taking too long - well duh! You'd think I'd learn - but no!

4c. (OK three things) I start up one of the several 'cool ideas' I've thought of as a project. I finish it in record time and everyone goes 'Wow! Where'd that come from?"




My main problem is that I LOVE to get a buzz - an alcoholic buzz.
Yep, been down that path too. But as above, I just get bored with that and move on to something else. Nothing illegal mind you - fortunately I've never been down that path.

I'll experiment with different foods...So THAT is the process by which you determined what toffee tastes like with chili sauce! Remember the bean tea? :D

So THAT is the process by which you determined what toffee tastes like with chili sauce! Remember the bean tea? :DYep, sure do. We got no takers for the tea, though. :(

When I was younger - I did a lot of stupid things. I'm a lot more restrained now I'm older...... well...

I completely empathise with the OP (GagsAdd) and feel Crazy Feet’s posts to be somewhat patronising. No one of us can claim to be an expert when the symptoms, the neuroscience and the diagnostics are so completely confused. ADHD is a barely understood disorder, in my humble opinion at least two if not more totally separate disorders, which share some symptoms. It is bizarre that the disorder is called ADHD when a fair proportion of suffers do not have H (hyperactivity) at all? As an inattentive ADDer, I find it irritating that I am called inattentive, when I am never inattentive unless I choose to be.
gagsadd said "I am talking about the feeling of CONSTANTLY needing to go on to the next item of interest; of losing interest in something all the time." Exactly the same for me.
gagsadd said "I always thought a MAJOR symptom of ADD was the inability to stay interested in things for a long time and hence the inability to tolerate boredom." Sounds absolutely on the money to me. But Crazy Feet counters:
CF says "Actually? I wouldn't say that this issue rated as high as distractibility, or hyperactivity, or the tendency to not follow through with things, or procrastination." Do not agree with CF at all, surely boredom is the route cause of distractibility and procrastination? Isn’t this all about a lack of dopamine based stimulation? I wonder whether “hypers” just don't see the boredom as intensely as with more energy they move more easily onto the next item/action/activity.
CF says: "ADHD is not about a total inability to pay attention, either. Its more like attention inconsistency. We are perfectly capable of paying attention when something interests us, or engages us in a way that we like.” Again isn't this about being interested vs bored by something, cannot see the difference myself?
CF states "And for the record, we are not "unable to tolerate" boredom...we can tolerate it. We just tend to find this necessity annoying and difficult. We would probably prefer to avoid boredom if at all possible, but let's face it, many of the tasks required for daily living are quite boring… A drive to constantly seek stimulation is yet another challenge, and not all of us will feel this way." Well this does not sit well with me. I find boredom painful, more painful than my friends and relatives, so it’s not just that I am easily bored but it is also more painful. Seeking stimulation is not a different challenge it is absolutely the SAME issue, perhaps you are lucky CF in having more resources to be stimulated but don't criticise other for seeking stimulation to avoid boredom.

Based in the UK, I am struggling with getting any medication as ADHD is barely recognised as an Adult disorder here. But I do hope (and understand from the science) that the medications will help the boredom, as with more dopamine kicking around (the brain hormone of pleasure) that I will be more interested in activities that un-medicated are boring. God I hope so...

I can understand her , I drink everyday a bottle of spirituose because I want to get a buzz so I dont regonize everything what is going on around me because everything distracts me.But it helps me also with my bordem.And its the only time I can have sex with my wife because I dont get distracted so easy. But I know I have to find something else for these problems because I drink more and more everytime . So what Im saying is Alcohol is not a medication forever.

You probably will say forget that, but I'll tell you what worked for my bordem issues. Exercise.. crazy amounts of exercise (I started small at first) but I've been doing it for 8 years now and it helps me keep interest on topics that would normally make me want to vomit. Anything works really, running, weight lifting, even yoga. For me it has this "day after" effect, if I run or work out one day, that evening and on into the next day I feel as though I could attempt to do just about anything and not find myself incredibly bored with it. It's been godsend for helping motivate me to open my books and actually study for test.

I see people recommending medication, but no talk of AA, etc.

Addiction is addiction.

re: #20

What a great post!

Cycled 25 mins each way (fast) to work for 5 days a week for 3 years, loved it but it made no difference to my happiness, motivation or boredom.

Addiction is not a simple issue, there are many causes and AA has a pretty poor success rate. Over 90% people who give up alcohol do so with no help from AA. AA has a lower that 20% success rate in 2+ year sobriety, though they publish no figures.

Wouldn't it be great if we understood that for many addiction was due to low dopamine and we helped individuals to correct this deficit without judgement?

There are no meds that will help with boredom. Some meds MAY help give you motivation to do things but nothing can help with the boredom but you. Try taking up a hobbie or get involved in local clubs and events. As a mother of two, it is important to get the alcohol consumption under control. Think of the kids and the effects it may have on them. I am in no way judging you, we all have to get by somehow. Having the urge to drink and wanting that buzz borders on alcoholism. If you start medication it is important that you not drink. My best advice to you is to see your doctor as soon as you can. If you cannot talk to him about it, print out your post and have him/her read it. He/she will be able to help you best.

I completely empathise with the OP (GagsAdd) and feel Crazy Feet’s posts to be somewhat patronising. ..Perhaps you might consider reading the ENTIRE thread and refer to C~F's NEXT post:

http://www.addforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=452980&postcount=13

before you attempt to debate me.

I might also suggest you check the date for the OP's last post. It occurs to me that she possibly got the answers she came for?

CF,

Did read all the posts and still makes no difference to my reply. hope OP did get what she was looking for. My comments still stand

We can gladly go that route :) I have not had to stand by my own comments for a couple of days, after all.

Disclaimer: The following represents a passage wherein Crazy~Feet speaks as a member of ADDF with a right to post, not as a moderator/staff member of ADDF.



As an inattentive ADDer, I find it irritating that I am called inattentive, when I am never inattentive unless I choose to be.
This is truly amazing! Please, enlighten us: How in creation do you accomplish this? Considering that it is common knowledge that ADHD-I is a disorder marked by inconsistent attention spans, I scarcely believe that a person who would only be inattentive when they allowed themselves to be would even qualify for the diagnosis!

(1) six (or more) of the following symptoms of inattention have persisted for at least 6 months to a degree that is maladaptive and inconsistent with developmental level;
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/medicating/art/blank.gif
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/medicating/art/diagnostic2.gif


often fails to give close attention to details or makes careless mistakes in schoolwork, work, or other activities
often has difficulty sustaining attention in tasks or play activities
often does not seem to listen when spoken to directly
often does not follow through on instructions and fails to finish schoolwork, chores, or duties in the workplace (not due to oppositional behavior or failure to understand instructions)
often has difficulty organizing tasks and activities
often avoids, dislikes, or is reluctant to engage in tasks that require sustained mental effort (such as schoolwork or homework)
often loses things necessary for tasks or activities (e.g., toys, school assignments, pencils, books, or tools)
is often easily distracted by extraneous stimuli
is often forgetful in daily activities



...surely boredom is the route cause of distractibility and procrastination?
Please see the above criteria, as established by the DSM-IV, as it says not a word about boredom being a contributing factor, let alone a "ROOT CAUSE". Surely a theory does not make reality.

I wonder whether “hypers” just don't see the boredom as intensely as with more energy they move more easily onto the next item/action/activity.
I would make it a point to ask a few hyperactive types here whether or not they believed this to be true. I assure you that the hyperactives that I happen to know do, indeed, experience boredom as a dreadful situation.

For the record, hyperactivity does not equate to more energy, it equates to an inability to remain still.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/medicating/art/diagnostic3.gif

often fidgets with hands or feet or squirms in seat
often leaves seat in classroom or in other situations in which remaining seated is expected
often runs about or climbs excessively in situations in which it is inappropriate (in adolescents or adults, may be limited to subjective feelings of restlessness)
often has difficulty playing or engaging in leisure activities quietly
is often "on the go" or often acts as if "driven by a motor"
often talks excessively
For that matter, re: activity levels, I happen to know a LOT about Bipolar Disorder ;) and in fact happen to have it as a co-morbid condition. Energy levels during a manic/hypomanic episode may quite literally skyrocket...yet at no time would the BP with a DX of ADHD-I be considered to have ADHD-H, although there has been quite some confusion and doctors have had difficulty determining the difference and coming to accurate DXes.

What was my own DX again? To make things clear, it is ADHD-PI and Bipolar II. I move a great deal during hypomania and guess what? I still get very bored.

Again isn't this about being interested vs bored by something, cannot see the difference myself?Considering I was addressing a particular point here, specifically a point about attention...it makes perfect sense to me to reply regarding attention span.

Well this does not sit well with me. I find boredom painful, more painful than my friends and relatives, so it’s not just that I am easily bored but it is also more painful.
I am sorry that my commentary does not "sit well" with you; then again, it does not have to. There are many people here with differing opinions and nearly every day you find at least two people in disagreement with each other.

Then again, I am curious...how exactly did you arrive at the conclusion that your boredom was more painful than anybody else's? Survey? Questionnaire? Theory? Fact? How?

I would suspect that boredom=boredom and is experienced as uncomfortable/painful by nearly anybody. Maybe a swing through the nonADD support groups and seeing how they FEEL about boredom, as opposed to how they manage to handle it, would shed some light on this issue?


Seeking stimulation is not a different challenge it is absolutely the SAME issue
I respectfully disagree. Stimulation seeking, as far as I know it, is very often something done to create adrenaline, a naturally occuring stimulant, which would then stimulate the sluggish areas of the brain. I do NOT think the "ROOT cause" of stimulation seeking automatically indicates that the impulsive person was definitely suffering from boredom, and in fact I believe if asked, the impulsive person might well reply:

"I don't know why I did that." Again, this is not the same reply as "I was bored." which might also be a response...some of the time. Not necessarily ALL the time.


perhaps you are lucky CF in having more resources to be stimulated but don't criticise other for seeking stimulation to avoid boredom.
Then again, perhaps I do NOT have more resources. I specifically stated that I was a SAHM, could relate to the OP's boredom quite well, and did NOT criticise her for seeking a way to escape boredom. I do not condone her chosen method to escape boredom, however.

I have been in treatment for a while now...and you have been in treatment how long, my fellow member? You admit that you are not currently medicated in your own posts. Your speculations are interesting...but they are not based on personal experience, while mine are.

My statements stand: boredom is a factor that we must deal with, with or without medications, we can and do find ourselves bored, and it is up to us to find healthy and non-harmful ways to cope with it. I am not alone with this opinion:


There are no meds that will help with boredom. Some meds MAY help give you motivation to do things but nothing can help with the boredom but you.
I must also agree with this:

I see people recommending medication, but no talk of AA, etc.

Addiction is addiction.
IMHO, Miss Queens knows her stuff quite well, as I am very familiar with her intelligent and educated posts.

Addiction is not a simple issue, there are many causes and AA has a pretty poor success rate. Over 90% people who give up alcohol do so with no help from AA. AA has a lower that 20% success rate in 2+ year sobriety, though they publish no figures.
And your figures come from...where? Advocates or enemies of AA? I find it odd that such a long-running and respected system for finding sobriety has continued for as long as it has if its track record was so very poor.


Wouldn't it be great if we understood that for many addiction was due to low dopamine and we helped individuals to correct this deficit without judgement?
Is it? For how many then? According to whom? I realize that ADDers are quite prone to addiction, as are many other groups of people WITHOUT dopamine issues. Incest survivors spring to mind, just to touch the tip of the iceberg....

God I hope so...
For your sake? I hope so too...but as a person who has been MEDICATED for the last almost two years and lived 40 years prior to that UNMEDICATED?? (Not to mention the people I happen to know here who have been medicated for half my lifespan, I might add) I still say that boredom will occur and remain after medications, and that medications are not a solution in and of themselves.

As for you, my friend, I hope you get your medications soon. From what I have observed the UK system positively stinks on ice when it comes to adult ADHD treatment. I am so sorry you have to deal with such frustrations, and as usual, you are free to accept or reject my 2C however you see fit. My statements in no way make me an expert...as do anybody else's here, including your own.

Keep coming back, it works if you work it...;)

"You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to Crazy~Feet again."

Nice post Crazy~Feet.

"You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to Crazy~Feet again."

Nice post Crazy~Feet.;) Thank you, dear, I DO try...

I agree with most of the things Bored posted about ADD being a barely understood disorder neurologically. Some other things he said I disagree with.


To the OP

One word: exercise!! It will help you soo much with your addiction to alcohol (and that's what it is!) You probably think it won't help at all or you can't be bothered but I promise you that if you exercise your life will improve.

You cannot expect a medication to deal with your addiction issues. It might help some but please don't rely on it. It's going to be very hard to quit drinking so you'll really have to pull your finger out and do some hard work.

Find some things you think are VERY INTERESTING and try and do that when you get the urge to drink. I'm interested in computers so I started a small business building them for friends, it's helped me stop using pot, opiates and other things.

You really need to find some things that excite you and do those as much as possible. ADDers should find a career or life that they are interested in...trying to get an ADDer to do office work for example is like putting a square peg in a round hole.

There's no magic pill that will cure boredom as others have said. You need to find activities you don't find boring. Join a sports team, build something, get a walking buddy and start doing long walks...I bet you like talking?? you could do that while you walk. Win win!


Come back and tell us what you've decided to do to combat your addiction and cope with your boredom.


I don't really agree with lots of the things AA promotes. It seems to have religious undertones although that may benefit some people. The success rate of AA is quite low if I remember correctly. A similar service to AA would be perfect, without the religious stuff. One of the things they do in AA is to make you believe you have no power to stop your addiction which I think is ridiculous. I do however think that AA is better than nothing.

ADDers should find a career or life that they are interested in...trying to get an ADDer to do office work for example is like putting a square peg in a round hole.

rofl nice. IMO - which to say isn't much because i'm a mere ripple in a pond compared to most :P - there's three ways to solve addiction:

1)Get Help/Support and fight your way out of it
2) Cold Turkey (yeesh)
3) Replace an addiction with another. You can replace bad addictions with good ones. Example: Smoking v Exercising (trust me if you start exercising and make a serious routine you won't have room to smoke). Unfortunately I think alot of people tend to replace bad addictions with worse/similiar bad addictions.

A gift from the hyperactive ADD section

Addiction is not a simple issue, there are many causes and AA has a pretty poor success rate. Over 90% people who give up alcohol do so with no help from AA. AA has a lower that 20% success rate in 2+ year sobriety, though they publish no figures.

How can any one not have figures and yet still come up with one. If I do not have a fish I certainly will not have one to tell about.

I have figures or I would not bother responding

How Alcoholics Anonymous Works (http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WS/35320/63153/612813.html?d=dmtHMSContent&k=wellx408x63153#study)

As a practical matter, most studies involve patients who join A.A. after receiving 12-step facilitation or other professional treatment. Research has repeatedly shown that alcoholics who participate in A.A. do better than those who do not. For example, in a study of patients with alcohol and drug dependence who moved from residential treatment to A.A. or N.A., 38% were still involved in the self-help groups two years later. Of the continuing participants, 81% had been drug or alchohol-free for the previous six months, compared with 26% of the nonparticipants.

Similar findings come from a study with an unusually long follow-up — 16 years. Two-thirds of patients who participated in A.A. for six months or more had few drinking problems after 16 years, compared with one-third of those who did not participate.

***End Quote


Stanford.edu (http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/2001/may23/12step.html)

The 12-step-oriented programs were not only cost-efficient, they were also effective -- nearly 46 percent of the men in these programs were abstinent one year after discharge, compared to 36 percent of those treated in cognitive-behavioral programs. This may be due in part to strong endorsements from staff members at the 12-step-oriented programs who are more likely to be recovering addicts.

***End Quote

~underling mine~

Just myth smashing it has been my thing today.


I see people recommending medication, but no talk of AA, etc.

Addiction is addiction.


Simply because neither of use was here yet – I am gathering the over sight could be due to the thread being n the medication section and the member discussed wanting to try medications



As an inattentive ADDer, I find it irritating that I am called inattentive, when I am never inattentive unless I choose to be.

If you can tune out only when you choose to then you have some other problem {guesses avalible upon request only} however you do NOT have ADD!


ADD is the inability to consciously control your direction of focus or length of attention span. Filtering out unimportant stimuli while being able to continue to focus upon the task of choice is called selective attention and ADDer do not have this ability. We are either being bombarded by every thing {hyper}, tuned out of it all {inattentive} or a combination of both {combined}


Do not agree with CF at all, surely boredom is the route cause of distractibility and procrastination

How can one be distracted and bored at the same time? This makes no sense at all. Procrastination normally means putting off doing stuff which may or may not include boredom.


I wonder whether “hypers” just don't see the boredom as intensely as with more energy they move more easily onto the next item/action/activity

I can see Mood music is going to be a requirement {pops out Safari Duo and puts in Daft punk}


No actually we are bombarded by stimuli every thing competes for our attention no matter how important or unimportant and frankly we are trying to MOVE away from the assault. BUT we do get bored we are after all human. :mad:


Again isn't this about being interested vs bored by something, cannot see the difference myself?

Because it does not matter really the idea is ADDers can not just decide NOT to be bored nor can we just decide we need to be interested and pay attention. This is what MAKES us ADD.


Okay supper is ready better get to it before the cats do.