ADD-I traits, a community effort!

[sbcy]

Easily bored, few interests
Become fatigued quickly from being bored but can snap back to energized if something stimulates me
Auditory processing problems
Obsessively detailed in part to compensate for attention difficulties
Avoident
Excessive social anxiety due to being lost in conversations/confused

[Hypovin]

Wow, I can't believe I haven't already found this forum. There are so many angles and facets to a person's personality, but I do believe this one appears to be more "nail-on-the-head" than others for me...

It is a bit difficult to list my traits without adding in some that may be related other stuff, like depression, but here's some of mine:

1. Slow. I am always behind, especially at work. I have been beaten up about this quite a bit by supervisors that compare me to colleagues, who are, of course, not slow.
2. Hyper-focus. I like being drawn in, but it may drive others a bit mad. It calms me, and I am not thinking about what it is that is a stressor at the time.
3. Space out/thinking. It is at the crux of what persuaded my wife at the time to seek out a neuro-psychologist and have me diagnosed, after testing, of course.
4. Disorganized/clutter. This is best seen when I cook. I am hyper-focused on the creative aspect of the cooking project that I don't even see the mess I am making. Of course I had a boss a ways back who yelled enough that I do now make some attempt to minimize the mess.
5. Hard to start projects and then when I do I rush through them. There is some anxiety related to this. Also the not finish projects thing.
6. Wanna move on from this, my mind thinking of the next thing I am interested in.
I'll add more if more pops up.

[hanikamiya]

Does this ring a bell?

-get interested in something, really interested, get a lot of information about it, usually spend up to two hours on the entire thing - and then postpone learning/doing all the fascinating stuff until forever, or the next burst of interest in the same thing (but sometimes I want to get rid of the old stuff first because I never really looked at it)

-can't get rid of postponed projects

[santouri]

Originally Posted by hanikamiya

Does this ring a bell?

-get interested in something, really interested, get a lot of information about it, usually spend up to two hours on the entire thing - and then postpone learning/doing all the fascinating stuff until forever, or the next burst of interest in the same thing (but sometimes I want to get rid of the old stuff first because I never really looked at it)

Yes. For about three days (maybe more), I planned a bike tour down to which trailer and tent I would buy (reading dozens of reviews about tons of models), and which campgrounds I would stay at. I worked on what kinds of bike racks and lights and all kinds of fancy stuff I would get.

I've also spent hours researching longboards down to which kind I will get, and end up on the checkout page but never do it. Read reviews and forums, watched youtube videos, but never got around to actually getting one.

So yes, that's totally me.

[Loverandall]

I'm 27 and just got diagnosed as ADD-I last year. It's been amazing and a HUGE relief to discover how many people with this condition share what I thought were my incomprehensible (and in some cases unforgiveable) personality quirks.

THE GOOD:

-desire for constant sensory stimulation. I don't want to hear my favorite song just once, or have just one cupcake or beer or orgasm. I want them all! And as a result I struggle with yo-yo dieting, binge drinking, driving my friends insane listening to the same music over and over, etc.

-terrible disorganization. Paper piles.

-never having any money, despite making an average middle-class salary and feeling like I'm spending responsibly. I just don't know where it goes.

-no patience. Nothing kills my mood faster than milling, inefficient crowds and lines. I constantly strategize about how to avoid them. I also fell out of love and dumped an otherwise wonderful college bf because he was too deliberative and took too long to respond to questions. It drove me insane.

-mornings: my enemy. My whole life, I've struggled with getting out of bed before 11am. It is not hyperbole to say it is the hardest thing for me to do every day - it is so, so, so, so hard. No matter how much sleep I've had, no matter how much I realize it's important to be up on time, nothing can drag me from bed in the morning - unless my extremely patient employers threaten to fire me over it again. Evev then, the adrenaline only lasts a month or two until the next threat. (Luckily, I'm really good at my job other than this.)

-intolerance for clutter, even if I myself have created it. If I'm flustered or anxious, messy surroundings completely overwhelm me. As a result, I go on routine organization benders and give away/sell all possessions I'm not using. When I saw how few possessions George Clooney's character had in "Up in the Air," instead of feeling sorry for him I thought about how soothing it must be to live like that.

-preoccupation with freedom. Difficulty with any commitment that involves saying "no" to other options. I'm a big libertarian, as are a lot of the other Add'ers I've met.

-inability to remember spoken instructions. Difficulty understanding what people have said to me.

-bungling spoken language - saying the wrong words, combinations of words, words that don't make sense. Trouble formulating extemporaneous oral arguments. Perpetual George Costanza syndrome - only thinking of the perfect comeback hours later. (The jerk store called!)

-procrastination. From middle school on, I couldn't finish assignments unless I did them in all nighters the night before they were due.

-unintentional comedy. I once left the house without pants on. No joke.

-losing things. Constant, constant losing things. Lost my car keys yesterday. Husband found them in our outdoor recycling bin, because that makes so much sense.

-general absent-minded professorism.


THE GOOD:

-excellent lateral thinking skills. I see connections and relationships between the most random, seemingly unconnected things.

-awesome memory for useless trivia. I might be terrible at real life, but at pub quiz, I am kind of a big deal.

-despite the clunkiness of this post, I am (usually) a really, really good writer. I think I developed this skill because I'm so bad at communicating and learning orally.

-synesthesia. I see numbers in color. Makes mental arithmetic easy.

-I'm the girl you want to have around when your wallet gets taken or you're running late to the airport or some other stressful last-minute **** is happening. My whole life is made of emergency last-minute plans. It's easy for me to fix things on the fly.

-I've looked awkward and embarrassed myself in public so many times that I have no fear of it left. Spontaneous adventures are my forte.

-I make friends quickly. No one feels uncomfortable or excluded around me. And I love socializing.

-I'm highly intuitive.

-I did well in school - part of the reason my diagnosis took so long - because I'm a creative thinker and good at devising coping strategies.

-I forgive easily because I forget easily. Grudges and grievances fall out of my brain just like everything else. Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind.

[Loverandall]

...hahaha the above was supposed to read THE BAD / THE GOOD. For some inexplicable reason, I'm bad at attention to detail!

[AnnaVerdi]

Wow... reading this almost made me sad. I didn't realize all this time that all these characteristics about me was ADD. I couldn't understand how I can be one thing, but at the same time be the complete opposite. I couldn't understand why I am one of the most social people, and in a comfortable environment I can talk to ANYBODY, but at the same time I find myself praying that one of my neighbors isn't outside as I dart to my car to avoid simply having to say hello to them.

I am always rambling, and though I am good at gathering my thoughts and communicating well, I often find myself saying, "does that make sense?" I find that I repeat the same thing, reworded, many times just to make sure I am saying what I am trying to say correctly. The lack of words sometimes is a result of me knowing the person will just not understand because the thought is so profound.

I was relieved to read that having a hard time making decisions is a symptom. Oh how I hate that about myself... but in the same sense, I make impulse decisions all the time. I make impulse decisions about serious things, then will sit there and stare at the same photo on my phone for 10 minutes... Auto-enhance on. Auto-enhance off. Auto-enhance on. Auto-enhance off. Hmmm. Repeat.

I hated telling people that I think I am too intelligent for my own good. I thought it made me sound extremely conceited. But it was true. I literally knew too much. ...and it made me crazy at times because even though I can explain myself well, I know they still don't understand fully. They will look at me and think, wow, you are extremely wise, but I know they don't fully get what I am saying. So I tend to ramble.

I always have to finish a thought. We could have been on 4 topics since the last one, and I still HAVE to go back to it and finish it. This is also my OCD, I believe. I have no idea how I have so many friends that sit there and listen to me talk this much. I often make apologies for how much I talk. But when I am speaking, I am usually telling a story, and not just rambling over and over again with no substance to what I am saying.

I HATE when I cannot think of a word. It's the simplest word. I have used it many times... it could be the name of a celebrity that I know very well. It will eat at me. I will sit there and almost start panicking because I can't think of it.

I am now on Adderall, and sometimes I feel like it makes some of my symptoms worse. Some days I am fine and great, but sometimes I have more trouble concentrating than I did before. I notice this is on days when I haven't gotten a lot of sleep, so I am hoping it is just due to this. I also feel like the Adderall has amplified my OCD. The over analyzing is the worst.

I also noticed having a high intuition, but I can't help but wonder if it's just over analyzing. Usually when I have an intuition, I am almost always correct though. I am starting to worry that the Adderall is what is causing me to over analyze, versus having a high intuition. Anyone else with similar experiences?

[joyrjw]

Originally Posted by ThatGreekGuy

Well said! 95% me, have you checked your Myer-Briggs type? Are you INTP or something close?

I tested as.... IN?P

Introverted Intuitive 50/50 F/T Perceiving

I was diagnosed with ADHD-Inattentive type

[Chewythedog]

Originally Posted by ThatGreekGuy

All of my life I thought I was pretty unique, both in weakness and in strong points, going through a number of threads its pretty amazing the similarities I have with people here.

I found the forum a few hours ago and I selected to see threads with the most replies. Most of the popular threads were asking to see if a trait was common with other ADD-I members. As I said it was quite amazing to me to find that I had most of these traits. I use the word traits and not symptoms, as some of the descriptions were positive.

Could you list traits that have been mentioned frequently? We could make a poll with many different traits to see what is closely correlated with ADD. Please try to be concise and specific, and mention one thing at a time, so it would be easier to answer in the poll. At this time I am in this over focused mode mentioned before, and I would really want to see the results in an ADD-I poll.

1. Lack of energy to follow through and finish chores, projects e.t.c.
2. Issues with social anxiety
3. Over thinking
4. High intuition, see connections that other people do not.
5. Low in emotional energy.
6. Issues with procrastination.
7. A dislike for schedules and structure even if we know that at times help.
8. A problem going to bed early.
9. Not very social.
10. Do not enjoy small talk.
11. Difficulty putting thoughts into words.
12. tip of the tongue phenomenon with words or names.
13. Natural inclination for pastries, sweet foods.

Please add more, random ideas are fine, either way we would get statistics from the poll.

Very interesting - some of those traits or features may be personalty traits - actually I'd bet on it - check out "true colors" personality or Myers Briggs - my " type" fits many if those symptoms or whatever u listen - a symptom is the extreme version of a trait btw PM me for more info if u want
andrew

[Chewythedog]

Omg that's totally my intp in attentive type add - ! The traits of this personality type are similar if not the same as some add features - except add features may be more extreme (which is the difference between a diagnosable illness or not) try "true Colors" personalty for an in my opinion more simplified version of personality type - email me your results or any comments - I'd be really interested

[mosher66]

firstly i associate with about 11 out of 13 of the op's points, and also may i just say, 11. oh my god yes that is one of my biggest let backs,
now i dont know if this is for ADD-I but on the post (lost link) that brought me to this site i read that social immaturity is also a issue, does that apply to this?

[Flory]

i thought it was I for impulsive....im in th wrong thread again

just stopping by to say heeeeeeey ^_^

[mirandatoritess]

Originally Posted by Flory

i thought it was I for impulsive....im in th wrong thread again

just stopping by to say heeeeeeey ^_^

Haha

Well out of curiosity do you have any ADHD-I symptoms

[Flory]

yeah, im pretty much adhd C, but my H/I is more dominant so i got the H/I severe diagnosis with some innatention (pretty sure thats what it says on my report)...my reason for being distracted/origin of distraction is probably different to a PI, like...i can't sit the F**k down or keep on task long enough to do stuff rather than zoning out...but that can happen also

[mirandatoritess]

Originally Posted by Flory

yeah, im pretty much adhd C, but my H/I is more dominant so i got the H/I severe diagnosis with some innatention (pretty sure thats what it says on my report)...my reason for being distracted/origin of distraction is probably different to a PI, like...i can't sit the F**k down or keep on task long enough to do stuff rather than zoning out...but that can happen also

Same here. I have both sides but more H/I