"D.I.L.O.-September 2005" |
IT'S IN THE STARS 24 September 2005 It's all the rage these days to have A.D.D., Attention Deficit Disorder (or A.D.H.D., Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, if you're a kid, I suppose). Kids are scarfing down Ritalin by the buckets and adults, who, I suppose, are feeling left out, have suddenly decided that they have A.D.D. too. I think we have too much time on our hands, personally. I wonder how many people have diagnosed A.D.D. in...oh...say--Iraq. Or Somalia. Or Bangladesh. Or Congo. What are the chances that this epidemic of A.D.D. is an American phenomenon because we are such a leisure class that we have time to think about whether we can concentrate on one thing at a time or not. Working for a psychiatrist, as I do, I suppose I should sound a bit more compassionate and understanding. And I'm not putting down people--kids or adults--who have true, serious A.D.D. But it's the fringe group that bothers me. The "marginal" A.D.D. sufferers looking for a quick pill fix. In fact, I really didn't start out this entry to pass judgement on people who are suffering from a diagnosed disease or condition. But as I began to write it, it did occur to me that if A.D.D. is a real thing, then it should be world-wide, and I just suspect that people who are wondering where their next meal is coming from or whether the bus they are riding on is going to blow up, or whether the soldiers are going to rape and pillage today don't have time to dwell on whether or not they have attention deficit disorder. What I really started out to write here is my own self-given diagnosis of A.D.D. As I type reports on people who are suffering from A.D.D., I keep thinking -- "hey--I do that! I'm like that!" The fact that I'm sitting here writing this entry because I started out to do some transcription, but remembered that I wanted to fold laundry, but got waylaid by making a video about mismatched sox and then deciding to make biscuits for lunch because we were out of bread, and then deciding to do the dishes, but stopping to watch the end of Little House on the Prairie because it was a tearjerker, and then deciding to get out and surprise Walt by having the back lawn mowed when he gets home, but deciding to check e-mail first and then in e-mail finding a link to a journal page about a woman who is reading 4 books at once and that reminding me how fragmented I can be and how difficult it is for me to stay on task may give you a hint about how I came to give myself the diagnosis of adult attention deficit disorder! Actually, I've never considered it an A.D.D. trait so much as I consider it an Aquarian trait. I'm not really big into astrology, but I'm the Aquarian daughter of a Virgo mother and most Aquarians and most Virgos seem to fit the dimestore astrology book description of those signs. Aquarians (certain Aussie females excepted) tend to be unorganized and fragmented, but terribly creative. They live by the motto "A creative motto is rarely tidy," or "an uncluttered desk is the sign of a sick mind." I once was talking to my Virgo mother-in-law, who was laughing that Aquarians are the kind of people who never close drawers or cabinets all the way. As I talked to her, I looked around me and realized that every cabinet and most drawers were open just a tiny bit. Virgos, on the other hand, are painfully organized, neat, tidy, with lives to match. When the kids were growing up, I would have told you that Ned was the exception that proves the rule, but he has grown into a very organized person. He may have a house full of "stuff," like I do, but his "stuff" is neat and orderly. (So how come he wasn't like that as a kid. Not fair!) I suppose that if I were to go to a doctor, I could easily receive the diagnosis of A.D.D. and get me some of that there Ritalin. It might even help improve concentration, help me to stay on task, and become more a better, more organized person. But I like to think that my attention deficit is part of my inherent
charm. |
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PHOTO OF THE DAY
Of course, there are often reasons for flaking off.
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Created 8/15/05
