The Secret Advantages to Adult ADD

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve heard of Attention Deficit Disorder. Pop culture defines it casually: “I’m so ADD today” might mean, “I feel distracted,” or, “I don’t want to work right now.”

What does the American Psychiatric Association say? According to the DSM-V, you’ll find two main types of ADD (also known as ADHD). You might present with either one or a combination of both.

The first type: inattention-related symptoms.

To be diagnosed with this type of ADD, you must exhibit at least 5 out of 9 symptoms of inattention. So what are these symptoms? As you go down the list, consider whether you or your loved one exhibits any or all of them on a regular basis:

• Struggling to complete boring or repetitive tasks
• Finding environmental distractions difficult to ignore
• “Zoning out” while being spoken to
• Difficulty focusing during long conversations
• Being forgetful about the little things in day-to-day life
• Frequently losing items
• Having trouble meeting deadlines
• Skipping over important details, such as when writing

The second type: symptoms of hyperactivity and impulsivity.

What are the symptoms of this type as opposed to the first type?

• Interrupting other people or causing unwanted intrusions
• Talking excessively
• Being overtly high energy in certain settings
• Difficulty sitting still
• Not allowing others to take their turn in a conversation
• Wanting leisure activities to be loud
• Fidgeting excessively
• Having high-energy movements

Let’s think about this in a real-life setting. A person with undiagnosed adult ADD might struggle with feelings of shame for being lazy or irresponsible. They might lose track of time, miss deadlines, or forget appointments. They’re often running late and find themselves procrastinating.

They might avoid work regularly, but not necessarily out of laziness. Instead, they avoid it because it seems overwhelming and monotonous. They might think that they “work well under pressure” because they’re able to pay attention to an urgent short-term issue rather than chipping away at long-term projects.

The closer the deadline comes, the more the person with ADD concentrates. They’ll even stay up late to accomplish the work that needs to get done, even making sure it’s done thoroughly and well. This is the marvel of the ADD/ADHD brain: they can accomplish an astounding amount of work when they hone their focus under pressure.

Even sleep deprivation can give them a kick of adrenaline that propels them through a difficult task. They cycle through periods of grogginess and alertness throughout the day, not realizing that although they seem to be able to function on less sleep than the average person, they would actually flourish if they simply got a full night’s rest most nights.

Of course, getting good sleep means also having good sleep hygiene and proper routines with regard to going to bed and waking up. These skills can be learned in a therapeutic setting and practiced with the support of a counselor or other mental health professional.

Another important skill for a person with adult ADD or ADHD is learning to channel their productivity during their least distracted times of day, whether that be early morning or even late at night (as long as it doesn’t interfere with getting a full night’s sleep).

Having predictable routines can help with the accomplishment of tasks. That way, the brain doesn’t have to come up with a new set of actions each time. The routine becomes a habit, allowing the brain to go on autopilot and making healthy habits such as sleeping well, exercising, and eating healthy become more attainable.

Benefits of Adult ADD

Although it can be tempting to see ADD as a dysfunction, there’s a better way to think about it. It can actually benefit you in a surprising number of ways. It gives you a unique neurological approach to life.

Here are a few of the ways that adult ADD can actually enhance your life:

1. Hyperfocus

People with ADD may struggle with distraction, but when they’re focused, they are incredibly focused. They can easily transition into the oft-elusive state of flow in their work. (The psychological term “flow” refers to losing yourself in what you’re doing and not even realizing the passage of time because you’re so absorbed in your work.)

Because of their capacity to enter flow, people with ADD can accomplish a surprising amount in a short length of time without even needing to take a break.

Flow can’t always be achieved, though; there are determining factors. The task needs to be driven by an intense interest and the “scaffolding” to direct the energy with complete absorption.

Olympic champion Michael Phelps credits his ADHD for his success as a world-class swimmer who had won more Olympic gold medals than any other person by 28 years old (13 individual gold and 23 team gold).

How does Phelps’s ADHD relate to his Olympic success? He experienced the symptoms as early as kindergarten when his teacher told his mom that he would never be able to focus on anything. At age 9, he received his first formal diagnosis and started taking medication.

When he turned 12, he asked his mom to stop taking the medication. He was able to regulate his symptoms without it, largely because of his regimented swimming schedule, which provided a channel for his energy and focus.

A gold-winning Olympic training regime is serious business! Phelps would work out for 3-6 hours in the pool every single day, as well as doing dry-land workouts 4-5 times per week. The word “discipline” would be an understatement! Clearly, ADHD can be used in your favor to channel that hyperfocus into disciplined success.

2. Super perception

The ADD brain is able to correctly identify details and information about other people without much input. It can notice the tiniest of details and absorb all the information that might seem irrelevant to others.

For Christians with ADD, the spiritual gift of discernment often comes into play along with the biological gift of perceptivity. Perceptivity also enhances one’s deductive reasoning skills. People with this ability describe it as almost being able to read minds.

An average person filters sensory input from 11 million bits per second into 40-50 bits of conscious information. The ADD brain can take in more information because their subconscious is working faster. This subconscious awareness can be described as intuition or a gut feeling, and it’s often accurate since it’s based on the heightened perceptivity of the brain.

3. Super imagination

If you tend to be a linear thinker, you might try to problem-solve in an orderly fashion, but a person with ADD might have an entirely different approach. They tend to remain calm and relaxed much more easily than the average person, which allows them to tap into their subconscious or spiritual side more quickly.

What then do we mean by “super imagination”? It’s the ability of the ADD brain to be insightful, clever, original, resourceful, and inventive because of its specific way of thinking.

4. Other “superpowers”

People with ADD tend to have a high threshold for busyness. They can jump into the middle of a chaotic situation without over-analyzing it. They often experience strong urges to rescue someone who is in trouble. These, among other abilities, exhibit frequently in people who have been diagnosed with ADD or ADHD.

Harness the Power

“With great power comes great responsibility.”

If you or someone you love has been diagnosed with adult ADD, learning about these “superpowers” can feel amazing. It can be discouraging to focus on the negative or difficult aspects of the condition.

You must realize that your neurology is interest-based. When something intrigues you, your capacity to work hard can propel you into success, or it can draw you into addiction. Get to know yourself with the help of your counselor so you can build your work and lifestyle around your strengths.

Which positive activities give you a dopamine kick because of their inherent interest and excitement? What about public speaking, or facilitating a group meeting, or doing artwork, or designing a video game? Now, once you’ve identified your interest, what are the most powerful factors that distract you from working on it, and how can you avoid those traps so you can be productive and successful?

Sometimes distracting factors can even be other people, like a co-worker or an unhealthy relationship. It’s not always possible to avoid unhelpful interactions, but you can do your best to limit them when possible and not let them take up valuable brain space by identifying the issue ahead of time. The more people you can find who encourage you, the more successful you will be at overcoming challenges.

What are some other ways to maximize adult ADD superpowers? The standard advice for living a healthy lifestyle applies really well here:

• Eat a healthy diet based on whole foods and fruits and vegetables.
• Exercise regularly.
• Make time for sleep.
• Make time for the spiritual disciplines (prayer, Bible reading, etc.).

These and other positive habits can ensure that you are functioning well on a day-to-day basis.

How can you manage the inevitable distractions of life (that can be even more powerful when you have adult ADD)?

• Avoid sensory overload. If you can tolerate a lot of noise and activity, realize that it will present lots of opportunities for distraction if you are not in a hyper-focused mode.
• Get rid of obvious distractions. Turn off notifications on your phone. Delete apps if you need to; visiting websites on a browser can be much less addictive and distracting than checking apps.
• Listen to music if it helps you focus while you’re working.
• Enlist your colleagues in your quest to work without distraction. If you really need a focused period of uninterrupted work, ask them to interrupt you only for an emergency.

Other Helpful Suggestions

The book Faster Than Normal by business entrepreneur Peter Shankman offers several more suggestions that may be helpful:

1. Eliminate clutter. Having random items strewn about your space can destroy focus without you even realize it. Even if you don’t have time to do a thorough purge or organization overhaul, try to reduce at least the visual clutter in your life.

For example, if you have piles of paper on your desk and you don’t have time to go through them immediately, stowing them somewhere out of sight will immediately reduce a major possible distraction.

2. Eliminate choices.

Perhaps you’ve heard of the capsule wardrobe trend that has been circulating on social media for a few years now. It involves downsizing your wardrobe to a few key pieces to reduce clutter in your closet and mind. Even some of the world’s most successful people, like Barack Obama and Mark Zuckerberg, have limited their wardrobes to just a handful of selections.

The mental space you gain by keeping your decision-making process quick and painless will be well worth sacrificing all those five-year-old t-shirts you have lying around!

3. Set deadlines.

Instead of waiting until the last minute for your focus to kick in, plan projects ahead of time and create your own deadlines. The hardest part for you will be getting started. You’re much better at carrying a project through to completion with a burst of energy than at plodding away at it day after day when no deadline is looming. You like closure, but you can’t have this unless you actually get started, right?

Once you set your deadline, or it’s set for you, work backwards and consider how much time each step of the project will take.

Don’t overbook yourself. Even though your brain works fast, you still have limits just like we all do. Make sure the deadlines you give yourself are realistic; even if you can finish a huge project in two days, that doesn’t mean it’s a good idea to stress yourself unduly.

4. Delegate when you can.

Asking other people to take on some parts of a project will help you stay honed in rather than chasing rabbit trails. It’s okay to ask for help! You can’t be everywhere at once.

If you do get stuck in distraction and you can’t seem to find your way back, ask for help from someone who excels at organization and see if they will help you get back on track. Let them use their superpower to help you find yours again.

Put your skills to work

When you reframe your thinking about adult ADD, you can start to realize that this condition doesn’t just present challenges – it presents opportunities. The more you learn about yourself, and about God through His Word, the more you can identify who you are in him, and the particular gifts he’s given you. You can also rest assured that he is always with you, even in your struggles.

When you focus on God’s goodness each day, you can find his grace and strength to accomplish what he’s called you to do and to thrive in the life he’s given you. If you want someone to walk alongside you, don’t hesitate to contact one of our Christian counselors or coaches for ADD/ADHD counseling.

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. – Ephesians 2:10