My friend Matty over at 2 Boys in Love has written a number of posts on what it’s like to have A.D.H.D. Check them out here. I snagged this image from his last post.
I often say, “I have a two track mind. One is lost and the other one is looking for it.” No two A.D.D. minds are alike, so I’ll describe mine for you. Imagine your natural curiosity multiplied a thousand-fold while your brain is functioning at Mach 9 with its hair on fire and having no ability to filter out auditory, visual, or any other sensory stimulation. It’s as if you’re building a house of cards in gale force winds and pouring rain, while listening to a static-filled radio, and as you strain to decipher what’s on the radio, someone changes the station. You have one idea, rub the rain from an eye, then another, I like that song, then something else pops into your brain having nothing to do with the last two ideas, rub the rain from the other eye, and a sound, or a smell, I don’t care what happened in the stock market today, or something you see or touch, I forgot my umbrella, sends five more thoughts or memories into your head, chase a card down the street, and you HAVE NO FILTER. IT.IS.CONSTANT.PROCESSING.
“Time is what prevents everything from happening at once.”~John Wheeler
Time parses moments out into bit-sized pieces so we can process and do one thing at a time. When you have A.D.D., this does not happen. Time collapses. It becomes a black hole. It feels as if everything is happening all at once. Perspective and the ability to prioritize are lost. It creates inner turmoil and sometimes dreads, fears, and panic. You’re on the go, trying to keep your mind from caving in while spilling over, drumming your fingers, shaking your knee, and on and on and on and on….
Two things help make living with A.D.D. easier for me. Writing and dreaming. Through these activities, I download all the extra activity in my brain so I no longer feel like I live on the fringe while the entire world happens in my mind all at once. When I’m into writing, I have no trouble focusing on the overall story I want to write. I get into it. A movie plays in my head. I live it. I breathe it. The words flow. Yet, the function of scribing isn’t the only task involved in writing a story. It’s the translation of ideas and visual imagery into words. This requires organization of thoughts, finding the right words, and then organizing those words on the page. So, it takes discipline. It takes time to train your mind to stay on track and even though disciplined, I can be easily distracted. Unbelievably, MORE INPUT sometimes helps. I often listen to a book and play solitaire as I’m writing. Do I grasp everything I’m listening to or win any games of solitaire? No, because I’m not paying attention to those things. Those things exist as background noise to drown out the other things I don’t want floating around in my mind as I write. I’m paying attention to the story I’m writing.
“Time is nature’s way to keep everything from happening all at once.”~Ray Cummings
When am I most often derailed in writing? Research. There is a substantial amount of research required in order to create an authentic story. I set out to research one thing, become fascinated by something within that research. This leads to that and that leads to this. The next thing you know, twelve hours have elapsed and I know everything there is to know about the Einstein-Rosen bridge when I set out to study the most common flower in Greece and got derailed by a literary quote, something my parrot said, and remembered that I forgot to eat and pick up the mail. Ooooh! Look! Someone posted a cool meme on Facebook! Gotta go!
Oh, yeah, I forgot. See you next month on Thursday, April 17th!
Check out Cody’s Blog here. Like Cody on Facebook, find Cody on Goodreads, on Twitter @CodyKAuthor, and read Cody’s free serial story, Fairy.
Other posts by Cody or about Cody’s books on Sid Love’s Blog:
Film Adaptations: The Bane of Every Readers Existence
Guest Blogger, Cody Kennedy on Growing Up in Hollywood
Omorphi’s Blog Tour
Safe’s Blog Tour
Elizabetta’s Review of Omorphi
Available from: Harmony Ink Press
Όμορφη. Ómorphi. Greek. Meaning pretty
Pretty. adj. /pritē/ Pleasing by delicacy or grace
High school senior Michael Sattler leads a charmed life. He’s a star athlete, has great friends, and parents who love him just the way he is. What’s missing from his life is a boyfriend. That’s a problem because he’s out only to his parents and best friend. When Michael accidentally bumps into Christy Castle at school, his life changes in ways he never imagined. Christy is Michael’s dream guy: smart, pretty, and sexy. But nothing could have prepared Michael for what being Christy’s boyfriend would entail.
Christy needs to heal after years of abuse and knows he needs help to do it. After the death of his notorious father, he leaves his native Greece and settles in upstate New York. Alone, afraid, and left without a voice, Christy hides the myriad scars of his abuse. He desperately wants to be loved and when he meets Michael, he dares to hope that day has arrived. When one of Michael’s team-mates becomes an enemy and an abuser from Christy’s past seeks to return him to a life of slavery, only Michael and Christy’s combined strength and unwavering determination can save them from the violence that threatens to destroy their future together. Read an excerpt of Omorphi
Available from: Harmony Ink Press
Caleb had one mission in life.
To keep his boyfriend safe.
They met at ten, kissed at twelve, and were madly in love by eighteen. Caleb Deering is the captain of the swim team and the hottest senior in school. He comes from a loving home with a kind father and a caring, but strict, mother who is battling breast cancer. Nico Caro is small and beautiful, and has a father who rules with an iron fist—literally. One morning Caleb forgets himself, and he pecks Nico on the lips at school. A teacher sees them and tattles to the Headmaster. The accidental outing at school might be the least of their problems, because the ball set in motion by the school’s calls to their parents could get Nico killed. In the face of that very real danger, Caleb knows he has only one mission in life: to keep Nico safe. Read an excerpt of Safe.
It’s always interesting to hear the inner dialog of a person. Many years ago when I taught high school, being diagnosed with ADD or ADHD was a bit taboo. Students were categorized as trouble-maker or worse, as those who couldn’t learn. Many gifted children are often misplaced in a ability-leveled class because they don’t fit within a traditional classroom. This was a great post. Thanks!
Thanks, Kari! I’m glad you enjoyed it. You know, many people think we’re lazy, undisciplined, or simply not paying attention when, in fact, we’re wading through extraordinary processing. Almost always, ONE teacher makes the difference for us and sets us on a path to learning that works for us. Thanks for dropping by and commenting! It’s always great to see you here!
Finally someone explained it. (Something I struggled to put to words at a young age.) They were just beginning to understand and put labels on this problem when I was growing up. Like Kari said, it was a label you didn’t want back then. The article was wonderful and should be a standard for asking someone if this is how they feel in life. They told my mother I had problems learning things. Moved me to simpler classes when I needed jumping ahead for harder work. My parents realized this when they found me reading college level books at twelve and understanding them. One of the reasons I was homeschooled. While growing up few understood me and I had to learn to deal with this all myself. School and learning was never a problem, I just absorbed everything too fast and wanted it to be done since everything was a distraction. Hated the teachers asking or demanding I pay attention to things that were too simple when every noise and item only created more distraction.
I feel as if a multiprocessor trying to do a massive list at once with sensory overload. I wonder if this is an actual problem at times. (Well, then I always wonder a lot on various subjects.) For me writing is the outlet that allows me not have a mental and sensory meltdown. Concentrate on a single task and I can usually do it, except when other things distract my mind. (Like that never happens.) I think we also need solitude away from things and this is why we can sometimes live like hermits. (Hermits, hermit crabs, shells…) The mind of each A.D.D. person is unique as are their abilities. Most are more gifted than they believe. This problem is still not researched to its fullest point. For some of us the simple things in life are often hard where complexity, patterns and sequences helps focus. Some tend to make simple things complex problems that shouldn’t be. The roar of inputs we receive from a single glance in a room can be overwhelming to some. Even while typing this my mind has been a hundred places at once. (Questions made, answers thought and patterns seen everywhere about this topic and leading to many more.) The mind of an A.D.D. is a very rushed, confused and convoluted place of a with a maze within a maze unless focused on a single point. Even then that single point drifts and wanders. Now I wander…
Damian, I once taught in a gifted program in which roughly 30% of the students failed one or more classes. It certainly wasn’t because they didn’t understand the subject but because they were offered only one way to demonstrate what they knew. This is especially true in a math class where often the teacher only knows one way to solve a problem.
All so very true, Damian. And you are correct. A.D.D. and A.D.H.D. people are extremely intelligent and high functioning. I am truly discouraged that it’s referred to as a “disorder.” Thanks for dropping by and commenting!
Amazing, I always admire yer creative process now even more so 🙂
Thank you, Tara!
Can I hug you now? I’m always amazed by the complexities of the human mind and want to stand up and cheer the courage and determination people show in facing their challenges. I can’t tell you how glad I am you have an outlet in your writing and can find a little peace. I know the world is a better place because of your beautiful stories.
I work in a school and I’m going to print this off and give a copy to my Senco. It was a great insight into the mind if someone with ADD. Thank you for making me more aware. Xxx
Thank you so much, Daisy! Having ADD is like nothing else. It’s a constant battle with sensory input and it really is like trying to build a house of cards in gale-force winds. I’m so glad you liked it and thanks for dropping by and commenting!
Awww, thank you Dianne! {{{HUGS}}} Writing really does help and I couldn’t be happier that I do it professionally. Thanks for stopping by and commenting!
Very informative. Cody. I’m a huge fan.
Thank you, Beth!
A kindred spirit! I can’t not be doing something all the time. If I have even a few minutes of waiting time, I have to have a book to read or a notebook to write in because my mind is in a million different places at once if I don’t have those. When I write, I have to have music on in the background, preferably something without lyrics because listening to words just distracts me. Or I start writing the words I’m hearing instead of the words I should be writing, lol.
And oh, the perils of research! Start out by opening a new window and get distracted by social media, which then leads me to blog articles, which lead me to other blog articles, which make me think of something new to look up, then I remember I haven’t checked my email, realize I forgot to schedule a blog post, gotta pick the kids up from school and make lunch, clean up, start writing, and come to the part that I never got around to researching earlier. Rinse and repeat. LOL!
LOL!!! Rinse, repeat! I like that! See? You get me, Jade! Thanks for dropping by and commenting! It’s always great to see you here!
A lifetime of ADHD has been a double edged sword for me. When I need to focus and my minds in 50 different places it is really frustrating. The noise in my head can be deafening and soon if find myself miles from where I am supposed to be. It’s even worse when my brain is tried. There are times it feels like I don’t get enough energy to supply my brain and the effort needed to think is extraordinary. I have learned many strategies over the years. One is to put on headphones and blast music and drowned out the other sounds. I could lament my ADHD but I think it has been a blessing at times.
You raise an excellent point, JC. That ADD/ADHD people are intelligent and simply high-functioning. While it takes a terrific amount of effort to focus, our minds are very creative and we can often be some of the most imaginative people in the world. Thanks for dropping by and commenting!
[…] posts by Cody or about Cody’s books on Sid Love’s Blog: Cody Kennedy on Writing and Attention Deficit Disorder Guest Blogger, Cody Kennedy on Growing Up in Hollywood Omorphi’s Blog Tour Safe’s Blog Tour […]
[…] posts by Cody or about Cody’s books on Sid Love’s Blog: Cody Kennedy on Writing and Attention Deficit Disorder Film Adaptations: The Bane of Every Readers Existence Omorphi’s Blog Tour Safe’s Blog Tour […]
Cody, you are an amazing man. Truly. I do understand what you go through and I’m in awe of you.
My youngest child, who is now a grown woman, has ADD. I will never forget the hours and hours and hours, too many to count, working together trying to find ways to help her focus. The everyday struggles that she went though and still contends with.
You are such a fantastic role model for so many reasons.
Thank you so much for the compliments, Sandy! It takes a parent like you who has the patience of Job and is willing to work for hours and hours and hours to help us survive and learn and process! You’re a great mom, Sandy! Thanks for dropping by and commenting! It’s always great to see you here!