Your ADHD Superpowers And Your ADHD Kryptonite

I got this picture framed as a gift for my first talk on ADHD as an Adult ADHD Coach at CHADD Vancouver back in 2003. The members generated:

Note the ratio.

Here a picture of The Positive Aspects Of ADHD.

Adapted from 1995 book, Teenagers With ADD A Parents’ Guide by Chris A. Zeigler Dendy. Latest version of this book.

ADHD can be your Superpower. And ADHD can be your Kryptonite too.

How well you understand what ADHD is, how it affects your unique ADHD brain, understand ADHD stigma, and how well you learn different ways to manage your ADHD and recognize and develop and use your ADHD strengths will determine your ratio of superpower to kryptonite.

This can vary day by day.

We ADDers can hyperfocus for hours IF it is something that we are interested in. We often are in intellectually, mechanically, emotionally, artistically, or kinesthetically creative fields. Creativity is impulsivity done right. We ADDers never have to take a course to be creative, we’re idea generating machines, we have to limit our creative ideas so we actually complete some.

How you view ADHD will determine how you manage ADHD or if you even manage it vs stay in denial or minimization. ADHD is not a 100% gift. ADHD is not a 100% curse. The more you understand and accept ADHD and experiment with different techniques, and learn how to identify and manage the negatives and identify and develop the strengths of ADHD will make a huge impact on your life, your family’s life and those around you.

There are real challenges with ADHD, and there are many Social And Economic Costs Of ADHD. It is very expensive for society to continue to stigmatize and neglect us and it is very expensive for individuals and their families to stay in denial or minimization on ADHD.

90% of Adults with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder are undiagnosed and untreated.

Dr. Russell Barkley, Monitor on Psychology March 2012, page 70.

Here is how some people with ADHD explain adult ADHD.

Learn the symptoms of ADHD ADHD, diagnosis and treatment articles.

Scroll down to find out the symptoms of ADHD in children and teenagers.

Learn more about ADHD in Adults.

Learn more about ADHD in Children and Teenagers. Here are some more articles for parents of ADHD children and teens from CADDAC. Don’t forget, ADHD is 80% genetic, so unless your child is adopted…

We ADHD adults can have a variety of different jobs. Many ADHD adults are entrepreneurs, since we’re allergic to boredom and often bosses too:) Besides the paperwork, it’s rarely boring running your own business.

Maybe someone you know might find the 5 minute Harvard Adult ADHD Screener Test helpful. ADHD is 80% genetic so if your child has it, unless they’re adopted…

If you do screen for it, few in BC are properly trained on ADHD in BC the government and the medical bureaucracy stigmatize or neglect us, so it’s important to find someone who is to get an accurate diagnosis.

Many people with ADHD get misdiagnosed with depression and anxiety.

See also my post Is It Depression or ADHD? Especially the comments.

See my list of Vancouver area psychiatrists and psychologists known to be able to diagnose & treat ADHD

Women With ADHD

They often get missed because they often have the inattentive form of ADHD. Often diagnosed when married (crash & burn because have to organize themselves and their husband & home) have kids (organize a 3rd person). Or when they hit perimenopause or menopause, since estrogen boosts dopamine, which we ADDers are short of and helps us focus, so their ADHD symptoms get much worse.

Women with ADHD Articles.

Women with ADD Presentation Notes and Links by Christine at the Vancouver Adult ADD Support Group.

ADHD in Women: “That Explains Everything!” Discovering My ADHD in Adulthood.

Girls and women with ADHD have higher rates of anorexia, bulimia and binge eating.

BC ADHD Support Groups

If you’re in the Metro Vancouver Area you can visit the only 2 ADHD support groups in BC and meet other ADDers live in person, we’re not boring people:)

I run the Vancouver Adult ADD Support Group, I started it in 2003. We focus on the needs of adults with ADHD. We have people from Whistler to Delta, Victoria to Mission, and once from Kelowna come to our meetings. See a list of Previous Vancouver Adult ADD Support Group Meetings Notes

I’m on the board of CHADD Vancouver ADHD Support Group. They focus on parents of children with ADHD and sometimes adults with ADHD and sometimes both.

If there is no ADHD support group near you, do what I did, create one. How to Start And Run A Support Group. If you do, let me know.

Advantages of ADHD

151 Positive Characteristics of people with ADHD

Posts On The Strengths of ADHD

Top 10 advantages of ADHD in a high tech career

11 Advantages Of Having ADHD As A Writer

Peter Shankman Shares The Gift Of ADHD: How To Leverage It For Phenomenal Success

Want an overview of ADHD? Here are the notes from a talk I did on it

1. Defining ADHD
2. ADHD Impairments
3. Co-existing or Co-morbid conditions that go along with ADHD
4. Costs of ADHD
5. Positives of ADHD
6. Famous people with ADHD
7. Myths about ADHD
8. Social media
9. Some ADHD links

CADDAC Center for ADHD Awareness Canada has a wealth of information on ADHD.

CADDRA Canadian ADHD Resource Alliance is an independent, not-for-profit, resource organization for medical, healthcare and research professionals with an interest in the field of ADHD. Also they have the free Canadian ADHD Practice Guidelines. If your doctor or psychiatrist says they don’t know how to diagnose ADHD, tell they this will teach them. If you have ADHD you should read it too.