You Are Not Crazy, Broken, Or Stupid!
Description: In this episode, Melissa and Maribeth (from ADD Professionals) explore ADHD and it's effect on self-concept.
Written Transcript
Today we are going to talk about something near and dear to our hearts - one of the saddest things about ADD. It’s effect on our self-concept.
Often times, because our brains work differently than most, even as young children, ADDers hide a deep feeling that they are different, broken, crazy, stupid or a freak!
For today’s adult ADDers, what might have made it worse was that, when we were kids, teachers and parents didn’t understand ADD, and so we may have been pegged as the “problem child”. This kind of poor self-concept can reek havoc on your whole life!
Well, that is absolutely not necessary! The truth about the ADD brain is that, yes, it does process things differently, with tendencies toward inattention, impulsivity and mental hyperactivity. That type of “out of the box” brain can be difficult to tame at times!
However, for every challenge, there is a definite strength that makes your brain, and you as a person, perfectly made for some pretty amazing things, that most people cannot do.
Albert Einstein had ADD. He was a terrible student! He made bad grades and was unenthusiastic. However, once through school, when left to his own passions, when he let his brain out of the box to think the way it was meant to, he had one of the most gifted minds in history.
The good news is that, if we learn to understand and manage that unique brain, we can maximize those unique strengths, minimize the challenges and be amazingly successful. Look at these famous and successful ADDers. They all learned how to use the unique talents of their brain to create amazing careers!
- Beethoven
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
- Walt Whitman
- Ansel Adams
- F. Scott Fitzgerald
- Robin Williams
- Alexander Graham Bell
- Malcomb Forbes
- Tennessee Williams
- Admiral Richard Byrd
- Benjamin Franklin
- Woodrow Wilson
- Andrew Carnegie
- George Bernard Shaw
- Henry Winkler
- Jim Carrey
- Steven Spielberg
- Stevie Wonder
- Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain)
- Robert Louis Stevenson
- Vince Lombardi
- Christopher Columbus
- Jackie Stewart
- Jules Verne
- Leonardo da Vinci
- James Stewart
- Vincent Van Gogh
- Nicolai Tesla
- Henry David Thoreau
So what are those unique strengths that ADDers have hidden?
Check out this list, and see how many you have!
85% of us have above average intelligence.
We are interested in many things and new ideas.
We have incredible energy and enthusiasm.
We make intuitive leaps! We don’t just go from A to B to C, We can quickly go from A to Q to Z!
We are really creative.
We are out of the box thinkers – idea people!
When we are interested in something, we can be more focused and detailed than anyone!
We are spontaneous! Enthusiastic! Fun!
So, don’t let the differences of your brain get you down. Yes, you have to make it through school and you have to learn to deal with the mainstream of life. However, you also have some remarkable gifts and talents hidden in there. Let them out!
You are not broken, crazy or dumb. You have the gifts of a unique, creative and energetic brain! Focus on THAT – and you will be amazed at what you can do!