Pills Don't Teach Skills

One Man's Personal Battle with Adult Attention Deficit Disorder

by Jeff Hamilton

ADD, The F-Bomb and Basal Ganglia Envy

The swear jar in my house is starting to get some change in it

Published on July 22, 2011 by Jeff Hamilton in Pills Don't Teach Skills

The swear jar in my house is starting to get some change in it, and no.....it's not a jar of wealth! LOL! Self admittedly, there is too much money in it. However, people with ADD/ADHD are known for

sometimes having trouble from blurting out or regulating that emotional response that leads to blurting out. Turns out there is a connection and recent brain mapping shows people who are challenged by ADD/ADHD tend to have smaller basal ganglia areas of the brain than people without ADD/ADHD. So, if we connect the dots.....an ADD'er who has challenges controlling impulses and emotions has a smaller basal ganglia and has less capacity for regulating and saying things you might regret or wish you could take back . It all makes sense now, right?

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It's a classic Freudian case of Basal Ganglia Envy!! Yup, I blurted that out, no regrets though. That extra fraction of a second is really challenging for many ADD'ers. How people react and communicate, that extra moment to not blurt something out is one of the biggest things most ADD'ers will try to manage. It can lead to the old "foot in mouth" condition. Medication can be very helpful in allowing ADD'ers to learn to regulate emotions. It can mean not over reacting, instead maintaining a calmer approach to a situation and communicating effectively through the challenge. Let's not forget, learning life skills and growing need to go hand-in-hand with ADD medication.