The hazards of living with the condition we all know as ADD grows in number as I reveal those areas that are particularly risky. I think I can qualify as an expert by having a Ph.D. in psychology, being the founder of an international well-known clinic with over 13 specialists in this specific area, having written a best-seller book, called The ADD Answer, but mostly being the poster-child (uh - elder) having dealt with the traps for over 65 years. By the way, none of these risk features are in the book so I am not trying to sell my book (although it makes great reading).
I have covered a number of situations that put a person whose concentration lasts on the average of 15 milliseconds into compromising challenges, such as trying to drive a car with a spouse explaining some important event or working for a tight-ass boss. Some of you will not relate to my passion for piloting an airplane, but if you do, please be sure and chew a lot of gum or have something to jolt you into reality every once in a while.
My history with flying started right after the World War II when my father who was an instructor for the Army Air Corps, wanted to start his own airport in west Texas. We had a Piper Cub in our back yard while he nurtured his endeavor. We took all of our trips in the plane instead of the car, and you can imagine how the kids in the neighborhood lined up to see us land in the alley. It made my dad mad because it caused some landing corrections, but I got popular fast. He taught me how to fly when I was 11 and things have gone from there. I would think that any person with a great imagination would see the unlimited opportunities in excitement where there are no fences and you are in this big sky by yourself.
So far there are no rules prohibiting people with emotional or mental problems from getting a license because the tough exam and training probably restricts anyone who cannot make survival judgments in a physical sense. But from my in-depth experience I can say to the aspiring ace that there are some definite issues to be concerned with.
Flying itself is a big fun experience that takes training and focus imperative, but the actual "driving in the sky from point A to point B" can only be described as mostly deathly boredom only punctuated by sheer panic. These are words taken from every pilot I have met. About ten percent of the time you are looking over your instruments to see if your motors are still running or looking at maps or getting clearances. The rest of the time you are gazing out the window with your mind somewhere in your lusty teenage memories or in dread of your next dilemma over money.
You can imagine the problems I had on my trips and the reasons most of my friends have refused to fly anymore with me. In fact, very few people even consider that a privilege anymore. Of course, I have not renewed my medical in many years and even I wouldn't consider flying with me now, but you really learn who your real friends are and a lot about their physiology, especially who can take a joke at 10,000 feet spin and dive. As I write I am beginning to think this might have been a good test for hiring research assistant selection, at least the third ride.
It may scare you a bit to know that many pilots, like myself, tend to doze off when we get to the boring stuff. That is a trait of ADD, by the way. Part of the brain is running kinda slow and it takes a novel experience to wake it up. This is the reason in other spheres of life we like to take chances, become a clown, redirect our attention to something else, etc. when things get too slow. Unless we are occupied, our brains go into over-drive and disengage. I guess you can imagine how it feels when you have been flying for a while and suddenly wake up and discover you don't recognize where you are or how long it took you to get there. You don't have road signs in the sky and the roads disappear into clouds. If you trim the plane right, it will fly by itself and the only way you know if you are in Alaska or Mexico is by doing some fancy figuring from your instruments or land and ask a farmer. That is embarrassing, but was actually quite common at one time. If you have read the story of Charles Lindbergh's solo crossing of the Atlantic, you might remember that he fell asleep and had to ask a fisherman where he was in order to continue his record-breaking flight to Paris. I don't know if he was embarrassed or not, but I have been ready many times to do this same thing.
There was only one near-disaster in which I forgot to switch fuel tanks at night and keep my progress going in the air instead of into the ground, although I admit to many scares when the motor becomes silent without much reason and people begin to ask questions about what is going to happen next.
But no one could compare to my piloting skills when it comes to crises, and you can see why now. I could land in 40-hour gales crosswinds or deal with a tailspins caused by sudden wind shifts like a pro. I studied piloting from the experts constantly and loved to be challenged for any stunt or feat. It was only the boring part that was the dangerous time.
If you are going to learn to fly and have this condition we now call ADHD or ADD, there are precautions that I had to learn in order not to be smashed up. Never, never, never, ever take any drug or alcohol that slows your system down, such as muscle relaxers, sleeping pill, beer, etc. The challenge you are going to have is to fight the tendency to lose focus and the constant rhythm of the motor(s) and lower oxygen will be problematic enough to not go into never-never land. You may not wake up before land arrests your flight prematurely. There are rules about not drinking before you take off, but I would probably recommend a period of week or year as a rule.
Study flying, even while you are flying. Make up scenarios of challenges and always look outside to see if there are landing spots. Talk on the radio, fiddle with your GPS, or try lowering your flaps to experiment. I even discovered that I can make my plane fly 3 mph faster with certain configurations. I even tried to take up pipe smoking specifically on these occasions, not to smoke the tobacco but to see if I could keep the damn thing lit. I never did.
In case you hadn't figured it out, I am talking about your safety in a car, boat or bicycle, whatever you have responsibility for. You can be a safe driver, pilot, etc. and for me there were the advantage in my brain behavior of the passions and excitements that relates to my imagination that helps promote success. But there have also been the distractions that I had to develop some skills for managing.
