Hell is Real – ADHD

Ever seen this billboard?

Relax; this post is not dealing with theology about those that receive eternal life and live it, in eternal conscience torment.  I spell hell differently than most, I spell it ADHD.  For those of you that have never experienced it, I feel both pity and jealousy.  It is a two edged sword.  Everyday I find myself walking somewhere, and then realize I have no idea what I am looking for, but I end up enjoying the scenery anyway.  If you could spend one day inside my brain, you might experience unspeakable joy like you have never known, or you may want to commit suicide because you have failed at every important juncture in life and disappointed those you love.

Have you ever forgotten to go to work, to attend the most important presentation of the year?  I have.  I was distracted by a homeless, starving hitchhiker with a mangy dog and stopped to pick them up.  The kind that hasn’t bathed or brushed his teeth in six months.  He told me his tragic life story in fifteen minutes.  I cried with him when he shared about getting fired, missing his family, and longed for how life used to be.  I spent all the change out in my ashtray (the last money I had) to buy him lunch, give him a much-needed hug and a prayer before I dropped him back off on the road.  Was this because I am such a great person?  No, I did not understand it then, but he probably had ADHD and I could see some part of me in his eyes.  Wanna’ talk about a priceless emotion?  Those of you without ADHD do not experience this, but I do.

I did not believe in ADHD two years ago.  I thought it was just a cop-out for people that had no structure in life.  Though there is some truth to lacking structure it is not purposeful or easily corrected.  After doing extensive research I found that though it is often misdiagnosed and co-morbid, it is very real and scientifically documentable.  Unfortunately, we still don’t understand all of the complications surrounding this condition.

Common misconceptions about people with ADHD

• They are just lazy
• They just need to change their diet
• Medication fixes everything
• They are not intelligent
• They just need to learn discipline
• They are purposefully rude and defiant
• They cannot learn
• They cannot be dependable

There appear to be valid reasons for this perception, but that does not make it true.  If we could go back in history and fix the people who exhibited ADHD symptoms what would the world be like?

Mozart, Edison, Ford, The Wright brothers, Einstein, Michael Jordan and many more fit the bill.  (See a pattern?) People with ADHD do not process information like “normal” people.  That does not make it right or wrong, it is just different.  Instead of shaking your head in disgust at the annoying knucklehead in your office that is always late to meetings, ask him if he has any cool ideas.  If he can think of one, it might just make you  rich, or put you in jail.