[ENFP] ENFP and ADHD/ADD?

[Kyi]

Are these somehow tied in together? I feel like I have ADD and I also feel like being an only child also sculpted the type of person I am. If you look up traits of ADD/ADHD symptoms and only children traits, I feel like they sort of relate. But I don't know, just speculating.

 

[nomadic]

my classmates told me they think i have ADD recently lolz

i thought its more cus i been drinking so often and going out... but i do tend to zone out when its something thats less than exactly what i want to be doing at that time... but its worse now than it was before...

 

[Nonsensical]

I bet I have ADD. But I know how to control it. When I need to focus, I can. But other than that...I'm gone!

 

[Laurie]

I was "diagnosed" with ADD as a child.

I think it means "you don't pay enough attention to what WE think you should be doing." I really never dismissed ADD/ADHD until I started reading people's theories that it is just because some types don't "fit in" and need to be "medicated" to act how we are "supposed" to.

Just think.. if you weren't "supposed" to be doing school what would you actually excel at? Having tons of energy to get out might work in a low key environment where you just need to have enough energy.

My kid's school has a "favorite" teacher. She is beloved by the children and went to bat for my daughter. My daughter was never worried she would get yelled at for doing the "wrong" thing. The teacher was always a little disorganized.

"ADD" personalities would work perfectly fine in some situations. School just isn't always one of them. I was able to get a mechanical engineering degree, but I was never able to get the grades I "should" have been able to because of being disorganized, distracted and sometimes uninterested.

I think some people might have ADD, but the amount of people that are diagnosed with it. It is much easier to medicate an EP than to learn to accept them and work with, and teach them how to work with, their strengths.

 

[Clonester]

I definitely didn't have it growing up and in school. I've had a few concussions over the past several years with ongoing post concussion syndrome and one of the symptoms is a lack of focus. It really sucks because I'll be studying something which used to be no problem for me, but now I can't focus and I have to take several breaks or rush through it.

 

[compulsiverambler]

"ADD" personalities would work perfectly fine in some situations. School just isn't always one of them. I was able to get a mechanical engineering degree, but I was never able to get the grades I "should" have been able to because of being disorganized, distracted and sometimes uninterested.

No they don't work perfectly fine in most situations. It's defined in the DSM-IV criteria as causing impairment in at least two settings, be it school, the workplace, the home, leisure activities or relationships. Most of us properly diagnosed with ADHD have some degree of trouble in all these areas.

It may manifest differently in different personality types. For example, being an introverted intuitive, my hyperactivity and impulsivity (which not everyone has anyway) are more low-key and less destructive, because although I'm moving constantly and not thinking before acting, my main focus is internal, on my own thoughts, so I don't manipulate the environment as much as a hyperactive extroverted sensor would. Instead, I pace up and down rather than stand, and fidget constantly and rock back and forth or constantly jig my leg when sitting, and get moaned at for bothering people with all this when I'm trying my best to sit and watch TV with the family. Most people do this sort of thing a bit, but not constantly and they can control it easily if they have to, especially as adults.

It's irritating and can be severe enough to make me look disturbed or autistic to strangers, but it's not as trouble-making as someone wanting to pick things up and 'do things' in the environment. As long as my body is moving enough to increase the blood flow and dopamine supply to certain areas of my brain, I don't interfere with objects or people around me apart from playing absent-mindedly with anything easily to hand. It's all about there being any bodily movement at all, and it's usually happening unconsciously anyway, so introverts can easily have the problem too. My main impairment comes from the inattentive half of the symptoms, and in extroverted sensors that might be reversed, because their impulses will be of a different nature. They'll be sensation-seeking and putting themselves in physical danger, whereas my impulsivity just puts me in social and financial danger, because I don't get impulses related to sensation-indulgence. Poor impulse inhibition will look completely different from person to person depending on what kind of impulses that person is getting and failing to think about the consequences of before carrying out.

It does sound like you were misdiagnosed, I'm sure you'll be happy to hear. Or at least if you did have it as a child, you're one of the significant minority of people whose brain development catches up by adulthood, rather than remaining permanently underdeveloped in certain areas. This phenomenon has been demonstrated with brain scans. It's not yet known why some brains catch up and others don't.

 

[Kra]

Honestly, I wouldn't worry about it. I think there are healthy levels of "ADD/ADHD" symptoms, which just mean you're fun or looking for fun in everything. Which, I would think, is a positive.

Quite frankly, it's one of the traits I find most charming about EPs.

 

[Charmed Justice]

I'm an only child. Most EXXP type people are not really meant for the traditional school system-and often not the traditional work environment either-so we often get diagnosed with all types of weird behavioral "problems". Traditional systems predominantly cater to SJs.

The Intuitives (NT Rationals and NF Idealists)

These children tend to be daydreamers, since the abstract for them is quite real.

I believe the Intuitives are proportionally more likely to classified as ADD since ADD is now defined more by inattentiveness than hyperactivity. Intuitives may often appear to be inattentive underachievers with an unusual thinking styles. Read on and see what you think...

"It is, however, the Intuitive child who is most likely to be the one who seems 'different' in an unacceptable way.

"The child with the Intuitive preference may be difficult to handle. He always seems to have a core of "being his own person' which adults sometimes find objectionable and offensive. Because the N child is pulled toward the future and the possible, he may seem uninvolved and inattentive to the present. When the present is a classroom lesson or parental instruction, the Intuitive child can find himself in difficulty. He may seem opinionated to others, the NT in particular, and he often is very certain that he knows; at the same time, he cannot justify his convictions to others' satisfaction when questioned...when the Intuitive child is engaged in chores or lessons, he may lapse into trances, causing his mentors to correct or even nag at him for dawdling."-Temperaments In The Classroom

 

[Chloe]

ken robinson mentions interesting point about ADD here..(btw. I'm pretty positive he's ENFP)

[YOUTUBE="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFA3K0G2XlA&feature=fvste2"]add[/YOUTUBE]

[YOUTUBE="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9OoSHZbBHQ&feature=related"]vid2[/YOUTUBE]

i dont know what ADD is, tbh... seems like most NPs have it.

 

[Moiety]

I'd use the term disorder for extreme cases, but yes, there's definately a correlation between attention deficit and Ne, I'd say.

 

[Synapse]

Personally ADD/ADHD are explainable issues cause by environmental causes such as.

Sugar - Hypoglycemia (Low Blood sugar) Low blood sugar can stem from thyroid disorders, liver or pancreatic problems, or adrenal gland abnormalities, or even an insufficient diet. Which in turn metabolic disorders reduce the brain's supply of glucose, the bodies fuel and can cause ADHD like symptoms.

Mercury is a well-known neurological poison that causes all the symptoms of ADHD, such as hyperactivity and poor concentration. Ironically, fish oil contains essential fatty acids that are crucial for proper brain function -- deficiencies of omega-3 fatty acids have been linked with ADHD. Yet, in a catch-22, an increase in fish consumption may lead to brain damage from mercury poisoning.

Combining aluminum and fluoride may increase the risk of ADD, ADHD, dyslexia and other developmental brain disorders in children.

You know this is all a revolving cycle that affects each system in accordance with how much frequency and consumption there is of sugar and fluoride and the like which helps along with the curious issues that are in effect.

Contidtions that mimic ADHD

 

[compulsiverambler]

Personally ADD/ADHD are explainable issues cause by environmental causes such as.



You know this is all a revolving cycle that affects each system in accordance with how much frequency and consumption there is of sugar and fluoride and the like which helps along with the curious issues that are in effect.

Contidtions that mimic ADHD

I usually swallowed my toothpaste as a kid. I do wonder to what extent that contributed. Ate fish a lot too. Now I take omega 3 that's had the mercury and other inpurities taken out, and I use fluoride-free toothpaste, and I take capsules of EDTA (which is what hospitals use intravenously when you have metal poisoning, but the NHS won't test me because ADHD is associated with levels below what's still officially considered safe, so on its own it doesn't constitute an official symptom of mercury poisoning yet) because I tested myself with a metal-testing kit that did indicate mercury, though I don't know how much. Probably too late to recover already destroyed neuropathways but I won't put up with any long-term erosion of intelligence on top of it all.

 

[Snuggletron]

Are these somehow tied in together? I feel like I have ADD and I also feel like being an only child also sculpted the type of person I am. If you look up traits of ADD/ADHD symptoms and only children traits, I feel like they sort of relate. But I don't know, just speculating.

my ENFP friend has ADD apparently, it's fairly apparent. But I think his diagnosis was a bit overdrawn. A lot of ENFPs look as if they have ADD in my experience, it's the Ne mixed with the talk-first reflect-later E. When you get their ideas going, they don't seem to care about the here and now. I have that trait as well but as an introvert I don't think I look as obviously distracted because I just sort of sit there and think.

Anyway, he was put on uber-ritalin when he was a kid. I took some of his once, I felt like Napoleon, that stuff was pure time-released speed, haha. He stopped taking it because he didn't like the way it made him feel.

His younger iSTJ brother supposedly has ADD too, he was on a smaller dose last I checked. I'm pretty sure he only uses it now for tests and the like.

 

[Laurie]

I've fought putting my daughter (EP) on medication, although they did an "attention" test (at school) and it didn't seem to be within range. I figure if I wanted to I could get her diagnosed, though. Instead I have her at Sylvan tutoring and try to spend lots of time going over her school work. It's hard when your kid doesn't have it easy in school. Even though I was in gifted classes I still needed intervention to get high grades. I didn't have intervention (other than meds). I can see the draw of medication - I feel like I'm doing 5th grade again with my daughter. She did have straight A's on her progress report though.

I heard once that medicating for ADD can also lose creativity. My EP daughter is extremely creative and totally awesome with kids. I don't want to medicate anything out of her.

I admit to some self medication with coffee. It can help me be more "centered" - the logistics of raising 4 kids can be too much for an ISTJ, let alone an ENFP.

Re: Ritalin: My brother made some money selling his. Still cracks me up.

 

[fill]

I tend to think so sometimes. I've gotten lost with my ENFP friend while he was driving. I trusted he knew where he was going, but we ended up out in the country about 40 minutes out of town while talking the entire time and not paying attention to the road.

 

[Southern Kross]

This is a complex issue. I think there is certainly an element of personality involved but there is a difference between being a bit flighty and having a real problem that truly disrupts your life.

I have all but concluded that I have it (and I have thought long and hard about this). I'm just in the process of getting together the courage (and money) to see about getting diagnosed.

For those interested in MBTI and ADD/ADHD corrolations check out this:

Temperament Types and Attention Deficit Disorder

Also on the same website this page addresses the confusion issues:

What is ADD?

 

[ergophobe]

ADD/ADHD are different types and are a neurological problem - this is not a personality disorder. Secondly, the symptoms related to ADD/ADHD may be similar to those caused by a number of other physical or psychological issues -- mercury, sugar levels, stress, depression, etc. etc...Most people suffer from some ADD like symptoms but for someone who actually suffers from ADD, the symptoms are ALWAYS there and have been there since early childhood and are often debilitating.

ADD/ADHD is genetically transferrable. The two types are quite different in symptoms and manifest differently across genders. More men (75% of thos who have ADD/ADHD) tend to have ADHD which is attention disorder with hyperactivity. This is reversed for women who have add - inattentive type which manifests in dreaminess, slow moving, inactive (almost like paralyzed by the variety of impulses) which is very different from the hyperactive kind. Even in this latter type, as children, they probably showed signs of hyperactivity which declines while attention problems remain.

ADD is debilitating for those who suffer from it and there are lots of myths that abound about the disease and medication used to treat it. This is really sad because most people who suffer from it (Adults and children) could benefit greatly from medication prescribed in treating the neurological part. Having said that, as with any other type of medication, it's important to find what works for you. In the case of ADD medication, they tend to work for over 60% of those who try it. That's pretty significant.

More Myths:
ADD medication affects creativity. Not true. It affects a person's ability to carry through with ideas - that's HUGE bonus as compared to having great ideas but not being able to act on them.
ADD folks suffer from attention problems constantly. No. They have a hyperfocus mode and an inattentive mode. When motivated, they go into hyperfocus mode -- thus many airline pilots have ADD. They are well suited for this profession as the hyperfocus mode makes them able to pay attention where most normal people would tire.
People with ADD should just try harder and can pay attention if they tried. No. Neurological condition implies the brain does not function as it should. Most people with ADD suffer from expending 2-3 times the effort on a simple task, usually papework related as compared to most people. This does not guarantee it will get done.

There are so many misconceptions that abound and yes, children and adults often get misdiagnosed with ADD/ADHD. Many also go without getting the proper diagnosis that in some cases, could literally save lives. Highly intelligent people who constantly underachieve are the ones likely to get frustrated and lose hope -- leading to losing jobs, bad relationships.

While medication is certainly helpful, it is not a full cure. For those suffering from ADD, structure could make all the difference. It helps raise motivation levels which helps with focus. Exercise also helps as do simple tools. Omega 3 certainly helps as well.

Here's a great documentary by canadian comedian Patrick McKenna who suffers from ADD. It is very funny and poignant and tackles some of these myths. Watch it if interested for free at:
ADD & Loving It

On the topic at hand, I think ENFPs may have attention problems that may resemble symptoms associated with ADD. It's also possible that people with ADD may wrongly classify themselves as ENFP. Many characteristics associated with people with ADD are also those associated with ENFPs. Once the ADD is treated and the symptoms diminish, people may find they are actually closer to another personality type. So - I think the correlation may hold, I don;t know if there's more to it than some shared symptoms.

 

[compulsiverambler]

Great post ergophobe. I may be reiterating a lot of what you've said now but that's cos I finished the post yesterday, lost connection and had to send it today instead. :rolli:

I've seen a couple of people report feeling less creative on medication, and they should probably ask for a lower dose or a different med, but more often I've seen people report the opposite, that they can actually dedicate their full attention to creative projects, finish them and get them done sooner. The right med at the right dose won't force you to focus against your will or prevent certain kinds of thought, it just allows you to use do certain things, such as thinking ahead and listening to speech, more effectively when you do want to. I haven't noticed any difference creatively except I can keep writing for longer periods of time without having to stop to do and think about other things and without feeling uncomfortable because my body wants to pace around pointlessly when my mind would rather keep writing. It's the multitude of Scientology-run websites that are giving the impression that significantly troubling side effects are more common than they are, and being misleading in a number of ways. They do the same for all psychiatric medications.

All the statistics I'm aware of suggest that medicated kids do better than the unmedicated ones in both the short and long-term (The Multimodal Treatment Study was misrepresented by some of the media to make it appear that it said there was no long-term benefit) academically, financially and mental health-wise, and that if you're in the group that doesn't grow out of it well, the problems get worse rather than better as responsibilities mount and expectations become higher. That was my experience as well as I was able to compensate and do averagely well overall at school because I was smart, until homework and organisation and other responsibilities became more prominent, and then employment was a total disaster.

There's also evidence that taking stimulant medication is correlated with better catching up of the underdeveloped areas of the brain by adulthood, though that may well be an effect I'm too late for. Post-concussive syndrome, which someone mentioned, and more serious brain damage, are also treated by some doctors with Ritalin or other stimulants, because they think they help the person's brain get back to normal and grow fresh connections more quickly in addition to the short-term symptom reduction.

Caffeine is a stimulant as methylphenidate (Ritalin) is. Children with ADHD get less hyperactive and inattentive on certain doses of caffeine as well. Main differences are that it's not as effective because at least one of its properties somewhat counteracts the positive effects on concentration of another property, and that outside of scientific studies, the dosages aren't strictly decided and controlled, so you risk drinking enough of it to actually make your symptoms worse, and with regular use you're almost guaranteed to develop a tolerance and eventual addiction with unpleasant withdrawal symptoms.

 

[Queen Kat]

It's very likely that I have ADD. I score very high on all online tests, but unfortunately I have never token a real test, simply because psychiatrists don't believe me (they only seem to listen to what my father has to say and he doesn't really know me, even though he thinks so).

 

[Southern Kross]

It's very likely that I have ADD. I score very high on all online tests, but unfortunately I have never token a real test, simply because psychiatrists don't believe me (they only seem to listen to what my father has to say and he doesn't really know me, even though he thinks so).

Yeah, there's a lot of ignorance out there, even in the psychiatric community. Some think that if you're not failing (or didn't fail) at school you can't have it. When in fact, those that are more intelligent and have it, appear to get by. They tend to naturally develop compensatory techiniques to counter it. This does not mean the problem has gone away though - the stress and frustration still exists.

Trying a local ADD/ADHD support group to recommend a psychiatrist or psychologist near you that is familiar with treating ADD/ADHD. There might be someone that is better at recognising it and explaining the situation to your dad.

Many parents don't understand - sometimes because they want to protect you or they don't want to admit there is a problem but other times they are swayed by the misinformation out there. My parents haven't been supportive - this is the main reason I have failed to address the problem.