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"ADD" and function preference

King sns

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I was just wondering about this. I was reading about ADD today as I have often been accused of having it, when I thought it was just "a way of being." Daydreaming heavily, feeling as if I'm always channel surfing or watching multiple shows at once in my mind- plus, it seems with all the info surrounding us this could be exacerbated- so much to think about- impossible to stay on one line of thought for very long. The thoughts get to multiply so much that it turns into this big white noise/ and eventually blankifies again.

I refuse to get "checked out" for that. It sounds like your regular old exxp person. Any Ne, (or even Se) dom seems like they could have this phenomena.
 

typologywhore

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I was just wondering about this. I was reading about ADD today as I have often been accused of having it, when I thought it was just "a way of being." Daydreaming heavily, feeling as if I'm always channel surfing or watching multiple shows at once in my mind- plus, it seems with all the info surrounding us this could be exacerbated- so much to think about- impossible to stay on one line of thought for very long. The thoughts get to multiply so much that it turns into this big white noise/ and eventually blankifies again.

I refuse to get "checked out" for that. It sounds like your regular old exxp person. Any Ne, (or even Se) dom seems like they could have this phenomena.

My lil' sis has ADD; she's INFP, and has/seems to have very powerful, active Ne. She's incredibly bubbly, inventive, original and creative :wubbie: Since she was diagnosed a couple of years ago, I've been really interested in this very issue, as it does indeed seem that the traits described/medicalised as ADD overlap a lot with Ne. (The bolded phrases were ones used in her diagnosis that just made me go "hah! that's Ne, surely?")

At one point I quizzed a couple of MBTI-literate NFP friends on the issue. Both said that they could identify with the tendencies/issues in the diagnosis. And I remember reading a study somewhere that found, I think, that the majority of people with ADD were INFP, followed by ENFP. So there definitely is some experiential overlap between the two groups.

However, I don't think that the actual condition of ADD is something 'any Ne, (or even Se) dom could have'. (Don't know if this is exactly what you meant, but it seems worth stating nonetheless.) I think it's a question of degree. For individuals with ADD, this mode of mental functioning is extreme and overwhelming enough to severely impair their day-to-day life. They need to be treated with medication in order to break through this kind of constant mental "white noise" (to nab your phrase ;P), overcome their biological disadvantage, and be able to tap into their full intellectual potential in a way that everyone else takes for granted.

Have you been told you have ADD, liek, light-heartedly (because it has become kinda a gag, in some contexts..), or in seriousness?
 

Spaceskye

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I was just wondering about this. I was reading about ADD today as I have often been accused of having it, when I thought it was just "a way of being." Daydreaming heavily, feeling as if I'm always channel surfing or watching multiple shows at once in my mind- plus, it seems with all the info surrounding us this could be exacerbated- so much to think about- impossible to stay on one line of thought for very long. The thoughts get to multiply so much that it turns into this big white noise/ and eventually blankifies again.

I refuse to get "checked out" for that. It sounds like your regular old exxp person. Any Ne, (or even Se) dom seems like they could have this phenomena.

My mom is quite ADD. When she was a kid all she would do is daydream. she's gotten better at it now, but she has a hard time 'doing' things (cleaning, cooking, anything productive really...) Oh and she's an INFP... the dreamer :D
 

King sns

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My lil' sis has ADD; she's INFP, and has/seems to have very powerful, active Ne. She's incredibly bubbly, inventive, original and creative :wubbie: Since she was diagnosed a couple of years ago, I've been really interested in this very issue, as it does indeed seem that the traits described/medicalised as ADD overlap a lot with Ne. (The bolded phrases were ones used in her diagnosis that just made me go "hah! that's Ne, surely?")

At one point I quizzed a couple of MBTI-literate NFP friends on the issue. Both said that they could identify with the tendencies/issues in the diagnosis. And I remember reading a study somewhere that found, I think, that the majority of people with ADD were INFP, followed by ENFP. So there definitely is some experiential overlap between the two groups.

However, I don't think that the actual condition of ADD is something 'any Ne, (or even Se) dom could have'. (Don't know if this is exactly what you meant, but it seems worth stating nonetheless.) I think it's a question of degree. For individuals with ADD, this mode of mental functioning is extreme and overwhelming enough to severely impair their day-to-day life. They need to be treated with medication in order to break through this kind of constant mental "white noise" (to nab your phrase ;P), overcome their biological disadvantage, and be able to tap into their full intellectual potential in a way that everyone else takes for granted.

Have you been told you have ADD, liek, light-heartedly (because it has become kinda a gag, in some contexts..), or in seriousness?


Usually in joking, (since I am functional)- occasionally in all seriousness. And I'll be like, "I'm not ADD, I'm just this and this and that." And people will be like- "that is the diagnostic criteria, deary." I meet ALL of the diagnostic criteria for the inattentive type, (not the hyperactive type) but always still manage to land on my feet in situations where attention was needed.

I can't imagine getting treated for something like that, it seems like a big part of my mental framework somehow regardless of it's annoyance. I might as well just get a lobotomy if I'm going to eliminate it.

Did they treat your sister with meds or try some other ways first?
 

typologywhore

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Usually in joking, (since I am functional)- occasionally in all seriousness. And I'll be like, "I'm not ADD, I'm just this and this and that." And people will be like- "that is the diagnostic criteria, deary." I meet ALL of the diagnostic criteria for the inattentive type, (not the hyperactive type) but always still manage to land on my feet in situations where attention was needed.

I can't imagine getting treated for something like that, it seems like a big part of my mental framework somehow regardless of it's annoyance. I might as well just get a lobotomy if I'm going to eliminate it.

Did they treat your sister with meds or try some other ways first?

Ja, my sis is the inattentive type, too :nods:

Hmm, the sorta things people have been saying...put it this way, it seems from what I've seen that ADD is the type of disorder that can slip under the radar for years, with people just coping with it and not realising that they're actually having to work so much harder just to get stuff done than "healthy"/whatever individuals do; and this is especially in ADD individuals who are intelligent and generally high-functioning. We didn't notice it in my sister for a long while because her high IQ meant that she was able to keep going even tho' the ADD was present. She didn't look impaired; she looked average, or slightly above average. Whereas now, on meds, she's one of those top-of-multiple-classes kids.

I don't think you need to be too worried about meds, really! :hug: They seem to just literally remove the stuff that's too much: the "too-randomness", "too-distractedness", etc. The core personality remains the same; you'd still have a creative/innovate/daydreamy/wandering-in-all-directions/etcetera type person, it's just the excesses are toned down to make functioning easier. :3

Uhm, well, she was tested by various child psychologist type-people, then went to a specialist therapist, and did a course of therapy alongside being started on the medication, and then I think the dose was increased a little soon after. (Bearing mind this is in the UK, and the process may differ elsewhere.) It's been about two years since the diagnosis, and she's so much happier :wubbie: She used to feel really stupid and incapable, I think, and find life general quite difficult. Things are a lot smoother for her now ^__^
 
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