Advantages of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is advantageous since it is, in fact, copious amounts of attention, contrary to its name, which makes it more difficult for us to concentrate on only one thing. ADHD is known to be a disorder with everything to do with the functionality of the brain and ways it filters things (Krogh et al. 9). The mind tends to take in more than it can process. As a way of managing, a person has to filter the deems that are essential, as well as the ones that are not. When a person walks in a room, then his or her brain has to process approximately 13 milliseconds every detail of what is in the room to understand it. Filtering would require a sound made by a person such as tapping in the room or trying to tie hair up as non-essential as well as places it on the categorical background, placing matters that are more pressing upfront such as paper airplane flying on top of you shifts the focus into the paper ahead of other sounds. For ADHD, our filter is well broken.
We take everything in at once, our brain deeming them all equally important. As we go through life, we are constantly battling twenty things in our heads, passing through every millisecond (Bul et al. 13). Growing up, standardized testing is a nightmare. People see the brains still have limits to how much it can take in at a time, so it is possible to overload and block things out; in grade school, children would always do the homework in the loudest part of the school because it was the only place they could focus if the brains try to take in too much as once, it can overload and force to filter to start blocking things out, allowing us to direct our attention to a particular thing. But that means in situations like exams; It is awful trying to focus because everyone was trying to be quiet, inadvertently making it tens times worse. One could close the eyes and hear the furnace pounding, someone flipping the pages of the test, scooting over, all at the same time, drowning the test out. ADHD medication like, say Adderal, are stimulants that work in trying to overload the entire system without sitting in a loud place, which is why caffeine usually calms kids with ADHD down rather than giving them energy. People take Viavanse, which has a side-effect of poor memory because when it tries to block the information out, it can sometimes shoot the vital information away too. Part of the reason why people fidget has something to do with their hands, which can help stimulate the brain as well. Despite the name having an “attention deficit” in it, ADHD does not mean you can never pay attention. It is more that people have trouble keeping their attention on one thing, especially when it’s something they don’t like. Neurotypical people are usually able to focus on a task and get it done because they know it needs to be done (there will be consequences for not doing it and a reward for doing it). Those of us with ADHD are wired differently, so that we often are not good at focusing on something we do not find interesting.
Also, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is beneficial as it helps people to make quick decision making helps us to react promptly in times of crisis. What comes to mind is the ability to improvise (Chang et al. 338). And to have an edge while talking yourself out of uncomfortable situations (in other words: finding excuses). Both are “benefits” of people who have ADHD, as would probably every other person who often finds himself in unforeseen situations. Some people might call that creativity or be unconventional in a good way. While those traits are probably linked to the “talents,” I think that there are a lot of creative and unconventional people in our society. It is not as characteristic for the biography of people with ADHD.
Whenever there are crucial obstacles, as well as there are arguments and meetings regarding ways of solving a problem, ADHD tends to be in a comfort zone. The entire system of the person becomes the living animal since the aspect of optimized performance tends to live in their head (Gerlach et al. 2). Then value and equation start flowing the “feeling” that the task is providing connection and constraints in the physical world. The reliable subconscious initiates comprehending the entire background tasks by analyzing the countless involved factors. The same processes in the brain are what made them successful at doing original research. Lots of research is merely copying work that someone else has performed. The real breakthroughs come from what is often referred to as “Out-of-the-box” thinkers. A lot of ADHD people say their ADHD makes them more creative since ADHD people think differently than neurotypical people; they come up with ideas that neurotypical people simply would not. For instance, a person might have been involved in a few emergencies, and he was the only one on the scene who was able to react fast enough to the changing situation. He ended up barking the orders until the professionals could get to the scene. So many people stand stunned in emergencies; their non-ADD minds could not keep up with things. As such, ADD people to make great emergency responders, and they thrive in any environment where quick thinking and reactions are critical. We are also, and this ties into the preceding, good at improvisation. We are also curious, and we are constantly looking for things to learn and do.
Generally, for each weakness with ADHD, and other alternative learning styles that accompany it, some upsides help compensate the downsides. If a person can think quickly, and from the macro to the micro quickly, then they are lucky (Gerlach et al. 3). Additionally, when faced with a problem or threat, the brain locks onto the subject at the expense of everything else going on. When faced with an emergency or even public speaking in front of hundreds, people think fast and can hyper-focus. They also have a near-photographic memory for numbers. Together, these attributes, or upsides, give them the ability to think and make decisions on the fly and make them suitable for emergencies and fast-paced environments. As a researcher, ADHD gives them an active imagination, which helps when it comes to fixing problems as ideas are the basis of answers, and provides fertile ground for creating new knowledge to solve problems. Helping a child with ADHD to control risky behaviors, and understand when it is okay to act impulsively may prove to be helpful later in life. If children with ADHD are guided to manage risks appropriately and thoughtfully, the confidence to take educated risks may set them apart and help them to achieve success quicker than others.
Furthermore, ADHD is essential as it can maintain hyperfocus on a particular area or subject more intensely than those without ADHD. If a person can get everything moving in the right direction, the ADHD brain will grab onto a topic and hang on like a dog with a bone (Shaw, 1954). This is hard to control, but it sometimes delivers long periods of uninterrupted concentration and deep levels of insight. If a person is interested in a subject, then he or she will focus on it without the usual distractions. The subject absorbs them. In a short space of time, they can become a self-appointed expert. And it comes from the most unlikely places. For instance, earlier this year, a person went horse riding in Chile. Throughout the whole day, he was absorbed, listened to everything the instructor said, remained focused, and learned so much. He surprised himself, especially since he had not taken his ADHD pills. If distraction and impatience can be a common feature of his life, then hyperfocus is the welcome calm and focus. I think that ADHD can give a person a speedy quick re-acting mind, especially when under pressure. It can make them enthusiastic and quick to respond. Such people like high-pressure rapid thinking situations. And it is all done with enthusiasm. The hyper-focus state mixed with time-blindness can make a person work or focus on something that draws them in (whether due to an emergency or it is very intriguing or exciting to the person). People also tend to be curious, passionate, and excited about new experiences. Mysteries and puzzles pull us in. Such people have multi-lateral thinking at times, but this is not reliable. When it is, it can be pretty awesome.
Turning this into an advantage requires learning the right coping tools and medication, Get on a stimulant to support the low dopamine. Then you need to develop habits and find tools that externalize the missing executive functions (Shaw, 1954). Some of the solutions they find limit distractions and interruptions from devices. Use the Pomodoro technique or a body double for external pressure. White noise and fidget toys can occupy your automatic motor functions while you need to focus on memorizing or writing. Put simple versions of “getting things done” into place. Get rid of clutter and keep the notes and to-do lists in a centralized place and review it and re-write the current actions daily. Take on projects and work that you love doing. Make sure to do work before play. Forgive yourself and give yourself extra time to play and transition between tasks. If you can get everything moving in the right direction, the ADHD brain will grab onto a topic and hang on like a dog with a bone. This is hard to control, but it sometimes delivers long periods of uninterrupted concentration and deep levels of insight. Maintaining hyperfocus is significant in helping a person move in the right direction.
Works Cited
Bul, Kim CM, et al. “A serious game for children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Who benefits the most?.” PloS one 13.3 (2018).
Chang, Zheng, et al. “Risks and Benefits of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Medication on Behavioral and Neuropsychiatric Outcomes: A Qualitative Review of Pharmacoepidemiology Studies Using Linked Prescription Databases.” Biological Psychiatry 86.5 (2019): 335-343.
Gerlach, Manfred, et al. “What are the benefits of methylphenidate as a treatment for children and adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder?.” (2017): 1-3.
Krogh, Helle B., et al. “Methodological advantages and disadvantages of parallel and crossover randomized clinical trials on methylphenidate for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: a systematic review and meta-analyses.” BMJ Open 9.3 (2019): e026478.
Shaw, Philip. “Quantifying the benefits and risks of methylphenidate as a treatment for childhood attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.” Jama 315.18 (2016): 1953-1955.