Em you know I love everything you write ❤️ but this article struck a particular chord with me - especially after being absolutely fascinated by all things neuropsychological since Master 10 got his diagnosis last year.
Now Master 13 self diagnoses his every move (particularly the procrastination and not being able to focus on anything for very long!). I keep explaining it’s the TikToks and the YouTube shorts that are to blame and he is slowly coming round to my idea of thinking this content is not doing him any favours. He recently deleted TikTok from his phone entirely (shock horror!!!) and only watches longer form videos now. I really feel for all the teens growing up in this digital age. It’s all too much!! 😔
I also feel so seen when you describe your typical mornings 😂 it’s like you have setup a camera into my life you describe it so accurately. One hack I picked up from a great book my psych recommended (“How not to lose your shit with your kids!” Put it on your TBR list it’s epic!) - is that multitasking is bullshit and single tasking is the only way forward!!! She suggests narrating (I must admit I haven’t tried it out loud yet only in my head 🤭) what you are doing at any given time and block out all other distractions until said task is done. * I’m doing it now as I write this and try and get on the right bus lol 😜
I wrote this in comments in the hope it prevented you from having to respond to another Insta DM (you know you don’t have to reply to ALL of those don’t you??!!!) and tell you once again how awesome I think you are and how much I love reading all the words you write. Keep going! One thing at a time 🫶🏻
Thank you, lovely! Hearing from you is always a glimmer for me. ✨ And sounds like you're well across all this. OMG, the short-form videos - I hear you! I'm always ranting about these with the kids. Seriously, the mayhem of the mornings is next level. When I check my fitness tracker, it's literally the most stressful part of my day. 😵💫 🤣 Great tips too, thanks for sharing, I'll check it out. xx
The definition of a disorder is something that makes daily living difficult. With that definition in mind, my take is that we've made daily life so busy and stimulating that only a small fraction, if any, are capable of handling it, and we've gotten rid of underlying societal tools that might help with us cope with it.
What tools? Everything from extended families that could offer parents a break without incurring financial obligations, to open floor housing that as you note means there's very little escape from the noise of the family, to the lack of church attendance (ignoring the value of belief, even spending a couple hours in a contemplative setting has got to be good for extending an attention span), to even the demonization of tobacco.
To the extent there is any biochemical test for ADHD, it is that folks with it exhibit paradoxical reactions to certain medications. Tobacco and caffeine, both stimulants, allow ADHD folks to concentrate better. By stigmatizing tobacco (and to be fair, there are good reasons to discourage tobacco use) we took a relatively cheap and easy to procure ADHD treatment away from people who never thought of themselves as ADHD but knew they got through life better while smoking.
I agree that very few of us are coping with the busy/over-stimulating nature of life today. As you've pointed out, I think community is a really important part in all this. We are tribal people, we were meant to 'do' life with a village not on our own like many of us do now. Whilst, yes, there are very real reasons to discourage tobacco use I do find what you said about it interesting nonetheless. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Em you know I love everything you write ❤️ but this article struck a particular chord with me - especially after being absolutely fascinated by all things neuropsychological since Master 10 got his diagnosis last year.
Now Master 13 self diagnoses his every move (particularly the procrastination and not being able to focus on anything for very long!). I keep explaining it’s the TikToks and the YouTube shorts that are to blame and he is slowly coming round to my idea of thinking this content is not doing him any favours. He recently deleted TikTok from his phone entirely (shock horror!!!) and only watches longer form videos now. I really feel for all the teens growing up in this digital age. It’s all too much!! 😔
I also feel so seen when you describe your typical mornings 😂 it’s like you have setup a camera into my life you describe it so accurately. One hack I picked up from a great book my psych recommended (“How not to lose your shit with your kids!” Put it on your TBR list it’s epic!) - is that multitasking is bullshit and single tasking is the only way forward!!! She suggests narrating (I must admit I haven’t tried it out loud yet only in my head 🤭) what you are doing at any given time and block out all other distractions until said task is done. * I’m doing it now as I write this and try and get on the right bus lol 😜
I wrote this in comments in the hope it prevented you from having to respond to another Insta DM (you know you don’t have to reply to ALL of those don’t you??!!!) and tell you once again how awesome I think you are and how much I love reading all the words you write. Keep going! One thing at a time 🫶🏻
Thank you, lovely! Hearing from you is always a glimmer for me. ✨ And sounds like you're well across all this. OMG, the short-form videos - I hear you! I'm always ranting about these with the kids. Seriously, the mayhem of the mornings is next level. When I check my fitness tracker, it's literally the most stressful part of my day. 😵💫 🤣 Great tips too, thanks for sharing, I'll check it out. xx
The definition of a disorder is something that makes daily living difficult. With that definition in mind, my take is that we've made daily life so busy and stimulating that only a small fraction, if any, are capable of handling it, and we've gotten rid of underlying societal tools that might help with us cope with it.
What tools? Everything from extended families that could offer parents a break without incurring financial obligations, to open floor housing that as you note means there's very little escape from the noise of the family, to the lack of church attendance (ignoring the value of belief, even spending a couple hours in a contemplative setting has got to be good for extending an attention span), to even the demonization of tobacco.
To the extent there is any biochemical test for ADHD, it is that folks with it exhibit paradoxical reactions to certain medications. Tobacco and caffeine, both stimulants, allow ADHD folks to concentrate better. By stigmatizing tobacco (and to be fair, there are good reasons to discourage tobacco use) we took a relatively cheap and easy to procure ADHD treatment away from people who never thought of themselves as ADHD but knew they got through life better while smoking.
I agree that very few of us are coping with the busy/over-stimulating nature of life today. As you've pointed out, I think community is a really important part in all this. We are tribal people, we were meant to 'do' life with a village not on our own like many of us do now. Whilst, yes, there are very real reasons to discourage tobacco use I do find what you said about it interesting nonetheless. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.