Sense of Superiority. | ADHD Information
Supposedly I have a personality disorder (diagnosed Anti-social PD) but I don't think I have it so am going to get another opinion as soon as I get insurance and can find a new doctor.I agree OpenYourEyes. I don't fit in with this world either. I feel as though this world is not my "precription". That's putting it accurate. All I know is that we should learn that we are worth something and we do have qualities. I suffer majorly from low self worth problems. Sometimes I think im just a piece of sh*t. I know that I have to just get involved with activities more and get to know a wider range of people and i'll eventually find a person who fits my "prescription". You have to look for the lifestyle and friends that suit you best. That might seem impossible and it all depends what mood you are in, but you just have to keep your head happy and hunt for what satisfies you in life. whether its partners friends or whatever. Everyone is different, for those of us who do have a condition like adhd it's triple the difference sometimes. This makes it "seem" harder for us. We have been criticized, riduculed, rejected. I would understant that this might give us an inflated self image of our good points, which is only natural. I mean by this we do sometimes have to act superior to feel normal, otherwise are we going to let other peoples views affect how we see ourselves. That's wrong.
The world is like a a jungle, but to suceed you have to adapt like a hunter.
for those who have an extreme sense of superiority--Have you ever thought about the possibility of having Narcissistic Personality Disorder??
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Crikeys, you Reckon? I dont agree. I honestly did not feel worthless or inferior at all during that period of my life. I felt guilt for having those emotions, but not worthless or inferior.
I think that is a bit too text book a comment for me to accept.
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If you made it through ADD without feeling inferior, less than, or a deep feeling of low self-worth, then you must have had one hell of a support mechanism.
Close, heathly innerpersonal relationships were all but impossible for me, and i consider only a moderate case.
I've never had any close friends, never felt a part of the world in which i lived, always on the outside looking in, so I used my education, over-focused passions to build my self-worth.
How can you feel any kind of worth in a society you don't even feel apart of? What value are you in a world that you are an alien?
Its only when I feel superior that I feel equal.
I wish I had your brand of ADD!
oh spaced, dont ruin all my delusions . I am happy feeling I know everything. lol[QUOTE=spaced]
Do you really see the whole big picture? My interpretation of it. But I dont believe its always correct, just from what I know generally I surmise a big picture easily I guess. I am wrong sometimes, just like everyone - obviously.
I ask because I feel the same things, as far as looking down on people and thinking they're lacking in some way because they don't see things so clearly, but then I realize that I don't actually see things that clearly; what happens is that I skip the details connecting reality to the greater scheme of things. In some cases this can be a good thing, for you reach conclusions that others take a while to reach (investing, oddly enough, seems to be a case where this really works out well); in other cases (for example, trying to figure out how long it will actually take me to get a task done), it's not so great. For sure, but I guess this is almost called Lateral thinking, not so much organised thinking.
A lot of time I have an answer, but to try and explain how I came up with it, I get confused.
Often I will do a sum in my head quickly, give the answer, but forget the sum and how I achieved the answer, like forget what formula I used.
If for instance, my children are behaving badly, I dont often see the bad behaviour, but what causes them to feel angry, sad, agressive etc. My hubby on the other hand just sees the bad behaviour, and doesnt understand at all how they got into that state.
I am way too intense for most people during a converstion, because I am all over the place, one subject will remind me of something and then something and then something, but somehow like 10 mins later, I bring the converstion back around and summarise all my different conversations and how they relate to the original topic. My audience sits there quite confused and saying things like wow, I wouldnt have thought of that, or yeah that makes sense etc.
But Maybe they just want me to shut up.
I can only talk about how I perceive myself, but from the outside looking in, I could be completely different.
Just wondering.
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Do you really see the whole big picture?
I ask because I feel the same things, as far as looking down on people and thinking they're lacking in some way because they don't see things so clearly, but then I realize that I don't actually see things that clearly; what happens is that I skip the details connecting reality to the greater scheme of things. In some cases this can be a good thing, for you reach conclusions that others take a while to reach (investing, oddly enough, seems to be a case where this really works out well); in other cases (for example, trying to figure out how long it will actually take me to get a task done), it's not so great.
Just wondering.
well rae70 i think since people with adhd are treated so badly we begin to think the people who are so mean to use which are in the majority, are the ones that are inferior...I believe that if you don't hold yourself high who is gonna care about you. we respect people who are respectful of us but we dislike people who disrespect us to the point where we subconscioulsy in some cases exagerrate our own sense of pride around them to make use feel our own worth around them. adders and non-adders are like this....everybody is like this. Keep up da pride!!!
as for me i sometime feel like i'm crap but not seriously inferior i just get upset being me....i do suffer from low self esteem sometimes....
Ego, Superiority, and Condescention are in proportion to true feelings of worthlessness and inferiority. There is an inverse relationship.
It's not that complicated.
OpenYourEyes38318.6955092593[QUOTE=OpenYourEyes]Ego, Superiority, and Condescention are in proportion to true feelings of worthlessness and inferiority. There is an inverse relationship.
It's not that complicated.
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Crikeys, you Reckon? I dont agree. I honestly did not feel worthless or inferior at all during that period of my life. I felt guilt for having those emotions, but not worthless or inferior.
I think that is a bit too text book a comment for me to accept.
not unusual,
having superior lateral thinking skills is commonplace for an ADDer.
It's also about creating a false self, a self preservation mechanism to allow you to be accepted as someone, and not a nobody.
Even when I don't act superior to others (which is quite often) I almost always think I am better then them. I always thought this was a character flaw not part of my adhd but maybe it is related after all.I think it had something to do with seeing things very clearly, in my own head, but not be able to express it properly (too many words). For some reason, I have always seen the big picture and have found it excruitiating having to explain things. Rather than blame myself for inability to communicate my ideas I thought the other people were just dumb.
My how I have grown up.
Is this a problem for Adult ADHDers or was it just one of my own challenges in life. Up until my 30th year I had terrible problems, being condesending and acting superior. I felt like most people were pretentious and shallow.
I have learnt that this is not true, but I recently met a 50 year old that is still like this, and I believe to be an ADHDer.
It made me curious as to whether others suffered with this uppityness. 
Is this a problem for Adult ADHDers or was it just one of my own challenges in life. Up until my 30th year I had terrible problems, being condesending and acting superior. I felt like most people were pretentious and shallow.
I have learnt that this is not true, but I recently met a 50 year old that is still like this, and I believe to be an ADHDer.
It made me curious as to whether others suffered with this uppityness.
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I don't know about feeling superior but I definitely got irritated by pretentious and shallow people :) Especially in high school and college.
Most of the times I don't do this because I am fully, FULLY aware that I could end up with egg on my face. It has happened and I realize that I do not know everything and that I could be unpleasantly embarrassed.So, I approach discussions with an "As far as I know..." attitude which seems to go a long way toward making and keeping good relations with people.
HOWEVER...when I am really pissed off (at say someone being snotty to me in public) I do my best to pull out my most condescending behavior and lay it on as thick as Frasier Crane...and then just hope it has the desired effect and that I was able to pull it off. heh heh
I recall one particularly rude law receptionist that was being unnecessarily rude to me on the phone at which point I said, "I'm sorry, what is your name?" "I'm Kim." "Ok and Kimmie, you are just the receptionist, is that correct?"
I only do it if I am REALLY, REALLY pushed and if I think I can get away without any repurcussions. :D
Rae, so how did you solve this problem? Often when people say something I can relate it to something in my own life, that is usually scarier, funnier, more exciting etc. than what they said, and I want to tell about it. I know it comes across as if I am acting superior and "one-upping" people. So I really try to hold my tongue and then I say nothing, and people think I am being a snob. In reality, I am highly critical of myself, and don't think of myself as superior (except to those idiots I have to deal with sometimes ).
[QUOTE=boggled]Rae, so how did you solve this problem?
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It kind of solved it self, Karma perhaps! My daughter nearly died and sustained head injuries in an MVA. This humbled me totally.
I valued everyone after this as someones child, even old people. And valued them for who they are and what they contribute in their own special way.
Also my hubby is a bit 'superiour', and hearing it come from another person made me realise how horrible it sounds, and appears.
Perhaps I think it comes with low self esteem. And I really like myself more these days than back then.
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I don't know about feeling superior but I definitely got irritated by pretentious and shallow people :) Especially in high school and college.
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Yes! That is probably the reason why I get along much better with Men then with Women. That whole phoney thing, say 1 thing to your face, then gossip when you walk away. You know it is really funny, my 6 year old daughter, though a girlee girl, hangs with the boys in her class more then with the girls, has been that way since PreK.
Rae70, I think we have less patience & want to cut the the bull, get to the meat of the problem & fix it, rather then waste time with all the "niceities" .
I have been told that I act condesending at times but I never really have feelings of superiority. I think this is because I am usually pretty quite and stand off-ish in group social settings and this often times gets misread as not wanting to interact because I feel the company is beneath me. I always felt that my feelings of superiority were because, well, heh heh. I am. Rae70- I think it's natural for a person to find faults in others easier than in one's self...especially when frustrated. I can completely relate to your post on how you weren't able to express things properly and, in turn, thought the other people were just dumb