Alien Keeping Records | ADHD Information

 

I talked to an add specialist when i started to become interested in getting my add under control.

One of the suggestions was to imagine that i was an alien coming to visit and to try to write new information i learned about the "normal" behavior of others "on this planet" in an imaginary notebook.  it was suggested that i try to "write down" 10 things every hour.

this is one of those things that - of course - i would NEVER admit to the outside world ... and i realize that this sounds really childish since we're all adults here but in some ways it was helpful and nternally funny at the same time - so i thought i'd share. 

 

Another part of this was to make it like a GAME (that i never told anyone else about) and to try to see if i could fool people into thinking i was one of them ...

if i could, i won the game - if not, try again 

Ummm.... wow..... I don't think I could pull that off.

I mean... we have tried our whole lives to be normal, haven't we? It hasn't worked for me. You say this actually helped you?
[Quote=Yellowdog]there are so many "unspoken" rules that i missed for so much of my life and with regard to the ones i did pick up on and just didn't like - in the grand scheme of things, in my opinion, not all of them were worth 'fighting' about ... [/quote]

I like the "game" you described for learning some of the more "normal" behaviors. I personally think it would work better for me if I actually wrote/typed them down.

I definitely agree about those "not worth fighting for."   How "normal" do I really want to be?   It would be ideal if I could successfully find a balance between those behaviors/characteristics I never learned, yet yearn to learn, and those characteristics of being ADHD that I don't want to lose. Excellent!   However, if I found that those I wanted to keep (but perhaps lose while on meds), outweighed those "new" to me, I may opt to not take meds, and do my best to learn new behaviors without.GypsyWomyn38434.594837963

 

yes, it helped.  i've also been prescribed a medication which may help but frankly there was a lot of the obvious that i had been missing.

for example, the hierarchy - we're supposedly very egalitarian but in fact are expected to treat different levels of the hierarchy very differently - and people can have status for different reasons - some people are married to other people, some have old money, some have just been at the place a long time, and other unspoken rules - people say they want feedback but really they don't, etc., etc.

there are so many "unspoken" rules that i missed for so much of my life and with regard to the ones i did pick up on and just didn't like - in the grand scheme of things, in my opinion, not all of them were worth 'fighting' about ...

The "unspoken" rules I think are what I have the most trouble with. Never knowing when or what to say, and at what time, etc. Blech..

I think the meds are probably helping you to notice social cues a little more. ADDers are infamous for missing this crucial information, which is why relationships are so hard for us, in general. The "playing an alien" thing is obviously just meant for you to learn these cues.

Okay, it makes more sense now. I didn't mean to sound so incredulous.