The Many Opposites of ADHD

Confusing Criteria
I believe much of the criteria used to diagnose ADD (like DSM IV) are quite confused and poorly defined. Even the name Attention Deficit is quite bizarre, when for some the problem is often an excess of attention - hyper-focus. I also dislike the disorder label too. Many of the wiser scientists and researchers define ADD as a mis-regulation of attention, which is better but still not on the money for me. I see people with ADD as being neurologically less-controlled, not necessarily a bad thing either. But this lower control of the brain means wider variation in which parts of the bain are dominant, which parts are more active and which parts are under-active. So many people with ADD show behaviours at opposite extremes, some are hyper-active physically, some not at all, some struggle with focus, some not at all. But the tricky thing with ADD is that many people move from one extreme to another, sometimes distracted, sometimes hyper-focused depending on the subject of interest (or boredom).



Opposites
There seem to be many axis where an ADDer may find themselves at either end of a scale, sometimes fixed there and sometimes moving from one end to the other. My ADD girlfriend is so different from me that sometimes I'm amazed we have the same "disorder", we are opposites on some ADD traits but share many ADD too. Here is a short table of these opposite traits, with the more energetic, mainly positive traits on the right. These traits may correspond in part to the categories of hyperactive/inattentive but overall there is little correlation:

Quiet Mind	<----------->	Busy Mind
Tired/lethargic	<----------->	Lots of energy
Difficult to activate	<----------->	Loves new tasks
Quiet	<----------->	Talkative
Bored often	<----------->	Seldom bored
Controlled	<----------->	Impulsive
Hyper-focussed	<----------->	Unable to concentrate
Day dreams	<----------->	Seldom dreams, seeks external input
Depressed, negative	<----------->	Happy, positive
Poor self-esteem	<----------->	Good self-esteem
More adherence to rules	<----------->	Less adherence to rules
Procrastinates	<----------->	Rushes tasks
Tendency to cannabis addiction	<----------->	Tendency to alcohol, cocaine addiction
No ability to plan, envision own future	<----------->	Plans ahead, sets goals
Poor time sense	<----------->	Good time sense (how long things take)
Forgets past	<----------->	Remembers past
Creative, right brained	<----------->	Logical, left brained

Every ADHD Adult is different and the same

I tend to consider myself inattentive, primarily because I have low activation, quiet mind, poor motivation, boredom, low mood and tend to procrastinate. But then I am talkative, never day-dream (but always read, watch tv, talk etc) and I am impulsive (just less obviously impulsive than if I was very energetic). I think many ADDers, if they put themselves on these axis would not fit neatly on either side either. All ADD traits seem to come from differences in Executive Functions and dopamine regulation across the brain, though ADD life with low activation, energy and procrastination is probably more due to issues with nor-epinephrine.

What is interesting about these opposites as it (1) Explains pretty clearly why people are confused by ADD due to such poor definition and categorisation by the DSM etc (2) Shows how ADD traits can lead to both severe problems as well as amazing gifts. If you are bored, impulsive and depressed, life may be very hard indeed but if you are hyper-active, creative and break-rules then you may be a pretty successful entrepreneur or inventor. Every adult with ADHD is similar yet each is very different...