I think it's something that comes naturally, as coping mechanism, when you have ADD/ADHD, because it's a way to compensate. But that doesn't mean other people can't learn to do it -- it's just something that most unaffected brains don't learn on their own. They don't need to, really. The impetus for it isn't there.
That said, on a completely layman's level, I think the way our brains work is a lot more fluid than we realize. On a simple level, there's the fact that just about any of the more common 'mental illnesses' have symptoms that any person will experience at some point in their life: sadness, isolation, anxiety, nightmares, racing thoughts... and the boundary of what makes it a disorder is where it affects someone's life to the degree that they're never free of it, or their quality of life is so negated by it, that the state becomes oppressive. That also makes it rough on people who are in that unending state, because unaffected people will scoff with, "oh, but I have days when I feel down, too, and I get over it, so you should, too." You'd think it'd create more compassion, but it creates less.
I mention that fluidity because a few years back there was a major long-term study released where researchers had been tracking children of diagnosed major manic-depressives. In early childhood, the children showed no symptoms, but by early adulthood, the majority of children were, themselves, exhibiting symptoms almost identical to the affected parent. Children of the same parent who were not raised in the same house with the affected parent (divorced families, split-up twins, etc) did not show the symptoms at all. The conclusion was that on some level, the bipolar state was learned -- and the result was that these children now were facing the same treatment and medication and behavioral problems as the affected parent! Talk about the power of nurture over nature, y'know?
So I suspect, again completely as a layman, that it's possible your mother learned the skill somewhere, and that you in turn may've learned it from her. It seems reasonable to me, as the skill isn't really one that's hard-wired into the brain per se (okay, hard-wired if you have certain chemistry that makes the overcompensation necessary).
Of course, this is also what makes diagnosing the more fluid/intangible disorders (like ADD/ADHD) really difficult. In children, it's a case of "could it be a phase? could it be the influence of some unruly friends?" and in adults, it's a case of even noticing the source of what, to the adult, is just The Way It Is. I mean, I only think about the processing in my brain because I've spent a lifetime attuned to my patterns as part of coping with it and trying to predict when things will go bad, to do what I can to prevent the ADD from spiraling into depression. But most people don't, so that lack of self-attention results in knowing skills or showing behaviors and never paying it mind -- you just do things, and it takes a touch of hypochondria to make you wonder whether this is a good thing for you to know.
So I figure you just happened to learn it second-hand, if you have that skill but no other symptoms. But that doesn't mean I still would think (if I were in your shoes) that it's not worth knowing more, or being aware, to be able to use it to your advantage, if that's possible -- or at the very least, to know the paths to break free of the hyperfocus to make sure it doesn't end up using you, instead.
no subject
Date: 12 Jun 2010 02:46 pm (UTC)That said, on a completely layman's level, I think the way our brains work is a lot more fluid than we realize. On a simple level, there's the fact that just about any of the more common 'mental illnesses' have symptoms that any person will experience at some point in their life: sadness, isolation, anxiety, nightmares, racing thoughts... and the boundary of what makes it a disorder is where it affects someone's life to the degree that they're never free of it, or their quality of life is so negated by it, that the state becomes oppressive. That also makes it rough on people who are in that unending state, because unaffected people will scoff with, "oh, but I have days when I feel down, too, and I get over it, so you should, too." You'd think it'd create more compassion, but it creates less.
I mention that fluidity because a few years back there was a major long-term study released where researchers had been tracking children of diagnosed major manic-depressives. In early childhood, the children showed no symptoms, but by early adulthood, the majority of children were, themselves, exhibiting symptoms almost identical to the affected parent. Children of the same parent who were not raised in the same house with the affected parent (divorced families, split-up twins, etc) did not show the symptoms at all. The conclusion was that on some level, the bipolar state was learned -- and the result was that these children now were facing the same treatment and medication and behavioral problems as the affected parent! Talk about the power of nurture over nature, y'know?
So I suspect, again completely as a layman, that it's possible your mother learned the skill somewhere, and that you in turn may've learned it from her. It seems reasonable to me, as the skill isn't really one that's hard-wired into the brain per se (okay, hard-wired if you have certain chemistry that makes the overcompensation necessary).
Of course, this is also what makes diagnosing the more fluid/intangible disorders (like ADD/ADHD) really difficult. In children, it's a case of "could it be a phase? could it be the influence of some unruly friends?" and in adults, it's a case of even noticing the source of what, to the adult, is just The Way It Is. I mean, I only think about the processing in my brain because I've spent a lifetime attuned to my patterns as part of coping with it and trying to predict when things will go bad, to do what I can to prevent the ADD from spiraling into depression. But most people don't, so that lack of self-attention results in knowing skills or showing behaviors and never paying it mind -- you just do things, and it takes a touch of hypochondria to make you wonder whether this is a good thing for you to know.
So I figure you just happened to learn it second-hand, if you have that skill but no other symptoms. But that doesn't mean I still would think (if I were in your shoes) that it's not worth knowing more, or being aware, to be able to use it to your advantage, if that's possible -- or at the very least, to know the paths to break free of the hyperfocus to make sure it doesn't end up using you, instead.