Sooner or later, after your diagnosis with ADD, whether it’s a long time, or right away, you’ll start to wonder what things are “you”, what things are ADD / ADHD, and what things are something else altogether.
It matters for a lot of different reasons. First, people ADD tend to be more introspective than others. Years of trying to figure out “what is wrong” will do that to you. Second, one can logically expect that things that are due to ADHD will eventually (hopefully) respond to ADD treatments, whether that is Adderall, or Vyvanse, or something else entirely. But, the things that are you, or are otherwise external, would need to be sorted out separately.
What Triggers ADHD and ADD?
Of course, Attention Deficit Disorder (and the more diagnostic, if less accurate Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) are both likely alterations in brain chemistry. These differences in serotonin levels, or whatever, don’t necessarily come and go, so they aren’t actually triggered, per se. However, if you have had ADD for a while, you know that some things seem to make you more focused, and some things are particularly distracting.
But, what about the things that are more subtle?
Can a Room or Lighting Increase ADD and ADHD?
I’ve noticed lately that I seem to wake up tired and groggy. This is normal, and yes, I should figure out how to get more / better sleep. But, after some coffee kicks in, I tend to have gung ho type thoughts in my head: ideas I want to explore, projects to work on, dreams to pursue, that sort of thing. I get the kids ready for school, and on the drive back, things are still on track.
Then, I go down to my office. Lately, that seems to sap all the willpower from me. My time management goes to hell, my procrastination increases. I spend hours just surfing through Twitter, or reading news, or whatever, but nothing productive.
Just this afternoon, it occurred to me.
Could it be my office?
Could it be light? Should it be brighter, darker, different?
Is it the monitor?
Is it the chair?
Is it jealousy for the cat sleeping 20 hours a day in a little square pillow bed?
The truly weird part is that I’ve been thinking this all day, and yet, I haven’t tried going anywhere else. My mind rebels at the thought.
“No. I like my office. I want to be in it. I want to sit there, in that light, looking at that computer.”
I guess tonight, when I’m not in the office, I’ll setup my work to occur somewhere else to see if things go any different. If so, I’ll try some self-experimentation to see if I can isolate the issue.
Either way, I need to do something. My productivity has been absolute crap this whole week, and Friday is tomorrow.
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