Adult ADD – or Multi-tasking Overload?
When I was diagnosed with adult ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder,) I shouldn't have been too surprised. After all, I've worked in fifteen different lines of work over the years! At this moment, my computer screen has five different programs running, and ten tabs in two different web browsers open. Laundry is running in the basement, there's an ongoing project in the dining room, and I'm putting together my new camera so I can take product photos for my online businesses. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I know I have more to do, but trying to remember them is stressing me out!
It's a multi-tasking world out there. Employers demand it, and the pattern is creeping into our homes like an epidemic. Television is a perfect example. Scenes shift by the minute, and commercial breaks are a rapid fire sequence of loud and hurried advertisements. Even more distractions come during the show, as pop-ups remind us to watch something else, or go online to see the latest webisode. We won't even start on kids' programming! Is it any wonder that focus is a challenge? I can feel my attention span dwindling by the minute!
Now that I think about it, I have been mis-diagnosed. What I suffer from is not ADD, it's AED – Attention Excess Disorder! There are just too many things demanding my attention!
Maybe you, too, suffer from AED! The multi-demands you juggle each day may have already changed the way you do everything else. Are you interested in nearly everything? Do you crave stimulation and information? Do you have too many favorites to count? Are you a collector of things, people, and experiences? You're not scatterbrained, you're just a victim of multi-tasking!
No one knows if there is a cure for AED*, but you can learn to live with it. So, if your thoughts are all over the map, don't fight it – just travel the world and enjoy the ride!
*AED is a fictional disorder. Please do not ask your doctor to prescribe medication for this condition.
