Brain Integration Blog

I recently wrote about the clearing of my ADD in my Math blog. A conversation ensued over a comment by Terry that “ADD can be a blessing at times.” I asked when that was the case. Later in the comment thread Terry made this interesting statement: “It could be the case that without ADD some people would have no drive…”

Terry’s comment got me to thinking. I’ve had many experiences in my life that were driven by the excitement of learning new things, of living a full life, of healing from my painful upbringing. Had I not been ADD would I not have had those experiences? Would I have been a depressed lump? I don’t know. I certainly don’t believe that people need to be ADD to have a large number of diverse interests. What I do know from my personal experience is that needing stimulation to keep my brain functioning led me to have many shallow experiences. What I miss about my childhood and most of my adulthood, looking back, is that while I developed a very keen sense of the gestalt (big picture) I did that largely at the expense of not going deep. I wonder if I had not needed the stimulation if I would have learned to play a musical instrument, learned to do home repairs, become an accomplished ballroom dancer, or have learned any of dozens of things that I could only have learned with a sustained level of focus. Yes, I can learn these things now, but I feel the loss of not having been able to then.

My guess is that drive can originate from different places. One source of drive springs from a wonder about life, a desire to learn new things, and to grow. Another source of drive is from the need to avoid pain and discomfort. If being still and feeling what I feel hurts too much then I’m likely to want to distract myself from my feelings and being overly active accomplishes that well. A third source of drive is the classic ADD need to stimulate one’s brain by any means possible.

My drive to have many experiences has stemmed from all three sources. I’ve always been an aware human being, drawn to experiences that would help me to understand myself better. And, I grew up in a home that did not support having or expressing feelings. I don’t remember any particular trauma but it makes sense to me that I shut off some part of my brain early in life to avoid emotional pain and, in doing so, I shut off cognitive functioning to some extent as well. That explains why, once the brain’s pathways were all opened up again, both my emotional and cognitive selves “woke up.”

So, my answer to Terry is, if you believe that someone needs to have ADD to have any drive at all then I would clear the ADD anyway, over your objection, and then find out what other factors, if any, are contributing to the low drive. The “side effects” of ADD are too painful to just casually accept in the name of “having a drive.” I bet that people who are cured of ADD still have drive. I do.

Consider, also, that drive may look different in different people. My drive now is less “Type A” than it was before. I’m calmer, don’t need to rev up my brain to get things done, and don’t need to accomplish everything on my list to feel good about myself. I can take breaks from my “drive” when I want to now, and just sit and meditate. I couldn’t stand doing nothing before. Now I really enjoy slowing down and being aware of my body, my feelings, and of my surroundings.

Life without ADD is nice and I don’t think you’ll become a lump if you try it. But, I warn you, if you get rid of your ADD with Brain Integration Technique than you can’t go back. So, if you want just a temporary experience of being ADD-free then you might want to try prescription drugs instead.