Tuesday, April 13, 2010

I Have Attention Deficit Disorder and Breakfast Desire Disorder


My friend recently started a blog. She once said that there wasn’t anything that she thought other people would want to read that she had to say. I thought in my head how sad it was that someone would say that or at least not think they had things to talk about that mattered. I suppose a lot of people don’t have anything good to say or wise to pass on to other people. I think of guys in the weight room that I’ve been working out next to for the past 2 months. Meatheads I call them and I judge them.

I judge people that say they have ADD too. When someone says that they have ADD I’m always like ‘oh really.’ Not that I think that someone that has ADD is stupid for not being able to pay attention but, rather, I don’t even believe that it is a real disorder any more than liking to have breakfast in the morning or a man playing video games.

"The symptoms of ADHD include inattention and/or hyperactivity and impulsivity. These are traits that most children display at some point or another. But with ADHD, which stands for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, or what was referred to as ADD -- attention deficit disorder -- the symptoms are inappropriate for the child's age.
ADHD is common in children and teens. But adults also can have ADHD. With ADHD in adults, there may be some variation in symptoms. For instance, an adult may experience restlessness instead of hyperactivity. In addition, adults with ADHD consistently have problems with interpersonal relationships and employment."  (WebMD.com)

If ADHD is common in children, then it’s not a disorder but rather an order.  And being hyperactive is a symptom of being a child regardless of age.

People always ask me if I’ve ever been diagnosed with ADD or ADHD and I tell them no. My parents knew that I had a lot of energy as a kid and so my father used to tell me to calm down and if I didn’t he would punish me. He would make us kids sit on the couch for 20 minutes and we weren’t allowed to move. My mom yelled “go outside” to us kids more times than I can count. If you think you have ADD, going and playing outside is something that can “cure” you.

I want to think about what it means if someone has ADD. Attention deficit disorder. Now it’s true that kids might have a problem paying attention, sitting still, or even focusing on doing work, but the second you say that they have a disorder they immediately think that how they’re acting is okay when it’s not. It’s like being addicted to something and justifying your addiction by saying you have an addictive personality. News flash…everyone has an addictive personality.  What I mean is that if you tell a child to sit still and pay attention, they think in their minds either that they don’t have to because they can’t because of their disorder or that they shouldn’t have to because of their disorder. Give that same child some awesome toy they’ll have no trouble keeping their attention on it for hours.

If a child has ADD what is it that they usually have trouble paying attention to…is it video games, or playing a soccer game…no it isn’t. It’s usually sitting down and doing work, or doing something that the child doesn’t want to do that requires discipline. If they have an attention disorder wouldn’t it reason that they have trouble paying attention to everything…I mean it is a disorder, right?

There are some things that can cure “ADD” very quickly. Punishment, activity, and love. The first one usually applies to a developing child. You need to make sure your kid is active, you need to explain and show your child you love them and you need to punish them with spanking them if they don’t behave.  If you don’t believe me that activity is a cure for ADD read this article. It’s so obvious it’s stupid.

Things to read:


Things to think about:

-Take her on a date...even if you're scared to ask
-The WePad vs. the iPad
-Is taking medicine for disorders a cop out?

Saturday, April 10, 2010

I Don't Know if I'm More Skinny or More Crazy

It’s unbelievably hard not to believe the things that people say about you.  Not only that, but you almost become the thing that people say that you are, regardless of whether or not you want to. You know what I’m talking about. Someone constantly telling you that you’re great or that you’re stupid or that you’re ugly or that you have a funny laugh, or that you’re an airhead. You can’t not believe these things that people say about you because they are true. If they weren’t true they wouldn’t say them.

 It is weird the things that people chose to say to you. There are things that people say to me that I don’t necessary think to be true but because people say them so many times, I just assume that they are true regardless of my feelings.

People tell me all the time how skinny I am. I don’t think that I’m that skinny because I see people and a lot of people are more skinny than me, but I know that I am skinny because so many people tell me. So I started to change what my definition of skinny looks like to where I now fit into this definition.

There are other things that people say about me that I have total instant control over, like how crazy I am. People tell me that I’m crazy…they say things like “dude, you’re crazy,” “HAHA, you’re crazy,” “well I’m not crazy like you,” “Page you’re crazy.” Again I don’t believe I’m that crazy and so I have changed my definition of crazy to allow room for me and my actions to fit into this definition. I will admit that I’m a little more animated than a lot of people that I come into contact with and maybe a little more passionate.
But I don’t want to talk about me or why I’m crazy any more than trying to understand why it is that we do the things that we do. I’ll try to explain with my example of being crazy how I think what people say about us affects us.

The cycle looks a little bit like this. I do something, people say that I’m crazy, I like that people think that of me, and so I do more things throughout my life that line up with what I think to be crazy. I then take the positive feedback along with the negative and change my actions accordingly to meet the expectations of others while still staying true to who I am as a person. 

So what is it that people say about you that has changed the way that you are as a person?  Maybe you have done some mooching and now people call you a mooch. Now you’re in your friends kitchen about to take something to eat that isn’t yours and you tell yourself…well, I am a mooch.
Or maybe people have always told you that you are quiet and since you are quiet you have come to think that this is who you are and that you’re defined by this characteristic that you have. And you think that you shouldn’t speak up and say something because people aren’t going to hear what you actually say, but rather focus on that you said anything.

It’s okay to be certain things that people think about you. Rather than being who people think that you are, think about what it is that you want to be and start to change yourself to be that thing. If you’re tired of being quiet, pick the right times and speak your mind. If you hate your laugh and people have always told you it’s annoying, change the way that you laugh to something that you like a lot better.
If you’re an airhead and you don’t like that, start reading more books and talking to people about deep subjects and you’ll slowly become less of an airhead.

People might tell you that if change things about yourself that you’re being fake but I just want to tell you that you aren’t being fake by changing who you are anymore than you are being fake by holding your tongue when you shouldn’t say something to someone that will hurt their feelings, especially if people have always told you that you are so honest and blunt. Holding your tongue for the sake of someone else’s feelings isn’t fake but rather responsible and admirable.

I always hear people say that I shouldn’t tell people to change because I’m not letting them be true to who they are. I would argue that no one is true to who they are so you should always change for the better. Stop being the crappy person that you are, figure out what it is that God doesn’t like about you and change it. We’re all a product of our culture, some more than others, but just because you’re a product of it doesn’t mean that you have to act like it. love. war. 


Things to think about:

-Tiger Woods is actually sorry
-Techno music
-Does pornography have any positive affects? Does it?

Things to read:

Things to watch:


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