When I was a kid I used to stare into space during school. My grades were fine (because it was an easy school and I was smart enough), but I never could pay attention for very long. Homework was torture because it required strict attention. Especially when I got older and went to a very “prestigious” junior high and high school.
as a kid
In preschool – 6th grades I went to a very progressive hippie school where running around at recess and making God’s Eyes was way more important than, you know, math. So when I got to Fancy School I had no study skills, no note taking skills, no anything skills.
I still remember one of my first days in French class in 7th grade. The teacher had written on the board the conjugation of the verb ‘to be’ and were were all supposed to copy it down. The teacher was walking around the classroom checking our work, and when she got to mine, she was aghast (in a very French way). I had written it all down, sure, but in a different order than she had. I wrote it down randomly! Who does that?
(Here’s a great list of ADHD symptoms so you can see if any of them fit you.)
now
Flash-forward to when I was 45 and filling out an ADHD checklist for one of my kids. I’m checking each box and thinking, “Good God, this is me too!” My son’s psychiatrist referred me to someone who treats adults, and voilà, I have ADHD too and I’ve had it all my life. I take ADHD medication now and my brain is so much happier!
So imagine my surprise at learning on Twitter that there may be a link between ADHD and obesity.
Study suggests that there is a significant association between ADHD and obesity. Further, the behaviors that characterize ADHD could contribute to dis-regulated eating behaviors and a lack of motivation to engage in physical activity. [article]
Wow! That describes me to a T. It never occurred to me to link the two, but then I’m not a scientist.
Do you have ADHD? Does this describe you, your spouse, your kids? How did you get diagnosed? Was it by chance like me? Or were you clever enough to figure it out yourself?
