# Do you have ADD?



## Aquaponics (May 18, 2014)

Hi! 

Lately I've been reading a lot about MBTI and I improved my global comprehension of the system, and it got me thinking about something. I'm an ENFP and my brother is ExxP, we both have a *huge * ADD (he has it with hyperactivity). I also have a ESTP friend who has ADHD, he's been medicated for a while. Another friend of mine, a girl, has ADD and she's ISFJ, her ADD is not as 'wild' (she's really quiet) as mine or my brother's but still, she takes omega supplements and has been diagnosed with ADD.

Now my thought is, is ADD related to an invasive Perceving dom function, mostly Ne and Se? I asked people who take medication because of ADD and why they need it : they get bored easily, can't focus on only one thing, the sounds around them bother them, they can't disconnect themselves from their environnement, they have to do something... Ne/Se much?
This is wikipedia 'symptoms' of ADD :

-Be easily distracted, miss details, forget things, and frequently switch from one activity to another
-Have difficulty maintaining focus on one task
-Become bored with a task after only a few minutes, unless doing something enjoyable
-Have difficulty focusing attention on organizing and completing a task or learning something new
-Have trouble completing or turning in homework assignments, often losing things (e.g., pencils, toys, assignments) needed to complete tasks or activities
-Not seem to listen when spoken to
-Daydream, become easily confused, and move slowly
-Struggle to follow instructions

That really sounds to me like invasive Ne. It's known that Ne dom people might have troubles with established, learned order and ADD often comes with 'Oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) and conduct disorder (CD) antisocial behaviors such as stubbornness, aggression, lying, stealing etc. 

So, do you have a ADD? ADHD? do you take medication, how do you live with it, how would you describe it? What's your MBTI type? I ask this because I'm curious and well, the pathophysiology of ADD still is unclear to 'society' :tongue:


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## badwolf (Jun 17, 2012)

INTJ, do not have ADD.


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## Aquaponics (May 18, 2014)

Thank you! Anyone else?


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## GundamChao (Jun 17, 2014)

I can't speak for our fellow Ne Dom, but I'm an ENFP without ADD. The few people I have known with ADD were not ENxPs.

Hope this helps!


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## DeadlyRefridgerator (Jun 4, 2013)

tldr


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## sarek (May 20, 2010)

I am INFP, 952 tritype with ADD inattentive (or possibly ADD combined). Minor aspie traits also suspected.


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## Toru Okada (May 10, 2011)

definitely more than likely. please click the indifferent face icon below my avatar for type so I don't feel like an ass for having to mention my type


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## He's a Superhero! (May 1, 2013)

@Hare, your post was too long for me..


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## JTHearts (Aug 6, 2013)

ESFJ and nope, I'm about the furthest possible from ADD. If there was something called "Too easily focused on one task and unable to be distracted" I would definitely have that.


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## Bugs (May 13, 2014)

ENTP and I was told in school years ago that I had ADD. I honestly just found school boring. I could easily focus on something that caught my interest.


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## Agelastos (Jun 1, 2014)

INTP. I might have ADD (I've gotten so many erroneous diagnoses over the years, I've pretty much lost all faith in psychiatry).
Then again, I might just be an INTP... :tongue:



Bugs said:


> ENTP and I was told in school years ago that I had ADD. I honestly just found school boring. I could easily focus on something that caught my interest.


Most people with ADD can still focus if they find the subject sufficiently interesting.


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## Bugs (May 13, 2014)

Agelastos said:


> INTP. I might have ADD (I've gotten so many erroneous diagnoses over the years, I've pretty much lost all faith in psychiatry).
> Then again, I might just be an INTP... :tongue:
> 
> 
> ...


I just find ADD and ADHD mostly bullshit.


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## Agelastos (Jun 1, 2014)

Bugs said:


> I just find ADD and ADHD mostly bullshit.


I tend to agree.


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## Desiderium (Jan 31, 2014)

ISFP, no.


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## Harizu (Apr 27, 2014)

Bugs said:


> ENTP and I was told in school years ago that I had ADD. I honestly just found school boring. I could easily focus on something that caught my interest.


That is not uncommon for people wuith ADD, but there was a huge overdiagnosis of ADD back in the 90s and still there is now, no one can truly say if you was misdiagnosed or not I guess.

I was diagnosed with ADD (without hyperactivity). I was also diagnosed with Asperger's when I was 13 but I don't think I have it. I was also diagnosed with ODD and that's weird because people who have ADD without hyperactivity usually don't have ODD.


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## RaeMarieH (Feb 19, 2013)

Hare said:


> Hi!
> 
> Lately I've been reading a lot about MBTI and I improved my global comprehension of the system, and it got me thinking about something. I'm an ENFP and my brother is ExxP, we both have a *huge * ADD (he has it with hyperactivity). I also have a ESTP friend who has ADHD, he's been medicated for a while. Another friend of mine, a girl, has ADD and she's ISFJ, her ADD is not as 'wild' (she's really quiet) as mine or my brother's but still, she takes omega supplements and has been diagnosed with ADD.
> 
> ...


I have ADD, oh goodness. It's pretty horrible.. I did have medication for it but I never took it.. But I'm still okay in school, its very true that we can do very well in school with ADD. Our brain is just lazy! ADD to me is like having a lazy brain. My MBTI type is INFP. :wink:
I relate to every ADD trait you listed from Wikipedia.


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## Aquaponics (May 18, 2014)

Thank you all for your answers!
I agree with you guys, IMO ADD is bullshit and I told every psychologist that I would not change the way I am by taking medication.


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## telepariah (Jun 20, 2011)

INFP, 9w1 diagnosed with ADD by psychiatrist two years ago at age 55. It explains my whole life. I don't have time to go into it right now, but I will add that Dr. Gabor Mate's work on ADD and ADHD makes more sense to me than anything else and matches up with the experiences I had in early life. I have a little hyperactivity but more likely inattentive type. I self medicate with weed but refuse to take stimulants. I'm now trying to find activities where it's not a disadvantage and set myself up for success rather than the serial failure that has marked my many careers up to this point. People can say it's bullshit and people can say it's genetic. But until they have walked in my shoes they will never know what it's like to be somebody like me.


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## Aquamarine (Jul 24, 2011)

INTP, yes!


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## Harizu (Apr 27, 2014)

Hare said:


> Thank you all for your answers!
> I agree with you guys, IMO ADD is bullshit and I told every psychologist that I would not change the way I am by taking medication.


I'm lucky my med is a natural one that doesn't give me weird side effects. My parents, unlike many dumb parents of kids who are diagnosed with ADD, never gave me ritalin or such crappy meds.
A suggestion for anyone with ADD: if you want to improve, use natural remedies, try to change your diet and take up a sport. Don't take ritalin or meds like that. They destroy people.


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## Kyro (May 26, 2014)

INTP, and I used to think so.

For a while I had thought I had ADD, but it turns out those are just qualities of a student in the program (the gifted program.) 

I've also heard reports of misdiagnosed children who have been put with ADD medication and had been taken out of school for that, turns out they were just gifted. Usually gifted students get confused for having ADD. I don't know what differenciates us from child ADD patients.


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## selchiechildofcassandra (Feb 23, 2010)

@Hare,

INFJ, dx-ed inattentive ADD. 

Of officially dx-ed and MBTI-typed, I know:
1 INFJ with mixed ADHD
1 ENFJ with inattentive ADHD
2 ESFJs, 1 w/mixed ADHD, the other with primarily hyperactive ADHD

All female, all five of us were dx-ed from our 20's to 40's. (Can relate to @telepariah - it explained a lot, and in that way, was a considerable relief.)


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## random777 (Jul 10, 2014)

Infp - add


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## Aquaponics (May 18, 2014)

Thanks again for your answers! @dandere what do you mean by 'gifted' program?


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## champion god flow (Jul 10, 2014)

ENTP and I was diagnosed with it as a kid. I can't remember exactly which type though. I'm going to see a doctor about being put back on medication soon, because it definitely still affects me.


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## Harizu (Apr 27, 2014)

dandere said:


> it turns out those are just qualities of a student in the program (the gifted program.)


lulz, nope.
It's very improbable that someone with actual ADD can be in the gifted program.
People with ADD can be very good at some subject, but will definitely suck at others. There's no way out.
I'm not in the gifted program. Why? Because while I am very good at algebra, latin and some natural sciences my general GPA is lowered by literature, geometry, physics, history, chemistry and philosophy. I will never be able to access the gifted program because of that.
My father was very good at math and PE, but never accessed the gifted program because he sucked at literature. He has ADD as well.
My uncle was excellent at PE and math, but he sucked at all the other subjects. He never accessed the gifted program. He has ADD as well.
ADD hardly ever comes alone: you could say it never does. It usually comes with dyslexia, dyscalculia or dysgraphia symptoms as well. The only way one can cope with it is by finding out the way in which one learns better and stick to that way. I learned in which way I can learn better and I stick to it. But of course, this doesn't mean my literature grades have gone from F to A. But I can get Ds and even Cs at times now.



dandere said:


> I don't know what differenciates us from child ADD patients.


You have to research the neurological characteristics.
People with actual ADD, for example, react differently to caffeine than most people. When I drink tea or coffee I don't feel energized. I actually feel sleepy. This is because caffeine has the opposite effect on people with ADD/ADHD.
And anyway a brain scan should pretty much remove any doubt.


I am not "gifted" but I was told I am "talented". The main difference between the two should be that gifted people can focus their minds on almost everything while talented people can do that only on a restricted area of subjects. At least that is what was explained to me: the difference is not in the IQ but in the way one can apply to things.

And anyway gifted=/=ADHD.


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## Kyro (May 26, 2014)

Harizu said:


> lulz, nope.
> It's very improbable that someone with actual ADD can be in the gifted program.
> People with ADD can be very good at some subject, but will definitely suck at others. There's no way out.
> I'm not in the gifted program. Why? Because while I am very good at algebra, latin and some natural sciences my general GPA is lowered by literature, geometry, physics, history, chemistry and philosophy. I will never be able to access the gifted program because of that.
> ...



I do know gifted does not equal ADHD, but gifted kids aren't generally more academically talented I assure you. I'd rather be talented. And I don't know how it is in other parts of the world, but in Canada, most gifted kids are good at one thing or the other that stands out. 


The gifted test is based on IQ, and not on what subjects you excel at, that may be why your relatives didn't get in.


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## Kyro (May 26, 2014)

Just to add, my ENTP friend has ADD.


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## Hollow Man (Aug 12, 2011)

May be an ISFJ, not really positive on that. I have ADD, I believe. The more passive kind that isn't as reactive/hyperactive. I am not on any meds for it. Never have been specifically for that.


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## Harizu (Apr 27, 2014)

dandere said:


> The gifted test is based on IQ, and not on what subjects you excel at, that may be why your relatives didn't get in.


Where I live is based only on how many subjects you excel at, therefore your general GPA.
What I meant is that I was told that there is no difference in the IQ that tells whether you are gifted or talented. The difference is in what you can apply your mind on.
My IQ is around 121 (or at least so it was the last time I got tested, that was almost three years ago); in my same class there is a kid with the same IQ as mine that is gifted. He excels at everything.


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## SweetPickles (Mar 19, 2012)

INFP and YES!


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## Kyro (May 26, 2014)

Harizu:8558106 said:


> dandere said:
> 
> 
> > The gifted test is based on IQ, and not on what subjects you excel at, that may be why your relatives didn't get in.
> ...


I haven't excelled in everything, but I'm gifted and have the IQ of 147. 

The gifted program in Canada, or where I live, separates all the gifted kids and puts them into one class. 

A lot of the people in my class were once delinquents but still identify as gifted.


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## intjonn (Apr 20, 2013)

I only go add with stuff that doesn't hold my attention.........


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## Harizu (Apr 27, 2014)

dandere said:


> I haven't excelled in everything, but I'm gifted and have the IQ of 147.
> 
> The gifted program in Canada, or where I live, separates all the gifted kids and puts them into one class.


Here it works completely differently.
First of all, the gifted kids aren't separated from the other kids; they are in the same classroom but are given different tasks (more specific, difficult ones).
Then whether or not you can be put in the gifted program doesn't depend on your IQ but it only depends on your general GPA. I have a friend whose IQ is around 100 (the norm) but she is in the gifted program anyway because she studies a lot and is very good at focusing and memorizing concepts.


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## Kyro (May 26, 2014)

Harizu said:


> Here it works completely differently.
> First of all, the gifted kids aren't separated from the other kids; they are in the same classroom but are given different tasks (more specific, difficult ones).
> Then whether or not you can be put in the gifted program doesn't depend on your IQ but it only depends on your general GPA. I have a friend whose IQ is around 100 (the norm) but she is in the gifted program anyway because she studies a lot and is very good at focusing and memorizing concepts.


In my opinion, that's a pretty shitty concept. It could be because it's different here, but it seems unfair and overall just incorrect over where you are.

It seems they are confusing 'gifted' and 'bright'. 

Bright kids are the ones who get all the grades, the perfect students, they can do all the hardest assignments and ace them all.

Bright kids are usually confused as gifted because gifted kids learn 'faster'. 

That's associated with intelligence, when it shouldn't be. 

The special-education kids (ones with mental illness, e.g autism) learn slower. The gifted kids learn faster. 

So, gifted kids aren't all geniuses, they just learn with an unhealthy speed. Which is also somehow associated with our IQ. We're seperated because they need to teach us how to control our learning speed.

Before, they hadn't figured all that ^^ out. So they made gifted kids skip grades, do harder tasks, etc. Which was wrong.


The supposed gifted kids in your class are bright, not gifted.


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## tanstaafl28 (Sep 10, 2012)

ENTP - Diagnosed ADHD, combined type. I take medication to smooth some of the 'rough edges.' Age and experience have also proven helpful in managing my symptoms. After hitting the same wall a hundred times (or so) even I can learn to make some adjustments. 

:tongue:


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## Toru Okada (May 10, 2011)

telepariah said:


> INFP, 9w1 diagnosed with ADD by psychiatrist two years ago at age 55. It explains my whole life. I don't have time to go into it right now, but I will add that Dr. Gabor Mate's work on ADD and ADHD makes more sense to me than anything else and matches up with the experiences I had in early life. I have a little hyperactivity but more likely inattentive type. I self medicate with weed but refuse to take stimulants. I'm now trying to find activities where it's not a disadvantage and set myself up for success rather than the serial failure that has marked my many careers up to this point. People can say it's bullshit and people can say it's genetic. But until they have walked in my shoes they will never know what it's like to be somebody like me.


Well said. Do you feel more focused after smoking? It does it for me. It also seems to help my existential depression and insomnia, but it's probably stomping my short-term memory (which is already poor).


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## telepariah (Jun 20, 2011)

At the small doses I use, yes, weed does help me focus. If I smoke it to get high, not so much. I take on average two puffs a day or less. Keep your tolerance low and it is also far cheaper than any other medicine. And it definitely helps my anxiety and sleep problems, as well as dealing with chronic nerve pain in my face and head from trigeminal and occipital neuralgias.


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## Harizu (Apr 27, 2014)

dandere said:


> In my opinion, that's a pretty shitty concept. It could be because it's different here, but it seems unfair and overall just incorrect over where you are.
> 
> It seems they are confusing 'gifted' and 'bright'.
> 
> ...


Yeah, I think so as well. This is why I hate the school system in my area. They don't take into account the different learning speed of the students and don't even take into account the ways in which each student learns better. Except some good teachers, most teachers only leave open the option of learning through words, and that's good for people who think in words, but I don't. I think in pictures, sounds and symbols, this is why I have a hard time with subjects like history and philosophy. There are a lot of kids like me and the teachers just can't realize it and label them as "problematic", "lazy" or "defiant".


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## Kyro (May 26, 2014)

Harizu said:


> Yeah, I think so as well. This is why I hate the school system in my area. They don't take into account the different learning speed of the students and don't even take into account the ways in which each student learns better. Except some good teachers, most teachers only leave open the option of learning through words, and that's good for people who think in words, but I don't. I think in pictures, sounds and symbols, this is why I have a hard time with subjects like history and philosophy. There are a lot of kids like me and the teachers just can't realize it and label them as "problematic", "lazy" or "defiant".



In the gifted program in my area, we mainly learn orally. Pictures, symbols, sounds are not as mentally stimulating for us. Except, we need to be intrigued, and that's why we got separated from the normal classes. We found those classes boring. The teachers had correlated that with giftedness, and sometimes it's true. I hated my normal classes, it was so boring and I understood everything too easily. They would stick to one thing for ages and ages. It irked me so much. 

We have some ''problem'' students in our class, just because they were bored with the normal classes because of the reasons I stated before, they were put as problem students.


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