# ADD and MBTI?



## INFPsyche (Nov 13, 2014)

I was diagnosed with ADD when i was a teen.. though I'm not sure i agree with the diagnosis.. I think i was depressed with low self worth and low self esteem.. or maybe it was a combination of the two.. All i know is the ADD medication didn't 'work'.. Meaning it didn't change me into a hard worker who gave a crap. I honestly didn't notice a different in my personality at all and it didn't help with school work.

I'm an infp if you didn't see my screen name..


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## tanstaafl28 (Sep 10, 2012)

ADHD and depression. ENTP. Some of it becomes more manageable with age, but not all.


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## Dora (Apr 25, 2016)

INFPsyche said:


> I was diagnosed with ADD when i was a teen.. though I'm not sure i agree with the diagnosis.. I think i was depressed with low self worth and low self esteem.. or maybe it was a combination of the two.. All i know is the ADD medication didn't 'work'.. Meaning it didn't change me into a hard worker who gave a crap. I honestly didn't notice a different in my personality at all and it didn't help with school work.
> 
> I'm an infp if you didn't see my screen name..


Then it sounds like you were either misdiagnosed, or that something else was missed. ADHD has a high co-morbidity with other disorders, such as dyslexia and related learning disorders, but also anxiety, depression, or bipolar disorders. In these cases, even if medicated for ADHD, it doesn't really help make you fully functional. One of the reasons why they often go hand in hand is that people with ADHD feel not _good enough_ or smart enough. Many people accuse them of laziness and many grow to believe that it's their fault, that they aren't fully operational.
The meds don't make you into a hard worker, they just give you the tools to become one. They don't affect motivation, but rather ability to focus and execute. The responsibility to do that is still up to you.

Many doctors mix up ADHD and bipolar and treat one, when they should the other.


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## MisterPerfect (Nov 20, 2015)

AlltheIntuitiveFeels said:


> I'm curious as to how ADD and ADHD affect MBTI. Also, I'm curious to see if there is a prevalence of either among types.
> 
> I feel like ADD may influence N/S and P/J, somewhat. Our perception of them, others' perception of ours, both, maybe they partially determine the actual type, who knows.
> Personally, my flitting from topic to topic in conversation when off my meds for a short interval makes me seem like an 'S', though my mental processing is more 'N' no matter if I'm on the meds or not. My inability to maintain organization makes me seem like a 'P' (or at least _not_ a 'J') to plenty of people, though anyone who knows me better knows of my pretty strict 5-to-10-minutes-early punctuality and how much my own and others' disorganization irks me to death.
> ...


ADD/ADHD is a made up disorder invented so adults could drug their kids instead of babysitting because they are lazy parents. Most kids are hyperactive.


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## Dora (Apr 25, 2016)

MisterPerfect said:


> ADD/ADHD is a made up disorder invented so adults could drug their kids instead of babysitting because they are lazy parents. Most kids are hyperactive.


Welcome, ignorant person who likes to generalize. ADHD is a real thing, brains of people with ADHD have a different brain activity in brain scans and a different chemical make-up of the brain. You can debate over whether it is a disorder or an evolutionary trait, but you can't deny it, based on evidence.
However, for a lot of people it is an excuse for poor parenting. That's unfortunately true and why so many others deny it's existence. Except, stimulants that help regulate ADHD and help ADHD patients calm down and focus, if applied to a regular person, they have similar effects as crack and make him hyper and bouncing off the walls. So medicating someone without ADHD with ADHD medication is actually counterproductive.


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## MisterPerfect (Nov 20, 2015)

Dora said:


> Welcome, ignorant person who likes to generalize. ADHD is a real thing, brains of people with ADHD have a different brain activity in brain scans and a different chemical make-up of the brain. You can debate over whether it is a disorder or an evolutionary trait, but you can't deny it, based on evidence.
> However, for a lot of people it is an excuse for poor parenting. That's unfortunately true and why so many others deny it's existence. Except, stimulants that help regulate ADHD and help ADHD patients calm down and focus, if applied to a regular person, they have similar effects as crack and make him hyper and bouncing off the walls. So medicating someone without ADHD with ADHD medication is actually counterproductive.


I actually know more about that subject than most people but sure call me ignorant. Its sad seeing children forcibly medicated since someone is too lazy to actually pay attention to that kid. Than if the parents say they dont want to medicate the children and help them some other way the state can legally have them put in a foster home for negligent parenting. I guess you wouldn't care about the state doing that shit to your children. I guess having skinny underweight kids, who cant ever eat and having outbursts because of you constantly swapping different doses that dont work sounds like a pleasant experience for you doesn't it? 

Children are hyper active, that is a fact. They are suppose to be. Generally the younger generations have a lot more energy than we do. You think people in there 60s are as hyper, energentic, or limber as a person in thier 20s? In general no. As well as that healthy people tend to have more energy than those who are unhealthy. For example people who have Asthma have breathing issues so stuff like running might be harder for them, stuff like Hypoglycema cuases weakness and these people have low blood sugar, people who are overwieght have difficulty with excersise. Kids are often hyper, annoying, and ask too many questions. They are kids, that is the problem and if you are saying ADHD is a evolutationary trait you admit it does not exsist. Since that means its just a difference in the heard. That would be saying coming out with a different color eyes is a disorder even if it does not somehow change vision or any other physical traits. Not all behavioral problems need medication, and saying so is a very lazy way to go about it. 

Drug addicts turn to drugs to deal with problems instead of fixing them themselves. The thing which that though is its optional, and the thing is the drugs dont fix anything. They still have the problem they just have a crutch. Oh you dont have sociol skills so you smoke weed, Well guess what? When you no longer smoke that weed you still have no sociol skills, so how does that fix anything? If you want a child to focus and all your plan is, is to give them drugs till the day they die you are not teaching them to behave. You just are saying "I have to drug you till 18". Real Therapy would adress the behavioral problems, not autoamatically throw drugs at it. 

Kids are hopped up on Sugar, and we sit them down in front of the tv and tell them to shut up and dont let them go outside. Than we wonder why they are hyper and dont pay attention in class. Since they need to be payed attention to and no one wants to. America wonders why we have so many fat children. Feeding them sugar and saying "Sit down and watch cartoons" instead of saying "Lets play outside" is not healthy, and the only solution being "Take some drugs since Im done with you" is not healthy either. Kids are a hassle yes, but they are developing human beings. They are not our TOYS


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## Dora (Apr 25, 2016)

I agree about that it is over-medicated in some places and that the set-up in the US for this isn't really children-friendly, from what I have read in discussion and heard from foreign friends. The situation however isn't the same globally. Where I am from it is still under-diagnosed and I am from the first age group, where there was awareness and some of my classmates or peers have been recognized as ADHD in time to facilitate them getting through school. I wasn't loud and didn't call attention to myself, despite being both hyperactive and inattentive, as I was raised in such a way, that breaking rules or causing an inconvenience to others wasn't acceptable, so I flew under the radar.
Trouble is, that every case needs individual approach, evaluate whether medicating is beneficial or adverse and that medication on it's own is not enough. It's good to get some coaching on learning the tools that help you stay organized and on top of things. That would actually benefit even non-ADHD kids. The other thing is, that many people think pill=solution and then don't observe the children to catch any adverse effects, such as lack of appetite, which leads to underweight children and to getting further behind, as the right nutrition, especially in developmental periods, is really important to brain development.

The problem is not the existence or nonexistence of ADHD, but the approach to what to do with it. It isn't a made-up disorder, although, whether it's a disorder or just non-conformity is debatable.


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## tjf7991 (Apr 5, 2017)

I'm an ESTP likely. I would agree that Se and Ne dominants would likely have ADD/ADHD. I have ADHD and I know a few people including my ESFP sister that likely had it if she would have been tested and probably still can be. My dad is an ISFP and I think he's go ADD tendencies, so there's three artisians (Se dominant and secondary users). But, my dad's side of the family has a lot of artisians. My step grandpa is likely an ISTP, my grandpa was likely an ESTP, my grandma is likely and ISTJ (none Se sorry), one of my dad's cousins who's a construction company owner and owns his own is an ISTP. Another one of my dad's cousins joined the Air-Force and she's an ESTP/ISTP and I haven't figured that out yet. He also has two other cousins who are extremely introverted and are both ISFP's. A lot of their kids, hence my cousins are SP's. Given a few aren't, but most are for example one of my cousins is an ESFP and her Se is developed big time. But, she means well. I forgot to mention that my dad also has another cousin who's an ISTP and is an electrician and we get along quite well. But, I don't know if they all have ADHD/ADD, but I know my ESFP cousin likely has it for sure. So, if I got my ADHD from somewhere it was likely my dad's side. 

I did struggle a lot in school and was put in a resource room where I could get help with my homework. It was good that they helped me get through because without them, I would have struggled a great deal. My mom happens to either be an ESTJ or ENTJ and from my perspective has been a big burdon on my family in the past. Hence, I'm sure not all ENTJ's are like this, but she's a little overbearing and over the top and because of her I have PTSD according to my therapist. I read online that SP's have a good chance, especially XSTP's have a good chance at getting PTSD. But, you know stuff happens and my Ni is beginning to develop and I can sense it because I'm starting to think about my future and some ideas I might have. My Fe is quite developed to because of the experiences I've been through for sure. But, my childhood was not easy and I'm not asking for sympathy at all, but I'm sure some ISTP's and ESTP's and even XSFP's can relate. According to personality junkie I read that SP's are likely to be spanked a lot when they were children and were disciplined a lot. Which makes sense because of Se. But, anyways I agree with your statement that Se and Ne dominants likely have ADHD because it coencides with common sense. Ne (Ideas and possibilities) Se (Action and impulses).


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## tjf7991 (Apr 5, 2017)

I also have been medicated for ADHD since I was diagnosed at six or seven. I can't remember what age.


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## Raederle (Sep 18, 2019)

Dora said:


> I'm not going to claim there is any correlation, because even talking to the people on ADHD group there seems to be quite a diversity of MBTI types, though when I placed a poll, SP types were _slightly _more common than other types. However, if you read the SP temperament type it reads like an ADHD symptom description
> 
> When I first read about ADHD, I kept thinking that what I'm reading is my personality, not a disorder. And when I read the ESFP description I keep thinking, that's my ADHD, that's also my ADHD, yup, short focus, yup, impulsive...


I think the correlation is more valid and strong than is being put here. If you stop viewing "attention deficit disorder" as a disorder, and start viewing it as yet another part of neurodiversity, then suddenly it makes sense that MBTI type would correlate. I'm not trying to invalidate people who don't even have Ne on their stack but experience ADD, but I suspect we're looking at this with the wrong premises in mind.



JustAnne said:


> I am an INFJ and have always felt like I have ADD specifically, definitely not ADHD. I'm not hyper, BUT I cannot stop the constant barrage of thoughts from constantly distracting me from getting things done.


I'm also an INFJ, and I definitely can't stop my own barrage of thoughts either. But I've learned to harmonize with those thoughts by writing them out, talking them out, and sometimes allowing them to fly free – sometimes for hours at a time. After thinking for hours, then writing all my thoughts out, I often come to incredible conclusions that I've never seen anywhere before. This is happening regularly with my current research on autism.

I used to think that ADD didn't really exist and that it was just a diet/lifestyle dysfunction caused from eating refined sugars. However, my husband has ADD and he eats no refined sugars whatsoever. What's happening in my husband's brain has to do with low dopamine production, which is correlated with having an avoidant attachment style with one's parents (which he definitely has). He's also an INFP (having an Ne-auxiliary). We also have both identified as HSPs, so we both have low serotonin production, which is linked to experiencing events more vividly – traumas are more impactful, but also positive experiences. Hormonal production in the brain is, of course, just one facet of brain neurology. The wiring in particular areas and the connectivity between various parts of the brain is what really defines a person. I believe ADD is part of neurodivergence (almost definitionally making it a kind of autism, which I mean in a positive way), and I also believe MBTI is part of defining neurology patterns, which means these two things do have overlapping correlations, but there may be interesting things that look similar.

For example, Ni combined with Ti can look like Fi, as I can testify to as an INFJ. I have a strong set of morals and _seem _to have strong internal guidance from my emotions. I actually don't. I have a long-time history compiled into a pattern that my Ni and Ti look at and manipulate in order to make decisions. This also often looks like Si.

If you understand my example, then take that same thinking to look at ADD. Any neurology which leads to “distracted” behavior could be validly called part of the “ADD spectrum” _or_ you could classify ADD in some very specific way and then explain why other people have similar-seeming, yet neurologically different, pathways in their brain. In other words, different wirings may lead to the same behaviors, as is seen in autism. Either of these perspectives could be valid. We just need a more cohesive, verifiable way of looking at this stuff. We're working with (1) people's subjective perspectives of themselves, and (2) people's unique words for describing their experience. The words people choose to use are often idiosyncratic (Ti-users in particular are guilty of this), and then you have people who just relate to virtually everything they read, and you have lots and lots of people looking for a panacea explanation for why their whole life seems to be a mess, and so of course diagnose and self-identification is going to be all over the map with . . . virtually everything.

I see this all the time with people identifying themselves as INFJs when they have Ni-inferior, heh, because the descriptions are often captivating and help people feel like they belong and like everything makes sense. I'm going through a bit of that right now with my autism research.

In conclusion, we need a better diagnostic tool for ADD (and MBTI for that matter), and we need to be more clear on what these terms _really_ mean at the neurological level (both of which require more research).

I hope this is a helpful contribution. Have a blessed day.


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## Electra (Oct 24, 2014)

Hi I am 40 years old and have ADD and PSTD and and some writing reading disorder that I can't remember the name of.
I am on ritalin and have been it since I was 26. I got diagnosed when I was 24. I have a very short attention span and rarely read long answers
and when I do I usually put them into google translate to have it read for me. I have problems with memory, consentration, spelling errors, "careless mistakes" (which leads to some kind of "ocd'ish" behavior)
interuption, execution, time management, slow analysation in social settings and problems stayingon task for long. Before I was on my meds it was a lot worse. My attention span was often or usually so bad that I could not hold on to a thought long enough to speak it or hold on to a whole sentence and my memory and time management sucked! I have someone in my family with bipolar type 1.


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