It means you can easily relate to other people, have a natural empathy to how they are feeling and are able to act accordingly. It also means that you are a good judge of character, which in turn has many benefits too.
“The bottom line for me is you can have a whole range of personalities that have ADHD,” says Craig Surman, MD, an ADHD specialist at Harvard Medical School and a member of CHADD's Professional Advisory Board. A few studies have tried to find a relationship between ADHD symptoms and specific personality types.
People with ADHD are known for their compassion toward others and willingness to lend a hand. As proud momma Dee Boling said after her son was awarded Student of the Month, “I'd rather have a kind, cooperative kid than a smart aleck who gets straight As without trying.”
Whether ADHD is a gift or a disability depends on the severity of the ADHD symptoms and how the person experiences his or her symptoms. It also depends on opportunities and environment. Someone with ADHD who thrives in school will have a very different experience than an ADHDer who finds school to be unbearably boring.
It's all about the natural extremes of ADHD brains. They are both extra good at forgiving (or maybe it's actually forgetting) but can also have an exceptionally difficult time of it as well.
Executive functions have other roles which affect how someone thinks. In people with ADHD, these executive dysfunctions impact thinking in numerous ways. People with ADHD don't really think faster than people without it, but it can sometimes seem like they do. People with ADHD do think differently though, in a sense.
Falling in Love with ADHD
It's true: Attention deficit disorder (ADHD or ADD) has strained more than a few romantic relationships. Equally true (though less recognized) is the fact that partners with ADHD are among the most loyal, generous, engaged, and genuinely fun people you could meet.
People with ADHD may have a hard time developing healthy social skills from childhood through adulthood, especially if their condition goes untreated. That said, it's possible to improve your social skills at any point in life. The first step starts with understanding the potential challenges.
Higher ADHD symptom levels were found to be inversely associated with self-assessments of happiness.
ADHD isn't just about difficulties, there are many positive sides to ADHD. It can often mean a person is very charismatic, sensitive, passionate, creative, outcome focussed and have unique ways of solving problems.
A recent review of findings on ADHD and FFM personality suggests that, in general, ADHD has associations with the FFM traits of Neuroticism (positive), Agreeableness (negative) and Conscientiousness (negative).
Entrepreneurs. There are some well-known very high-achieving ADHD entrepreneurs including Richard Branson, Bill Gates and Walt Disney. Richard Branson had no interest in anything academic. Still, once he was able to harness his talents and imagination in his own way, he began to build a phenomenal business empire.
There are many successful CEOs who have ADHD. Some of these individuals include Indra Nooyi from PepsiCo, Howard Schultz from Starbucks, and Alan Mulally from Ford.
Hyper-focus: Many people with ADHD become hyper-focused on things that interest them. This can lead to impeccable attention to detail and passion for school and work projects. Risk tolerance: People with ADHD often have higher risk tolerance than people without the condition.
Are people with ADHD more self-centered than the rest of the population? Probably not. However, some of the characteristics of ADHD can give the appearance of being self-centered. As annoying as these characteristics might be to your loved ones and friends, they don't stem from a mean or selfish place.
ADHD may result in some symptoms that can make a person “socially clumsy.” If you often find yourself saying and doing inappropriate things during conversations, you might be experiencing social awkwardness.
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, is very common — according to the most recent statistics, one in 10 children between the ages of 4 and 17 has been diagnosed with this problem.
Loyalty – Because people with ADHD have been hurt by people's criticism and judgments so many times, we learn to be very loyal to the people who care for us. If you are hoping to have a partner who will be devoted to you, don?t think that you won't find that in an ADHD relationship.
While there is no cure for the disorder, you can still have a healthy and loving relationship with a partner who has ADHD. As you start dating or getting to know them more closely, you'll want to learn about their condition and understand how it could affect the relationship.
Falling in love can be an emotional roller coaster for most teens. But for teenagers with ADHD, symptoms like impulsivity or trouble managing emotions can make falling in love or starting a relationship an even bumpier ride. That said, not all kids with ADHD struggle in the same way, or to the same degree.
The maturation process is slower for young adults with ADHD and it's not linear, says Kathleen Nadeau, Ph. D., Director of Chesapeake Psychological Services of Maryland and co-author of Understanding Girls With ADHD. There's a lot of up and down, back and forth.
People with autism, engineers, and those with ADHD tend to say they think in pictures; teachers, in words, and when a word-thinker hears that there are those who think not in words, but pictures, they often are flabbergasted, taken aback, and have a hard time bending their mind around this alien thought form.