I think that there are a lot of people in my life who are just too used to my quirks to think there's anything weird about me, lol. Also a lot of people in my life who are just as quirky as me so I blend right in. My family for example. Both immediate and extended, they're an intense, moody, loud, boisterous, interrupting, drinking bunch of out of the box thinkers. Many of them have had very unique, non-linear work histories. So me...honestly, in relation, I seem pretty mild.
My parents have both had several unique careers and they're only in their 50's. They are both people who work best when they are the boss and are pros at questioning authority. Consistent time management is always a challenge, but creative inspiring ideas abound. They are both opinionated, chatty, emotionally intense story-tellers, who love shooting off on an adventure at the drop of a hat. My sister is super intelligent and can be a bit of a stimulation seeking wild child and follows in the mold of creative independent workers in the family...my grandparents on both sides had many different jobs, businesses, ideas over the years, always changing...my aunts and uncles on my dad's side are people who tend to work for themselves (so they don't have to work for other people) and frequently change vocations. My mother's sister is the kind of person who really doesn't like to be tied down and likes to be doing multiple things that interest her, when they interest her...mom's brother is a classic ADHD executive-type, a BIG IDEAS guy who needs good assistants to help pull the ideas together, and was good at his job, but had a hard time in school. Various issues with drugs and alcohol are not uncommon among us...various issues with depression, anxiety, and other obvious but undiagnosed mental health issues are also not unusual.
Amid all of this, I really just seemed fairly quiet as a child, very anxious, but not totally eccentric in their midst. I think that's part of what made me feel so out of place when I interacted with the "real world". I WAS eccentric in relation to the rest of the world, and had learned how to live from a fabulous circus of eccentrics, and I mean that appreciatively and lovingly.
I believe that the traits of ADHD that I exhibit are a product of both nature and nurture. It can clearly be theorized by observing my family that maybe our family culture involved certain types of behavior that are reinforced by example. I absolutely see how that could be a factor. But I also contend that there are certain kinds of decisions that people in our family would simply NOT make if they were more chemically balanced. Chaos creation on this scale has got to have a genetic compenent.
My parents have both had several unique careers and they're only in their 50's. They are both people who work best when they are the boss and are pros at questioning authority. Consistent time management is always a challenge, but creative inspiring ideas abound. They are both opinionated, chatty, emotionally intense story-tellers, who love shooting off on an adventure at the drop of a hat. My sister is super intelligent and can be a bit of a stimulation seeking wild child and follows in the mold of creative independent workers in the family...my grandparents on both sides had many different jobs, businesses, ideas over the years, always changing...my aunts and uncles on my dad's side are people who tend to work for themselves (so they don't have to work for other people) and frequently change vocations. My mother's sister is the kind of person who really doesn't like to be tied down and likes to be doing multiple things that interest her, when they interest her...mom's brother is a classic ADHD executive-type, a BIG IDEAS guy who needs good assistants to help pull the ideas together, and was good at his job, but had a hard time in school. Various issues with drugs and alcohol are not uncommon among us...various issues with depression, anxiety, and other obvious but undiagnosed mental health issues are also not unusual.
Amid all of this, I really just seemed fairly quiet as a child, very anxious, but not totally eccentric in their midst. I think that's part of what made me feel so out of place when I interacted with the "real world". I WAS eccentric in relation to the rest of the world, and had learned how to live from a fabulous circus of eccentrics, and I mean that appreciatively and lovingly.
I believe that the traits of ADHD that I exhibit are a product of both nature and nurture. It can clearly be theorized by observing my family that maybe our family culture involved certain types of behavior that are reinforced by example. I absolutely see how that could be a factor. But I also contend that there are certain kinds of decisions that people in our family would simply NOT make if they were more chemically balanced. Chaos creation on this scale has got to have a genetic compenent.
No comments:
Post a Comment