Liza, this post is dedicated to you.

Even if you have ADHD or worse, brain cancer, you too can be a role model, someone others look to and are inspired by, if you so choose. I know such a person and I am always incredibly impressed by her motivational, moving nature and most of all her resiliency under incredibly difficult circumstances, circumstances I can’t imagine living through, much less keeping a Positive Mental Attitude.

I recently found out that I have been suffering from Mono for quite a while and although I knew I was constantly tired and rather drained, I feared the worse, but blood tests proved negative for just about everything until one doctor said my symptoms appeared similar to Mono and he tested for it. Bingo! Did you know you can suffer from Mono for several years even though the worst symptoms may never develop? I didn’t. Thankfully, I am in the recovery stages. But what I want to point out here is that I had become somewhat internally depressed because I didn’t understand what was wrong with me. Then comes along Liza and she puts it all in perspective.

Life can go in many directions and having a positive mental attitude can make all the difference. I see so often how we can get sincerely upset with having ADHD, that we forget and mess up on things others seem to take for granted. But, hey, if we really want to have something to be upset about why not add brain cancer into the mix. That’s something really to get into and let the negativity flow. Right?

Wrong! We only have one life to live and some of us take the higher road and refuse to give in, to let go and allow anger, resentment and chaos to rule us. We are better than that. We stand tall and look for new horizons when others would have us bow down in defeat. We are not losers, the deck can be stacked against us, but through the fog comes a shining example of fortitude and resilience the likes of which that must be paid attention to and cherished for what it is.

When I first started ADDer World I wondered if there was really room for a positive perspective about life with ADHD. I wasn’t sure I would find many readers. It seemed most of us were feeling sorry for ourselves and we beat ourselves up constantly. What I discovered is that most all of us really want to move on from feeling ‘lesser than’ and want to feel better about ourselves. Maybe ADHD isn’t a gift per se, but so many of us have wonderful talents and traits we are proud of, above and beyond the traits that get us into trouble and we decided these talents and traits would be called our gifts. We decided on a positive perspective together. Sure some ridicule and chastise this type of thinking, but hey it is hard to put a good thing down. We have discovered together that we are better than we thought we were and we have more to offer than we thought we did.

It is when Liza (AKA Lizard) joined our ADHD social network that things really started taking off. She jumped in and added charm and fun to the mix. She joked about her ADHD and the goofs that she had made, some quite destructive, but she never failed to inspire. We all started looking forward to her posts and she greeted every new member with aplomb, but then came the real bomb. A tumor had been discovered. Liza had brain cancer and soon her posts on the site started to dwindle and before we knew it we didn’t hear from Liza for a long while.

We found out she was in the hospital and thanks to Keath Low we were able to send her flowers and get well wishes. Let me tell you folks this is when I truly started to discover the power of community and positivity. People really do care for each other. Many of us have suffered and we don’t want to see others suffer so we find ways to build each other up and give them something to believe in. Along the way we too are built up and given something to believe in. Few things feel as good in this world.

Now for the most wonderful news of all LIZA IS BACK!!! She’s still fighting the cancer and still making her way, but stronger than I have ever seen it is her Positive Mental Attitude and her constantly joking manner. I am going to say I believe this has so much to do with Liza’s fortitude; she refuses to be defeated and rises like a phoenix to continue to inspire and motivate us.

I have so many things to be grateful for in creating ADDer World, but nothing comes as close as I am grateful for meeting Liza through our online Social Network. Why don’t you take a moment and meet this amazing, wonderful super woman, she’s posted several new entries on our AW network, here’s her latest: Things you should not say to your doctor……..

Thank you Liza for being you and being one of us!

Bryan

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What I enjoy most about our ADDer World ADD & ADHD Community website is the healing that takes place between us and the connections we create together. The mission of the ADDer World Community website is to be a place of positive reinforcement and healing through the sharing of our experiences and stories. It warms my heart to see posts where people may at first misunderstand each other, but amidst any frustration and confusion they work at creating relationships of discovery, understanding and supporting each other. Often it is through forgiveness of self and others, and sometimes it is through acceptance of self, being accepted and the acceptance from others.

I want to personally thank the exceptional community we have and what we are creating together, for each other. We have the most wonderful, supportive and caring members in the world. Together we lean on each other, comfort each other and find kind words to say, even if they are not always the perfect words. On ADDer World, people matter, our intentions matter and ADD & ADHD matters.

You can help spread the word about our wonderful community by sharing this blog post / message! Sending invites and telling friends are great ways to spread the word too.

This is ADDer World, our ADHD Social Network:

ADDer World is a positive, supportive place for us to come together and talk about the challenges and inspirations of ADHD. Here we can share our experiences and help motivate each other to be the best we can be every day. We are dynamic, vibrant, creative, and unique. And yet at times, we painfully struggle with our ADHD.

Join us and share your thoughts with us. We can succeed together in reaching our true potential, learning from each other to move forward, and to guide each other toward positive goals. We are not alone.

Everyone is welcome who has ADHD, who is living with someone who has ADHD, who knows someone who has ADHD or is just interested in learning more about ADHD.

I believe ADDer World members are part of the solution to living better lives with ADHD and so can you!

If you believe in and want to be a part of our community, Click Here to become a member today.

~Bryan Hutchinson (founder)

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I created ADDer World, the ADHD social network not just to create awareness of and about ADHD. - Nearly everyone is already aware of ADHD unless they have been living in a remote area without TV, the Web or Newspapers for the last ten years. The problem is something else. Most do not fully understand what it is or the people who have it. That’s where the real problem is, understanding and relating. I created ADDer World so folks with ADHD can come together and discuss things we ‘get’ together. A lot of times we are not looking for specific answers or specific solutions, we just don’t want to be alone, or worse, feel like we are alone. 

The truth is we don’t have to be alone.

Everyone has problems with or without ADHD, we all have issues and differing dynamics and most people simply focus on their own situations and how they are going to make it from one day to the next. It’s very ADHD-ish one might think, but I don’t think that’s as accurate as many believe. Within the ADDer World I have met so many people who do care about others, who seriously consider the needs of others, often above their own, which can lead to its own detriments. The problem comes with what to do about it, or how to show it. They say men are from Mars and women are from Venus, well, ADDers are from an ADDer World and non-ADDers are perhaps from Norm World. Relating to each other is quite difficult most of the time.

There is an overwhelming belief that people with ADHD are inconsiderate and take no notice of anyone else, but themselves. I am starting to seriously question this type of thinking. Yes, we have a distracted nature and we are often inwardly focused. Even so, I believe that ADDer’s in general are hyper-aware of their problems and dynamic issues, even if they don’t always know exactly what they are or what to do about them. I believe that we want to be better and, in our own ways, most of us strive to be better.

When someone has been discounted, disrespected, punished and abused and used enough, becoming distant is natural, becoming self-protective is natural and unfortunately, to stop giving is natural too. So, it’s not always just ADHD, there’s often a lot more to it. A lot of good folks who did care have stopped caring or they are getting there, outside the ADDer World.

Medication does help with the symptoms of ADHD, but giving someone a pill or suggesting it so they can get over their disposition for the way they have been treated due to their confusing behavior, isn’t the answer. There’s another answer and it’s far more complex, such as compassion, empathy and an educated understanding of what ADHD really is. There are very special, understanding, caring non-ADDer’s out there, but they are too few and far between.

The John Wayne era of get over it, move on and toughen up is coming to an end, I think, and although there are still millions suffering in silence, ADDer’s the world over are seeking proper treatment, but then comes in those who would dictate what proper treatment is for you or insult how you view and/or treat your situation, or they might insult your differences if you are not following their beliefs - considering that, why would anyone want to tell someone who doesn’t understand or get it? 

Awareness, my friends, isn’t enough. Medication isn’t enough. Counseling isn’t enough. Self-help isn’t enough! 

All of those things clearly help us as individuals, but the missing links of understanding, relating and compassion may be beyond the capability of most of the Norm world, outside the ADDer World. Check out any major online newspaper with any article about ADHD and you will find comment after comment from folks who clearly do not understand and do not attempt to understand ADHD, but too many do take a moment to tell us how ADHD doesn’t really exist. Some believe ADHD is a fad, or it is made up by pharmaceutical companies, or that certain people need a good excuse, but what this shows more than anything else is the common lack of compassion and thoughtfulness in the modern world, which has become somewhat of a fad itself – that’s not ADHD-ish, that’s something else entirely and it is an unfortunate, less than brilliant reality.

Still, we are not alone.

We simply do not enjoy being alone, or feeling alone, but sometimes it seems that is the only choice. Who wants to be degraded by someone who doesn’t ‘get it’ or told to take your meds as a reactive comment, even though meds are a good option, helping many get along and/or excel. It’s easy to feel alone in the Norm World and that my friends is why I love our ADDer World, because we might not have all the answers, but we ‘get’ each other and we do care! And let’s not forget that there are indeed very special, understanding people out there who do not have ADHD, but they also care and they are a part of our ADDer World too! 

We are not alone, no, never alone!

~Bryan

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A:

B:

C:

I am testing book cover ideas, for my new book! Please let me know which cover you like, or IF YOU have a suggestion for a book cover and can demonstrate your idea in an image, please send it to me at my email address located in right column. Please make sure any images or designs you use are yours to freely use. If I choose a design submitted by a member, I will award the submitter free autographed copies of all my print published books: One Boy’s Struggle, The Brilliant Reality of ADHD and Adult ADHD can be Sexy! A final choice on the book cover will be made 14 Feb 2010

Adult ADHD can be Sexy will be available in 2010!

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When you sign up to be notified about his book’s release you will receive a white paper about ADHD medications, here’s the outline of that paper:

• This paper is a comprehensive outline of my forthcoming book
• I want to keep you informed when The Guide becomes available – with no obligation to purchase.
• You will be better able to understand ADHD meds with this white paper the day you receive it.
• It contains multiple links to the many posts and references I have been speaking and writing about for the last 3 years at CorePsych Blog
• Including specific notes on the evolving diagnosis of ADHD
• Including multiple notes on comorbid diagnosis and ADHD
• Including specific notes and reference resources on drug-drug interactions
• Including specific durations of each stimulant medication
•  Including specific notes on the Therapeutic Window to use with your doc
• Including suggestions about how to work with your medical team

Go to this link to sign up.

I do not personally endorse or take any ADHD medication. I am posting this as a personal favor to Dr. Parker, to help get the word out. I believe this to be very important for the many lives in need and affected by this often confusing area of treatment for ADHD. Chuck demystifies the ADHD medication mystery for you and me!

~Bryan

PS: Dr. Charles Parker is a member of our ADDer World ADHD Social Network. You may leave a comment for him on his page here. Talk directly to one of the doctors on the front lines of ADHD treatment. Be sure to find out where and when he is having his next keynote address and maybe you could let your doctor know about it.

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A few weeks ago I came upon a very interesting book called Wishcraft. I didn’t have a clue what it was about; I was simply caught by the title itself. I had never heard of it before, but it had a sticker on it saying it had sold more than 650,000 copies! (Hey, I am an ADDer – ohhhh Shiny!) Must be good then… right? I had no idea just how good it would be. When a book sells 650,000 copies it’s not a fluke. So I picked up the book and started reading through it. It not only caught my attention, but it held it tightly and led me along as if by an invisible string. This book caused me to hyper focus on it for hours.

Wishcraft is a book about you and about me. It is a book that explicitly suggests, no, (suggests is to light of a word for this), that you become you! From beginning to end Barbara insists that we find out who we are. She helps us to remember our earliest childhood pre – 5 yrs, in order to recapture what our dreams were and to find out what we truly wanted to be – to rediscover who we are. Much like what I have written over and over again on my blog, she explains how the modern world has made too many of us abandon our natural talents and dreams. All well and good, but there was something about this book that was more than what was written, there seemed to be an undercurrent far more profound than the title suggested. I felt like Barbara was writing about me. It was inspiring, motivating and somewhat disconcerting (in a good, but odd way) and I couldn’t figure out why. Therefore, I decided to check out when this book was first published and found out it was 1979. Click! (I will explain in a moment)

Wishcraft is a book of two distinct parts. The first part helps us reconnect with who we are, that person inside each of us who somehow, for whatever reason, has become submerged and neglected for the needs of society and the needs of others etc. The first part of Wishcraft does its job amazingly well. Following Barbara’s advice helped me remember something I have always wanted to do, but had lost in my memories somewhere along the way (that’s for another future post).

The second part of Wishcraft explains how to develop a plan to achieve our dreams. Now this is the part where most reading this review may think ‘oh no, not another plan’. Hold on; let me let you in on another secret. If you have ADD / ADHD this book is not like any other book you have read. First, it was written in the 70’s by a dynamic woman when women were just starting to pave a new path for themselves in the business world. This is not to say that this book is only for women – I am not a woman, obviously. However, it is to point out that the challenges Barbara had in the dynamics of getting things done, even getting a book published, were quite overwhelming from that standpoint. Secondly, the guide presented in the second part of this book is not what you have read before, perhaps copied, but not as well and there is a good reason for that.

When I wrote Barbara a few weeks ago, I discovered the secret sauce of her book that makes it work beyond what I have read in other books: She has ADD! And it seems to me she was writing about our challenges long before many had ever heard of the term. She calls herself a Scanner. I like the term and her description of what a Scanner is. That’s what made things ultimately go Click! for me, because there was something profound about this book that was captivating, inspiring and rationally workable. I have read far too many self-help books that have left me wanting. Barbara’s book not only gets you going, but can get you where you want to go, even if you have forgotten where that is! Check it out for yourself.

There’s a benefit of Barbara writing this book before all the ADD / ADHD books started to hit the market, she had few points of reference. She wrote from her gut, her instincts and from doing things in her own way that she developed, ways that worked! She may have not yet been diagnosed with ADD when she first wrote this book; however, her struggles to get her through the years before coming in to her own will be very familiar to many of us with ADD or ADHD, they are the tell – tell signs we are so familiar with today.

Check out Wishcraft and be sure to share your thoughts about it with me. If you have already read it, did you have an incredible feeling of familiarity? Like the writer had walked in your very footsteps?

Barbara has a new book out called “Refuse to CHOOSE!” and has sent me a signed copy which will be given away on our ADDer World Social Network in the near future!

Are you a Scanner? If you have ADHD, the description of a Scanner will be very familiar to you. You can check out what a Scanner is here.

Barbara Sher’s Official Website

I hope you enjoy Wishcraft and get out of it as much as I have!

~Bryan

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Does your mind do that? – send you ideas constantly, one after the other and it leaves you rolling, wondering what to do with all of them? I was reading a blog post by voodoo about feeling loopy and I agree with him in that I hate it when I forget an idea! I have found all of my ideas to be valuable to me, even if some of them don’t make any sense when I first have the idea. I like to write it down or voice record it, but if I forget, it drives me crazy for quite a while. Sometimes, if Joan and I are driving somewhere, I tell her the idea. She never seems to forget a thing – thank goodness (or not, depending)!

I learned a while ago not to take my ideas for granted. I think that is true for all of us. I have had some award winning ideas which have actually won high honors and awards, not just a figure of speech, and I still don’t know where they came from (the ideas, or, maybe I do…)! Some of them I would have discounted and set aside or just forgot about them, if I didn’t have an outlet. The thing about it is that I study and research a lot, when I get super focused on an idea or subject I read everything I can find on it, and as I explained in my book, One Boy’s Struggle: A Memoir, I don’t usually compute that information for days or for weeks, but suddenly I will wake up and it all makes sense to me – my kind of sense and I can then swiftly start making use of that information. This really hurt me in school because if certain knowledge was required the next day after studying, I would find myself grasping and then a week later the light would go on. That’s frustrating as all get-out! With the types of outlets I have now a days, it usually doesn’t take me nearly as long for that light to go on.  Can you relate?

The eBooks I have started giving away lately are a product of too much information for a short or not so short blog post (my posts can go on for a while, sometimes, as you may have noticed). What I mean is, I get the idea and I want to blog about it and I realize that it is way too long for a single blog post, but I write it out anyway, save it and set it aside. It was when I was creating the promotional eBook for my websites and books,  that I realized there is a format I could use for the articles that were too long for a single blog post! Free eBooks! WOOT! I don’t like doing blog post series, because sometimes I forget about them and never finish the series and that’s just not cool! And there you have it, the last 3 free eBooks I have put together for you are products of too much information for a single blog post, but there’s something about them I like even better than blog posts, they are easier for readers to share and pass around!

Do you have an outlet for your ideas? Can you relate to having so many ideas going on up there that you don’t know what to do with them all? Are they being taken advantage of or just flowing through like a river?

~Bryan

PS: Here are the 4 eBooks I have recently released, the 4th one down is a promotional eBook.

• 10 Things I Hate About ADHD
• 10 Most Positive Things About ADHD
• 8 Steps How To Super Focus At Will
• Promotional eBook with popular recent articles

* I personally hold ALL the rights to all of my books, eBooks, published books in print etc… (with the exception of some clipart)

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My Latest FREE eBook is now available:

 “10 Things I Hate About ADHD!”

Please download, save and share it with friends.

~Bryan

You can also right click on the link and ‘save target as’, to download to your computer to keep and share.

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~In Trust Me, family psychologist Kenneth Kaye and his son, Nick, use the experience of Nick’s struggle with what he calls “Attention Money Disorder” to combine a no-nonsense strategy, practical advice, business wisdom, and dozens of examples. They show you step by step how to negotiate a “Deal” with your young adult, rebuilding mutual trust and nurturing the skills and habits of a self-supporting grown-up.~

You can read more about the Kaye’s and their book “Trust Me” here

ALSO: To help celebrate the publication of my new book The Brilliant Reality of ADHD, I will be giving the winner of this contest a copy of that too. This contest will net you two books, if you happen to win!!

Member’s names will be put into a box and randomly selected to choose the winner.

How to get your name in the box:

1) Write a blog post, or, forum post, also replying to any blog, or, forum post will be considered an entry into the drawing box. Participation is the key, posting photos and music counts too! I will have help keeping track. This means that each time you do any of the above your name will be placed into the drawing box, yes, multiple times; however, it only takes one entry to win and only one entry can win! The more your name is in the box, the better your chances are to win. I do consider my personal blog a part of ADDer World, therefore, any member’s comments made there will be inputted for the contest too – just be sure to use the same email address that you have signed up here with.

2) If you would like to double your chances, any NEW member who uses your name as a referral will equal your name going into the box TWICE for that single referral.

This contest will run from 17 July 09 until 07 August 09 and the winner will be announced 08 August 09 via email and on the front page here! New members who join during this time will also be included into the drawing via the above rules. Only members of our ADDer World Social Network will be included in the drawing box.

If you have any questions please post them here 

If you have a blog, or, website please let your readers know about this contest! Remember, referrals count twice! Please spread the word and please let me know about it.

Are you excited? Remember, you can’t win if you don’t play!

Thanks,

Bryan

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Just yesterday Lara let me know it would be wonderful to donate ALL 4 of her books for giveaway contests on our ADDer World ADHD Social Network!! These will be upcoming contests and will be random drawings from members who get their name into the hat by participating with comments, replies and blog posts.

We currently have two other books, after Bryan Robinson’s The Art of Confident Living, which will be given away in similar contests! The Books are by Dr. Nancy Irwin YOU Turn and Kenneth Kaye Ph.D. with Nick Kaye Trust Me.

Not only can you win a valuable book, but you will also show all of us your tremendous ADDer World Sprit!

Yeah! You ROCK!

Check out the current contest for Bryan Robinson’s book The Art of Confident Living and get your name in the hat.

Feel free to start participating today!

If you’re not a member yet, today is a great day to become a member!! Remember, membership is entirely FREE!!

Thanks for YOUR support!!

Bryan

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