Motivational and inspirational writer, Bryan Hutchinson is the author of several books about life with ADHD including the highly acclaimed, best selling "One Boy′s Struggle: A Memoir" and the author of the hilarious eBook that went viral "10 Things I Hate about ADHD"

December 2010

Bullying, Intolerance and ADHD

Bullying, Intolerance and ADHD
on: December 28, 2010 by: Bryan Hutchinson 22 Comments , , , , ...

I have an extremely vivid imagination. As a child with undiagnosed ADD (ADHD) I used my imagination to escape to somewhere better, somewhere I was special and where I felt appreciated. In my first book One Boy’s Struggle: A Memoir, I wrote of how I imagined I was Commander Mart, a superhero who flew through the skies on the back of a beautiful, incredible flying silver horse I named Pegasus! In my imagination I felt good about myself, I felt whole and I felt well. The thing is though, sometimes my imagination got me into a lot of trouble because I would escape into it whenever I was bored, uninspired or when I was under pressure and scared. I didn’t know it then, but I used my imagination as a survival skill. I felt comfortable in my imagination, I was in control there and nobody could hurt me because I […]

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Adult ADHD as Sexy Mysterious and a Bit Edgy

Adult ADHD as Sexy Mysterious and a Bit Edgy
on: December 26, 2010 by: Bryan Hutchinson 5 Comments , , , , ...

Adults with ADHD are at times alluring in mysterious, charming and edgy ways. Not on purpose, mind you and most of us don’t even realize it. It’s a matter of considering our symptoms and realizing that most people are attracted to interesting personalities, those that are characteristically unusual, even if dangerous and especially if mysterious. Generally speaking, people are attracted to others who have some mystery surrounding them and who leave them wanting to learn more and could potentially take them to the edge. Adults with ADHD have that something extra, that ability to charm and take those attracted to them to another level of experience. It’s a sexiness that’s compelling because it’s a bit edgy, or maybe, in this day and age, more than ever, especially because it’s a bit edgy. I tend to agree with Joan, my wife, when she tells me that she thinks I was attracted […]

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Is the burden of ADHD causing lost Childhoods?

Is the burden of ADHD causing lost Childhoods?
on: December 22, 2010 by: Bryan Hutchinson 38 Comments , , , , ...

I am not like everyone else, I have ADHD and my childhood wasn’t normal either. Quite frankly, I don’t want to be like everyone else. I don’t want to conform to be someone better than anyone else or to be ‘normal’ and I certainly don’t want to be average. I have no such desire. I used to and it would drive me crazy. I like being me. I have some hard luck stories, I can tell you of all the mistakes I have made and the challenges that overwhelmed me, but sometimes the point is missed. I still have ADHD and many of the issues that come with it, but that is not my point. The reason I have revealed so much about myself is because I have overcome many challenges, found some decent workarounds and I have moved forward to a more positive place. But, I didn’t entirely conform […]

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ADHD and the Gift of Creativity – what price are you willing to pay?

ADHD and the Gift of Creativity – what price are you willing to pay?
on: December 19, 2010 by: Bryan Hutchinson 14 Comments , , , , ...

I believe creativity is inherent in everyone. No one is born without the gift of creativity. We all have this wonderful ability to be creative in our own special ways. In a recent blog post called Turning ADHD Disadvantages into Advantages, I wrote: Many will tell you that creativity in of itself is not a ‘trait’ of ADHD and I do tend to agree with that, because all people are creative in their own ways. But even so, if you combine our symptoms and traits of distraction, out of the box thinking and hyper focus, among many others – we come up with some amazingly creative things that even the most creative people without ADHD would never dream of. I do believe that creativity can be an advantage for many of us with ADHD. However, at the same time I think for far too many, creativity is unintentionally discarded. Unfortunately, […]

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The Amazing Year of 2010 My Top Ten plus 1

The Amazing Year of 2010 My Top Ten plus 1
on: December 15, 2010 by: Bryan Hutchinson 4 Comments , , , , ...

It’s nearing the end of the year and as I do {most} every year, I am going to take a moment to reflect a little. In the past when I reflected back on year’s gone by, I had a tendency to look at the negative things that affected me, but not this time, not this year! I am not going to write about how I survived a terrible bout of Mono, no, not going to do that. Not going to talk about strangely swollen glands or, wanting to sleep, but couldn’t. Nope, not going there, not going to talk about how I had a root removal and synthetic transplant and another tooth pulled, or how taking antibiotics temporarily covered me in a rash due to undiagnosed Mono. The rash was a gift as it helped discover the Mono (ha!). Did I mention when I rushed to the hospital no less than 3 times? […]

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Educating the Public about ADHD

Educating the Public about ADHD
on: December 12, 2010 by: Bryan Hutchinson 11 Comments , , , , ...

Pick a disorder, any disorder, that you do not know much about. Find someone with that disorder and I’ll bet they wish you would understand the issues they are dealing with a little bit more. They may even wish that you would walk in their shoes for a day or two. The thing about educating the public about ADHD is that it can be so different for each and every one of us. ADHD is a neurobiological disorder with a spectrum of symptoms. Truly understanding ADHD can be mind boggling just for us, not to mention there’s so much disagreement in our community on how we should talk about it, perceive it and respond to it. Then we have the media that shouts out to the public the latest research and statistics about ADHD, but doesn’t really tell folks how people deal with it on an individual basis, each different […]

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Turning ADHD Disadvantages into Advantages

Turning ADHD Disadvantages into Advantages
on: December 7, 2010 by: Bryan Hutchinson 8 Comments , , , , ...

If you’re tired of hearing about all the bad, negative things about ADHD then this post is for you! This post isn’t to downplay the serious consequences of living with ADHD, it’s to take another perspective and reframe it in a positive way which has worked for me. Of course, many of these on my list have serious consequences which I have had to work through. ADHD isn’t curable, but sometimes we let it kick us when we are down and like the boxing coach says, ‘stay down’. I’ve never been one to ‘stay down’, I’m stubburn like that! 1) Distraction. As I wrote in a recent blog post, I have learned to appreciate my distracted nature. It has taken me places I would never have gone, or much less dreamed of. It really has led me on some awesome adventures down alleyways, backwoods and vivid, spectacular places in my own imagination […]

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ADHD and the Gift of Being Distracted

ADHD and the Gift of Being Distracted
on: December 1, 2010 by: Bryan Hutchinson 12 Comments , , , , ...

I have ADHD. I strive to reframe and rephrase my disadvantages and turn them into advantages. It’s something I try to do as much as possible. ADHD is a serious disorder that affects millions of people. The symptoms cause very serious challenges. Each person develops their own, personal coping skills in order to deal with their symptoms. Many of us, as I was, can easily become overwhelmed and will need very specific, specialized treatment, perhaps even medication. My point of view is part of my coping skills. It’s been working for me and I will tell you why. Over the years I have learned that I tend to get bored with certain tasks quickly and as a consequence I become easily distracted. To compensate, what I have learned to do is multi-task. That’s part of my answer to distraction. I spend short bursts of time on projects and quickly turn […]

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