Do most climbers have ADD or ADHD?

no no busy with school

TP in SLC wrote:My cats breath smells like milk........is this RC.com????

haha this thread sounds like most on RC.com

i just got back from washing my hands and decided to sit down and had an epiphany, but i got up to wash my hands again and i completely forgot what i was thinking about...

I don't think its ADD or ADHD. I think its YTD.

Well ADD doesn't make any sense to me. If I'm Deficit on Attention why would I want do do something that takes a lot of attention. You'd think I would be more inclined towards short attention span stuff like, Commercials or Football(only need to pay attention for 3 seconds at a time when they actually have a play).

Korgil, ADD/ADHD is not the perfect description for it but it's better than Minimal Brain Dysfunction as it was known 20 years ago.

One trait of ADD is hyper-focus, i.e., staying on one project for hours with intense focus and not being able to shift focus on to normal things like a normal person (eating, sleeping, relationships, etc). It can be a double edged sword.

For me climbing (or other highly stimulating situations) give my mind a natural break from all the background noise in my head. Imagine having five to seven radio stations on at one time in a room - several of those are on loops and playing the first 5 bars of each song - and you have to keep finding your main thought through the cluttered background noise. It can be pretty frustrating. When I climb all the background noise disappears and I can focus on the present, which is a nice break.

Kartch wrote:One trait of ADD is hyper-focus, i.e., staying on one project for hours with intense focus and not being able to shift focus on to normal things like a normal person (eating, sleeping, relationships, etc).

isn't that similar to OCD?

Kartch wrote:Imagine having five to seven radio stations on at one time in a room - several of those are on loops and playing the first 5 bars of each song - and you have to keep finding your main thought through the cluttered background noise. It can be pretty frustrating. When I climb all the background noise disappears and I can focus on the present, which is a nice break.

well put!!!

According to a Psychology Today article we are all mentally imbalanced.

psychologytoday.com/article…

Brian

Brian wrote:According to a Psychology Today article we are all mentally imbalanced. psychologytoday.com/article… Brian

i like the sociopath part!!! lol

Wow! This conversation has put me into a state of “hyperfocus”.

Check this out (from: ( psychologytoday.com/article…)

"High-sensation seekers may also have lower levels of dopamine and are thus in a chronic state of underarousal in the brain's pleasure centers."

And this ( ezinearticles.com/?ADD---Ne…):

"In an article released on August 8, 2007 in Scientific Daily, scientists argue that ADHD may well be the result of reduced dopamine levels in the brain."

Many climbers may very well be ADD. The science even seems to support that idea.

It’s all connected!

Insightful, Thanks!

"Do most climbers have ADD or ADHD?"

Most ? too general to say.
However, this is a question that I have been kicking around in my head for quite awhile now. I have noticed that many of my climbing partners have almost certainly been certifiably ADD types.

Is the % higher than the general populace, I would bet $ on that.

Kartch's post is right on.
The idea of a kid bouncing off the walls is a stereotype of ADHD.

Various types of brain scans have helped one MD identify at least seven types of ADD/ADHD; hyper focus being one of them (which explains why some of us are mathematicians, engineers, etc...)

For me, it wasn't until my high IQ kid was diagnosed (via a battery of tests) and I started doing a lot of reading, and my MD wife said "AH HA... This explains a lot !" that I came to realize my brain functionality was different than the "norm."

Some claim that ADD/ADHD also has a lot in common with OCD and that there is often cross over. The same is true of manic issues. In fact, it's only very recently that the medical community has even admitted that manic disorders can and do show up in a small percentage of kids. Such issues in kids used to almost always be diagnosed as OCD or ADHD.

If you're like me and only "suffer" from ADD/ADHD then count yourself lucky. Try "Tormenting Thoughts and Secret Rituals: The Hidden Epidemic of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder" by Ian Osborn for some sad and hair raising stories.

Various writers have claimed that ADD has led to many of the world's great advances (Einstein, B. Franklin, Newton, etc...) Who knows. On the other hand, our greatest president ever, GW Shrub is almost certainly an ADD type. So clearly, it can't always lead to great things.

One thing I do know is that for some folks, these can be really horrible afflictions that disrupt lives. I've seen OCD make life a living hell for a couple of friends. And I've seen a couple of families torn apart by bipolar issues. Fortunately, according to Dr. Osborn, most of the time these problems can be dealt with via proper therapy (which often, but not always, includes medications.)

Blink

If I drink enough coffee, I can be ADD with the best of 'em!

"It’s often said that people classified as ADD are prone to be sugar and caffeine junkies. Actually, it’s so prevalent it has become a bit of a joke. Research has shown that people have natural variations in their dopamine system, the neurotransmitter system in the brain that is most often implicated in ADD. A “risk taking gene” that may be related to the dopamine system was even identified and found to be more common in people with ADD, although many people not classified as ADD also have the gene. Such people theoretically spend much of their lives looking for a “dopamine” fix to clear their heads and feel alive. They might do this via novelty or thrill seeking, exercise, intellectual pursuits, or through artificial chemical means such as caffeine, nicotine or alcohol. One study of nearly 2,000 twins suggested that heavy caffeine consumption is 80 percent genetic, while physical dependence on caffeine (resulting in withdrawal symptoms) was 40 percent inherited."

[1] “Caffeine Intake, Tolerance, and Withdrawal in Women: A Population-Based Twin Study”, Kenneth S. Kendler and Carol A. Prescott, Am. J. Psychiatry 1999; 156: 223-228.

just to clarify again... OCD and ADHD are different things, do not necessarily go hand in hand, and not interchangeable. i would doubt there is much correlation of climbers and OCD.

as some others say, these terms and labels are thrown around all too often, becasue well, sometimes can be humorous, but REAL diagnosis of these issues are and should be for those that really do suffer from these disorders and actually disrupt their lives.. which is no laughing matter.

EDIT: interesting thread!! but what i want to know is, where is this butterfly that was mentioned? i want to see it too!?

WiledHorse wrote:as some others say, these terms and labels are thrown around all too often, becasue well, sometimes can be humorous, but REAL diagnosis of these issues are and should be for those that really do suffer from these disorders and actually disrupt their lives.. which is no laughing matter.

Word.

Mattq331 wrote:Do most climbers have ADD or ADHD?

Not at all. However, I do believe most climbers have a much higher incidence of a wide spectrum of mental health disorders; this may range from ADHD to depressive disorders, bipolar disorders, personality disorders (of which OCD is one), etc. I have no studies to back up this up (clearly!); it's just my personal view based on experience and many interactions.

All good climbers suffer from GDD. This terrible affliction was only discovered recently and stands for "gravity deficit disorder". It is obvious they are immune to the effects of gravity. The only known cure is to consume huge quantities of beer, pizza and ice cream.

I'm sure ADOS is just as common with climbers.

ADOS = attention deficit ooh shiny!

-Glenn

I love having ADD or whatever it is I have. I don't have the patience to really figure out what it is, but all I have to say is I really feel sorry for all the people out there who are mentally "stable" and living cookie-cutter lives. Every day I see miserable people who are just going through the motions of life and feel bad for them. ADD climbers unite! :)
-Phil.

OCD is more like it. Every sit back and watcha fellow climber sort gear?

Moof wrote:OCD is more like it. Every sit back and watcha fellow climber sort gear?

trip out on the guys over on summitpost sorting their pictures, thats a whole new beast.

WiledHorse wrote:your OP was too long

lol super true dude