Jeff’s A.D.D. Mind

The Chronicles of the A.D.D. War

"Mani [founder of Manicheism] postulated two natures that existed from the beginning: light and darkness. The realm of light lived in peace, while the realm of darkness was in constant conflict with itself. The universe is the temporary result of an attack from the realm of darkness on the realm of light, and was created by the Living Spirit, an emanation of the light realm, out of the mixture of light and darkness. A key belief in Manichaeism is that there is no omnipotent good power. This claim addresses a theoretical part of the problem of evil by denying the infinite perfection of God and postulating the two equal and opposite powers mentioned previously. The human person is seen as a battleground for these powers: the good part is the soul (which is composed of light) and the bad part is the body (composed of dark earth)." [Emphasis added] 

(Source: Manichaeism)

{ ========== //\\ ========== }

A.D.D.ers are the embodiment of the struggle of light versus dark. Every moment these opposing forces fight for control of the A.D.D.er. Fought within the boundaries of their mind (and body), A.D.D.ers are locked in a lonely internal battle.¹ Therapy, drugs and self-help books are the weapons of war but they are not powerful enough for light to definitively triumph over dark. Some battles are won. Some are lost. And the war rages on with no end in sight. 

Many A.D.D. soldiers chronicle their victories and defeats in blogs like the ones listed below². This externalization through narrative releases internal tensions, though only for a moment.³ By externalizing the internal they reveal that which occurs within the circumscribed boundaries of their war.⁴  Externalization makes visible the invisible "internal" battles fought by A.D.D.ers. By rendering the invisible visible, externalization allows other A.D.D.ers to see that they are all engaged in the same fight. Of course there are differences, but all A.D.D.ers battle with issues of time, memory, emotion and sex.⁵ By reading how others have fought their own battles, A.D.D.ers are able to learn from those other A.D.D.ers and, therefore, they are better equipped for their own ongoing battles.⁶ 

{ ========== //\\ ========== }

• Chicago Carless: The off-road journey of an ongoing Chicagoan
• lifedoodling:Restarting Life With AD/HD - The Good, The Bad, and Life Inbetween
• Alternative Dimensional Design
• Treadmill to Nowhere
• Whatever

1. There is, of course, a certain amount of spillover, the outward manifestation of that inner battle. However, A.D.D.ers remain the ultimate existentialists. "Each of us is trapped within our own mind, unable to feel anything but our own feelings and experiences." Source: Ethics of Absolute Freedom [↩]
2. Most blogs written by A.D.D.ers seem to be a record of their victories and defeats. [↩]
3. Interestingly, physical activity, for many A.D.D.ers, is also an effective means of releasing tension. I sometimes think of physical activity (I currently jog three times each week) as a way to release mental toxins. [↩]
4. The act of writing is really the act of externalizing the internal through the use of symbols that constitute sounds which, when put together in a particular way, constitute words with a grouping of words (sometimes even a single word) conveying to the outside an internal idea (all ideas are, in a sense, internal…no?) Exposition, expounding is really placing something outside. "Ex" meaning "out of" and "position" coming from ponere (Latin) meaning "to place." [↩]
5. I'm sure this list of issues could go on ad infinitum. [↩]
6. Scientia potentia est: knowledge is power. [↩]

Jeff posted this article under A.D.D. Blogosphere on Monday, May 12th, 2008 at 5:39 am You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment or trackback from your own site. Here's the Permalink. View Technorati Linkbacks.