This is my understanding of it all as well. Like, if your parents never stfu as a kid or you never had a chance to really be alone and quiet and safe as a baby, your brain, your very concept of self, is hardwired for constant stimulation such that it’s uncomfortable not to have it, to the point of sitting their for 14 hours reading Wikipedia pages or whatever because it’s more stimulating that it would be to stop and wash the floors or so the laundry, or maybe just talking your fingers in class or letting your mind read every sign and bumper sticker while you’re driving. It’s also why all the most effective treatments are about emotional regulation.
I’m not going to argue if it’s identical to ADHD chemically. I’m not sure we have the level of understanding of the low level mechanisms to differentiate (if it even is actually different), or even that ADHD is “one mechanism” and not a bundle of similar mechanisms of different types of disregulation with similar outcomes, because diagnosis of any mental difference is effectively all about checking boxes on patterns of behavior.
But even if there’s something you can point to as clearly a distinguishing factor to say “this isn’t ADHD as we’ve defined it”, which I’m not sure you can, I’m not sure how you say they’re not similar or related.
This is my understanding of it all as well. Like, if your parents never stfu as a kid or you never had a chance to really be alone and quiet and safe as a baby, your brain, your very concept of self, is hardwired for constant stimulation such that it’s uncomfortable not to have it, to the point of sitting their for 14 hours reading Wikipedia pages or whatever because it’s more stimulating that it would be to stop and wash the floors or so the laundry, or maybe just talking your fingers in class or letting your mind read every sign and bumper sticker while you’re driving. It’s also why all the most effective treatments are about emotional regulation.
I’m not going to argue if it’s identical to ADHD chemically. I’m not sure we have the level of understanding of the low level mechanisms to differentiate (if it even is actually different), or even that ADHD is “one mechanism” and not a bundle of similar mechanisms of different types of disregulation with similar outcomes, because diagnosis of any mental difference is effectively all about checking boxes on patterns of behavior.
But even if there’s something you can point to as clearly a distinguishing factor to say “this isn’t ADHD as we’ve defined it”, which I’m not sure you can, I’m not sure how you say they’re not similar or related.
I think you misread me. I’m in total agreement with you.