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DelusionInABox In reply to Proffesor-Igneous [2012-09-13 12:51:36 +0000 UTC]

Haha xD Thank you!

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DelusionInABox In reply to lilittu [2011-07-26 15:01:52 +0000 UTC]

Thanks so much

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DelusionInABox In reply to sabroder [2011-04-17 00:29:40 +0000 UTC]

Thanks so much!

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DelusionInABox In reply to niteshadepromise [2011-04-14 18:15:08 +0000 UTC]

Yes, you're definitely not alone!

I agree that many people really don't understand the full extent of how it disrupts over lives. I wasn't diagnosed until I was older, and even then, my friends didn't believe me when I told them I had ADD because I wasn't disruptive and still managed to get mostly good grades. But I got good grades because I liked many of my classes - and when I liked them, I did well. But those I didn't, well, those grades weren't so good. And regardless of whether I liked the class or not, I would forget about assignments and such still nonetheless. I was also I guess good at looking like I was listening/paying attention when in reality I had mentally checked out and couldn't tell you a thing people said sometimes. I used to have terrible depression, and I now know that most of my depression was because of the problems my ADD caused me - though no one figured that out at the time. I was always told that the areas in which I was doing poorly were because I was lazy, irresponsible, uncaring, etc. and I came to believe them. I'm glad that I'm diagnosed now since now I have been able to deal with the real issue, and I've been much happier since! Oddly enough, the problems it caused me were more with my home life and relationships than at school (mainly due to my forgetfulness, terrible listening skills and poor ability to follow directions, etc. which all drove my mother crazy).

I haven't picked out leghairs one by one, but I have also done a strange variety of things instead of doing things I should haha!

Thanks for commenting! You're definitely not alone! ^_^

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niteshadepromise In reply to DelusionInABox [2011-04-14 19:03:15 +0000 UTC]

Back in high school, homework was my downfall. I used to draw in class, but while the teachers thought that THAT was the reason I did bad in class, I used to score really well on my tests when I understood the subject. It was mostly the homework...and research papers...because no one actually sat with me to tell me HOW to organize it. I'd end up staring at it for an hour before getting so frustrated, I just gave up. That actually happened a lot.
A lot of the depression I deal with now is definitely situational and dealing with my ADHD and anxiety. For a while I couldn't drive and sometimes couldn't even step outside the house. It was really bad, and people didn't believe that it was really all ADHD related.
Lately it's been off and on, dealing with how "unaccomplished" I feel in my life, even though everyone around me says I'm the complete opposite. I guess it's just really hard to see yourself from an outside perspective, and that's been something I've been working on my whole life. It's not easy.

I have a wonderfully understanding boyfriend, who definitely went from not believing in ADHD to seeing it first hand and eventually admitting that it IS a real condition. I think it takes seeing someone everyday on a personal basis to really see how it works and the way someone with ADHD functions to really learn to understand it.

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DelusionInABox In reply to niteshadepromise [2011-04-15 22:50:45 +0000 UTC]

I hear ya! I know the feeling of staring at assignments, not knowing what to do, and feeling so incredibly frustrated all too well. D: I hated driving and always wanted to avoid it because I found it really overwhelming. Urrrgh x_x Totally can relate! And its definitely not easy to see things from an outside perspective at times.

My fiance is pretty understanding. It definitely takes someone whose with you every day to see it...which is probably why my friends didn't believe I had ADD when I told them, yet my parents were like "EVERYTHING ALL MAKES SENSE NOW." haha! I think part of my parents' frustrations were that they would see me actively pursue things I was interested in - I taught myself computer programming, built my own website, and such - and in that regard was very ambitious. So my parents could see that when I wanted to do something, I could be a very hard worker, but I wasn't putting forth nearly as much "effort" with my schoolwork and I think it frustrated them a lot.

Ah man, it's nice to be able to talk to people who can relate!! :hugs:

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DelusionInABox In reply to akaRoger [2011-04-14 16:39:56 +0000 UTC]

It wasn't caught in our family until my older sister went to college and had things just fall apart for her. And since I was a lot like my sister except with already not that great grades, my parents decided to have me tested too

It doesn't hurt to take the test and find out. The medication can be expensive even if you have health insurance unfortunately, so that is one thing you would have to talk to them about, but there are also alternatives. I saw a behavioral therapist who specialized with people with ADD before going on meds and he taught me a lot of things that have worked for me and helped me a lot. Of course the problem was I didn't always follow through...and my medicine is not a cure, but more of an aid - they give me the little bit of a push I need to be more aware of what I'm doing and be able to really do what I need.

It might be difficult to bring it up to your parents, but if you are having problems and think there is something behind it, it is probably for the best to investigate now before things might get worse when you're on your own. Perhaps spend some time planning what you want to say so when you bring it up, you can explain it to them as clearly as you can. Good luck!

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akaRoger In reply to DelusionInABox [2011-04-14 17:37:19 +0000 UTC]

Thanks

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DelusionInABox In reply to Jammerlee [2011-04-14 16:30:28 +0000 UTC]

hahaha I seem to have had that effect on people with this comic and I'm not sure if its good or bad yet LOL XD Thanks for commenting though ADD kids unite!

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DelusionInABox In reply to greenglassesgirl [2011-04-14 16:28:46 +0000 UTC]

I think a lot of people don't really know that much about it, even though we through the term around a lot. Or we think we know what it is, but in reality we only know a fraction about what it is and how it really affects the life of somehow who has it. I know I definitely didn't until I was diagnosed with it! I could only really admit I had and accept it after doing research and realizing that I fit the symptoms to the letter and it really explained a looot of the things that I was having trouble with. Although part of what had made me reluctant to accept it was because I had always been told my problems were because I was lazy, irresponsible, being difficult, etc. and I had come to believe them. But after accepting that it might really be because of the ADD and learning to then deal with it has made my life soooo much better.

Thanks a lot for all the kind comments! ^_^

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DelusionInABox In reply to SweetAmberkins [2011-04-14 16:23:32 +0000 UTC]

haha my parents were convinced that I was just lazy or being difficult when I was younger, and I ended up believing them that this was the case. Both of my sisters were much better in school than I was...but then when one of my sisters went to college, it became suddenly apparent there was a problem. Her natural intelligence had let her breeze through grade school and high school despite her problems - if she forgot her homework, she copied it from friends, and since she did well on tests anyway no one was any the wiser (especially our parents). But losing the structure we had and suddenly being free to do whatever/whenever she wanted, combined with no one to kind of pick the slack with where she had problems and not knowing what she was learning, things really fell apart for her.

So when we learned she had ADD, my parents decided to have me tested too - after all, the two of us were very much alike but I already hadn't been doing that great in school. XD Dad was more reluctant to accept it than my mom, and my oldest sister who always did phenomenally in school just could not understand it at all. I was reluctant to accept my own diagnosis because I was already convinced the problems were all of my character and not with my mind - but after doing research about ADD and learning all about what it is, then I was like "Holycrap this really sounds exactly like me and explains SO MUCH". My mom had the same reaction when she did research too - it was like suddenly everything made sense haha! XD

Sorry to ramble! But if you think you have ADD and that if its causing you problems, then you probably should get tested - especially before it might end up causing you even more problems. Good luck!

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SweetAmberkins In reply to DelusionInABox [2011-04-14 17:38:46 +0000 UTC]

Yeah, I think I should but my mother thinks I'm just stubborn; or don't want to learn. I'll guess I'll have to pay for tests myself

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DelusionInABox In reply to spaghetti-legs96 [2011-04-14 16:09:38 +0000 UTC]

Thanks! Glad you like it~

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spaghetti-legs96 In reply to DelusionInABox [2011-04-16 12:39:46 +0000 UTC]

Np

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DelusionInABox In reply to Advent-Axl [2011-04-14 07:23:30 +0000 UTC]

My sister didn't get diagnosed until she went to college, so I get the feeling you're in the same boat she was. It depends a lot on the medicine you take and how they affect you. The first one they had me try had awful side effects for me and I stopped taking it very quickly. The one I'm on now takes much longer to take effect, and I have minor side effects when I first start taking it (so if I take a break from them I usually have to go through it again). I mostly just get drowsiness, and after my body gets used to it, I don't have any more problems. It's not necessarily a cure; but it can be very helpful to give you the extra bit of attention you need to get things done. But unfortunately you won't really know until you try (and they also tend to be expensive).

Good luck!

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Advent-Axl In reply to DelusionInABox [2011-05-10 21:16:02 +0000 UTC]

I agree, you won't know until you try, I have an appointment coming up so things will work out on my behalf. I lack focus and hearing this REALLY helps. Thank you!

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DelusionInABox In reply to ReasonFalling [2011-04-14 07:24:24 +0000 UTC]

My cousin has ADHD so a bit different indeed! Helps us all out at times, it does haha

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DelusionInABox In reply to OakleyMark [2011-04-14 08:09:00 +0000 UTC]

Not sure where to start with a response!

Well, for one I actually took a class that talked all about the things that are in our food, plastics, etc. so I'm pretty familiar with all of that already. XD Depressing stuff, though it seems there isn't that much we can do about a whole lot of it since many of it is going on in so much all around us. (also, I don't drink as much soda as I drew. Just did that for additional comedic value haha) My dad is a chemical engineer who works for a water softener company, so I definitely also am quite familiar with a lot of what's in our water...he doesn't approve of the flouride in our water either. I was always picky about my drinking water and I still prefer tap to bottled water (which is less regulated), and I suppose its partly because I always knew our tap water at home was pretty safe (and honestly I thought it tasted better too!)

One thing I definitely disapprove of is how quick antidepressants are prescribed - they seem quicker to make folks happy with drugs than find the source of their problems and resolve them. I used to be terribly depressed, but I know now that it was mainly because of the problems my ADD was causing me - but no one at the time had bothered to look further into it. Is my ADD caused by all the things around us as you seem to imply? Well, that I just don't know and have no way to really know.

I do think some people are diagnosed with ADD/ADHD who don't have it - I've met some who say they have it and yet I don't seem them display any of the traits I have. But most of them were also diagnosed as children, and I'm beginning to feel that people really should wait until they're older to diagnose them. There is a big difference between having been displaying these traits for twenty years of life versus just, say, eight - and at that age you're really still growing/developing. Plus I feel like the workload and children's maturity level in elementary school is simply not there to really be able to tell for 100%. It took me until middle school/high school to really feel like something was wrong with me - which might seem normal for that age, but because the majority was so specifically related to the things caused by ADD, I can't dismiss it.

Though oddly enough, most people seem to get diagnosed because they have poor grades. My sister and I were both honors students! She was a far better student than I was, and it was only when she went to college and lost the structure that'd always been given her, that things fell apart and it was clear something was very, very wrong. Since I had poorer grades than she did in high school and the two of us are so similar, my parents decided to have me tested too just in case. But we always had the traits/symptoms - it wasn't that they suddenly appeared. We just now knew what they were. Most of the problems my ADD had caused me were not in school, but actually more in my home life and relationships.

Since my cousin always had ADHD, I am beginning to think it might be a bit hereditary in our family. And going back to those I feel don't really have it - with ADHD in boys especially it seems - I've noticed that I can tell an immediate difference between talking to someone with ADHD versus someone who doesn't. I find it difficult to explain, but there is just a familiar and specifically unique way that those with ADHD tend to have in how they talk and communicate. I've noticed it with my cousin and a few others with ADHD - I don't know if its part of my ADD or what, but I feel like my brain clicks more with them and I find their conversations incredibly more engaging than others. While with other people I tend to fade in and out of listening, they always get my attention all of the time. It's a strange thing that's more of a feeling than anything else.

Sorry for the rambling, and especially on things you didn't even bring up, but I agree it is important. I think what's more important is that we learn to really see things objectively and look at each INDIVIDUAL case than lumping everyone together in the same boat or making assumptions. I say this as someone who had to go over a year with braces that I was allergic to because my orthodontist was so convinced my gums were swollen/inflamed because I wasn't brushing enough, no matter how much I insisted I was. Only a fluke visit to the allergist who saw my mouth and was immediately like "holycrap that's an allergic reaction", and got me tested finally got him to listen (it was the nickle in the metal that I was allergic to btw).

Learning to look at things objectively - now THAT is what they REALLY don't teach in school.

Thanks for commenting, and sorry I have replied with so much text XD

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OakleyMark In reply to DelusionInABox [2011-04-14 11:07:07 +0000 UTC]

"Thanks for commenting, and sorry I have replied with so much text XD"

No worries! Text is good, as is the chance to understand you in some depth.

I didn't mention that I HAVE encountered people who do indeed seem to come by their ADHD quite honestly and who have been extremely well served by a responsibly applied drug solution. I don't doubt that the condition exists or that modern treatments can be effective.

But as you say, over-prescription seems to be a big problem, and I really do think that our environment is largely to blame for the symptoms. Just a look at the dozens of reader responses to your comic is a very clear indicator that this is NOT an uncommon condition. Indeed, it seems to almost be the norm, which suggests to me that it's not so much a disease as something far more linked to simply being human in a bath of stimuli which can only be expected to create the reaction.

I also left out the idea of media throwing a ba-zillion messages at us constantly and what that does to cognition. The internet age is still only a generation old. I certainly notice my adult brain reacting oddly to it; my short-term memory is highly engaged through the internet and I find it easy to lose touch with the deeper parts of my perceptive abilities, like being able to focuse on a whole paragraph at a time. I can't imagine being a child under these circumstances who hasn't yet learned how to focus! My solution is to balance myself between books and the hyper-active experience of the web. A kid doesn't have much of a chance, especially when other forms of media and video games are logged into the picture.

In any case. . , it certainly IS possible to mediate our exposure to toxins in our environment, it's fun to learn exactly what the things around us do and how they affect us, and how to minimize their impact. I've found in the years since I began paying attention to this stuff that my 'smart' level has sky-rocketed and I really notice the people around me seeming buzzed out and faded. It's not entirely unlike being awake in a world of stoners. But the downside is that going to a mall or somewhere very psycho-actively polluted is like dunking my head in local anesthetic. Twenty minutes and I feel like a zombie, with a whole layer or two of perception scraped out of my brain.

Anyway, thanks again for sharing your strip. I really appreciate people who bite off chunks of reality to explore and share like that!

Long-live comics!

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DelusionInABox In reply to OakleyMark [2011-04-14 17:03:47 +0000 UTC]

I agree with much of what you speak!

People need to be taught to think about what is in the things around us - too many people simply don't know or even realize they SHOULD know. That there is as much misinformation as actual facts out there being given in both the media and on the internet, it makes it all the more harder at times to really get to the truth...

When I took that class which had us learn about what toxin things are all around us, it really made me want to make some kind of comic project that would get people to realize they need to think about these things. I wanted to make a big collaborative/anthology type website where people could all make comics - or really any type of artwork, music, or video - about some type of issue they want to raise awareness of. The goal would not to be overbearing, but simply to give people things to think about, and every submission I think I would make them also link to good websites with real facts about the issue they bring up. Not sure if I shall ever get around to creating such a place; at the moment its on the back burner since I have so many other things to do taking priority at the moment...but if I ever do it, you should definitely contribute something too!

My parents were pretty strict about how much TV, internet, games, etc. we could use a day when I was a kid. Since I still had problems even WITHOUT those things, I cannot even imagine what life must be like for kids today! And it really does make it all the more easier for parents to then think their kids have ADD/ADHD even if they really don't. And then there is kind of a simplistic view of what ADD/ADHD is, which makes some people convinced they have it and we toss the word around a bit willy nilly. People tend to think it just means you have trouble paying attention or it just means you procrastinate, and that's it, even though there is actually more to the condition than just that. Still, ah man, our world today is all sorts of crazy...>_>;;

Thanks again. And long-live comics indeed!

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ambou In reply to OakleyMark [2011-04-13 23:27:35 +0000 UTC]

YES, thanks for taking the time to write this. Something I've learned is ADDers are most likely lacking in Omega 3 fatty acids - brain food - which is totally missing in the current typical American diet. You can find these healthy fatty acids in fish, krill oil, flax seed/oil, evening primrose oil, and the best one I think is hemp seed/oil (which contains the perfect ratio of Omega 3/6/9!)

[link]

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DelusionInABox In reply to ChipWhitehouse [2011-04-14 06:57:37 +0000 UTC]

Haha you're welcome! Glad to hear you love it!!

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DelusionInABox In reply to AnthroTsuneon [2011-04-14 06:57:11 +0000 UTC]

haha! Isn't it beautiful?!

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AnthroTsuneon In reply to DelusionInABox [2011-04-14 07:08:31 +0000 UTC]

Yes @_@

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