ADHD

Do you find yourself jumping from activity to activity, starting many tasks but rarely finishing them, having trouble concentrating, or losing focus when others speak? If so you you fit some of criteria for ADHD. Attentive-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, or ADHD, is characterized by a pattern of inattention, such as being disorganized or forgetful about school- or work-related tasks, or of hyperactivity and impulsivity. But what does it really mean to have ADHD?

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The idea of having ADHD, or really any psychological disorder, has been contentious at times. Ultimately, being diagnosed with a disorder means you experience a certain cluster of symptoms at a given point in time. But does this mean that a diagnosis signals that experiencing these symptoms is due to some innate and unchangeable part of your personality? This is more debatable.

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While some would point to the typical prognosis of a disorder as evidence that it represents something more innate and unchangeable, with the right attitude and approach, symptoms of a disorder may alleviate to the point that one no longer meets the diagnostic criteria, that is they no longer "have it."

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Coming back to ADHD, one way it is often conceptualized is as an impairment of executive function. Executive function refers to our ability to organize thoughts and activities, prioritize tasks, manage time efficiently, and make decisions. In addition, executive function can be thought of as 7 different skills: self-awareness, inhibition, verbal working memory, non-verbal working memory, emotional self-regulation, self-motivation, and planning/problem solving. Basically, you can think of it as the inner "executive" who's directing and calling the shots within your psyche. Executive functioning can also be likened to the rational or conscious mind and the Freudian ego.

 

With that being said, if we think of ADHD as being based in impaired executive function, it stands to reason that if we can strengthen our executive function, then symptoms of ADHD can be alleviated, potentially to the point of no longer meeting diagnostic criteria (i.e. no longer having it, being cured).  So the question is, can we strengthen our executive functioning to such a degree that ADHD symptoms return to normal levels?

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One discipline that may help us answer this question is neuroscience. Within neuroscience, there is a topic known as neuroplasticity, which refers to the brains capacity to change.