A British physician in the early twentieth century first discovered attention deficit disorder. But it's only since the 1980's that ADD has been noticed by the general population. If you're over 30, you may have experienced the symptoms of attention deficit all your life, but didn't realize that's what the issue was, until you were an adult. You may have been labeled disorganized, lazy, and flat-out "flaky" by others, and when you finally realize that you probably have attention deficit, you could get some negative reaction from the people around you, who don't believe that ADD exists, and this may anger and hurt you.



Attention deficit information is widely available today, and studies showing that it may be caused by differences in the brain. Yet, many people still choose to see attention deficit as a fantasy disorder. With the number of kids who are diagnosed ADD by teachers, pediatricians, or general practitioners who quickly hand out meds, rather than send kids for proper diagnosis, this is understandable. Many of these kids may need parents with better skills, but more of them may have issues related to, but not, ADD, like Asperger's syndrome or Bi-Polar disorder. With all the mis-diagnosing and medicating going on around the country, is it any wonder that people would be skeptical?

But you can help the situation when friends give you a negative reaction. Educate them. Find some great stuff online or in books and show them why the symptoms relate to you. Tell them that ADD can be a blessing, rather than a curse. You're smart, you're creative, you can solve problems and you think at the speed of sound. Explain how much they're hurting you by not taking your realization of attention deficit seriously.

Yet, if none of those things help the situation, you may want to re-think your friendship. Of course, if the person is a close relation, you can't really solve the issue completely. If it's a friend, why spend time with someone who can't understand what you're going through? Anyone who won't help you to work around or within the boundaries of attention deficit may not be people you want to associate yourself with anyway. Find people who can be sympathetic and move on.