Edward M. HallowellBesprekingen

Extremely helpful guide for the ADHD or the supportive people around them. This book is written in a style customized for the ADHD reader. Key points include that every disadvantage has a positive counterpoint, that the turn-around begins with recognition and curiosity, and that those affected by ADHD can learn to harness their special superpowers.

This book explained a lot about my 58 years. I especially appreciated the explanation of what's happening in the brain to generate the thought processes and behaviors associated with ADHD. The suggestions for managing (and capitalizing on) ADHD are practical and the discussion of pharmaceutical options is thorough. I read a library copy but I'm pretty sure I'll end up buying a copy to share, annotate, and refer to in the future.


Middle Ga Reg Library
May 2023

I picked this book up years ago because of the title. Since then I have read about the controversy of the experts & self-diagnosis, but the stories in this book opened our eyes up to issues we were dealing with. We were able to understand that the struggles with ADD symptoms were common. It was a major breakthrough.

I've wanted to read this book for sometime simply because of the title. I mean, who can't identify with that?

I enjoyed all of it, even though I keep saying I hate memoirs. This one was quite well done - honest, but never self-aggrandizing, never cruel or bitter, and seemed rather insightful. It was rather like a cross between Oliver Sacks and Jeannette Walls.

Recommended to anyone who enjoys memoirs or is interested in psychology or psychiatry. Or, of course, has a crazy family.

Edward doesn’t leap out of the pages of the book and do anything violent and exciting or whatever, but I think his book shows that he has a great deal of openness to experience. (He’s a good person.) In his personal life, both as a child and as an adult, and in his school and work lives, he shows kindness and openness to experience instead of I don’t know, shutting off or trying to turn people off, you know. There are a lot of examples you could find; Edward just doesn’t snap at people or tell people they’re worthless, and it doesn’t mean he’s stupid or weak or has no boundaries. Maybe the most cool thing for me is his openness to God; he never tells people that God is bad whatever’s, and actually draws encouragement from being part of a church despite not being a ‘churchy’ person—my way is the best and only way!—and in fact, he doesn’t really talk about it that much or in any kind of dominating way…. It’s nice because obviously one of the ways to be famous or whatever is to be the atheist closed off to God and experiencing God, but he’s open to experiencing God, despite not being that ‘churchy’ person, which is clearly another way to throw your weight around with family and friends.

I guess in the end openness to experience, like an open (ajar) door, is defined largely by what it is not, and yet is clearly a good thing. Edward isn’t a big literary name, (despite having read many of those people), and this is not a hard science book or even a how-to manual (although he IS a doctor, this is a memoir), or, again, any kind of technically religious or philosophical book, although he’s open to experiencing the closeness of both God and his neighbor.

"In 1994, Driven to Distraction sparked a revolution in our understanding of attention deficit disorder. Now a second revolution is under way in the approach to ADD, and the news is great. Drug therapies, our awareness of the role of diet and exercise, even the way we define the disorder -- all are changing radically. In this new book, Drs. Edward M. Hallowell and John J. Ratey build on the breakthroughs of Driven to Distraction to offer a comprehensive and entirely up-to-date guide to living a rich and productive life with ADD.

"Tailored expressly to ADD learning styles and attention spans, Driven to Distraction provides accessible, engaging discussions of every aspect of the condition, including new diagnostic procedures; whether ADD runs in families; links between ADD and other conditions; ways people with ADD can free up their inner talents; the truth about the new drugs and how they work; exciting advances in nonpharmaceutical therapies; sexual problems associated with ADD and how to resolve them; and strategies for dealing with procrastination, clutter, and chronic forgetfulness. Driven to Distraction is a wise, nurturing guide to releasing the positive energy that ll people with ADD hold inside."
~~back cover

Reading this book, I discovered more things about myself that are the result of my ADD, most specifically: piles. I've always made piles and they've always gotten out of hand; I thought it was just me. I looked around my house and remembered all the enormous piles I've dealt with and removed, and then I looked around again at all the new piles that have taken their place. "Then, one unsuspecting day, we walk into our disorganized office and see that it looks like a dumpster was emptied in it, and we fall to our knees and cry. We feel overwhelmed and inept. Incompetent. Lost. And so sad." What a perfect description of my life! "Most people will counsel you on how to get superorganuized. I urge you to ignore that advice if you have ADD. It is just not in the cards for you. But it doesn't matter. Instead, put your energy into getting well enough organized to reach your dreams." Talk about your get-out-of-jail-free cards! Following this excellent, practical advice will mean giving up my dream of a minimalist, uncluttered house and office, but obviously that's exactly what I need to do.

This book has this kind of practical, supportive advice for so many of the problems and difficulties that plague people with ADD. I can't recommend it strongly enough!

Considered the most current reference for defining Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) from childhood through adulthood.

As Hallowell and Ratey point out, "attention deficit disorder" is a highly misleading description of an intriguing kind of mind. Original, charismatic, energetic, often brilliant, people with ADD have extraordinary talents and gifts embedded in their highly charged but easily distracted minds. Tailored expressly to ADD learning styles and attention spans, Delivered from Distraction provides accessible, engaging discussions of every aspect of the condition, from diagnosis to finding the proper treatment regime. Inside you’ll discover
• whether ADD runs in families
• new diagnostic procedures, tests, and evaluations
• the links between ADD and other conditions
• how people with ADD can free up their inner talents and strengths
• the new drugs and how they work, and why they’re not for everyone
• exciting advances in nonpharmaceutical therapies, including changes in diet, exercise, and lifestyle
• how to adapt the classic twelve-step program to treat ADD
• sexual problems associated with ADD and how to resolve them
• strategies for dealing with procrastination, clutter, and chronic forgetfulness
Selected Reading Questionnaire.

So, ti's to return to some easier reading. CrazyBusy talks about the frantic modern life which makes us go faster but falling farther behind. It's a subject I think that all of us can relate to on some level.

Edward takes us through some humorous examples of our modern life. They are fun and see ourselves and hopefully laugh at ourselves. He then starts pointing out a strategies to get a hold of our life ... like a time budget.

We hear about financial budgets and diet diaries but not time budgets. Have you ever analyzed how you actually spend your 168 hours a week? Further he assigns a point system based on productivity, need, and desire. I laughed to myself because I created something akin to my eating habits (is it good for me? does it taste good? Does it make someone else happy if I eat it). I thought I was alone in this thinking.

There were many fine suggestions for example doing a job first before getting emotionally roped into it and that the most successful people (financially speaking) spend time thinking and playing with ideas - not running around like people on Blackberry devices.

This book ironically is aimed toward the people who are least likely to read it. The book is divided into such short chapters it makes a wonderful literary companion on your bus ride or lunch break. If you want to start catching up, I think this book could have some answers for you.

By disc 8 it just started selling stuff... had to stop listening to the book.

This book is helpful both for the parent and and for anyone's own self-reflection. The framework is a cycle of five elements to adult happiness. I would have read this as a new parent if I'd known about it. It's old enough that I wonder if some of the research findings have changed. Most notably there's an observation that one of the factors linked to adult happiness is extraversion. In the past decade, we've seen several notable books about the positive qualities of introverts.

It took ages for me to finish reading this because I kept misplacing it -- go figure! I definitely recognized myself and my kids in these pages, and found some useful framings and advice. I do with he wasn't so credulous about unproven alternative treatments, and I found some sections, e.g. the one on organizing with ADHD, to be so vague as to be nearly useless. Overall very good, though.

If you only buy one book on the topic of ADD/ADHD? Get this one. Edward Hallowell is the omni-expert on ADD/ADHD and is the one who originally released the ground breaking research on it decades ago. When he did, it was a historical time for the condition and those who had it. His research did a great deal, including changing the perception of it, helping to educate the medical and mental health fields, as well as the general public. His research removed the stigma it had held for years.
He is a psychologist who also happens to have ADD. (Both authors do.)
He has been treating people for it since 1981.
This book is his latest version of his unprecedented, seminal, New York Times best seller book “Driven to Distraction”.
This book, ADHD 2.0, offers information on the latest research, even more coping strategies, and a great deal more.
If you have ADD/ADHD, or have someone in your life that does, get this book. Just you understanding how your loved one’s brain works will drastically improve your relationship with them.

For those with undiagnosed ADHD, this book is a life changer.

A colourful children's story which shows that no brain is the best and everyone has their own strengths.

Stories of ADHD from families together with information on diagnosis, family life, treatment and sub-types. Readable and full of hope.

HEARD DR. HALLOWELL SPEAK AT CHAUTAUQUA INSTITUTE IN NEW YORK

The book starts by pointing out the shortcomings of a similar book, then goes directly into pathologizing portable electronics. Nope, this is not a book for me.

I read Crazy Busy Overstretched, Overbooked and About To Snap by Edward Hallowell, MD. this last weekend when I went to a wedding in Seattle Washington. I liked the author's writing style, the pragmatic examples he shared and the simplicity of how to manage the issues addressed.½

This intelligent book does a better job of explaining ADD/ADHD than any book in my recent memory. It's a must-read for anyone with an interest in of this topic, whether of a personal or professional nature.

This is the book that jumpstarted the change in thinking about AD/HD: its causes, symptoms and how to deal with the condition. This is the book that you're referred to if you think you or someone you know might be AD/HD -- the cornerstone of discovery, so to speak. Well written, well researched, and with enough individual stories to keep the conversation interesting.

Solid medical / science writing for a public office. Hallowell is up front about when he is writing from research and when he is winging it. He wings it a lot, and there's a sense of snake oil sales in the book, but I appreciated his clear communication of where his suggestions come from.

So despite that bit of faint praise, I strongly recommend this to adults diagnosed w/ ADHD. I was diagnosed at 42. I recognized my symptoms and many of my coping mechanisms in his writing. I feel informed and better able to discuss options w/ my doctors.

I found this book to be so interesting. It discussed many of the misconceptions involving students who suffer with ADD/ADHD. I definitely plan on using the book as a future reference because I've faced some of the same issues that the text discussed involving parents.

I picked this book up years ago because of the title. Since then I have read about the controversy of the experts & self-diagnosis, but the stories in this book opened our eyes up to issues we were dealing with. We were able to understand that the struggles with ADD symptoms were common. It was a major breakthrough.

This book definitely showed a more in depth side to Attention Deficit Disorder than I had previously known, especially in adulthood and with those who suffer from substance abuse and/or depression. The text uses real accounts from both children and adults who suffer from ADD as they discuss various medications, treatments, and repercussions. The text even mentions how ADD has actually become slang as people use it to describe moments when they cannot focus or get bored. This text reminds us of the reality of this brain disorder and the severity of it, while stressing the importance of having a proper diagnosis. This text reminds us that just because ADD victims have different behaviors or ways of thinking, their uniqueness brings a great deal to the table. I definitely recommend this text to parents of children with ADD or educators.½