Posted by Ron Hill on June 13, 2003, at 0:34:02
In reply to Re: Differences between BP II and ADHD ｻ cybercafe, posted by katia on June 11, 2003, at 18:54:21
Hi Katie,
> Ok so that might be an indicator right there. I've never felt bored; just wanting to crawl out of me skin - like I wanted my actions to match the raciness of my energy.
> who knows!May I tell a short story that might help distinguish between a BP II and an ADD (ADHD) dx?
<beginning of story>
"A Bipolar II Husband and His ADD Wife Waiting for the Bus"
My wife is slightly-to-moderately ADD and I'm moderately BP II. If my wife wanted to catch the bus, she would arrive at the bus stop a couple minutes early, and she would get bored within the first few minutes of waiting. She would turn into what I affectionately call my "little far-away girl". I知 not sure where she goes exactly, but I know when she痴 gone. It would never cross her mind to be frustrated or angry about the wait for the bus. Instead she痴 just bored.
My response to the same situation would be much different. First of all, I have a very hard time gauging how long it will take to accomplish any given task. Therefore, although I intend to arrive right on time, or maybe 30 seconds before the bus is scheduled to arrive, I notoriously run late (arriving early would be an inefficient use of my time). So, before I even get to the bus stop, I知 frustrated because I知 running late. I知 frustrated with myself (self-talk: Why can稚 I ever be on time) and I知 frustrated with the idiots that made me late (i.e.; the people dilly-dallying on the sidewalk while I知 trying to speed walk to the bus stop, the idiots that set the timing sequence of the traffic lights such that the DON探 WALK greets me at every intersection, etc). In summary, on route to the bus stop I知 feeling guilty 祖ause I was supposed to be on time and I知 feeling angry and frustrated because I知 afraid I値l miss the bus.
Once I round the last corner and see the people waiting for the bus, I知 monetarily relieved that I did not miss it. I arrive at the stop and patiently wait for about 90 seconds. If the bus does not show up within the first 90 seconds or so, I start to get angry again. This time I知 mad at the idiots who run the bus company for wasting my time. Further, I知 frustrated by all the idiots whizzing by in there cars with only one occupant, wasting precious natural resources, and polluting the air solely to move their carcass from point A to point B. I知 also angry with our national government痴 lack of leadership to advance mass transit. After all, here I am trying to do the right thing by taking the bus instead of driving my car, and what do I get? Inefficiency, delay, and frustration!
<end of story>
I致e slightly exaggerated in this story for illustrative purposes. Also, I asked for and obtained permission from my wife to discuss her ADD in the story.
-- Ron
poster:Ron Hill
thread:102831
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030609/msgs/233604.html