ADHD And The Right-Brained Individual
I have ADD or ADHD… whatever you want to call it. You Europeans may think that it doesn’t exist but it does or does it? I believe the symptoms of restlessness, impulsivity and inattentiveness do exist but I am not sure they are bad. I think they are viewed as bad because we live in a predominantly left-brained world.
When I am on medication for ADD I am a left-brained fool but when I am not on meds I am very right-brained. I don’t think our world, especially America, likes right-brainers. What’s the difference between right-brain and left brain?
Left Brain
- Verbal, focusing on words, symbols, numbers
- Analytical, led by logic
- Process ideas sequentially, step by step
- Words used to remember things, remember names rather than faces
- Make logical deductions from information
- Work up to the whole step by step, focusing on details, information organized
- Highly organized
- Like making lists and planning
- Likely to follow rules without questioning them
- Good at keeping track of time
- Spelling and mathematical formula easily memorized
- Enjoy observing
- Plan ahead
- Likely read an instruction manual before trying
- Listen to what is being said
- Rarely use gestures when talking
- Likely to believe you’re not creative, need to be willing to try and take risks to develop your potential
Right Brain
- Visual, focusing on images, patterns
- Intuitive, led by feelings
- Process ideas simultaneously
- ‘Mind photos’ used to remember things, writing things down or illustrating them helps you remember
- Make lateral connections from information
- See the whole first, then the details
- Organization tends to be lacking
- Free association
- Like to know why you’re doing something or why rules exist (reasons)
- No sense of time
- May have trouble with spelling and finding words to express yourself
- Enjoy touching and feeling actual objects (sensory input)
- Trouble prioritizing, so often late, impulsive
- Unlikely to read instruction manual before trying
- Listen to how something is being said
- Talk with your hands
- Likely to think you’re naturally creative, but need to apply yourself to develop your potential
Our world doesn’t seem to care for or at least doesn’t take the right-brain person seriously.
Your Thoughts
Are you right brained or left brained? Any additional thoughts you would like to add?
Dummies of the year. What! You must be joking.
For near 4 years now I have been on a mission to get people to at least listen to the idea that dyslexia, ADHD et al are not symptoms that need to be treated and ‘sufferers’ are not patients. I don’t even see it as a ‘neurological condition’.
No all this stuff comes from the domain of the left brain thinking establishment. If you can get everybody lined up like lots of little toy soldiers and give them a one-size-fits-all dip of education they all grow into obedient fighting soldiers, right?
Oh dear, oh dear. If this were the case there wouldn’t be 10% academically high performers and there wouldn’t be 10-15% of low performers.
The point is governments cut the educational cloth to dress the majority and everything else isn’t worth the hassle . . .
You see, the right side of the brain is the creative, big picture seeing side and the left is narrow, linear and has to follow a sequence; it is focused on the detail. The paradox us right brainers face is we need to find a way to show these ‘little’ picture thinkers’ how to see the ‘big picture’.
Time will help us. We have been in a period called ‘the information age’ for 100 years or so. There is already evidence that this is passé and that the new age is one of a conceptual nature. Which side of the brain and dominant thinking style used to be needed and what will be needed in the future?
I strongly advocate that the characteristics that are noted for ADHD, dyslexia, dyspraxia, dysgraphia and dyscalculia are all elements of what I call The Dyslexic Thinking Style. As with all thinking styles there are advantages too.
Let’s sock it to them!!!
Wow, what a great reply! I totally agree with you. I am in a bit of a dilemma though. I have to learn the German language soon, so I need to figure out how a right brain individual learns so that it is not one big headache. Any thoughts on that or site recommendations? Thanks.
Anna, with your permission I would like to your comment and turn it into a post. My site is called dummies of the year but there is nothing dumb about what we are talking about. If you let me turn it into a post I could leave a link to the site you provide for further help.
Hi Mel, glad you appreciated it.
Learning another language. . . . well. When I work with people I who experience ADHD/Dyslexia et al what I am really doing helping them to learn how to learn using the strengths of their natural ability and to manage their mind. Although I use the written form of language as the material to work on (so reading/writing becomes distinctly less problematical), I’m not actually a recognised subject teacher as such.
Having said that . . . what could help?
A key principle is to keep your mind (attention) in one place so that you can see what you are expected to see. If it keeps going off, try a visioning exercise whereby you regulate the amount of energy running into your head – less energy means less able to run off, you can always turn it up again when you want to – that’s the point of learning to manage it.
This principle is sooooo important. Accelerated learning techniques (such as often advocated in CV / DVD based language courses) is very clear about the mind learning best when at theta wavelength. This is the one that your brain gets to a few moments before sleep.
If you can learn to manage your mind to achieve any level of calmness when you are learning, learning will be more effective. Attention jumping all over the place is a tell tale sign that the mind has too much energy running through it.
On a practical level, you may also want to be aware of what you are eating/drinking so that you don’t fill up with energy high foods.
People often like to study with Mozart’s music in the background – I certainly found it helped after I failed an exam I was dreading and was dreading even more having to do the retake – dread made my mind run immeasurably faster – otherwise known as PANIC!!!
I don’t know what it is about Mozart’s music, but it’s well documented how much it can help learning – maybe something to do with it being reasonably well considered that he had ADHD himself – could this have been his own medicin??
When you find your self concentrating STOP. I said STOP!!! Can’t go into it here, but concentration uses considerable amounts of energy – catapulting you straight into the high energy banding that is counter productive to learning. The desired state is to absorb naturally while you are relaxed.
Oh, and the headaches – errr, would you believe too much energy . . . you got the gist.
Litterally: be laid back over learning, almost as if you are fascinated watching a tropical goldfish playing in a new toy you’ve just put in their tank. You’ll be asking: “where did that hour go” and feeling good on it.
Good luck, Anna