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Secret to U.S. Olympic Gold = ADHD?

5 comments February 24th, 2010

How to pull off the ‘impossible’ (U2 style)

4 comments March 30th, 2009

Don’t Give Up On Your True Will

116 comments December 3rd, 2008

How can I stop taking my medication after being on it for such a long time?

Q: “Hey Garret, I just started listening to your book the other day, and I have to say I feel like you wrote my biography…  Totally amazing stuff.  I know you are busy, so I really hope you can answer my question.

I want to stop taking Ritalin.  I have been taking it for about 10 years. While it does help me focus and concentrate on some detail-oriented tasks, I sometimes feel that it turns me into someone I am not.  I feel shy and introverted.  I become content and comfortable with mediocrity, which is not the real me.  It feels like Ritalin suppresses the qualities I love most and am most proud of in myself. I worry about my dependence on Ritalin.I just want to be me. I love the fact that I am unique in my DaVinci ways, and different from most of society.

Some days I feel so alive: Upbeat, funny, outgoing, and naturally high on life. I often feel this way when my medication wears off, or if I forget to take it. I want to feel like the ‘real’ me again all the time, and allow the Davinci part of me to shine through. I know that you are not a doctor, but could you advise me as a friend? How can I stop taking my stimulant medication after being on it for such a long time?”

My Answer: Great question… So, like you said, I am giving you this answer as a friend, not as a doctor. I would not recommend going off your stimulant medication ‘cold turkey,’ because chances are you’ve already built a life around the person you are while taking Ritalin. This Ritalin influenced person you’ve ‘become’ for the last 10 years is most likely a lot more organized and tame, but you are also less creative, sensitive, wild, and adventurous than you naturally are. Stopping the Ritalin all at once may cause massive disruption in your life.

For starters, I would recommend taking weekends off. Give yourself Friday afternoon through Sunday night away from the drugs. If you’re in college and you need to study, then take it Sunday night, but try to give yourself the whole weekend if it’s possible. These weekends off will help bring you back in touch with who you are or would like to be again. You can start building your new life during your weekends. Also, next time you have a vacation, take a vacation from your medication too. As you develop confidence in who you are and in your natural gifts, you’ll be able to make more fulfilling choices about what your “work week” should be about. Maybe you’ll discover you no longer want a career as a Ritalin driven engineer, but instead discover you would much rather pursue a life as an entrepreneur or a writer. These kinds of choices often require deep conviction to be successful and may take some time for you to develop, while still playing a part that is not really you. You may need your Ritalin to help keep your old life together until you’re ready for your big breakout.

6 comments February 17th, 2010

You speak of delegating organizational tasks and responsibilities. How can I do that if I’m a student?

Q: “I find myself procrastinating a lot, because it’s difficult for me to put ideas together on paper. Classmates seem annoyed when I ask them for help. How can I outsource or delegate stuff I’m not good at in this situation?”

My Answer: When it comes to school, most DaVinci’s best shot at delegating or “outsourcing” the organizational responsibilities that conflict with your temperament is to play the “disability” card. (Let’s face it; most schools are not going to accommodate you if you say you are a DaVinci with a unique brilliance that comes along with some organizational weakness. You’ll need to have proof of a diagnosed disability to get the support you deserve.) Here, in the US, the National Disabilities Act grants students with a diagnosis of ADD or ADHD the right to free executive support from their schools. Executive function support can include note takers, organizational assistance, extra time on projects and tests, oral exams when writing is too difficult, etc. Virtually every DaVinci can get an ADD or ADHD diagnosis if they choose to. You can use this diagnosis to turn the tables on your school and insist that any school requirements, which conflict with your temperament, or ‘disability,’ now are the school’s responsibility to make accessible for you.

3 comments February 17th, 2010

What are ‘DaVincis’?

Q: “I keep hearing people referring to themselves or others as ‘DaVincis.’ What does that mean?”

My Answer: In my book, The DaVinci ,I define a “DaVinci” as someone who is impulsive, distractible, sensation-seeking and creative. Think of “DaVinci” as a personality type – or more accurately a natural temperament some people have. People who are DaVincis tend to be labeled as “troublemakers” or “space-cadets,” tend to be diagnosed with ADD/ADHD, bipolar, OCD, autism or Aspergers and tend to suffer from anxiety, depression, instability and addictions. Just about all DaVincis have the natural capacity to tap savant-like abilities if they can unlearn certain limits they may have been forced to accept growing up in a society intolerant to mavericks, change-agents and nonconformists. Depending on their talents and interests DaVincis tend to make great innovators, artists, athletes, emergency workers, performers and entrepreneurs. You can learn more about DaVincis, what makes them tick, how to overcome the weaknesses that come with this temperament and how to set up your life to thrive as a DaVinci – in my book The DaVinci Method. You can find out more here: www.DaVinciMethod.com

1 comment February 17th, 2010

What can I do to battle the demons of my depression?

“Q: There are so many days when I just want to give up, can’t get out of bed, or feel totally hopeless.”

My Answer: There is hope. Depression is a monster that wants to keep you down. If you give up, it wins. You are strong. You are infinitely more powerful than this monster – especially when you ask for divine assistance. Every morning call on the Holy Light to guide and protect you, and to infuse you with limitless love. When you do this with all your heart, you will feel a divine presence wash over you; it will pour into you and lift you up.

Exercise is also key to helping you stay upbeat, light and happy. Do not underestimate how critical it is to get at least 30 minutes of exercise a day. Take a walk, ride a bike, find an activity that fills you with enthusiasm.

Finally, when you’re having a real tough time in the morning get yourself a good cup of coffee. Studies show that caffeinated coffee drinkers have much lower rates of depression. A good cup of coffee can really pull you up by your bootstraps on tough days.

4 comments February 17th, 2010

How can I transform a neurotic person into into a creative/artistic person?

Q: “Hi Garret, I am a dreamer who can reach beyond the stars, but all of this is handicapped by my neurotic nature. How can I overcome this? I am in the medical field, and feel imprisoned by it. I lack creativity in my life. When (is it to late?) and how can I transform a neurotic into an artistic DaVinci type? Thank you.

My Answer: It’s never too late. So many truly creative individuals find themselves in a situation just like yours. Ultimately, you have a choice. Are you doing what you really want to do? If the answer is “no,” but you feel that you are already too invested in this career to abandon it now, then I recommend you find a creative expression that gives you some bliss. Then make it a priority to spend at least a few hours a week involved in that creative expression. The way you transform your neurotic tendencies into creative/artistic/heroic tendencies is to begin trusting your impulses more, taking more chances, being more honest, living more spontaneously and not judging the results, but simply honoring and appreciating the increased freedom those results reflect. Eventually, your impulses will become free enough to show you a new kind of “divine” order, which they create, replacing the need for you to control your life neurotically with your faith in your ability to handle life heroically and creatively.

2 comments February 17th, 2010

My ability to focus has improved beyond my wildest expectations. I am astounded!!

“I purchased both The DaVinci Method and Brainwaves programs and quite frankly, I am astounded!! I have only just started and already my ability to focus has improved beyond my wildest expectations.

I am involved in community development and the problems we face are daunting and extremely complex. I was having difficulty with a very short attention span so the results I am experiencing after only one week of using the Brainwaves material has given me a new lease on life. I am also studying The DaVinci Method and will be keeping you posted on development.

Thank you for a truly miraculous system through which suffering people can now be assisted in creating a better life for themselves and their children. You will surely be blessed for a major poverty alleviation program’s success and for enabling us to show people that they have the ability to pull themselves out of hopeless poverty and to move forward to a new and exciting future. I will spread the good word about your incredibly gifted ability to renew hope and create a new future for the lives of people who have lost faith in their own inherent gifts and abilities.”

My Answer: Thanks for the feedback – and thanks for all the great service you are giving to those in need. Keep us posted on your progress and let us know how we can help.

3 comments February 17th, 2010

Is there a connection between a bipolar adult having a child with ADHD?

Q: Is there a connection between a bipolar adult having a child with ADHD? My 6yr old son has recently being diagnosed with ADHD and will be commencing with Ritalin soon – is this dangerous?

My answer: Yes, there is a connection between a bipolar adult having a child with ADHD (and vice versa). Both bipolar and ADHD are symptoms of the creative, impulsive, “extreme” personality type, which tends to be genetic and has been shown to run in families. Both bipolar and ADHD are really symptoms of a deeper underlying cause – the sensation seeking “DaVinci” temperament – which is shared by virtually all great visionaries, pioneers, entrepreneurs, artists and innovators. It is this highly creative temperament which is what really runs in families – and has recently (due to our overly structured and controlling industrialized societies) become frustrated to the point of being expressed through disorders, because the natural creative expressions of this temperament have been so thoroughly limited by our industrialized society (especially in the classroom). The good news is that there’s a way to rework your life (and your child’s life) so that you are both no longer frustrated and your naturally creative temperaments can resume expressing themselves in happy, positive, productive and fulfilling ways. You can find this way outlined in The DaVinci Method.

As for the dangers of Ritalin… according to U.S. drug classification, it’s no more dangerous than cocaine – they’re both Class II substances known to be able to stop your heart – because cocaine and Ritalin are chemical cousins. The FDA wanted to put a “black box” warning on the drug a couple years ago, but the all too powerful pharmaceutical lobbyists put a stop to that. Ritalin can also stunt your son’s growth if he isn’t a voracious eater. Taken in very controlled small doses, Ritalin may feel like a few cups of coffee, making him more alert and changing his personality from a more creative/impulsive visionary to a more focused/compliant pupil. If he were my son, I would try giving him Omega-3 supplements for 6 months, before turning to a narcotic like Ritalin, because studies have shown Omega-3s are more effective for treating ADHD than Ritalin is anyway. Just no pharmaceutical companies have figured out how to make obscene profits from unpatentable Omega-3 fatty acids yet. Find out more about Omega-3s here.

Add comment February 16th, 2010