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Upsides to ADHD: Overcoming Your Sense of Underachievement
One of the distinctive aspects of ADHD in adults is an overwhelming sense of underachievement. Sometimes this is due to them never getting out of the gate while their peers race ahead, and sometimes they have actually accomplished a great deal, but from the wrong ToDo lists. Both examples can leave ADHD adults with a pervasive feeling of underachievement, even if they accomplish a great deal more than their peers.I imagine the skeptics out there are sitting up and asking,“But doesn’t everybody miss goals? Don’t even overachievers miss goals? Everybody misses goals!” I ’ve heard similar comments like that for year...
Source: The Splintered Mind by Douglas Cootey - March 6, 2017 Category: Psychiatry Tags: ADHD Goodreads Journaling Writing Source Type: blogs

Life, the Universe, and Everything 2017 Was Just What I Needed
Entry 18 – 11:46 PM: Just a quick update before I head off to bed. Finally, sickness left me so that I could attendLife, the Universe& Everything. It’s an academic symposium on science fiction& fantasy held every year in Provo, Utah. I used to help run it when I attended BYU. There isn’t anything else quite like it out there. I missed yesterday’s programming (economics of the undead and a discussion on folklore withJessica Day George andDene Lowe, and I worried that I simply wouldn’t be able to shake off this virus. In a fit of unusual slumber, however, I retired to bed at 7:50pm and woke ...
Source: The Splintered Mind by Douglas Cootey - February 18, 2017 Category: Psychiatry Tags: ADHD Depression Hobnobbing Writing Source Type: blogs

500,000 Unique Visitors!
Sometime before midnight on January 31st, my blog crossed a threshold that I’ve been waiting for a long time to see.A Splintered Mind has hit 500,000 unique visitors. Considering the blog just had it’s twelfth birthday on January 2nd, this seems a fitting month to achieve such a milestone.Thank you, one and all, for your support over the past twelve years. I’ve grown so much as a person and as a writer. In fact, we’ve come so far together since the days years ago when I would blog about my wet socks, and you could leave comments —back before my blog template became damaged beyond repair. Maybe tha...
Source: The Splintered Mind by Douglas Cootey - February 1, 2017 Category: Psychiatry Tags: Goodreads Spinning Source Type: blogs

Don't Forget To Plan for Detours
Day 17 – 11:56 PM: I’ve put together a heavy schedule —a roadmap—that will lead me towards achieving my goals, but as usual with lists, life has a way of giving them a flat. Fortunately, the lists still work as roadmaps, even if distractions and responsibilities put detours in front of my deadlines.The point of writing openly like this is to share a bit of the process. I believe strongly that if we identify our stumbling blocks, we can learn to work around them. Some people who don’t have mental health issues look upon that belief as letting my diagnosis limit me —as if I could suddenly, for example, no...
Source: The Splintered Mind by Douglas Cootey - February 1, 2017 Category: Psychiatry Tags: ADHD Depression Family Goodreads Journaling Writing Source Type: blogs

Don't Put Your Suicide Message in a Bottle
“Oh please, dear Lord, take me home.” ☜ Somebody posted this on Facebook last night. I had been reading this woman’s cries for help for weeks, but never spoke up because dozens upon dozens of people jumped into each post to give her love and encouragement. I didn’t believe that I could add anything that her peers hadn’t already expressed. Last night, however, this post bothered me. If you’ve read my blog, you know how I feel aboutdrive-by suicide notes. These types of posts are cathartic for the people who leave them, but they burden the folks who read them. They aren’t constructive and ...
Source: The Splintered Mind by Douglas Cootey - January 28, 2017 Category: Psychiatry Tags: Depression Goodreads Suicide Source Type: blogs

Writing in a Fishbowl v3 – Day Sixteen
5:56 PM: I’ve had a flurry of productivity and focus lately. I know exactly why, but I haven’t decided to share the reason yet. Last night, I fell asleep while watching Jeremy Brett’s Sherlock Holmes“The Final Problem”. This was not due to the plot boring me. I’ve had a hard week of family drama, family emergencies, and ticking. In fact, minutes before I fell asleep, I had just been laughing out loud during the scandalous nude scene. There I was minding my own business watching Sherlock investigate Mona Lisa forgeries, when this guy 👇 🏼 suddenly mugged the camera before heading off...
Source: The Splintered Mind by Douglas Cootey - January 28, 2017 Category: Psychiatry Tags: Family Goodreads Writing Source Type: blogs

Writing in a Fishbowl v3 – Day Fifteen
3:43 AM: Since I haven’t gone to bed yet, yesterday is still today for me, and I have even less to report than I did with my last entry. I spent the day dealing with my child’s needs, seeing her therapist, doing tech support for my parents for a few hours, taking care of my child’s needs again, then spending hours trying to re-enable comments on my blog.I have no idea why I cannot fix the comments. I have gutted my blog code, replaced the code entirely with another blog of mine that has working comments, reset all the widgets, changed the template a dozen times, andSTILL NO COMMENTS. I give up. It canR...
Source: The Splintered Mind by Douglas Cootey - January 25, 2017 Category: Psychiatry Tags: Journaling Writing Source Type: blogs

Writing in a Fishbowl v3 – Day Fourteen
4:26 AM: Alright, I don’t have great news to report. My writing goals are slightly behind. Between reinjuring my hernia surgery site, getting sick again, and ticking all the time, I haven’t been on top of my game. I’ve been so out of it, I haven’t referred to my ToDo list in days, something that is unheard of for me! It sounds like excuses, but these legitimate stumbling blocks will pop up again. If I want to get more books done this year, I’m going to have to learn how to manage these challenges. I believe the culprit was that I lost my focus. If I maintain focus —keep my eye on the goal—...
Source: The Splintered Mind by Douglas Cootey - January 22, 2017 Category: Psychiatry Tags: Writing Source Type: blogs

Seven Ways to Handle Election Anxiety

 I’m seeing a lot of fear& anxiety on social media these days. People are dismayed, alarmed, and outright paranoid. The panic is so palpable that it’s bound to be affecting those of us dealing with depression or anxiety. Maybe you’re getting caught up in more online arguments these days; maybe you spend an inordinate amount of time defending yourself and others, or maybe you’re the one who’s enraged and attacking everybody you think has ruined your world.It’s time to take a deep breath and relax.Regardless of where on the political spectrum you fall, I suspect you and I aren’...
Source: The Splintered Mind by Douglas Cootey - January 22, 2017 Category: Psychiatry Tags: Depression Source Type: blogs

I Can't Get Rid of ADHD by Blowing My Nose
Maybe you can relate to this: You can’t think straight. You’re easily distracted. You keep forgetting what you’re supposed to be doing. It’s ADHD, right?Despite the two surgeries I have had in the past three months, I’ve been unusually healthy. This is a delightful change for me. No bronchitis in Winter? Unheard of! I can go out into the wet cold and not spend the rest of the day coughing and sniffling in bed? Unbelievable! In fact, it’s been so long since I was last sick, the events leading to New Years Eve caught me off guard. As December 30th hurried along, I became less and less prod...
Source: The Splintered Mind by Douglas Cootey - January 14, 2017 Category: Psychiatry Tags: ADHD Source Type: blogs

Writing in a Fishbowl v3 – Day Twelve
2:32 AM: Yes! The holidays are over. I can feel life seeping back into my stressed limbs, but that’s just because I spent the last half week sick with a bug. I spent New Years Eve home, taking a nap of all things. How insulting to the cause of revelry and celebration. I nibbled cherry cordials by myself and hobbled around with a cane. Thank goodness that ordeal is over. I’ve actually been quite healthy this Fall. Except for the two surgeries, this is the first time I’ve been so sick in over a year. Although there was an infection, I’m recovering from my surgery, too. My days of convalescence are at ...
Source: The Splintered Mind by Douglas Cootey - January 11, 2017 Category: Psychiatry Tags: ADHD Journaling Writing Source Type: blogs

Writing in a Fishbowl v3 – Day Thirteen
4:51 PM: I need to touch base today to let you know that some days are better than others. Also, some are worse. Today’s pretty bad for me. It’s a double crutch day. Ironically, I may not be able to attend the Tourette Syndrome support group tonight because I’m ticking too much to drive. We’ll see how the evening pans out.Today will mark the return to blogging on the 10th, 20th, and 30th of every month. I don’t mean this blog. I have another article planned for today. It will post later tonight. That should please many of you — at least, it is my hope that it will please many of you. I reali...
Source: The Splintered Mind by Douglas Cootey - January 11, 2017 Category: Psychiatry Tags: ADHD Depression Journaling Writing Source Type: blogs

Writing in a Fishbowl v3 – Day Eleven
11:24 PM: My birthday today was practically perfect. I started book three. I spent time with my lovely daughters watching a bell choir perform. My soul was filled to the brim. I did, however, say that it was practically perfect. Even the spectacularly bad customer service& food at theterrible downtown Burger King could compare to the blow to my evening joy that was Dunkin Donuts being closed at 9pm. When did that happen? I enjoyed going there after ten all the time. The lobby was empty. There was no hustle and bustle from customers. It was a perfect environment for writing. Hey! I bought a donut or two. To think that l...
Source: The Splintered Mind by Douglas Cootey - December 24, 2016 Category: Psychiatry Tags: Family Goodreads Journaling Writing Source Type: blogs

Depression: The Beast We Have in Common
Learned Optimism Thought #1:I am grateful for beautiful daughters who made my 50th birthday a memorable one.If you can’t take medication to combat depression or suicidal depression, how do you cope? Do you resign yourself to desolation, or do you fight back? Can you fight back? How ‽ This was the dilemma I faced years ago when anti-depressants had failed me and my life was worse off because of side-effects. What I learned in my battle against depression not only changed my life for the better, but helped me change other lives, too. Fighting off depression seems like hard wor k, but when you break down the coping st...
Source: The Splintered Mind by Douglas Cootey - December 24, 2016 Category: Psychiatry Tags: ADHD Depression Goodreads Source Type: blogs

Pok émon eBook Giveaway for Kindle & iBooks Readers
This is“Writing in a Fishbowl v3 – Day Ten”, but I’m going to title it something more descriptive for the ebook promotion. Read on for the scintillating details.2:54 PM: My day began with alarming, dank dreams that I cannot describe since my daughters read this blog.Well, that’s all I really wanted to say about the subject.Yes, my mind is in a fog today, but I can still make out the road, and I haven’t run over any mailboxes yet. In fact, I’m starting to find some clarity. I just realized that I turn fifty in two days. Yes, there it is! The adrenaline rush of regret and fear is sweepin...
Source: The Splintered Mind by Douglas Cootey - December 21, 2016 Category: Psychiatry Tags: ADHD Goodreads Journaling Writing Source Type: blogs