Managing Hypersensitivities in Adults with ADHD

sunday august 31st 2008

hi terry, my name's heather.  some of the things that you listed in the hypersensitivity to things for adults with add/adhd that you did a sharepost on, i have some of those hypersensitvity issues.  i have to wear loose fitting shirts (mainly all cotton), mens socks & shoes (cause they have more room in them than womens do), i don't have much of an issue though w/the jeans i wear (i only wear womens jeans, never ever mens jeans) & all the under clothes i wear are womens (i've never ever wore mens under clothes or have any desire to, not even the boxer shorts), i've been wearing these types of clothing items for the longest time.  at the call center where i work at the lights are too bright some days & other days it doesn't bother (there's this one floor manager that gets bad migrains sometimes & he likes to shut the one row of lights off), but everytime he does it there's a few people who sit at the opposite end of him of the row his desk faces.  he has to walk past where i sit to go back to his desk (i sit at his backside but at the other end of the call center) & i always tell him thanks when he walks past me, but by the time he gets back to his desks the few people that don't like it say something & then he has to turn around & go turn them back on (the light switch is on the side of the call center where i sit at), more of us in the area of his desk though prefer them to be off, or just don't care either way, so in my opinion & his he rather have them off but he has to side w/the few people that want them on, so he has to turn them back on & can't take the side of the ones that want them off, so i might try the sunglasses thing to see if that works or not (if i do try it, i'll let u know how it worked).  my son has to prettty much wear all cotton or jean material clothing, cause if he wears anything w/polyester in it except for a few types of clothing that have polyester in it, it makes him all itchy & he has to take it off right away.  i can't buy him any shoes, unless he's with me or i have to buy a brand that i know he can wear, cause all he's got to do is put just one of the shoes on in a pair & he will immediatley tell me that it does or doesn't feel comfortable & if i buy him a pair of shoes that isn't one of the brands i know he likes w/out him being there 9 out of 10 times i will have to return the pair of shoes cause they aren't comfortable on his feet & he will refuse to wear them.  i have that same issue w/shoes that i buy as well, so that's why i pretty much only buy mens shoes.  take care, heather & kaleb

I get a lot of shocks while using the computer. If it were not almost my only form of communication with the outside, I certainly wouldn't endure it. I have even had occasional shocks from the outside of flashlights, and the remote control. Does anyone else relate to this? I can't find any research on it.

Socks used to drive me crazy - the knots in the toes! But strangely, I found that when I switched socks - same pair other foot, I can wear them. I am glad that I learned this before my daughter was born, as I had a terrible time with socks as a kid, with a very short tempered mother! My daughter just switches, as soon as she feels that awful knot in the sock. So far, so good!

Thanks a lot Terry for your articles, atleast there is someone who understands and doesnt think of my foibles as excuses and pointless eccentricities.
from Rajasthan,India

I am learning to cope with the fact that i have A.D.D. I am very bothered, and when i say  bothered, I mean more like distracted by noise and movement. I can't think clearly with many different people in the same room..but even though i can't think clearly, i can still pick out the things that pertain to me. I  think it's because i focus on them. I am not sure why i focus on those things like noise and movement, but i do.  when i take medication to treat it, its no longer, "where is that noise, or what is it?," it like "THAT'S WHAT IT IS, THAT'S WHERE IT'S COMING FROM." I am embarassed at trying to understand A.D.D. I hate the fact that there is something "wrong" with me. I notice too much, i absorb too much, even when i'm not listening. And i can asses the needs of all those around me, BUT ME...i can't ever stop my mind from going..if i don't take medication, my thoughts are not only immature, but irrational, and i can focus very well, but usually on the wrong thing. i always want answers. things have to make sense. i have a young child, and i have learned through experience that if i don't take medication to help myself, i am irritable, full of self pity, and to sumthin up, i am a monster. trying to help my parents understand this has been very difficult. i am not even sure i am understand. i just go by what i know. any advice? i hate myself, i don't want to be different. i am learning that i am, and it's affecting every job i attempt. i feel like a failure. my parents don't understand the medication. they think i use it to get high...it dosen't do that for me...what's the use of tyring to explain anymore. i will just do as i am told and become a solider that dosen't take care of prioritive responsibilities..