I'll agree with that. Our current state of civilized development and social engineering fairly preclude our ability to effectively deal with most of the mental physiologic problems we generally contend with on an internal level, so external manipulation of the chemistry/physiology of our bodies seems to be the only method that will work for most of us. So long as our society insists that pharmaceutical treatment is the most effective approach to dealing with our afflictions, I wouldn't expect any other process to work, at least not in a general sense. I think it is in error to conclude that such correction is not possible. We simply have not fully explored the potential. There is, I believe, enough anecdotal evidence to strongly suggest that at least some of us are capable of physiologic manipulation without the aid of external remedies.

That it doesn't work that way now doesn't mean that it can't, just that we perhaps aren't ready for it yet.

First of all, I am not a mental health professional. However, I work in a large urban public library that is visited every day by a lot of mentally ill people - I wind up dealing with many of them. Most are simply "odd" but others are profoundly mentally ill and when they're off their meds they are completely unable to deal with society - I recall a man wrestling with four LEOs who tased and sprayed him and then the man put one of the officers out of commission for 6 months ... they finally put leg shackles on the man, in addition to cuffs (the man still comes to the door and I have to tell him he can't come into the building - he is now cool, calm, and collected and on his meds). I would suggest that maybe many people with mild to moderate mental illness might be helped without using meds but profoundly mentally ill people probably cannot.

My $.02

Wheels

Sue, I didn't say it wasn't real, just that it's over diagnosed (at least in kids). Teachers shouldn't be diagnosing people. Sorry, but you coop a kid up in class, yeah, they get antsy. Some more than others. The teacher should be just one person polled for the kids behavior, but so many times the pediatrician used that one report to diagnose them. And, oh yeah, forgets about needing 6 months of consistent symptoms to be a real diagnosis.

All I was telling the OP is to make sure he truly has it. Given his short post, we don't have enough information one way or another. Things like "stable job and family" lead away from a dx, and not able to organize a room doesn't necessarily mean ADD. He doesn't give enough examples (IMO) to decisively say whether he truly has the disease. If there are many examples that support ADD, so be it. But if he just can't organize well, I'd hate for him to start treatment for something he doesn't have.

Medications aren't benighn.

I know how that all goes..
I have definatly found to be genetic as both of my children have ADHD.. I only have ADD and Bipolar..
I have read that somewhere someone did brain scans on children with ADD/ADHD and the "wiring" was diferent then a "normal" brain..

I am also ADD, but I refuse to be medicated all the time. Once I finally got tested at the age or 30 or so (I had no doubt I had ADD), they prescribed various medications and I did try them, but couldn't stand the effects. I've just pretty much gotten used to the fact that I think a little bit differently than most people. I do find that I am much better at problem-solving because of it, though.

Funny story - One of the parts of the testing was where they handed you some black and white blocks, then showed you a picture, then you had to assemble the blocks to match the picture in less than 2 minutes. After about 10 times of repeating this, and doing so successfully every time in roughly 5 seconds each time, I finally told the lady giving me the test that I can solve a Rubik's Cube in less than 2 minutes and that the test was pointless.

"...a properly disciplined mind would not only be able to reproduce physiological conditions, but also counteract externally induced changes to some degree."

I've had that idea thrown at me all my life. For DECADES, I couldn't figure out why I was so STUPID! It wasn't until my problem was diagnosed and I learned about it that I understood.

The Problem: How can you discipline your mind when you can't focus long enough to do any good?

The Answer: Darned if I know!

It's almost impossible for me to hypnotize myself because I can't concentrate. I've NEVER had anyone else able to hypnotize me. Focus on the watch, light, spot, etc? FOCUS???!!! NOW who's not paying attention?!

Looking backwards, I realized how many ways I found to deal with the reality of it:

* Developing x-rays at work (the old days, manually): Wear a timer and hope I wouldn't be sidetracked as I walked down the hall.

* Put important things (like keys) in the same place all the time.

* Leave notes on the kitchen counter to remind myself to lock up the chickens at night, turn the dryer on in the morning, call someone, go to a meeting.

* Leave the laundry basket on the washer or dryer so I'll remember that there are still clothes in there.

* Make sure anyone I'm sharing a house with puts the plastic "Shower" card on the washing machine before they head for the bathroom, or they'll get a cold surprise.

* Leave something on the dash in front of the steering wheel to remember to get gas.

* Keep writing materials handy 24/7.

* Keep a main shopping list to refer to so I can remember what it was that I forgot to put on the current grocery list when I was brushing my teeth or feeding the dog.

* Strangers think I have tattoos on the backs of my hands. No, just notes and lists, odometer readings and reminders.

* Leave a list of all the errands I have to run and what I need to get where, on the car seat, so I can refer to it as I go.

It's all very easy for others to say 'just do it', and they're talking to people who desperately wish we could. But you're as out of touch with how we are as you are in knowing how a fish thinks.

Sue

I would never suggest anyone with such a condition is stupid. In fact, the way you came up with solutions seems to me to be rather intelligent.

What I am trying to say is that with the proper motivation you should be able to train your mind to overcome the chemical/physiological conditions that you feel are adversely affecting you, up to a point. Physical damage that causes impairment would be beyond such adjustments, but if a condition can be controlled with external means (drugs), then it can be controlled with the mind. I am not talking about subtle motivations; in some cases, the sort of motivation that affects such changes might be as extreme as to be life-threatening, but the results should be just as real as any pill, and probably more durable.

I am certain there are conditions that would pretty much force you to focus your mind long enough to allow it to adjust. It might not be very pleasant, but it is doable. Just as sure as there are conditions that would cause a normal mind to experience a psychotic break, or develop a schizophrenic reality. Pavlovian conditioning takes time and patience, but it unequivically works.

I have a grease pencil in my truck. I write myself reminders on the inside of the windshield.

Edit: when I'm not moving...

I do all these things too. If I need to remember to carry something with me in the morning, I put it right in front of the door, so I can't get out the door without either picking it up or tripping over it.

I constantly write on my hand too. Every day there's something written on my left hand. I also put stuff in the driver's seat of my vehicle so I don't forget it too.

My son has ADHD, and you'd be surprised. There IS some sort of physical problem, and they are using drugs to compensate. One of the "Interesting" tests they did on my son when he was like 3-4 years old. Get a large sheet of paper, and put it up on an easel in front of the child. Have them grasp a crayon, and try to draw a line UP the left side, across the top, and down the right side - one handed (no switching hands in the middle. Both up/down strokes are FINE, it's the "line across the top" that a LOT of ADHD kids fail, right where the line crosses the centerline of the body. There is a dificulty in the left and right hemisperes of the brain communicating. There is a structure in the brain (can't remeber the name right now) which connects the 2 hemispheres, and allows them to communicate. It doesn't WORK (in fact, they sent my son for a brain scan to make sure it's even THERE)

Now, generally, as a person with ADHD gets older, they learn to deal with it/learn coping mechanisms/partly to fully train themselves (as you said).

BTW It is thought (at least by some) that ADHD was a survival skill back in the hunter/gatherer day. As my son's pshycologist says "I have ADH...Hey, look, there goes a rabbit"