ATTENTION DEFICIT HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER (ADHD) Part 1

Were you told as a child that you had Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD)? Have you ever wondered if you never actually grew out of it? Or, perhaps you are not among those who were diagnosed with ADHD as a child, but you have noticed that you have specific challenges with every day tasks that provide a strong case for that diagnosis. Is there any hope for you who believe this problem has hung like an albatross upon your neck for too long?

Let’s face it! If you take a look at the symptoms of ADHD, it would appear that all of us have it. According to the Mayo Clinic, Adult ADHD symptoms may include:

• Impulsiveness

• Disorganization and problems prioritizing

• Poor time management skills

• Problems focusing on a task

• Trouble multitasking

• Excessive activity or restlessness

• Poor planning

• Low frustration tolerance

• Frequent mood swings

• Problems following through and completing tasks

• Hot temper

• Trouble coping with stress

“Many child experts believe there is no such thing as ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) or ADHD; and that both “disorders” were invented to provide more employment to psychologists and psychiatrists” (Natural Remedies Encyclopedia, 5th ed., 2008, p. 488). If there is any truth to this, then why the daily struggle? Is the only answer Ritalin, Adderall, or some other drug? 

Jesus has “given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him that hath called us to glory and virtue” (2 Peter 1:3). Jesus wants you to develop your character so that you can be prepared to share a holy abode with Him. What would happen if you begin the work of education in areas which have been neglected? Wouldn’t you end up with a character that would meet the Lord’s approval? “We all need more of the Spirit of God, more earnest faith, more constant, earnest prayer that we may discern the grievous imperfections of our best works and our entire inability of ourselves to meet the divine standard. (Ellen G. White, This Day With God, p. 173). 

Jesus can help you to cultivate the mind with which you are entrusted. The mind is largely responsible for “ADHD symptoms”. It is, however, “the best possession we have, but it must be trained by study, by reflection, by learning in the school of Christ, the best and truest educator the world has ever known. The Christian worker must grow. He must build up a character for usefulness; he must educate himself to endure hardness and to be wise to plan and execute in the work of God” (Mind, Character and Personality, Vol. 2, p. 665).

Consider that the Mayo Clinic also links ADHD to difficult circumstances that include unemployment, financial problems, trouble with the law, alcohol or other substance misuse, frequent car accidents, poor mental health and poor self-image. Yet can you not agree that these are problems that sinners have? The greater the number of “ADHD symptoms” you recognize in yourselves, the more you need to seek the Lord. You and I are called to “fear God, and give glory to Him” (Revelation 14:7). Do not be consumed with an ADHD diagnosis.  Instead, “let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus” (Hebrews 12:1, 2).