Anyone else have ADD? How do you deal with it?

Rosenborg · Post by **Rosenborg** » Wed Jan 26, 2005 10:35 am

I couldn't find any other thread to this topic anywhere else in this forum, so I though I'd open one.

I have Attention Deficiency Disorder (at least I'm pretty sure), so I sometimes have a hard time creating time-consuming pictures. Any other comic artists have the same problem? How do you cope with it? Any tricks that can be used?

Chibiartstudios · Post by **Chibiartstudios** » Wed Jan 26, 2005 10:43 am

I have it. The kind with hyperactivity to. Though I'm nowhere near as bad as I used to be. I find that just sitting down and doing something, anything related to your project is the best way to get in the mood. It's all about telling yourself no and foregoing things you may enjoy. Which is not easy for us crazy types.

But the most important think is to avoid all distractions if you ca-

Oh! look a shiney!

Locster · Post by **Locster** » Wed Jan 26, 2005 11:00 am

i got that to, strange thing is i never get distracted when i am drawing.

and yes hyperactive to! whooohooo!

MrEff · Post by **MrEff** » Wed Jan 26, 2005 11:01 am

I definetly have a touch of ADD and my girl punches me in the face everytime it kicks in....

But seriously.... I find drawing is the best for it.... I know that sounds weird but it works for me....

-MrEff-

that and some bong hits

Driving Without Pants · Wed Jan 26, 2005 11:28 am

I've had ADD all my life. I usually deal with it by

RadPal · Post by **RadPal** » Wed Jan 26, 2005 11:32 am

Try tying yourself to your seat, it might work.

As for me, its really at its worst when I have a lot of free time (which probably makes sense). But now that the semester has started and I have negative 3 seconds of free time per day, I have no choice but to sit down and finish my work.

So I guess that's good in a weird, bad way.

Godoftarot · Post by **Godoftarot** » Wed Jan 26, 2005 12:42 pm

Find some speed and take it. If you get all wired, you don't have ADD. If you calm down and start to focus, you do. I will not be held responsible if you actually try this.

Medication. Don't let the talk of folks who are in denial keep you from getting what you need. If you really have ADD, it means your attention span is slower getting started than other people. Medication simply puts it on a normal level.

Birdie · Post by **Birdie** » Wed Jan 26, 2005 12:46 pm

I have ADD. It can be a gift and a curse. While I was studying in school it was a curse, I would doodle, write notes for class, and write jokes for my comic, or when I did my radio show I'd create my playlists in class and I was always distracted and sometimes I suffered in class.

Of course when I'm at home, I can multitask like a motherfucker. I can surf four websites, have 6 different conversations and sometimes be in two different chatrooms at once and get by and understand everything that's going on.

of course the question is, how to make it work for you, as a cartoonist. I say carry a pad with you everywhere you go, sometimes you'll want to draw, sometimes you won't but you'll always be ready when you do. You don't have to carry a huge sketchbook for me, I have scratchpads I bought at K-Mart for about fifty cents. Also, find out what works best for your focusing. Do you have to work late at night? Early in the morning, sometimes having a schedule is really useful. I'll think of more advice later. I still have a comic to draw!

Dotty · Post by **Dotty** » Wed Jan 26, 2005 2:37 pm

godoftarot wrote:Find some speed and take it. If you get all wired, you don't have ADD. If you calm down and start to focus, you do. I will not be held responsible if you actually try this.

Medication. Don't let the talk of folks who are in denial keep you from getting what you need. If you really have ADD, it means your attention span is slower getting started than other people. Medication simply puts it on a normal level.

The medicine makes me tired and a person who I am not. Medicine is definitely something you should try, but if you don't like it, don't hesitate to get off it.

I just love drawing, so A.D.H.D doesn't stop me. I just work and work and work, with a whole crapload of procrastination in the middle. Usually chat or something.

Stolle · Post by **Stolle** » Wed Jan 26, 2005 2:54 pm

How do you cope with it? Any tricks that can be used?

I drink huge amounts of coffee then some whisky - somehow it seems to my head keep spinning, but at the same time relaxed in my body. Ever tried that? Without the coffee/whisky mix I get unmanageably restless after 4 minutes. With it, I'm able to sit for hours with only my pencil moving.

McDuffies · Post by **McDuffies** » Wed Jan 26, 2005 3:08 pm

Dunno if I ever had ADD, but it is tough for me to concentrate on one thing.
And I usually can't make myself to spend more time on one panel, but then again I like them that way.

BeefotronX · Post by **BeefotronX** » Wed Jan 26, 2005 3:43 pm

I'm still trying to figure that bit out. Right now I'm operating under the theory that if I can convince myself that I'm a genius, I will be more committed to my work.

Phact0rri · Post by **Phact0rri** » Wed Jan 26, 2005 3:53 pm

supernerdcore wrote:I have ADD. It can be a gift and a curse. While I was studying in school it was a curse, I would doodle, write notes for class, and write jokes for my comic, or when I did my radio show I'd create my playlists in class and I was always distracted and sometimes I suffered in class.

Of course when I'm at home, I can multitask like a motherfucker. I can surf four websites, have 6 different conversations and sometimes be in two different chatrooms at once and get by and understand everything that's going on.

of course the question is, how to make it work for you, as a cartoonist. I say carry a pad with you everywhere you go, sometimes you'll want to draw, sometimes you won't but you'll always be ready when you do. You don't have to carry a huge sketchbook for me, I have scratchpads I bought at K-Mart for about fifty cents. Also, find out what works best for your focusing. Do you have to work late at night? Early in the morning, sometimes having a schedule is really useful. I'll think of more advice later. I still have a comic to draw!

What I do when I sit down to draw, is I also have my guitar, a sketchbook and a regular notebook all circulated around me. I tend to move from one thing to the other, so if my concentraton waves I can take a break do something else then come back to it.

DEVO-Bot · Post by **DEVO-Bot** » Wed Jan 26, 2005 4:00 pm

Sad to say, I deal with my ADHD through heavy medication, or if I (god forbid) run out of it, caffeine or a little alcohol can tide me over for a bit. It took a while to find a medicine I liked though... anyway, if you think you might actually have ADD, totally go and see somebody about it.

To those who are just distractable-listening to music on headphones always blocks out the rest of the world pretty well for me. And don't draw near the computer?

Smight · Post by **Smight** » Wed Jan 26, 2005 4:51 pm

I could lay in bed all day and not do or think of anything. Or I can focus in the most distracting situations to a point where everything else doesn't exist. No ADD here, maybe a mild case of massive accute depression, but none of that ADD stuff.

Nyke · Post by **Nyke** » Wed Jan 26, 2005 6:11 pm

I've got ADD. I've also got SUBTRACT, MULTIPLY, DIVIDE, SQUARE ROOT...

Terotrous · Post by **Terotrous** » Wed Jan 26, 2005 6:36 pm

http://creatorz.keenspace.com/d/20050120.html

Comic Creatorz understands you.

Tarotreader3 · Post by **Tarotreader3** » Wed Jan 26, 2005 6:44 pm

heh, look at us, we all have ADD, or ADHD (I have the latter). I deal with it by pretty much just stopping when I feel like I need to, otherwise I'll tweak out. I find drawing when doing the alternative is more boring (I draw in lectures and seminars all the time to take my mind off them, but I have the ability to pretty much just absorb what I hear, so that might not work for people who need to take notes). Spinning my pen around my thumb (you know what i'm talking about? where you flick it around? like a batton?) I find that helps me to not tweak out too.

ahh the joys of ADHD. I often wonder what it's like to not have it, and not have to create these coping mechanisims. perhaps it would make things more boring. perhaps it would make me more productive.

Driving Without Pants · Wed Jan 26, 2005 7:07 pm

I think the reason why we "all have ADD" is because it's one of the most over-diagnosed disorders out there. Some experts speculate that it doesn't even really exist on a physiological level, but rather that it's entirely personality/psychological (i.e. drugs really don't solve the problem and in fact make it worse.)

Chrismills · Post by **Chrismills** » Wed Jan 26, 2005 7:11 pm

I had a very mild case of it when I was young, back before if became trendy (Driving, I couldn't agree with you more). I'm not sure if it still affects me, but I do find that I can have real trouble concentrating sometimes. It might be that TV has turned us all into zombies with 30 second attention spans.

It's sad how overmedicated in general our society is. Wait, did I say sad? I meant scary.