"AD/HD" and Metapsychology

Attention - Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder – A Metapsychology Perspective

-Kevin G. Brady, BA, TIR(W), LSR(W)

Part I:  Definition of terms

            The DSM IV defines ADHD as:

“DSM-IV (Text Revision) Definition
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

Essential features:
A. Persistent pattern of inattention and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity that is more frequently displayed and is more severe than is typically observed in individuals at comparable level of development.
B. Some hyperactive-impulsive or inattentive symptoms must have been present before seven years of age.
C. Some impairment from the symptoms must be present in at least two settings.
D. There must be clear evidence of interference with developmentally appropriate social, academic or occupational functioning.
E. The disturbance does not occur exclusively during the course of a Pervasive Developmental Disorder, Schizophrenia, or other Psychotic Disorders and is not better accounted for by another mental disorder.

Three Subtypes:
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Predominantly Inattentive Type: This subtype is used if six (or more) symptoms of inattention (but fewer than six symptoms of hyperactivity-impulsivity) have persisted for at least six months.

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Predominantly Hyperactive-Impulsive Type: This subtype should be used if six (or more) symptoms of hyperactivity-impulsivity (but fewer than six of inattention) have persisted for at least six months.

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Combined Type: This subtype should be used if six (or more) symptoms of inattention and six (or more) symptoms of hyperactivity-impulsivity have persisted for at least six months.

Diagnostic Criteria for the three subtypes of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder according to DSM-IV:

A. “Persistent pattern of inattention and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity that is more frequently displayed and is more severe than is typically observed in individuals at comparable level of development.” Individual must meet criteria for either (1) or (2):

(1) Six (or more) of the following symptoms of inattention have persisted for at least six months to a degree that is maladaptive and inconsistent with developmental level:

Inattention
(a) often fails to give close attention to details or makes careless mistakes in schoolwork, work or other activities
(b) often has difficulty sustaining attention in tasks or play activity
(c) often does not seem to listen when spoken to directly
(d) often does not follow through on instructions and fails to finish schoolwork, chores or duties in the workplace (not due to oppositional behavior or failure to understand instructions)
(e) often has difficulty organizing tasks and activities
(f) often avoids, dislikes, or is reluctant to engage in tasks that require sustained mental effort (such as schoolwork or homework)
(g) often loses things necessary for tasks or activities (e.g., toys, school assignments, pencils, books or tools)
(h) is often easily distracted by extraneous stimuli
(i) is often forgetful in daily activities

(2) Six (or more) of the following symptoms of hyperactivity-impulsivity have persisted for at least six months to a degree that is maladaptive and inconsistent with developmental level:

Hyperactivity
(a) often fidgets with hands or feet or squirms in seat
(b) often leaves seat in classroom or in other situations in which remaining seated is expected
(c) often runs about or climbs excessively in situations in which it is inappropriate (in adolescents or adults, may be limited to subjective feelings of restlessness)
(d) often has difficulty playing or engaging in leisure activities quietly
(e) is often “on the go” or often acts as if “driven by a motor”
(f) often talks excessively
Impulsivity
(g) often blurts out answers before questions have been completed
(h) often has difficulty awaiting turn
(i) often interrupts or intrudes on others (e.g., butts into conversations or games)

B. Some hyperactive-impulsive or inattentive symptoms must have been present before age 7 years.
C. Some impairment from the symptoms is present in at least two settings (e.g., at school [or work] and at home).
D. There must be clear evidence of interference with developmentally appropriate social, academic or occupational functioning.
E. The disturbance does not occur exclusively during the course of a Pervasive Developmental Disorder, Schizophrenia, or other Psychotic Disorders and is not better accounted for by another mental disorder (e.g., Mood Disorder, Anxiety Disorder, Dissociative Disorder, or a Personality Disorder).

Prevalence

• Estimated 3%-7% in school –age children
• Rates dependent on population sampled and method of ascertainment
• Data on prevalence in adolescence and adulthood is limited”

                With forgiveness for the lack of operational definitions of important concepts like “often”, “peers”, “has difficulty”, “excessively”, etc., this definition shows that persons suffering from AD/HD experience an inability to control their own attention.  Metapsychology defines attention as receptive intention, the intent to receive, as explained in this rather lengthy passage (the parts I quote are necessary for a full understanding of how Metapsychology understands attention, intention, desire, and drive and power, all of which are heavily impacted by AD/HD):

“There are only three kinds of entities in the world of experience. This applies to everybody's world. No matter what identity you have assumed, you will only experience three kinds of entities while being that identity: phenomena, concepts, and facts.

1.       Phenomena. These entities are the objects of sensory or non-sensory perception. By "sensory perception", I mean perception via the physical senses. Things that you can touch, feel, see, hear, smell, or taste are phenomena perceived in this way. A table is a phenomenon; you can see one or feel one. A chalkboard is a phenomenon.

Phenomena also include the objects of non-sensory perception, by which I do not mean "extrasensory perception", or ESP. Non-sensory perception is part of ordinary consciousness; ESP is not. By "non-sensory perception", I mean what happens when you close your eyes and make a picture of a horse. You get a perception of something; that something is a mental picture and not a sensory perception. You are seeing with the "mind's eye", not with the body's eye. Similarly, if you're sitting in a plane and hearing the vibrations as a sort of white noise, you can sometimes imagine symphonies going on in your mind. Perhaps you have had an experience like that…

2.       Concepts. The notion of a "concept" is somewhat more difficult to define. We sometimes call them "thoughts" or "ideas", and they are not the same as phenomena. I can have the concept of a horse without experiencing the phenomenon of a particular horse. When I think about horses, I may get impressions of different horses, sort of fleeting pictures of this one and that one. That is what I call the "penumbra" [from Latin: "almost" + "shadow"] of the concept, the phenomena around the concept itself. Those phenomena are not the concept itself. The concept of the horse is something different. It's a little hard to get your hands on it, because it's not something you can touch or feel; it is something you can think, or conceptualize.

Consider the concept of motherhood. When I have that concept, I may get pictures of mothers cuddling babies, or maybe just sort of a warm fuzzy feeling, but these phenomena are not the concept itself. These are part of the phenomenal penumbra of the concept. What is the concept itself? The concept is a potential reality. A concept is something that could exist, but doesn't necessarily exist. The concept of a horse, for instance, is one that corresponds to an actual reality, there are still some horses around, in fact. On the other hand, the concept of Pegasus corresponds to a non-reality, because there aren't any winged horses around, yet we can still have the concept of one. So a concept is something that could be a reality in some universe, but might not be a reality currently.

3.       Facts. A fact is not something you can perceive. A fact is something you can know. I perceive this podium. I don't know the podium. But a fact is something I know. I know, for instance, that women have babies. A fact is actually a concept to which one additional thing has been added. That is: "Yes!" In other words, I have the concept of certain creatures that gallop around, some of which are black, some brown, and one of which is Black Beauty. And then I say "Yes!" to that concept. I agree with it. I agree that it exists. That agreement creates a fact out of that concept. I have a concept to which I have said "Yes!" and for me it has become a fact.

I have the concept of Socrates' having been the teacher of Plato. That's not a phenomenon in the present because Socrates and Plato are both long gone, but it is a fact that Socrates was the teacher of Plato. So, given the concept of Socrates' having been the teacher of Plato, what makes this concept into a fact in my experience is that I say to myself, "Socrates having been the teacher of Plato - Yes!" If I were to say, "Socrates having been the teacher of Plato - No!", that would mean it is not a fact but is only a concept, a fiction.

Those three things - facts, concepts, and phenomena - make up any world, just those three things.

Now, I mentioned that every entity in a person's experience has an action that relates it to the self, and I have asserted that there are three kinds of entities. So it should come as no surprise that there are three kinds of actions corresponding to these different entities. Not only that, but, because any entity can be received or created, there are six kinds of actions altogether, three for receiving and three for creating. Let me go through those quickly.

1.       Perceptualizing. Consider the actions that give us phenomena, the actions by which we "perceptualize". On the creative side we have picturing, which is making a mental picture. You can create phenomena. If I ask you to close your eyes and make a picture or get an impression of a horse, you can do it. That's a creative act. You're not creating something in your physical world, but you are certainly creating something in your mental world.

The receptive action that gives us phenomena is perceiving. Again, we have sensory and non-sensory perceptions.

2.       Conceptualizing. The creative action that gives us concepts is conceiving…

 The receptive action that gives us concepts is interpreting. When we see something - as when we look at the hills of California and notice that they're brown - that can give us several different ideas. We can interpret that brownness to mean that there has been insufficient rain, that somebody sprayed herbicide on the hillside, or that it burned. There are a number of different ideas we can get by looking at and interpreting the data, and those ideas are concepts. So you get a concept by interpreting something. Now again, I'm talking about ordinary reality, because some people will say you can get concepts by intuition as well. Fine, but let's stick to ordinary reality.

3.       Cognizing. You "cognize" - create a fact - by an action called "postulating". Postulating is the action of first conceiving a concept and then saying "Yes!" to it. You say, "My little finger raised in the next few seconds - Yes!" And by gosh, up it goes! This is a peculiar thing, because, experientially, we move our bodies by postulates. We do not experience ourselves as moving them by moving all those little muscles or by making the nerves do things. According to a certain materialistic belief system, all these things happen neurologically. That's fine, but in the Un-belief System, we move by postulates, and that is inescapable. If you decide to do something and it happens, that decision - that postulate - is what made it happen. That's how you create a fact, you postulate. Whether the fact that you wind up having created is a body motion, or the possession of a million dollars, or whatever, that is how you created it.

How do we receive facts? By understanding. First we look at data - the California hills, for example - and then we interpret them, getting perhaps several different possible concepts or interpretations. The brown color might be due to lack of rain...to herbicide...to fires. And then we say "Yes!" to one of those interpretations, "Yes! It's lack of rain." At that point we have understanding. We have understood at that point that the brownness is caused by lack of rain. Now, people will object and say, "Well, look! This is crazy! Just saying "Yes!" to something doesn't make it a fact. It's either a fact or it isn't. Come on, Gerbode!" Well, again, according to various belief systems, if I believe that the reason the grass is brown is because of herbicides, and somebody else thinks it's because of lack of water, then from the point of view of their belief system, what I have is not a fact. But from the point of view of the Un-belief System - from the point of view of experience - it is a fact for me, and that's the crucial distinction…

[My next topic] is: what is power, anyway? I'm talking about personal power, not the kind that is generated in power stations. My thoughts on this topic have really only appeared in the last year, because I've recently given it some close attention.

In order to understand the nature of power, it is first important to discuss the relationship between desire and intention. I've been thinking about what the difference was between a wish and a desire. It occurred to me that you can wish for things that you know are impossible, and you can desire things you know are impossible, but you can't intend things that you know are impossible.

Desire is an impulse toward something's existing, an impulse toward having something exist for oneself in one's world… Desire, then, is the impulse toward bringing something into existence. It is really a form of positive regard toward the world or some part of it, an affinity for some entity…

[A]bility is the capacity to act in a certain way, and as I mentioned, we all have certain basic abilities. We have the ability to picture, perceive, conceive, interpret, postulate, and understand. These are the basic abilities out of which every other ability we have is constructed. They are like the "basic instruction set", of a computer. By combining them in various ways and applying them to different entities, we build up everything else we are capable of doing.

Suppose you are a very able person. At any given time, there could be lots of things you are able to do that you're not doing. Why? Because you don't desire to do them. You could be the most brilliant and capable person in the world, but if you have no desire for things, no capacity to desire things, no drive, you are not going to make anything happen… So in order to be powerful, not only must you have ability, you must also have drive: the desire, the impetus to make things exist. If you don't have the impetus to make things exist, you are not going to bring anything into existence.” – Gerbode, “Applied Metapsychology – The Unbelief System” (Bold emphasis added by Brady)

                So, a person has a given capacity for intention or attention, which are actually different sides of the same coin, the first being creative (creating an effect), the other being receptive (receiving an effect).  Each of the abilities that Dr. Gerbode listed can readily be seen as forms of causative will, which this author contends is closely related to or identical with “ego-strength” or “resilience”:  to create a picture,  to receive a picture (perceive), to create a concept, to receive a concept (interpret), to create a postulate or to receive a postulate (understand).

            With these definitions in place, a summary is in order.

1)      DSM IV (tr) defines AD/HD in terms of inability to attend, combined with compulsive skipping between various creative actions (creating effects such as disturbances, daydreams, fidgeting, etc.) and a low tolerance for long duration in any particular activity.

2)      Metapsychology defines attention and intention as the capacity to receive effects or create effects respectively, which capacity can then be combined with drive (desire to bring specific effect into existence, having an affinity for the creation of specific kinds of effects or reception of specific kinds of effects) to equate to personal power.

Part II)  Statement of the problem

Through the magic of the substitution property, as given in mathematics, we can therefore have a person-centered definition of AD/HD:  the inability to control one’s attention and intention over a given period of time.  In a person-centered model, though, and with an understanding of the traumatic incident network, disturbances and how these can disrupt flexibility of identity, it might be understood as an inability to study:   incapacity to remain in the identity of the student, despite the possibility that all the skills to study may be present.  Without the subjective report of the person labeled with AD/HD, we don’t actually know whether the person never established this control, might have compulsions or inhibitions (read:  emotional charge) embedded in an incident or distributed throughout a number of incidents connected thematically, might have emotional charge related to school, or teachers, or a specific teacher, etc.  Any variety of emotional charge could conceivably interrupt control over one’s attention and intentions.

Part III)  Conclusions

            With the problem understood in person-centered terms, ready solutions appear, as well.  Furthermore, we see that AD/HD has no special status as a “disorder” or “mental illness”.  Instead, we see that it is a result of the presence of emotional charge, by definition, combined with the possible need to rehabilitate the skills a person uses to create or receive their experiences, i.e.:  creative and receptive intention.  An interview with the viewer can determine what disturbances they are aware of, and then a program can be delivered to address them.  In fact, the definition of disturbance seems to completely encapsulate the diagnosis: 

“An area of charge on which the viewer has his/her attention fixated, which prevents the viewer from putting attention where s/he wants to put it. After the disturbance is deactivated, the viewer's attention is free. Disturbances may vary in severity, from mild and almost trivial to extremely intense. Upsets, pressing current worries or problems, withheld communications, and traumatic incidents that are currently reactivated are the main examples of disturbances.” - TIRA Online Glossary

Addressing disturbances will address the interruption of intention to the extent that the items lying at the root of the issue are within the viewer’s band of accessibility, as detailed in French’s “Traumatic Incident Reduction (TIR)”.  Objective procedures can be used, as well as simple repetitive techniques, i.e.:   1) “create an intention to do something”, 2) “Do it!”  These unburdening techniques can be coupled with Communication Exercises to enhance the person’s skill at controlling their attention.

            Given the normal restrictions of any application of unburdening actions (limited band of accessibility, viewer’s capacity to intend, etc.), such a program cannot be expected to “cure” the condition, but it should provide significant alleviation and increase of ability in many spheres of action, as the abilities addressed are fundamental to all other abilities learned by the person.  The viewer will regain or obtain for the first time some degree of control over their intention and attention, and given continued work, would make continuous progress.  Such control, when emotional charge is unburdened, is a skill.  Skills are obtained through obtaining valid, empowering information and then practicing.  Absolute elimination of “AD/HD” may not be possible, as it is always possible to get out of practice with your control of attention/intention, and it is always possible that new disturbances or traumatic incidents, overwhelming environments or people could enter the person’s world.  In fact, understanding it in metapsychology terms allows us to see that the ability to control one’s attention and intention is likely never absolute for any person, and the span of time they can hold attention and intention also vary.  We could all be said to have some degree of AD/HD, which makes the label nearly meaningless, except that some people have accepted it as a diagnosis and as a part of their identity, and so we will see it.

Part IV)  Speculation

            There are many reasons why a person might not develop the skill of controlling their intentions/attention and learning to increase the duration of this control.  The nearly complete destruction of the values once held concerning the nuclear family has resulted in great freedom for both women and men to express themselves through careers and non-traditional  types of family units.  It has also resulted in a drastic reduction of time in which many parents can model behavior, teach skills, troubleshoot emotional charge (this is practically anathema, now, actually:  you don’t talk to your child, you take them to a therapist!), share their world-view, etc.  A generation or two of children have grown up in this situation, which has led to a general decline in education level, self-control, civic responsibility, and many other values normally transmitted through parents, guides and teachers.  Of course there are exceptions, but this has been my general observation.  This set the stage in one respect.

            Technology has also been accelerating at Ray Kurzweil’s predicted vector, and this has resulted in the wholesale pricing and fast manufacture of increasingly fascinating electronics and the media that they engender.  Social media, for instance, has started to absorb an alarming percentage of my own time, and I can see that this is happening with a large number of my friends, family and associates.  Games have reached a level of sophistication where the corporations generating them have instituted reward algorithms based on statistical research showing how frequently one needs to get a given type of reward to keep one’s attention absorbed for longer and longer periods.  Not only does this create a very real and growing wasteful habit scenario, but it means a person can have less and less time available for maintenance of their home, improvement of their education, unburdening of emotional charge and relationships with loved ones.  The insidious reality, though, is that such games, streaming movies (particularly pornography and violence, which can be powerful triggers for the adults and children who access them 24/7) constant signaling from friends or associates through social media train us to cease creating our own effects, transforming a once-proud people into an army of consumers who are controlled by “news media” and politics that they have no feeling of ownership or control regarding. 
         “AD/HD” is not a disease, it is a disability which may have a significant basis in the rapid changes occurring across the civilizations of the planet.  Viewing it as an illness starts the “first cause” debate about neurological conditions, and is a logical non-starter as neurology hasn’t (and, I would argue, cannot) found an operational definition for self-awareness nor found exact neurological correlates for it.  Attention probably has neurological correlates, but I haven’t seen any evidence that DNA programs those correlates directly.  Instead, the genotype provides the ability to create cells that make connections, and the connections carry and reinforce perceptions, emotional responses, habits, and other cognitive functions.   Thus, the patterns and behaviors we learn as children become our nervous system, in a very real sense.  Thus, “AD/HD” is created through interaction with the electronic media which has become firmly embedded.
        Do the media corporations have our best interests at heart?  They are aware that kids are sitting at home watching and playing, and they’ve done the research to keep them there, despite the obvious damage it is doing.  I don’t think they intend to do damage, but they are not accepting responsibility for it and changing their presentation, either.  I think this adds importance to the work we are doing as metapsychology facilitators, trainers and viewers.  I’m adding programs to my own practice to address these sorts of ills, and hope that some of these programs will be adopted as part of the arsenal of tools available for Life Stress Reduction training and technical direction.  I leave you with the following excerpt, which emphasizes the media culture points:

“Early Environmental Factors

Again, most researchers suggest that true ADHD is not caused by environmental factors. However, the following environmental factors may exacerbate symptoms of true ADHD, or create ADHD-like symptoms: prenatal and perinatal complications (e.g., low birth weight, fetal distress), prenatal alcohol or tobacco exposure, lead poisoning, pesticides, moderate to severe protein deficiency, head injuries that involve the frontal lobe, allergies, abuse or violent trauma. All of these environmental stressors must be examined more fully to determine their exact link, if any, to ADHD.

Children are not able to respond to environmental stressors in the same way as adults. For example, if adults were faced with severe interpersonal relationship problems, they might read about and use self-help strategies to resolve problems, seek therapy, or leave the relationship. In contrast, children may begin having problems paying attention and monitoring their behavior. These findings emphasize that there are various potential environmental contributors to ADHD-like symptoms that must be considered when evaluating a child for diagnosis. The examination of different situations that create similar behavioral problems clearly demonstrates the importance of an accurate diagnosis.

Media Exposure

Some researchers believe that at least part of the reason for the increase in ADHD diagnoses is related to the influence of modern lifestyle changes. These theories are based on the notion that the brains of very young children (i.e., under age 2) are not yet sophisticated enough to accurately process media images. It is thought that viewing media at this age may disrupt the brain's normal developmental process, which is gained through experiences with real people and objects. As a result, introducing artificial images to very young children may result in faulty brain development, inaccurate perceptions of the world, attention deficits, diminished reading ability, and even obesity. Video games, and the fast-cut modern style of music videos and some movies are also thought to be problematic for some individuals. Young children require more time to sort through visual images than do older children and adults, leaving them vulnerable to becoming disoriented and agitated from viewing fast-cut media.

Other professionals believe that frequent exposure to intense lightning-fast visual images can disrupt cognitive functioning by teaching young developing brains to become dependent on excessive stimulation. This experience may train many young people to constantly shift attention from one stimulus to the next, thus making them become easily bored with a more real-world pace. In settings without fast-paced media images (like school or the playground), these children feel under-stimulated, cannot focus on other tasks, and compulsively seek physical activity or increased stimulation. This type of behavior sounds very much like true ADHD, but it is not likely the result of neurological changes, and does not usually meet the DSM criteria for diagnosing ADHD. Although there is no scientific evidence to date showing that media exposure causes ADHD, many professionals agree that this type of media may at least compound the attention difficulties of individuals with ADHD.” -  MentalHelp.net, "Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder"