ADHD

With 10 per cent of the Western world’s children suspected of having Attention Deficit Disorder, or ADHD, and a growing number of adults self-diagnosing after decades of struggle, the question must be raised: How could Nature make such a “mistake”?

In this updated edition of his groundbreaking classic, Thom Hartmann explains that people with ADHD are not abnormal, disordered, or dysfunctional, but simply “hunters in a farmer’s world.” Often highly creative and single-minded in pursuit of a self-chosen goal, those with ADHD symptoms possess a unique mental skill set that would have allowed them to thrive in a hunter-gatherer society. As hunters, they would have been constantly scanning their environment, looking for food or threats (distractibility); they’d have to act without hesitation (impulsivity); and they’d have to love the high-stimulation and risk-filled environment of the hunting field. With our structured public schools, office workplaces, and factories, those who inherit a surplus of “hunter skills” are often left frustrated in a world that doesn’t understand or support them.

As Hartmann shows, by reframing our view of ADHD, we can begin to see it not as a disorder, but as simply a difference and, in some ways, an advantage. He reveals how some of the world’s most successful people can be labelled as ADHD hunters and offers concrete non-drug methods and practices to help hunters—and their parents, teachers, and managers—embrace their differences, nurture creativity, and find success in school, at work, and at home. Providing a supportive “survival” guide to help fine-tune your natural skill set, rather than suppress it, Hartmann shows that each mind—whether hunter, farmer, or somewhere in between—has value and great potential waiting to be tapped.