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February 2010

Married to Distraction for Valentine's Day?

Married to Distraction: Restoring Intimacy and Strengthening Your Marriage in an Age of Distraction, by Ned and Sue Hallowell, with Melissa Orlov, is being released on March 16th.  It's available for pre-order right now, and one of Dr. Hallowell's assistants put together a Valentine you can print out if you wish to order a copy for your Valentine to him or her know you were thinking about them.  It's a terrific book (I've read the whole thing) which got a starred review in Publisher's Weekly.  Here's a good description from Random House: >>> Read more >>>

Important to Read This - Clinging to Normal Mom

There is a standard "joke" that "on the internet they'll never know you're a dog".  As it turns out, we have our very own "dog" on this site.  For those of you who have been concerned about a poster named "Clinging to Life" and the histrionic responses of "Normal Mom" I would like to share that sad news that they are the SAME PERSON (also the same person as "Wild Child").  We know this from the log-in/out records for the site.  Incontrovertibly, these "three" people are one person, using the same computer.  Within minutes of logging out as one identity the user would log back in, from the same computer, under a different user name.  Unbelievable! >>> Read more >>>

The Importance of Validation and Seeing Through Each Other's Eyes

Both ADHD and non-ADHD spouses have a tendency to feel as if their own vision of the world is the way that the world really "is" - this feeling is human nature.  We have many years on earth, we've learned certain things about how the world works and who we (and others) are in relation to what's around us.  So it can be a revelation when we have the courage to step outside of our own view and try to see the world through our partner's eyes.  Doing this can be very healing for a couple because in so doing you validate your partner.  You don't have to agree with the choices your partner has made, but just acknowledging the validity of your partner's different perspective - that his or her logic is internally consistent and is a legitimate way to see the world  - can start you moving in a more positive direction.  This may seem basic, but it's amazing how much it gets in the way. >>> Read more >>>

Non-ADHD Experience

I'm editing the section of my book that has to do with developing empathy for your spouse.  I found many descriptions on this site about what it feels like to be the ADHD spouse, but have had less luck finding good quotes about the feelings that come with being the non-ADHD spouse.  There's lots of "this is what my life is like" and comments about how people do/don't get along with their spouses, but less about their dreams/feelings etc.  If you would like to write a paragraph or two about that below I would love to read it, as would the other readers at the site, I expect.  Thanks. >>> Read more >>>