ADHD: A Hunter in a Farmer's World

Product Information

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/cns-spectrums/article/impairment-associated-with-adult-adhd/77FABE27007F922CDF4478CF520F609C Neurodivergent — hunter type — individuals, like me and you, struggling to manage ADHD symptoms, addiction, and similar behaviors, have gifts to offer the world today. Just as we did millions of years ago when bringing our catch home to feed the tribe. Hartmann claims that most or all humans were nomadic hunter-gatherers for hundreds of thousands of years, but that this standard gradually changed as agriculture developed in most societies, and more people worldwide became farmers. Over many years, most humans adapted to farming cultures, but Hartmann speculates that people with ADHD retained some of the older hunter characteristics. If you compare the list of classic ADHD symptoms, and the list of the characteristics of a good hunter, you’ll see that they match almost perfectly. In other words, an individual with the ADHD collection of characteristics would make an extraordinarily good hunter. A failure to have any one of those characteristics might mean death in the forest or jungle. When new concepts occur, they often become prone to dualistic thinking. The ADD/ADHD criteria seems too rigid to me and I propose that it may be the regulatory mechanism that requires further examination. So far, I've spent nearly an hour thinking about how to respond...

His daily progressive radio talk show is syndicated and distributed to radio and television stations nationwide and in Europe and Africa. With a worldwide human population that never exceeded a few tens of million people until the agricultural revolution, even in northern or seasonally changing climates, there was almost always an abundance of food. People with ADHD often grow up with strong negative feelings about themselves. Thom Hartmann offers hope, help, and positive solutions to those with ADHD… Once again, Thom casts a bright light on ADHD, showing us all that by looking at the positive in ourselves we can lead more fulfilling, productive, giving lives. This book is inspirational and a must-red for those who have ADHD or care about someone with ADHD.” Yet that’s precisely what happens to most ADHD Lookouts in today’s classrooms and offices. If they look out the window (as their instincts demand), they’re scolded for not being good, attentive Farmers.The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that 11% of children in the USA (between the ages of 2–17) have been diagnosed with ADHD — ‘ADHD’ is the official, medical term for the condition (it has been referred to as ‘ADD’, amongst other pseudonyms, in the past — though this is now outdated). Oftentimes we feel like we’d rather be in the trenches than go through traditional schooling. And, a desk job for the rest of our adult lives!? The thought is anxiety-inducing at least. https://www.longdom.org/open-access/hunters-in-a-farmers-world-adhd-and-hunter-gatherers-2332-0915-1000150.pdf

When the condition is so widely distributed, inevitable questions arise: Why? Where did ADHD come from? The answer is: people with ADHD are the leftover hunters, those whose ancestors evolved and matured thousands of years in the past in hunting societies. Harvey C. Parker, clinical psychologist, author The ADD Hyperactivity Workbook for Parents, Teachers, and Kids https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/science-news/3344025/ADHD-may-be-beneficial-for-some-jobs.html From having done this work and taught NLP for over 40 years, I’m convinced most timeline dysfunction in Hunters is the result of the general chaos of life itself, combined with a Hunter’s natural inclination to “be here now” at all times (except when worrying, which is another article altogether). Few self-help suggestions, however, start with the assumption that the people reading or hearing them have a totally confused relationship to time itself. That’s where I’m beginning with this article.The March 25, 1996, issue of Time featured a cover story on the functions of the brain and the latest research into why our brains behave the way the way they do. Evolutionary notions of behavior played an important part in that article, including the recent discovery by researchers that those people most likely to have the gene that causes the brain to crave fatty foods and thus produce obesity are also those people whose ancestors over the past ten thousand years came from parts of the world where famines were common. What was an adaptive behavior for primitive peoples has become maladaptive in a world where most “hunting” is done at the supermarket.

As the human race moved from its earliest ancestors, two basic types of cultures evolved. In the areas that were lush with plant and animal life and had a low human population density, hunters and gatherers predominated. In other parts of the world (particularly Asia), farming or agricultural societies evolved.

More Articles Recommended For You

And that’s also why when, as an adult, I discovered the Hunter vs Farmer Theory of ADHD, I felt peace. Reassurance. Historian author Yuval Noah Harari (known for Sapiens, amongst several other books) recently wrote an article on Medium where he argues that, in this rapidly changing world, the most critical skill of this century will be the ability to handle rapid change—in his words, ‘ adaptability’ or ‘ the art of reinvention’. In addition to this, a certain mental flexibility will be required to be able to deal with this change psychologically. And then it occurred to me, the women who predominantly have inattentive ADHD, married the men with predominantly hyperactive ADHD. The women were content to wait around for the men to return from hunting while they daydreamed the day away. Even today we often find men and women with ADHD marrying one another. We are compatible in so many ways! My speculation even has an explanation for the minority of women with hyperactivity and high energy. They were hunters, probably of the smaller creatures, and they married men with inattentive ADHD who waited for them to return, adding interest and excitement to their lives. Although ADHD is often described by the problems it presents, several recent studies (see here, here, and here) have reaffirmed other potential advantages linked to the ADHD diagnosis, namely — the ability to think more creatively, and entrepreneurial orientation (EO).