Everyone has had the experience of being asked to get something from the other room and after walking into the other room
forgetting what it was that they were getting. It is a pretty normal experience--when it happens occasionally. On the other hand just think a moment as to how this would
affect you and those around you if it happened four times out of five when you are asked to do
anything?
Just think about it.
It changes things drastically. You begin to doubt your ability to do your job, or even the little things in life. Your friends and coworkers stop asking you for things--stop relying on you. Your signifigant other stops asking you for any help.
This is not a life you want to live.
Everyone has had the experience of buying a book, reading a chunk of it, and then buying a different one just because it peaked your curiosity in the bookstore. Maybe you will read the first one and maybe you will read the second one--but most likely you will read one or both. What if you couldn't stop this pattern? What if everytime you went to the bookstore you got a new book and started reading it, leaving the last book in the dust--over and over and over again? It could get expensive. It could also leave you with a ton of partially read books.
Put's a damper on your reading experience.
Everyone has had the experience of watching the TV or working on the computer and having someone say something to you, you say something back, and then a little later on you don't remember a thing that was said. Pretty common occurance right? What if that was the way it was all the time? What if every single time you were in front of the TV or the computer you could not "disengage" yourself from it enough to even say hello to your girlfirend?
You're laughing right now, you're saying "hey sounds like me! She's always complaining that I don't pay enough attention to her..." That may be, but what if you couldn't? The ADD-er can disengage and connect with the other person one in five times - I bet you could do it at least two with no thought.
The ADD-er isn't really lacking in attention--they attend just fine--but only in short bursts or excessive streaks. They jump from idea to idea, book to book, action to action. Or maybe they start working on something and never let up until it is finished--period.
It can affect one's life in a plethora of ways--the most painful of which are the loss of trust and the rise of self-doubt. What if your girlfriend couldn't trust you to hold a job--would she still marry you? What if your wife couldn't trust you to remeber to pick up the kids everyday--would she ever get pregnant? What if your boss couldn't trust you to complete the project--would he still put you in charge of it?
What happens when this is all explained to you? Your girlfriend tells you that she doesn't trust you to hold a job. Your wife tells you that she doesn't want to have kids because she can't trust you to take care of them. Your boss tells you that he doesn't feel you are able to keep up with the workload. Do you think this might make you think twice about anything and everything you do? Would it make you wonder if you were even worthwhile as a boyfriend, a husband, or an employee?
There are upsides to ADD as well--creativity, intelligence, extensive knowledge in various subjects, etc. But most of the time we as a society look at what's wrong, instead of what's right. So if you would, take a little time before you judge the "slacker" who works with you or the "fuck up" you are dating. Talk to them and see if maybe there isn't something wrong with them medically before you toss them out of your operation and your life. Some of the greatest people in history had ADD--civilization and life as a whole would have been much worse without them.