Fast Minds: How to Thrive If You Have ADHD (Or Think You Might)

I was diagnosed several years ago with adult ADD/ADHD and tried various medications to help focus both my daily life and my life in general. The side effects of Adderall and similar drugs were not worth it. I live a fairly comfortable life, so although I could see the problems my "condition" caused, they weren't debilitating to the point of that they absolutely had to be dealt with. However, my life continues to be a mass of a thousand interests, hundreds of unfinished plans and projects, hyperfocusing on the distraction of the day while ignoring matters of import in my life, etcetera. In many ways, my life is passing me by while I live in a whirl of distractions and impulsive actions.I managed to acquire an advance copy of this book (I am a book dealer) and was just taken aback by what the title - an acronym - translates to:FAST: Forgetful. Achieving below potential. Stuck in a rut. Time challenged.MINDS: Motivationally challenged. Impulsive. Novelty seeking. Distractible. Scattered.My reaction: "Wow, this is my life. Exactly. Every single letter." I vaguely remembered the symptoms of ADD/ADHD but it had been years since I had learned what they were. To see them in this way - your life described in an acronym - was, however, startling.The very fact that I read an entire 350-page book in the course of several days is actually the highest praise I can give (99% of books are never even half-finished in my world). The authors are engaging and you immediately know that THEY know what your life is like and the problems you have (as opposed to a dry 'How to fix your ADHD' textbook). While most self-help authors have a novel "key" that they've "discovered" to "cure" your problem, these authors offer multiple pragmatic remedies and techniques for you to try and choose, all based on the latest studies of ADHD patients. This is a thorough, comprehensive guide to help you, not a brief overview of ADHD nor a gimmicky pop psychology book.Some techniques seem overly simple, but in the limited practice I've had, seem quite effective: trying to simply control your thinking patterns, for example. An ADHD mind is like a wild pony in many ways and this one technique alone seems to help tame that pony. Another technique I liked was organizational habits for the ADHD mind. There are dozens more.There is a steady inspirational tone throughout the book, with success stories of people whose lives were changed with these techniques. If your life is anything like mine (F.A.S.T. M.I.N.D.S.), I strongly encourage you to read this book. While there is no guarantee that you (or I) will stay focused long enough to allow these techniques to work, it is pretty much a certainty our lives won't change if we don't give it a try.

This book is clearly written and has been very helpful for me. This is the first book that I have read on the topic and it seems to give a very good overview of the problems and complications that someone with adhd is likely to encounter. It also provides you with a number of potential solutions to those problems, including cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), organizational tricks and tools, and medication.I am very familiar with CBT as I have read a few books about it and have been working with a therapist for more than 5 years to ameliorate my depression, with very positive life changing results. So I highly recommend taking this advise (and reading “Feeling Good by David Burns“).With the brevity of the book you will likely need to dig more into the CBT and organizational practices yourself to really learn it, but the book does a great job showing you how to get started. The section on meds seems to be fairly comprehensive, but I am only starting my personal exploration on that topic.

Have many books on ADD, and am just barely getting started on this one, but it's straightforward and promising so far. Lots of written exercises. Will be better when it comes out in paperback, or an accompanying workbook is created. I hate marking up a hardcover book, and having ADD, will lose additional paper required for the exercises! ;-)With this difference, you know you always can use encouragement. Although plenty of the content is familiar, there are some different observations that I can well relate to, and are stated with a fresh, and frank approach.May adjust the final rating once finished. Please, publish it in paperback, or with a workbook!

No surprise, I'm loaded with this. This book, above all others, helped me come to terms with things. Highly recommend to all of you who are looking to understand what some could easily call a curse. Read, reflect, remember. Whether you have it, think you have it, or are trying to understand someone else who has it (or thinks they do)....read this so you're both on the same page and nobody feels like the idiot they believe they are sometimes.And....for the all the moms out there reading this because their kids have it (and will continue to have it) don't go easy on your kid for having it....only go easy on him if he's beating himself up for what he can't understand about himself. We need structure....and we don't. It's a fine line knowing the difference. We are perfectionists, or at least I was, and we are beating our heads against the wall constantly trying to perform as we know we should/can. I needed this book and didn't have it until my 30's. Think how much better you will feel when you have it for someone earlier and can actually use it before they finish college and wonder if they're crazy or not comparing themselves against kids with twice the focus and half the intelligence. ADHD kids are smart....let no one tell you differently.Good luck. :)

I really like this book! I've had ADHD all my life, but was never diagnosed as I am now 76 yrs old and who knew or concerned themselves about girls who had classic symptoms of this disorder? I so wish I didn't have to grow up feeling I was just dumb and/or lazy! It's so wonderful to learn about modern brain studies, etc. which shed light on this very real disability. However, it is said that "having ADHD is an explaination, not an excuse"! This book is a most helpful guide to learning about how this condition effects people but also how to best cope with it; learning concrete ways to better our interaction with the world.

This book let you became awareness about your deficit and get you a lot of real cases, instruments and suggests to manage the ash challenges. It takes a lot of solutions. Really complete book!

As the title says this book is a useful insight, even if you think you might be ADHD. I actually think that most business owners should read this book.

wonderful book, I am really great full to authors to come up with this book, which is he need of the our in India, Asia

It was Dr. Bilkey who first detected my likely adult ADHD that was later confirmed through SPECT technology. This is a very reassuring book for literate adults who are working hard at managing ADHD and ADHD-like symptoms. It also helps the families of such people to better understand them. There should be at least one copy of this book on every public library shelf and in every school board teacher reference library. Having read the book, I would love to hear the authors speak on it at an educational conference.

Read a couple of chapters did some exercises in it. It is good, helpful. Just kinda lost interest