An Open Letter to Keirsey Website Visitors

Dear Keirsey Website Visitors:

Keirsey wrote about an "ADD Hoax". He said there was "no such 'mental disorder' to 'diagnose' and 'treat'." He went further to write misleading information about ADHD claiming that doctors are "intoxicating them with brain-disabling narcotics." Claiming that ADHD medication, using Ritalin in his example, "differs little in its destructive effects from cocaine or amphetamines", Keirsey created a misleading article about ADHD.

I have predominantly inattentive ADHD. I enjoy academic pursuits, strive for accuracy in my works, listen to my teachers, and mostly do not fit the "symptoms" Keirsey listed. By saying that people with ADHD are just Artisans, he downplayed the seriousness of a disorder whose existence has been backed my numerous studies and promote the "extreme sanguine" stereotype of ADHD. The extreme sanguine stereotype is one that prevented me from receiving a diagnosis in the first place because my temperament and giftedness masked the disorder.

The use of amphetamines in ADHD treatment has been studied more than the use of insulin for diabetes and albuterol sulfate as a rescue asthma treatment combined and stimulant medications do not "disable the brain". They compensate for the chemical imbalances present in people with ADHD by either increasing dopamine levels in the case of stimulants or affecting neurotransmitters in the case of non-stimulants. Personally, I, as of now, do not take any medication, but it greatly benefits the people who do.

Think of attention as distributing pie at a party. A neurotypical person would have enough pie for their priority guests to have larger slices, but enough left for all non-priorities to have their share and still have some left for themselves. However, someone with ADHD is someone who did not bake enough pie. This leads to 1) the guests receiving unsatisfying portions and then demanding more, 2) priority guests receiving satisfactory portions, but non-priority guests receiving none at all, or 3) every guest receiving a satisfactory portion, but the host having none. Depending on one's temperament, ADHD can manifest differently, even within the same subtype.

The "ADD Hoax" article suggests that Keirsey read misleading information about the disorder and proceeded to write about the "hoax" himself. By doing so, he perpetuated misleading information and stereotypes about ADHD, a disorder that plagues many to extents unseen by observers. The "symptoms" listed on the Keirsey website are heavily stereotype-based and are misleading. ADHD is not just an aversion to school, failure on teachers' or parents' parts, or a temperament pattern. It is a neurobiological disorder that can affect anyone regardless of their temperament or upbringing.

Keirsey's work helped me to understand more about the way I think and I admire most of his work greatly, yet, as with anyone, I do not take every word from his mouth as fact simply because he said so. As a Rational (_NT_), I value knowledge and discernment. Keirsey's "ADD Hoax" article is an example of misleading work. The information is archaic and blatantly erroneous; it serves as a reminder of the harmful ADHD stereotypes that continually vex the affected.

Yours Truly,
A Mastermind with ADHD

It's Not Just Temperament: ADHD and the "Extreme Sanguine" (#INJTChallenge)

For those of you who don't know, October is ADHD awareness month. Thus, I find that it is fitting to dispel one of the most common myths surrounding the disorder. The image of stereotypical ADHD represents the sanguine temperament in many ways; however, I am not predominantly sanguine.

The "extreme sanguine" stereotype promotes false positives and false negatives. The sanguines, usually ESFPs, falsely test positive for ADHD if given faulty and misleading diagnostic criteria while melancholics, cholerics, supines, and phlegmatics who have the condition, but don't know it, fall through the cracks. ADHD is a neurobiological disorder that can affect anyone no matter what their temperament is; it is not "just temperament" as the naysayers say it is.

Many sanguines' experiences with ADHD are discounted because they are "just sanguine". A neurotypical sanguine would display inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity to greater extents than what is typical for a melancholic, choleric, phlegmatic, or supine; the "clinical line" when what looks like temperament characteristics indicate ADHD is ambiguous and blurry. Parents may deny that their child has ADHD because they say to themselves "My child can't have a disorder. It's over-diagnosed. They are just sanguine."

On the other hand, ADHD goes unnoticed in people of other temperaments, especially the melancholics and phlegmatics. The melancholic tends to hide their symptoms under their talents while the phlegmatics seem especially lazy and disinterested. A choleric would show more outright belligerence and have little regard for tasks that do not interest them; the supines would perform all tasks to the best of their abilities, but cry and retreat within themselves, wondering why they can't be good enough.

A defect in one's dopamine receptors and differences in neurological pathways are not temperament. They can mask someone's temperament and change the way their temperament manifests itself, but do not change temperament. To the untrained eye, I look like a sanguine when I am indeed a melancholic-choleric with ADHD.

Thus, I challenge you to write a post for ADHD awareness month regarding temperament classifications and ADHD and tag it with #INJTFroma/n(Your MBTI) and/or #INJTChallenge. Alternatively, you can reblog this image with the hashtag redone in AI or Photoshop. The font used for the hashtag is Myanmar MN size 36. The image is below and up for alteration.

Type the tag #INJTChallenge into your search engine to see who else is doing it. The first contributor will get to guest post on my blog.

How That Would Work:

• E-mail me (flutistpride@gmail.com) with the subject as the title of your post, the post text and corresponding images and tell me where you want the images placed. Include a short biography (1-4 sentences) and a link to your blog/other Internet content if you have any.
• I may or may not edit or pare down your submission for conciseness, grammatical correctness, or to censor profanities. I will never add onto your post.
• When I deem your submission edited sufficiently, I will run it by you.
• After we come to an agreement, I will post it and credit you with the first to complete the INJT challenge. 

(A/N: This post is deliberately brief and ill thought-out because I want you to outdo me.)

Participants and Promoters So Far:
Meredith.S
Sylvia Phillips