Quote from mokwit:
I am not sure that we all lead a "vastly more successful life" even if not categorising "successful" according to narrow society/sheep values. The less we are in a school/corporate and relationship situation the less we are troubled by it.
Sparky brain chemistry runs in my family too, addiction, depression, OCD. I definately couldn't hack the commercial world, and my relationships have been problematic too, (nothing too "Jerry Springer" but just a lot of introversion). One of the main reasons the private trading and related activities suit so well. I am most happy and least symptomatic when i have my mind buried in the flows of numbers. I have recently taken the next step and started to channel my efforts into mathematics, and basically work my way through math textbooks while I watch the markets with one eye. If I ever blow up, I am going back to school for maths.
This whole conversation reminds me of the recent book about Roget, the guy who came up with the thesaurus. An imbalanced guy to be sure, but his imbalance got channeled into something productive.
Anyway, right now because researchers know little about the brain, "non-standard" reactions are labeled as disorders. It could be that the people who are now labeled as disordered, really are still within normal ranges, but just a deviation or 2 from the mean. Nothing wrong with that, but I think it is important for someone who is a little sparky to make sure they find a life path that suits their temperment. This can be tougher then it seems given societal expectations, the pressure to make a living, etc. but it can be done....