From the Editor’s Desk: Mental Health Will Drive You, Well, You Know (Premium)

I've written a lot this summer about my various health initiatives, about being proactive and addressing issues before they become serious, and about some of the small successes I've had with regards to blood glucose and weight. But I've skirted around the other half of this crusade, which is mental health. And so maybe it's time to address that now.

Which is difficult for many reasons. This is a deeply personal thing that paradoxically benefits from this modern era of better understanding but is also held back by an over-sensitivity about certain terms that were once common and accepted. We didn't discuss this type of thing when I was growing up, but for those in my kids' generation, it's all out there. Bridging that gap is problematic for people my age.

But what the heck. I'm big on self-improvement, and while I did go into this kicking and screaming---and procrastinating, my age-old tactic for those things I simply wish to ignore---I finally came around. It just took a little prodding. OK, a lot of prodding.

That said, I feel like I was on the edge of understanding some of this for many years, as I've long been fascinated by certain commonalities between myself and many others in our industry. There is an interesting crossover, for example, between software developers and artists, people who like to create things by drawing, painting, writing, playing musical instruments, and so on. And there is this other half of the equation, which is all about social shyness and compulsiveness, about being really good at something, maybe too good, and not at all good in other areas.

Anyway, my daughter was diagnosed with ADHD (attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder) during her Freshman year of college. This term is a perfect example of my note above about terms that used to be fine but for some reason today are not: we used to differentiate between ADHD and ADD (attention-deficit disorder) because the difference is meaningful, but today it's all called ADHD, with those in the latter camp now described, stupidly, as ADHD without hyperactivity. My daughter has ADHD without hyperactivity, or what I think should still be called ADD.

And so do I.

This started when my daughter described to us how she was diagnosed, and the behaviors that collectively make up her ADHD. And in doing so, my wife Stephanie realized that our daughter was also describing me. Forgetting for a moment that I didn't make this connection myself, I have often observed that one of the most troubling aspects of being a parent is recognizing that my children's bad behaviors directly stem from me. And that my kids' best characteristics come from my wife and not from me. Maybe I was simply trying to avoid that inconvenient truth.

But over time, my wife would bring this up with me, often in the wake of some episode, which in my case typically ranges from an absolute lack of focus and forgetfulness to an instant anger at whatever is happening around me. There is a stra...