I have ADD/ADHD. This is something that I have battled all of my life but my symptoms greatly increased over the past few years, with the past year or two being the absolute worst. Earlier this year, I found out that I have both types–inattentive And hyperactive, which makes it so much more difficult to manage. I swear, I can literally feel my brain “misfire” at times. One day, I can feel like I m running around like the Tasmanian Devil with absolutely no impulse control and the next day, I m quiet and completely “spaced out” and can’t focus on anything.
To say that life, relationships and organizational skills can be challenging for me, would be a huge understatement. People generally don’t understand that this condition is a real neurological disorder with scientific evidence/studies to back it up. I am very often misunderstand and taken the wrong way. Even though, I have always had above average grades, advanced reading, writing and comprehension skills and excelled in my college Science, Nursing and Math courses…AND passed my RN licensure exam-on the first try- with the min amount of questions needed, people will often dismiss my intelligence, visions and abilities.
Thankfully, earlier this year, after years of trying numerous counselors, medications etc, I was finally able to get the kind of help that I needed. I worked with a life coach, therapist and a Psychiatrist and have made drastic changes and improvements. Finally, I feel like I m grounded and at peace again. I am still very much a work in progress but I ve come a long way and I m still continuing to see my therapist weekly.
So what does all of this have to do with photography and my business? Learning “Mat Mathematics”. That is when you have to figure out the precise measurements needed to hand cut your mats–and it involves fractions and a lot of details.
My brain does not like comprehending these kinds of tedious things. It will literally block up, leave me in tears and feeling like I can’t do the task that I am trying to do.
When I decided to turn my biz into a LLC, I knew that I would have to learn how to cut my own mats and mount/mat my prints, if I wanted to be respected in the photography community. I didn’t have anyone to stand by my side to show me how all of this was done. So I had to teach myself by doing a lot of research and watching numerous You Tube videos.
These “You Tube” videos made it look so easy. The instructors all had the perfect clean uncluttered areas and cut clean cut perfect mats on the very first try, making it look like it was a piece of cake.
The vids were great and very helpful but they were also very deceiving because it made me believe it s a lot easier then it looks. I am still searching for the “real” videos–the ones with the confused cursing frustrated people that create crazy disorganized messes and slice their fingers as they are trying to learn–you know, like real life stuff with real people, like me. It d also be great if I could see them crying and pulling their hair out too 🙂
I also found the math “formula”, if you will, on how to figure out all the measurements of what I needed to cut. This is the “Mat Mathematics” part that requires all the exact numbers. It is also the part that makes my brain misfire and/or shut-down. It was very difficult for me to comprehend all the exact fractions needed. I spent many late nights/early mornings crying while hovering over my work space on my dining room table.
As discouraged as I got, I never gave up. I remembered my therapist and Psychiatrist explaining to me that my brain just works differently-that there isn’t anything wrong with me, I just have to figure some things out in a different way.
So I figured out a way that didn’t require me to crunch numbers. I simply took a pre cut mat and traced it out on my mat board. I then aligned my cutting tools accordingly and cut. There were times that I needed to make adjustments and I just adjusted by trial and error until I got it right.
Eventually, it became easier for me and I became quicker and more efficient. My brain also relaxed a lot and I gained a lot of confidence.
After a couple of months of cutting and making progress in therapy, I decided to try using the math steps to figure out my measurements. I wanted to know how close I was using my method compared to the method of using math. First, I took a mat that I cut using my way and measured the distance from the edges to the mat opening. I got 2 3/4 for the sides and 3 1/4 for the top and bottom.
I then tried the math and was very excited to find that my brain actually allowed me to do it when it wouldn’t allow me to do it before. To my total astonishment, the measurements came out to 2 3/4 and 3 1/4. The exact same thing that I had figured out on my own–not doing the math.
There is always more than one way to skin a cat. Just because you may skin yours differently doesn’t mean that you are incorrect–or even less than others that do it the traditional way. We are all unique and have to do things that are right for us as individuals, which may go against convention at times. There is nothing wrong with it. Never be afraid to be different and unconventional.
For more information and resources for ADD/ADHD, please visit CHADD. https://chadd.org
