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Thom Hartmann

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ADHD: A Hunter in a Farmer's World Kindle Edition

by Thom Hartmann (Author), Michael Popkin (Foreword) Format: Kindle Edition

4.6 360 ratings

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A newly revised and updated edition of the classic guide to reframing our view of ADHD and embracing its benefits

• Explains that people with ADHD are not disordered or dysfunctional, but simply “hunters in a farmer’s world”--possessing a unique mental skill set that would have allowed them to thrive in a hunter-gatherer society

• Offers concrete non-drug methods and practices to help hunters--and their parents, teachers, and managers--embrace their differences, nurture creativity, and find success in school, at work, and at home

• Reveals how some of the world’s most successful people can be labeled as ADHD hunters, including Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Edison, and Andrew Carnegie

With 10 percent of the Western world’s children suspected of having Attention Deficit Disorder, or ADHD, and a growing number of adults self-diagnosing after decades of struggle, the question must be raised: How could Nature make such a “mistake”?

In this updated edition of his groundbreaking classic, Thom Hartmann explains that people with ADHD are not abnormal, disordered, or dysfunctional, but simply “hunters in a farmer’s world.” Often highly creative and single-minded in pursuit of a self-chosen goal, those with ADHD symptoms possess a unique mental skill set that would have allowed them to thrive in a hunter-gatherer society. As hunters, they would have been constantly scanning their environment, looking for food or threats (distractibility); they’d have to act without hesitation (impulsivity); and they’d have to love the high-stimulation and risk-filled environment of the hunting field. With our structured public schools, office workplaces, and factories those who inherit a surplus of “hunter skills” are often left frustrated in a world that doesn’t understand or support them.

As Hartmann shows, by reframing our view of ADHD, we can begin to see it not as a disorder, but as simply a difference and, in some ways, an advantage. He reveals how some of the world’s most successful people can be labeled as ADHD hunters and offers concrete non-drug methods and practices to help hunters--and their parents, teachers, and managers--embrace their differences, nurture creativity, and find success in school, at work, and at home. Providing a supportive “survival” guide to help fine tune your natural skill set, rather than suppress it, Hartmann shows that each mind--whether hunter, farmer, or somewhere in between--has value and great potential waiting to be tapped.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“In this groundbreaking book, Thom Hartmann makes a unique contribution to our understanding of ADHD. In considering ADHD in an evolutionary context, Thom was the first to point out the survival advantages of ADHD in hunter-gatherer societies and also the first to identify the link between ADHD and creativity. As such, Thom will be recognized as a pioneer contributing to the reconceptualization of ADHD from being considered only a ‘disorder’ to being viewed as a ‘mode of thought’ characterized by enhanced flexibility and creativity.” (Richard Silberstein, professor emeritus of cognitive neuroscience at Swinburne University)

“It is refreshing to find a book that places ADHD in a framework that does not imply dysfunction. . . . The metaphor of a ‘hunter in a farmer’s world’ fits so many of the ADHD youngsters and adults with whom I have worked.” (Margaret (Peg) Dawson, Ed.D., NCSP, codirector of the Center for Learning and Attention Disorders)

“Why are attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and related conditions so common? Could they in some way be advantageous? These questions and some possible answers are woven through this book, providing basic factual information about ADHD with a twist that helps readers recognize the value--sometimes quite special--of people who have it.” (Dale E. Hammerschmidt, M.D., FACP, emeritus professor of medicine at the University of Minnesota)

“This book did for our family what years of being in and out of therapy failed to accomplish. It helped us to understand and appreciate each other’s unique way of doing and seeing.” (Janie Bowman, mother of an ADHD adolescent)

“A clear and positive view of our remarkable children with practical tips for the parent.” (Stephen C. Davidson, M.Ed., founding member of “Safe Kids” of Georgia)

“I highly recommend this book to parents and educators.” (Jack Neerincx, Ph.D., supervising psychologist of Gaston County Schools, North Carolina)

“This book helped me better understand ADHD and gave me practical strategies on how to deal with these children in the classroom.” (Anne Bennett, special education teacher, grades K-8)

“ADHDers aren’t abnormal; they are uniquely gifted individuals in their own right. Thom Hartmann describes these ideas in a book that belongs in the hands of every educator, counselor, doctor, and parent.” (Learning Disabilities Newsletter)

About the Author

Thom Hartmann is the host of the internationally syndicated talkshow The Thom Hartmann Program and the TV show The Big Picture on the Free Speech TV network. He is the award-winning New York Times bestselling author of 24 books, including Adult ADHD, ADHD and the Edison Gene, and The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight. A former psychotherapist and founder of the Hunter School, a residential and day school for children with ADHD, he lives in Portland, Oregon.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Chapter 3. Hunters in Our Schools and Offices

Prior to the early 1970s, when ADHD was first characterized as a specific disorder, ADHD children and adults were largely treated simply as “bad people”. They were the kids who always got into trouble, the James Deans of the world, the rootless and unsettled adults like Abraham Lincoln’s father, The Lone Ranger, or John Dillinger.

More recent research, however, has demonstrated a high incidence of ADHD among the parents of ADHD children. This discovery caused some psychologists to initially postulate that ADHD was the result of growing up in a dysfunctional family; they suggested that ADHD may follow the same pattern as child or spousal abuse. The dietary-cause advocates contended that children pattern their parent’s eating habits, and this accounts for the generational patterns of ADHD. Other studies suggest that, like Down’s Syndrome or muscular dystrophy, ADHD is a genetic disease, with the A1 variant of the D2 dopamine receptor gene identified by scientists as the leading candidate.

But if ADHD is a genetic disease or an abnormality, it’s a popular one, possibly afflicting as many as 25 million individuals in the United States. With such a wide distribution among our population, is it reasonable to assume that ADHD is simply a quirk? That it’s some sort of an aberration caused by defective genes or child abuse? Where did ADHD come from? The answer is: people with ADHD are the leftover hunters, those whose ancestors evolved and matured thousands of years in the past in hunting societies.

As the human race moved from its earliest ancestors, two basic types of cultures evolved. In the areas that were lush with plant and animal life and had a low human population density, hunters and gatherers predominated. In other parts of the world (particularly Asia), farming or agricultural societies evolved.

Successful Hunters

Be it pursuing buffalo in North America, hunting deer in Europe, chasing wildebeest in Africa, or picking fish from a stream in Asia, these hunters needed a certain set of physical and mental characteristics to be successful:

• They constantly monitor their environment. Failure to be fully aware of the environment and notice the faint sound might mean a swift and painful death or the difference between a full belly and hunger.

• They can totally throw themselves into the hunt; time is elastic. Another characteristic of a good Hunter is the ability to totally focus on the moment, abandoning all consideration of any other time or place. When the Hunter sees the prey he gives chase simply living totally in that one pure moment. When involved in the hunt, time seems to speed; when not in the hunt, time becomes slow. While a Hunter’s ability to concentrate in general may be low, his ability to utterly throw himself into the hunt at the moment is astonishing.

• They’re flexible, capable of changing strategy on a moment’s notice. If the wild boar vanishes into the brush, and a rabbit appears, the Hunter is off in a new direction. Orderliness is not particularly important to a Hunter, but the abilities to make a quick decision and then act on it are vital.

• They can throw an incredible burst of energy into the hunt, so much so that they often injure themselves or exceed “normal” capabilities, without realizing it until later. Not unlike that quintessential of all Hunters, the lion, they have incredible bursts of energy--but not necessarily a lot of staying power.

• They think visually. Hunters often describe their actions in terms of pictures, rather than words or feelings. They create outlines in their heads of where they’ve been and where they’re going. Hunters often aren’t much interested in abstractions.

• They love the hunt, but are easily bored by mundane tasks, such as having to clean the fish, dress the meat, or fill out the paperwork. Kemmons Wilson, the founder of Holiday Inns, had a group of executives he called Bear Skinners who would take care of the details of “skinning and cleaning” after Wilson had “shot the bear” (negotiated a new hotel site, brought in new financing, opened a new division, etc.).

• They’ll face danger that “normal” individuals would avoid. A wounded boar, or elephant, or bear, can kill you--and many a Hunter has been killed by his would-be prey. If you extend this analogy to warfare, where the Hunters are often the front line infantry or the most aggressive officers, the same is true. Hunters take risks.

• They’re hard on themselves and those around them. When your life depends on split-second decisions, your frustration and impatience threshold necessarily tend to be low. A fellow Hunter who doesn’t get out of the way of a shot, or a soldier who defies orders and smokes on a dark night showing the enemy your position, cannot be tolerated.

People with ADHD Are Descendants of Hunters

If you compare the list of classic ADHD symptoms, and the list of the characteristics of a good hunter, you’ll see that they match almost perfectly. In other words, an individual with the ADHD collection of characteristics would make an extraordinarily good hunter. A failure to have any one of those characteristics might mean death in the forest or jungle.

It is my hope that this book will help us remove the stigma of “illness” or “deficit” associated with a diagnosis of ADHD and related conditions. A second, and equally important, goal is to provide specific tools to “work around” the dilemma of being an ADHD “Hunter” in a contemporary society that is largely structured for and by non-ADHD “Farmers,” a concept we will explore in detail. The individuals with whom I’ve shared this theory have found it both positive and transformational. This is the spirit in which this book is offered, with the sincere hope that it may help more teachers, psychologists, psychiatrists, and parents to empower and enable rather than label as sick or disabled ADD children and adults.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07Q8Y17ZK
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Healing Arts Press; 3rd edition (September 3, 2019)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 3, 2019
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 1409 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 305 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #307,395 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #66 in Parenting Hyperactive Children (Kindle Store)
- #84 in Attention-Deficit Disorder
- #710 in Parenting Books on Children with Disabilities

Customer Reviews:
4.6 360 ratings

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Thom Hartmann

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Thom Hartmann is the four-time Project Censored Award-winning, New York Times best-selling author of 25 books currently in print in over a dozen languages on five continents.

Hartmann is also an internationally known speaker on culture and communications, an author, and an innovator in the fields of psychiatry, ecology, and economics.

The co-founder (with his wife, Louise) and former Executive Director of The New England Salem Children's Village (1978) and The Hunter School (1997), he has led national innovations in the areas of residential treatment for abused children and private/public education for learning-disabled children.

He has helped set up hospitals, famine relief programs, schools, and refugee centers in India, Uganda, Australia, Colombia, Russia, and the United States through the German-based Salem International program. Formerly rostered with the State of Vermont as a psychotherapist, founder of The Michigan Healing Arts Center, and licensed as an NLP Trainer by Richard Bandler (who wrote the foreword to one of Thom's books), he was the originator of the revolutionary "Hunter/Farmer Hypothesis" to understand the psychiatric condition known as Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD).

A guest faculty member at Goddard College in Vermont, he also synthesized the "Younger/Older Culture model" for describing the underpinnings - and possible solutions - to the world's ecological and socio-political crises, suggesting that many of our problems are grounded in cultural "stories" which go back thousands of years.

Leonardo DiCaprio was inspired by Thom's book "The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight" to make the movie "The 11th Hour" (in which Thom appears), and a series of environmental videos narrated by Hartmann and DiCaprio, available at Green World Rising.

Talkers Magazine named Thom Hartmann as the most important progressive talk show host in America for the past decade, and for three of the past five years the #1 most important progressive host, in their “Heavy Hundred” ranking. His radio show is syndicated on for-profit radio stations nationwide by WYD Media, on non-profit and community stations nationwide by Pacifica, across the entire North American continent on SiriusXM Satellite radio, on cable systems nationwide by Cable Radio Network (CRN) and Free Speech TV, on its own YouTube channel, via subscription podcasts, worldwide through the US American Forces Network, and through the Thom Hartmann App in the App Store. The radio show is also simulcast as TV in realtime into nearly 60 million US and Canadian homes by the Free Speech TV Network on Dish Network, DirectTV, and cable TV systems nationwide.

As an entrepreneur, he's founded several successful businesses which still are operating, and lived and worked with his wife, Louise, and their three (now adult) children on several continents.

He was born and grew up in Michigan, and retains strong ties to the Midwest, although he and Louise have lived in New Hampshire, Vermont, Georgia, Germany, Washington DC, and Oregon.

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4.6 out of 5

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Ryan Reed

Completely changed my perspective of my ADHD diagnosis.

Reviewed in the United States on April 5, 2024

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This was a great book and interesting take on ADHD. It left me feeling better about myself, I could relate to so much. To allow myself to not view myself as not less than neurotypical but just a different set of traits really improved my confidence. I highly suggest this book for anyone who lives with or knows someone with Adhd.

2 people found this helpful

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JL Populist

Reframing ADHD

Reviewed in the United States on March 2, 2024

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Thom Hartman wrote this book for his son. Mr. Hartmann also has personal experience with ADHD which makes the book relatable for people that have it.

He puts forth a reasonable explanation for where folks with ADHD get their traits.
I found the material on sleep really educational. Read some things I hadn't been aware of.
I liked the book, especially for it's different viewpoint.
And the short sections on historically significant individuals who most likely had ADHD and their major accomplishments was another favorite part for me.

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fjfgjfgk

New Idea presented with clarity

Reviewed in the United States on July 22, 2021

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One of my grandsons has recently been diagnosed with ADHD. He is 10. I wanted to more clearly understand the reasons behind his struggles at school and home. I liked the listing of specific traits of Hunters and Farmers, which gave me a better understanding of some of his behaviors. I like that I can understand him better. The discussion of medication was very enlightening as it presented specifically how stimulation is processed by the nervous system. I’m a retired RN and this level of detail helped me have a deeper understanding of how these medications work and why they are helpful for some and not so helpful for others. I loved understanding that he will respond better by learning in an experiential setting. The information has removed most of my fear of this diagnosis and replaced that with acceptance and understanding. There wasn’t anything I didn’t like. The author writes with a clear straightforward literary voice. I’ve recommended it to several of my friends and am buying copies for my grandson’s parents.

31 people found this helpful

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Kathy G.

Totally makes sense

Reviewed in the United States on April 18, 2023

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As an adult diagnosed with ADHD less than two years ago, I found this book very interesting. Mr. Hartmann’s theory, now fairly widely accepted as I understand it, helps to illustrate and explain the differences between my neurodivergent brain and a neurotypical brain. He makes a ton of sense. This book would help anyone struggling with their ADHD diagnosis, viewing themselves as sick, disabled, defective, etc. Nothing could be further from the truth that our brains just work differently and, in some ways, better.

11 people found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

An important Book

Reviewed in the United States on October 7, 2023

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This book really changed my view of what it means to be ADD. I read this book when it first came out, now I am buying it for my daughter to help her understand her 7-year old son.
From growing up shame based, square peg/ round hole, to the recognition that we have a place in the world.

4 people found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

Insightful

Reviewed in the United States on August 4, 2023

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This book is phenomenal. It was recommended to me by a psych NP. Its perfect for anyone with ADHD and knows someone who struggles with it.

5 people found this helpful

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Jim

Lack of comprehension, lack of focus, this book is for people like us!

Reviewed in the United States on February 15, 2020

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If you have ever wondered if you or someone you love has ADD/ADHD, this book is for you. Just turned 60 and discovered I am not alone nor slow. I cannot thank the Author enough for making it so easy to read and understand this book. Parents, I highly recommend this book if your child is struggling with school. If you can’t remember what you just read on the last page, you are not alone! I’ve been on Adderal for 6 months and what a difference!!!
Long live the hunters!

24 people found this helpful

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openmypages

ADHD: A Hunter in a Farmer's World

Reviewed in the United States on December 1, 2023

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{3.5 stars}

I came across this book on TikTok, where I regularly watch videos featuring neurospicy content. I was intrigued by the concept that ADHD behaviors are not only genetic but may have actually been a preferred survival mechanism. The original of this work is quite old and I was quite surprised I hadn't previously heard of it. Anyway, this version is updated with new research as well as giving a little historical context about how the field has changed since its first publication.

Basically, the author proposes that ADHD is not a disorder but rather a set of skills that in ancient hunter-gatherer society would have been essential to a hunter out in the world. The heightened sense of one's environment and constant re-prioritizing of tasks based on the ever changing situation are skills that would have kept a hunter safe. The need for constant stimulation, impulsivity and ability to act in high risk situations would have made the hunter quite successful. He then goes on to describe the related characteristics, strategies for overcoming or embracing them and gives us some perspective on very successful historical figures who took advantage of ADHD to thrive.

I now fully understand the millennial phrase "I feel seen." If I would have had this book as a kid, I think my life would have been very different. The current understanding of ADHD not necessarily meaning you're bouncing off the walls but that your brain might be the hyperactive part, is so relatable for me. The strategies would have probably been very helpful, although luckily I've already found my own way.

This may be a very dry read for some but I really enjoyed it.

9 people found this helpful

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Alison

A positive, practical and well structured text.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 28, 2023

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Well written with clear text and reasonable quality paper. Positively affirms and validates ADHD 'hunter' types as giving an evolutionary advantage to our species of predominantly neurotypical 'farmer' types.
It is helpfully sectioned into "Understanding hunters and farmers", which explains how to recognise and understand the hunter type and "Living and thriving in a farmer's world" which gives practical advice for both hunters and the farmers who know them.
An excellent positive and practical book. Thanks Thom.

acan

adhd introduction, a communism point of view

Reviewed in the Netherlands on May 6, 2023

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On the first 20 pages, It’s a communism book which was something I didn’t expect. So far nothing about adhd but a long introduction of political statements and stuff. I’ll continue reading it but definitely wouldn’t buy it If I just had the chance to live this life again and this comment is in the reviews.

philipp thuering

Gonna buy a physical copy aswell

Reviewed in Germany on July 1, 2021

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Good read, interesting perspective on Adhd that helped me not be permanently stressed about having it. Scientifically backed aswell, so that's that.

Robyn N Webb

Explains ADHD beautifully

Reviewed in Australia on September 26, 2022

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A fantastic explanation of ADHD, showing the role and merits of ADHD in human evolution. At last an approach that shows ADHD is a mode not a defect and shows how many people now and in the past show indications of having ADHD minds

Jasmine

Fabulous

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 28, 2023

Verified Purchase

A real game changer. Easy to read and full of useful information. It will give you those answers to those annoying questions sick as, 'Why didn't we have it in our day?' and 'ADHD can't be real. Some countries don't have it at all,'
A definite read for anyone interested in the field. Buy it!

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