Is it coincidence that October is both National ADD/ADHD Awareness Month and Squirrel Awareness Month?

I doubt it. It’s also National Sarcastic Awareness Month, so … are you aware of it?

As a solid card-not-carrying member (I lost the card, OK?) of the Adult ADHD-havers Association — Is it a real association? Of course it is — I do also love a good sarcastic squirrel. Though you have to baste them carefully to get the sarcasm taste just right.

October is also National Book Month. I can read. And I like to do it, too, so I guarantee you I’ll be reading some books. I’ll continue my norm of reading several “at once” because I have trouble committing to just one at a time.

Books are good for mental stimulation, and teach you stuff, and something else, probably.

On a more serious note, following on the heels of September as Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, October is Depression Education and Awareness Month. The first step to getting help with depression, anxiety, or ANY other health issue is to acknowledge that something is wrong. The second step is to talk to someone about it, preferably a professional health caregiver who can help you get the assistance you need.

Unfortunately, depression is often tied deeply to other disorders like ADHD.

It’s interesting to me that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that approximately 5 percent of the adult U.S. population has Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder (more men than women). I seem to know a lot of that percentile personally.

I don’t like labels, but some are necessary. Like the ones that differentiate between containers of sugar, salt and rat poison. Why is the rat poison in the spice cabinet, anyway?

I think ADHD is a misnomer — an incorrect or inept name for an issue that involves so much more than short attention spans and constant motion.

It can also involve hyper-focus on a single task or idea, anxiety, depression, sleep problems, oppositional defiant behavior, difficulty interacting socially, physical coordination problems, learning difficulties, and an inability to remember names of people or objects.

ADHD behavior can certainly be annoying to people who don’t have or understand it. So I’ve been told. But a little extra patience is all we ask. We’ll try our best not to be annoying. We’re just super curious and inquisitive, too.

But what can I say? All of us book-loving, hyperactive, sarcastic squirrels can only promise so much.

Brett Campbell can be reached at brett.campbell@dailyleader.com.