I am now 54 and a grandmother who has always been "labeled" hyperactive. I currently take paxil but as a child I was given tranquilizers to calm me. Now I question whether hyperactive is a valid assessment. My 7 year old granson just came to me with a tearful fear that I asked at the very same age. "I don't want to die!" In both our cases we had and have never been exposed to the death of a person. No one in either case had died who was close to us. This child does not exhibit any of the classic hyeractive tendancies. I did as a child to a point but now looking back I see myself as an extremely emotional and sensitive child and this is the way my grandson is. He does have some attention symptoms but it usually appears that he is not concentrating on what is being said around him or even to him. He wiggles like a nervous motion rather than the perpetual motion that most hyperactive children exhibit. He is intelligent but has been designated as an average to below average student.

I have just touched the tip of what I consider an iceberg of emotions. I would like to know if anyone else has experienced this type of behavior/emotional symptoms in either themselves or a family member and what you opinion is on it or what advice have you been given. In my area I have never found anyone who was capable of understanding my descriptions. I have a hyperactive son so I have been through the list of local experts. I would like to know if this is all part of hyperactivism or something else.