Ask HN: How did an adult ADHD diagnosis help you?

If you believe you have ADHD, and your therapist believes you have ADHD, BUT your life isn't negatively impacted by it, why start treatment now?

Ask yourself if you have any negative impacts from ADHD. Ask your spouse. Personal relationships, professional work, all aspects. If the answer is no, then why bother?

Source: ADHD treatments that left me a zombie when all I really needed was therapy and help to figure out realistic, functional coping mechanisms.

I took Ritalin for a brief period and it opened my eyes to different ways of seeing things. I actually believe in Ritalin more than adhd diagnoses. But it stopped being effective for me after a while, and same for most people i know. Also, side effects. But getting perspective helped me change certain behaviors which were causing problems for me.

But honestly, and this is very forward to say, I would stop seeing this therapist. I have had similar experiences to you, where I try to go to a therapist for one thing, and they send me down some other road entirely. This has never been helpful. Generally it has been destructive. Therapists are like everyone else, in that many of them aren’t that good. And just like how a bad mechanic can cost you money and ruin your car, so can a bad or even mediocre therapist screw up your life. Seriously. Don’t be pushed into some random diagnosis by some therapist who has some idea in their head.

Anyways, Methlyphinidate (ritalin) should be your very LAST step. Before that, clean up your workspace, disable distracting apps on your phone and computer, use a site blocker... And consider that a lack of discipline is not caused by ADHD.

I speak with experience here, because I was "diagnosed" with this "mental illness" before it was cool, about two decades ago, when the teachers noted I couldn't pay attention in class. Took ritalin for about a decade. Always thought I had trouble concentrating, like I was told right? Well, a few years ago I rented an office space with a friend of mine, just the two of us in a very spacious (100m2), light and well-ventilated office. We received no phone calls, there were no people walking in, or cats and girlfriends asking for attention. I had less distractions than I had at home, and much less than in a traditional office. And it was a dedicated area for "work". A comfortable desk and chair, two monitors and a fast pc. Having worked in such a proper environment, I will never say I have trouble concentrating again.

Anyways, what exactly do you think you have to gain by being "diagnosed" with ADHD?

I went to the therapist to ~figure out if~ confirm that I was on the Autism spectrum, and they pointed out that it sounded like there was some ADHD too, so it was something very unexpected for me. In hindsight, very obvious too.

It's been very insightful. On the more personal side, it's helped me understand a lot about my life and why so many things went they way they went. It's now clear that some teachers were _hinting_ the issue at my parents in school, but they never picked up on that.

On a more practical side, medication has helped a lot in focusing better and work and alike. However, it IS a tool, and you need to learn to use it. Having ADHD is like aiming your attention at things with a shotgun, and medication turns that into a sniper -- you can direct your focus very well, but it takes some training to learn _how_ to do that.

It's also important to balance it out. I take far less on the weekends since that helps wind down a lot.

I came across this youtube channel recently which is pretty interesting. It's always useful to hear how others have dealt with the same struggles: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-nPM1_kSZf91ZGkcgy_95Q