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Ask HN: Neurodiversity/ADHD Friendly Companies
121–130 of 224 posts
Re: Ask HN: Neurodiversity/ADHD Friendly Companies
#122If you're an employer reading this and thinking "how can i help make my company adhd friendly" then i highly recommend you check out the welfare pack from adhduk [1]. i had a chat with the ceo of the charity when i got diagnosed to see if i could help and he is one of the few people i've spoken to in the space that is actively considering adhd in the workplace. my favourite parts are: - before criticising timeliness,…
> stop immediately thinking that every time someone doesn't meet your expectations
It's a bit off topic, but this is so important for parenting, let alone running a company with employees.
Re: Ask HN: Neurodiversity/ADHD Friendly Companies
#123Earlier quoted context omitted.
Reading your comment makes me so nervous. I could have written it myself when I was in college. Back then, ADHD meds transformed my life for the better, at least during the first couple years. It was great! A pill solved all of my problems. But then, very slowly, over the course of years, I developed a much worse set of problems. Now, ten years later, I'm struggling with an addiction that affects every aspect of my l…
Can you go into more detail about what withdrawal is like for you? I've been taking methylphenidate for ADHD recently and I want to know what to look out for.
Not OP, but have been on stimulants off and on for a decade (tried various ones, with Vyvanse and Adderall being most effective, but the former triggering mania so can’t take anymore).
YMMV, but “withdrawal” has never been more than a minor annoyance, even after years at relatively high dosage. Tired for a few days, a little bit lacking in motivation, definitely more difficult to concentrate.
The concentration part is usually the hardest, but is not necessarily worse than before the drugs, you just forgot why you went on them to begin with or how bad your ability to focus really was.
I will say, it can take some time to adapt to that lack of ability to focus though, as your coping mechanisms before you took medication are a bit atrophied due to no longer needing them.
The physical withdrawals themself really aren’t problematic though.
Re: Ask HN: Neurodiversity/ADHD Friendly Companies
#124Earlier quoted context omitted.
> One thing I'd like to point out, that is utterly unrelated to anything you're saying, is that people with ADHD can be hugely productive on things that they find interesting. Just sharing some personal thoughts: my main issue is not to be productive, but the lack of control over what I can be productive at. It's the most frustrating feeling ever. You get a new cool idea and can spend 2 weeks being the most productiv…
I definitely relate to that as well. One thing to note is that that particular aspect is one that I think the meds can help a fair bit with I think. Obviously I don't know whether you're already on them or not, but if not, maybe try them? (Obvious caveats of me having no idea about your own situation apply).
Thanks, that’s good to know.
I’m in a large city in Germany where access to medication is very strict, so we will see.
I’m in the process of being diagnosed formally since a while now. Since the pandemics psychiatrists are overbooked which results in 6+ months between appointments, so everything is very, very slow :)
Re: Ask HN: Neurodiversity/ADHD Friendly Companies
#125Hello There! Former ADHD bro here. I was diagnosed with ADHD 10 months ago. At that time my life was a BIG BLOB of MESS and CHAOS. I started attending therapy sessions with a really good Therapist once a week since then. After 6 months, I had sense of every way ADHD was affecting my life, but couldn't figure out how to overcome the symptoms by myself. My therapist recommended a psychiatrist, which prescribed Vyvanse…
Reading your comment makes me so nervous. I could have written it myself when I was in college. Back then, ADHD meds transformed my life for the better, at least during the first couple years. It was great! A pill solved all of my problems. But then, very slowly, over the course of years, I developed a much worse set of problems. Now, ten years later, I'm struggling with an addiction that affects every aspect of my l…
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Re: Ask HN: Neurodiversity/ADHD Friendly Companies
#126Re: Ask HN: Neurodiversity/ADHD Friendly Companies
#127Earlier quoted context omitted.
Reading your comment makes me so nervous. I could have written it myself when I was in college. Back then, ADHD meds transformed my life for the better, at least during the first couple years. It was great! A pill solved all of my problems. But then, very slowly, over the course of years, I developed a much worse set of problems. Now, ten years later, I'm struggling with an addiction that affects every aspect of my l…
Can you go into more detail about what withdrawal is like for you? I've been taking methylphenidate for ADHD recently and I want to know what to look out for.
Not the parent poster, but I suppose an extra data point would not be a bad thing.
My main point of comparison for Adderall withdrawal would be caffeine withdrawal. I don't have experiences with other dependencies.
"Cold turkey" caffeine withdrawal was much more severe than Adderall withdrawal for me. Probably twice as bad. In both cases, I felt extremely fatigued. However, severe caffeine withdrawal went beyond "fatigue" and really made me feel like total shit.
Everybody is different but I believe this is consistent with what most people report.
Of course, there is no real reason to go "cold turkey" and quit suddenly. For both substances can just taper your dosage steadily down to 0mg over a week or two and you should be fine.
Re: Ask HN: Neurodiversity/ADHD Friendly Companies
#128Earlier quoted context omitted.
Reading your comment makes me so nervous. I could have written it myself when I was in college. Back then, ADHD meds transformed my life for the better, at least during the first couple years. It was great! A pill solved all of my problems. But then, very slowly, over the course of years, I developed a much worse set of problems. Now, ten years later, I'm struggling with an addiction that affects every aspect of my l…
Can you go into more detail about what withdrawal is like for you? I've been taking methylphenidate for ADHD recently and I want to know what to look out for.
For me, it feels similar to when I'd go cold turkey from 2-3 daily cups of coffee (before I started taking medication). 2-5 days of shitty mood, then back to baseline pre-coffee. It sucks, and it will sour your mood when your ability to function drops significantly for a few days, but it passes.
Re: Ask HN: Neurodiversity/ADHD Friendly Companies
#129Hello There! Former ADHD bro here. I was diagnosed with ADHD 10 months ago. At that time my life was a BIG BLOB of MESS and CHAOS. I started attending therapy sessions with a really good Therapist once a week since then. After 6 months, I had sense of every way ADHD was affecting my life, but couldn't figure out how to overcome the symptoms by myself. My therapist recommended a psychiatrist, which prescribed Vyvanse…
Reading your comment makes me so nervous. I could have written it myself when I was in college. Back then, ADHD meds transformed my life for the better, at least during the first couple years. It was great! A pill solved all of my problems. But then, very slowly, over the course of years, I developed a much worse set of problems. Now, ten years later, I'm struggling with an addiction that affects every aspect of my l…
This is awful to read. I'm so sorry you're struggling. I 100% believe you.
I would mention for others that this is not my experience. I was on Adderall as an adult for about 8 years from 2008-2016 and did not have any long term issues.
Eventually though, it did lose its effectiveness for me. And because it made me slightly cranky, I eventually felt the downsides outweighed the upsides. Especially since there were quite a few instances of adderall shortages at the pharmacies, and those were stressful.
And the withdrawal is so bad that I can't even
function enough to do a time sheet right for at
least a week.
...when I was in college. Back then, ADHD meds
transformed my life for the better, at least
during the first couple years. It was great!
A pill solved all of my problems. But then,
very slowly, over the course of years, I developed
a much worse set of problems.
Back in college, I was pulled in 2 or 3 directions at a time. Work, school, dating. Yeah, it was a lot.
But now? Maintaining a home, trying to manage finances with an eye towards retiring before I'm 150 years old, marriage, all the health problems that come with no longer being 19 years old, aging and dying parents, in-laws, etc. And I don't even have children. I feel like I'm 2x better at managing things, but I have 5x the demands.
Re: Ask HN: Neurodiversity/ADHD Friendly Companies
#130I wonder why ADHD gets singled out so much. If I look at the suggestions that would help people with ADHD, then I see suggestions that would help lots of people. Eg. not being reprimanded for being late when it has no consequences would help everyone. Good calendar software also helps everyone. There are lots of people who are struggling with the demands of the workplace -- in fact, I'm not sure I know anyone who doe…
I think this is generally true, but it's a matter of magnitude. For example, a public transit program helps everyone in the neighbourhood, but especially helps those who can't afford to drive. So when someone says "hey, we should help low-income people by building a subway", they're not saying that it'll only help low-income folks, but that it'll especially help low income folks.
The point of the "neurodiversity program" is to focus on avoidable practices which heavily impact certain groups of people. Those practices might also impact other people, but not to such a debilitating extent.