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Ask HN: Developers with ADHD/ADD, how do you cope?

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31–40 of 72 posts

Re: Ask HN: Developers with ADHD/ADD, how do you cope?

#31
So many good comments in this thread.

In addition to a diagnosis and getting the right meds, and all the work / task management habits, I’ve found that meditation and mindfulness has been really helpful for calming me down, and letting me focus on what I need to focus. When I meditate there is usually an initial startup phase where my mind is racing, from one worry or task to another. I consciously try to acknowledge the presence of the task and then mentally tuck it away and try to regain focus on my meditation object (the breath leaving my nose or the breath in my belly for example).

This ability to step away and consciously not engage with a worry or idea is kind of the crux of the ADHD problem for me - so meditation helps. It helps me remember to “let go” and be okay with not focusing on that worry, so I can get back to the central goal sooner.

Many people have mentioned organizational tips like lists and task management. I’d expand to offer systematic organization of physical things in my home to be similarly helpful. The idea follows that when everything has a place (this book goes here, that cable goes there, etc), and you know the place or system rules, then it’s easier to recognize when things are messy and fix the situation. Ive still got a lot of work todo here but that Marie Kondo Art of Tidying Up show helped me for sure.

Re: Ask HN: Developers with ADHD/ADD, how do you cope?

#33
post #31

So many good comments in this thread. In addition to a diagnosis and getting the right meds, and all the work / task management habits, I’ve found that meditation and mindfulness has been really helpful for calming me down, and letting me focus on what I need to focus. When I meditate there is usually an initial startup phase where my mind is racing, from one worry or task to another. I consciously try to acknowledge…

Also bonus tip: I’ve worked in open offices for years and this year switched to wearing foam ear plugs instead of listening to music, and it’s a night and day difference in productivity for me. It takes a couple of days to get used to and people will just start talking to you but everyone eventually learns you have ear plugs in. I actually built a device for that specific problem for headphones: https://github.com/joer14/hackers-doorbell

I still sometimes listen to music, but now when I do I realize how distracted it can make me and I only utilize it when I’m warming up or losing steam and need a mental change of scenery.

Re: Ask HN: Developers with ADHD/ADD, how do you cope?

#34
post #10

Lists, logs, writing, post-its, Todo lists etcetcetc. I tend to forget stuff even while I'm doing it, so it helps a million if what I'm doing is written on a Post-It right in front of me. Also, to keep track of tasks, problems, todos etc, I have a huge text file that is bound to the ctrl-` keybinding (autohotkey script opens a file in sublime text). I think the most important thing is to externalize your mind into yo…

> Russel Barkley Some of his claims are questionable. AFAIR he claims that: - ADHD has no advantages - ADHD has a negative effect on working memory - ADHD has no negative effect on intelligence Since working memory is a factor in intelligence, one of these statements must be false. His political views are also interesting. > Barkley is a right-wing libertarian. He deeply believes in "Limited government, individual ri…

> Since working memory is a factor in intelligence, one of these statements must be false.

That is quite easy to reconcile: "ADHD has no negative effect on intelligence, when accounting for the impaired working memory". It is something you do all the time in psychology, you observe effects in presence or absence of other effects. Psychologists are smart enough to ask questions like "Now that we know that ADHD impairs working memory, does it further impair other factors of intelligence?" The answer seems to be no - which is important, because it implies that improvements in the working memory transition well into improvements in intelligence.

I give you the benefit of doubt here, but I'd wager that most of the non-academic folk that Dr. Barkley communicates with is intuitively aware of what I wrote above and able to form the right mental picture.

Re: Ask HN: Developers with ADHD/ADD, how do you cope?

#35

What are actual symptoms of ADHD/ADD? How do you know you have ADHD? I am asking because I read recently ADHD is very difficult to detect.

> How do you know you have ADHD?

That is best found out by a multi-angle approach including brain images, intelligence tests, patient history, family history, etc...

Seeing a doctor is critical because a) it is easy to misdiagnose oneself and b) there are some problems that lead to similar symptoms as AD(H)D, i.e. bipolar, problems with your thyroid gland, vitamin deficit, trauma and so on, so it is also important to exclude these.

Re: Ask HN: Developers with ADHD/ADD, how do you cope?

#36
Medication, exercise, and mindfulness meditation were game changers for me.

Meditation was effective because it sharpened my ability to detect when I lost focus and course-correct. With daily practice, this habit (mind wanders -> notice mind wandering -> gently redirect focus back to original intent) became automatic. I was surprised to notice myself "waking up" and clicking back into place over and over throughout the day, whereas before meditation I seemed to "wake up" only at the end of the day with nothing done.

At work I listen to ambient music and use Pomodoros to pace myself. I also asked my supervisor to start requesting daily status updates on my projects. Without the extra accountability, I let things slide off the radar too easily.

It's difficult sometimes. Russell Barkley likens these habits/calendars/medications as a sort of prosthesis. That framing helps me to accept these things as one part of a unique life experience instead of a debilitating setback.

Re: Ask HN: Developers with ADHD/ADD, how do you cope?

#37

To be honest this could be me, or I'm guessing, a lot of people. It's hard to stay focused when you are not interested in something. A quick win might be to take notes or ask questions and participate in the meeting.

Don't mistake that normal occurrence for anything aching to ADD tho. Saying "I got a little bit ADD because I something loose focus when I find something boring" is equivalent to saying "I got a little bit cancer because sometimes my stomach hurts".

Re: Ask HN: Developers with ADHD/ADD, how do you cope?

#38
Excellent advice here!

I add two more:

* Check out the pomodorro technique. It forces my to break tasks down into even smaller chunks that usual and give me a rush of dopamine when I finish those.

* I try to stay away from systems and languages that are not responsive enough. I need to see results fast and am willing to take quite a pay cut just so that I don't get bored waiting for a job to be done. So no big enterprise company for me, but rather prototyping and freelancing.

Re: Ask HN: Developers with ADHD/ADD, how do you cope?

#40
post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed Adderall (and to a lesser extent Ritalin) turns me into a raging nympho but also made certain parts not work (pretty crappy biological joke if you ask me), due to the fact that Adderall is a blend of both left and right amphetamines. The left amphetamines stimulate the peripheral nervous system which is why some may experience sexual side effects like impotence as well as more cardiovascular side effects. As w…

Dying jealous of your Desoxyn rx, I've been on Dexedrine my whole life (after trying everything and always crawling back to it) but my shrink would never let me try Desoxyn. Desoxyn is not front of the line because it's literally methamphetamine lol.

Personal note, if I had to go back to a amphetamine other than Desoxyn I would go back to Dexedrine. Honestly you are not missing much between Desoxyn and Dexedrine other than the PNS is a little more stimulated with Dexedrine. Desoxyn does have some serotogenic effects so it does cause a little more of the calming effect that these meds have on those of us with ADD and ADHD.

In several studies it has been shown that methamphetamine is no more of less additive than dextroamphetamine the main difference is that methamphetamine crosses the blood brain barrier more efficiently than dextroamphetamine so there is less in the body to stimulate the PNS and more in the brain to stimulate the CNS. 10mg of Desoxyn is more effective for me than a 30mg dose of Adderall.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3475187/

At same doses methamphetamine is stronger but generally in therapeutic doses one will be prescribed 1/3 to 1/2 the dose of amphetamines.

Also to note, Desoxyn is pharmaceutical grade methamphetamine it is not street meth and certainly not crystallized meth. It is a disservice that even some MD's view this stuff in the same light as street meth.

A good read on the comparison of amphetamines: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jacobsullum/2014/02/20/hyperbol...

As far as your doc, go in informed, and state your case, I talked to my doc, it helps that my wife is a MD as well, so I have a lot of access to medical journals to research. I went in with the info, presented it to my doc and told him that I would like to try Desoxyn because PNS stimulation has been an issue for me on many of the other drugs and basically I told him, look if I have to choose between my mind and my willy, old willy is going to win every time. All of the other meds worked well for me as far as ADD was concerned, but living with drug induced impotence is certainly going to create other psychological issues down the road and when you combine it with the fact that most of this class of medication increases my drive, it is a recipe for disaster. I just went in, armed with information and laid out the case for what I wanted to try to see if it would eliminate another potential issue from manifesting. If your doc won't listen to reason, find another doc, above all you should be the biggest advocate for your health.

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