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ADHD Is Fuel for Adventure

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Re: ADHD Is Fuel for Adventure

#51

Post by reitanqild »

SpaceCadetJones wrote: post #23
yesco wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Something to keep in mind is that adrenaline is something used in medication to treat ADHD in some cases. The desire for some to go out and do things like this (ie: Base Jumping) could be sourced to them craving that adrenaline that helps them focus. Maybe they are taking the wrong type of medication or maybe they aren't taking any at all. Additionally I found this part very frustrating >>Panksepp points out that whi…

I can actually attest to being less playful on medication. I'm a very upbeat, humorous, and witty person. Too much of a stimulant however makes me very bland, an intense listener, and I have trouble coming up with replies to people. I tend to think of it as generally I have a firehose of ideas and thoughts spewing, and medication pinches the hose and directs its flow. It's a balancing act though

I believe you. That said it seems to vary wildly.

From what I have witnessed it even varies with type of the same stimulant from person to person, even within a family. (In a case I know all too well the recipient get tongue swelling as well as clenched jaws[0] on R XR at 40mg/day but has absolutely no issues with doses from 40 - 80 mg/day of the standard one. Oh, and the other person in this study, the brother of the first, went into spiraling weight loss at 60mg/day but prefer XR.)

Also playfulness seems to be preserved in these two cases. The best explanation I can come up with is: lowers the "interesting" threshold so that driving according to the speed limits is less intensely boring etc.

[0]: of course this can be reactions to additives of XR but they are commonly referred to as side effects of R itself.

Re: ADHD Is Fuel for Adventure

#52

Post by antihero »

rtpg wrote: post #45
fasteo wrote: post #18

Slightly off-topic, but I have seem some great responses here I would like to add a somehow controversial comment. I have a 10 year old kid diagnosed with severe ADHD-Inattentive type. He is on meds and behavioral therapy, and I must agree with most of the posts that meds is a must for these kids. My very personal an unscientific explanation is that ADHD is not a disease in the traditional sense; instead, it is just…

There's a lot of research about ADHD, more than many other mental diseases... There are a couple of things to remember: - ADHD is a deficit in executive function, and one of the main symptoms is impulsive behaviour (unable to control urges). This is what causes hyperactivity, but also causes things like angry outburts, and other improper social behaviour that follows into adulthood - The concensus among the research…

> - The concensus among the research community is that ADHD is all negative. Measurably negative among all axes, especially when comparing people when on treatment and when not on it (drugs).

I disagree. I love my brain, it makes certain parts of life hard, but my hyperfocus and way of thinking about things that interest me are just so wonderful.

My life is at constant risk of screwing up but I'm really happy as a person.

Re: ADHD Is Fuel for Adventure

#53

Post by [deleted] »

derefr wrote: post #2

Orthogonal. Having ADHD doesn't imply a desire to be outside playing. It's a disorder of motivation, not a disorder of focus—an inability to practice , and sometimes to concentrate ; but not an inability to think, or to enjoy thinking. Personally, in my childhood, I liked math and science. I had (and still have) ADHD, which made that hard, but I struggled through, because that was my passion. Medication (which I didn…

[deleted]

Re: ADHD Is Fuel for Adventure

#54

Post by papapra »

derefr wrote: post #34
ap22213 wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not to discount your experiences, but that's not at all how I've felt as a sufferer of ADHD (nor my parents or my son). I would describe the feeling of ADHD not as lack of motivation but severe, almost physical, discomfort at attempts to concentrate. If you've ever suffered from nerve pain, you may know what I'm talking about. It's not quite analogous, since the ADHD discomfort is more of a strong, distracting 'itch'…

Your and my descriptions feel so qualitatively different that I've got to wonder if fundamentally different things are going on between the two. A previous HN thread had a lot of people comparing ADHD to the effect of chronic sleep debt, with the suggestion that ADHD could be an effect of the inability to enter deep sleep. "Like never having slept enough" isn't an analogy I would make for my symptoms, but it would se…

In the book "ADHD Does not Exist" Richard Saul describes Neurochemical Diststractibility/Impulsivity(what we call adhd) of two types : low serotoning group and high level epinephrine/norepinephrine group. "The two types described show subtly different symptom patterns.The low-serotonin group tends to look like what people think of when they think of the disorder called ADHD. The high epinephrine/norepinephrine group is "consistent in its inconsistency". Sometimes these patiens can concentrate well, and sometimes they can't." Maybe this is related to what you say, I see it myself, somedays my brain just works better, I never understood why.

Re: ADHD Is Fuel for Adventure

#55

Post by antihero »

molsongolden wrote: post #29
SpaceCadetJones wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think for me a better analogy might be everyone else is on Win10, while I'm here running Plan9 or something. I really don't see my condition as a disability, but I'm also not at the severe end of the spectrum. I do perfectly fine with activities I find stimulating, particularly when I get to work with my hands or it requires a lot of physical coordination. I can focus amazingly well on anything if it becomes crunch…

How has your career played out? Do you work for a company or for yourself?

I used to freelance and motivating myself for that was HARD.

I'm now working for a company full time, I get paid silly money and have quite a lot of freedom because if they keep giving me interesting problems, I solve them quickly and well. I think I'm in a really good role because as lead for the "innovation" team we're constantly moving onto new weird and wonderful projects.

Conversely, I cannot do a role which is about code maintenance. I get bored and demotivated very quickly.

Re: ADHD Is Fuel for Adventure

#56

Post by greys0ul »

wilwade wrote: post #12
greys0ul wrote: post #4

I think this is an excellent way to help some kids cope with adhd, but I definitely don't think it'd work universally. Reading this made me think back on my own struggle with adhd. A few years ago I was diagnosed with adhd at the age of 23, and god damn do I wish it happened a decade sooner, but my parents were the type that didn't believe in that kind of stuff, so I was just lazy. It's stuck with me to this day even…

> waiting too long for medication probably isn't a great idea either I think this is critical. I have a 7 year old daughter who was diagnosed about a year ago. For context pre-meds she was getting frustrated at her inability to put together her own LEGO creations. She would work on 5+ at a time. She was frustrated and was just being able to express her own frustration. Post-meds (dexmethylphenidate) she can actually…

Man that hits close to home. I remember always begging my parents for more lego sets, never finishing them and my parents giving me shit for that.

I usually refrain from commenting on anything relating to parenting at risk of being (rightfully) shouted down as I have no experience with it. But in this case, as someone that was in your daughters place once, 20 years later I think the best thing you can do for your daughter now is to reinforce sticking with something and finishing it. Basically developing the mindset she has on meds into a habit that she'll eventually be able to keep without them.

I think, as you mentioned, that learning about actions and consequences, especially in the long term instead of immediate ones, will help her a lot down the road. Your daughter is lucky to have you as a parent who is willing to guide her and help navigate through the bullshit that adhd can bring.

Re: ADHD Is Fuel for Adventure

#57

Post by antihero »

SpaceCadetJones wrote: post #23
yesco wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Something to keep in mind is that adrenaline is something used in medication to treat ADHD in some cases. The desire for some to go out and do things like this (ie: Base Jumping) could be sourced to them craving that adrenaline that helps them focus. Maybe they are taking the wrong type of medication or maybe they aren't taking any at all. Additionally I found this part very frustrating >>Panksepp points out that whi…

I can actually attest to being less playful on medication. I'm a very upbeat, humorous, and witty person. Too much of a stimulant however makes me very bland, an intense listener, and I have trouble coming up with replies to people. I tend to think of it as generally I have a firehose of ideas and thoughts spewing, and medication pinches the hose and directs its flow. It's a balancing act though

I found this with Ritalin as a kid, and amphetamines/various analogues as an adult. It makes me so focussed I get colossal social anxiety and my brain loops over everything. It's horrendous, and kinda stunted my social development.

Re: ADHD Is Fuel for Adventure

#58

Post by reitanqild »

fdanconia wrote: post #32
greys0ul wrote: post #4

I think this is an excellent way to help some kids cope with adhd, but I definitely don't think it'd work universally. Reading this made me think back on my own struggle with adhd. A few years ago I was diagnosed with adhd at the age of 23, and god damn do I wish it happened a decade sooner, but my parents were the type that didn't believe in that kind of stuff, so I was just lazy. It's stuck with me to this day even…

What are your coping methods?

One very nifty hack is the pomodoro technique.

Correctly applied [0] it seems to trigger competition-mode[1] and a sense of urgency. This helps the brain cross the "interesting" threshold and stay focused instead of coming up with other ideas or dozing off.

0:-)

1: "I really should be able to get this done in the next 25 minutes."

Re: ADHD Is Fuel for Adventure

#59

Post by reitanqild »

greys0ul wrote: post #46
fdanconia wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What are your coping methods?

My main one is a notebook that never leaves my side. If I have a thought, impulse or idea that isn't what I'm currently doing, I quickly write it down, usually with a flowchart kinda sketch and then go back to what I was doing. I give myself a maximum of about 15 seconds for this. Once I finish what I was originally doing I look in the notebook and pick the next thing to do. The other big one is 3 goals a day. Every…

Not GP but still interested.

Re: ADHD Is Fuel for Adventure

#60

Post by greys0ul »

sathackr wrote: post #44
greys0ul wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I barely skated through highschool pretty much on test scores alone. If I couldn't do the homework in class the day it was due, it basically didn't get done. My sat scores managed to get me into college, which I dropped out of due to the homework. Went to two more community colleges after that for a year each, then another college I got a scholarship at but only made it 2 years there before I got a good job (thank go…

Interesting nearly simul-post. Same here, I scored 1250 on the SAT, 31 on the ACT, and in the top 99th percentile on the CPT. Literature/Comprehension has always been my weakness "Read the passage below, then select what you think best describes the point the author is trying to make" -- they all look like right answers. Took 18 credit-hours per semester of courses on scholarship, right out of high school, failed all…

I almost didn't post my original comment as it seemed off topic, but responses like this make me glad I did. It's good to realize I'm not alone in it.

2170/1400 on the sat, 35 on the act, not sure what the cpt is, and anything anything writing/literature related killed me. I passed my senior english class with a 59.5, literally as low as possible without failing. I have a total of ~2 years of credits on my ECE BS, but work as a sysadmin/devops and love it, if I finish my degree it'll just be something to hang on the wall.

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