ADHD Is Fuel for Adventure • Hacker News Board

Re: ADHD Is Fuel for Adventure

#81

Post by sathackr » Fri, Jan 29, 2016, 2:16 AM UTC

lfowles wrote: post #78

sathackr wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm probably in the same boat. I see myself as a firefighter, things don't get my attention until their burning down, then I perform miracles to save them. Every few months my utility bills don't get paid until they turn it off. Personal relationships degrade until the point they are about to fall apart, then a blast of attention brings them back to normal. I'm a disorganized mess but when the right moment hits, I ca…

I've been browsing your comments in this thread some more and just have to reply to this point: > In any case of my condition being real, I have a fear of dependency. I'm scared that if I finally do submit and take medication, I will become dependent on it. One of the hallmarks of unmedicated ADHD is poor impulse control and addiction. Getting proper medication makes a world of difference, be wary of inadvertently ma…

thank you for the sound advice. I'm checkout out bulletjournal and will likely at least try the medication route, assuming a doctor agrees and officially diagnoses me.

I was on Ritalin for a short time when I was around 14, I was as anti-medication then as I am now, didn't notice a difference and started refusing to take it after a month or so. I remember depression being mentioned at the time, although I don't know what the official diagnosis was.

The one medication that did seem to have great effect scared me so bad that I stopped taking it and refused to take any more -- percocet. I was prescribed some after oral surgery and threw it out after taking it for a couple of days. During that time, the house was cleaned spotless, laundry done and folded, even ironed my shirts and hung them (as opposed to my typical pattern of snatching them from the dryer and ironing them immediately before I wear them), and many other things were done that I would have normally procrastinated and waited until the very last minute. From talking to others, this doesn't appear to be a normal reaction to opioids.

Re: ADHD Is Fuel for Adventure

#82

Post by spacedmountain » Fri, Jan 29, 2016, 12:39 PM UTC

panglott wrote: post #66

Isn't it normal to have difficulty focusing on things that are really boring? ADHD diagnosis rates are several times higher in the US than in other developed countries, and orders of scale higher than in low-diagnosis countries (such as France). The biggest risk factors for an ADHD diagnoses include things like "being male" and "being in the youngest quartile of your kindergarten class". That's an amazing thing to pa…

This speaks to a common commment about ADHD. Where is the border between a 'personality trait' and a disorder?

The condition is usually defined by having an impairment in at least two environments (ie school, home, work, sports teams). 'Impairment' is obviously subjective, but implies something more than simply being bored. Playing a game in a boring meeting probably isn't ADHD. Being unable to focus for more than a few minutes in _any_ meeting is a stronger sign, and could really make it harder.

On diagnosis rates - in most countries its 2-5% (>10% of children in the USA..). That is about 2 standard deviations from an 'average' person, which can actually be quite a difference. For comparison, a 'genius' is someone who scores in the top 2% of an IQ test. Economic elite are '1%-ers'. I'd agree that there is a continiuous spectrum, and also that it is mis/over-diagnosed in a considerable number of cases. I think it is this over-treatment that you are questioning, but lets be cautious to not add to the stigma around legitmate cases of the condition.

I'd agree often the challange is between individual and their environment - although often 'enviroment' includes people around them. Often the environment is hard to change - do the 95% change to accomodate 5%? There is advice for careers that people with ADHD tend to be better at - sales, entrepreneurship, and medicine for their fast-pace and energy, or jobs like the military where there is a lot of structure.

I think its more complex than saying exercise would reduce diagnosis or medication rates. In particular, if exercise alone 'cures' ADHD, it is likely a mild or mis-diagnosed case. In my own experiance, exercise (as well as sleep and diet) do affect symptoms, but don't eliminate them.

Re: ADHD Is Fuel for Adventure

#83

Post by ghostcake » Fri, Jan 29, 2016, 2:03 PM UTC

I have ADHD. Rather than focus on what it is and whether it's real, I'd like to focus on what helps. Cardio and adrenaline help more than anything else for immediate relief. So much of dealing with ADHD is realizing your tendencies and building your life in a way that is conducive to your work flows. I know I need frequent breaks, privacy and hydration. If I'm about to have a panic attack because I can't concentrate and work is due, I go for a short bike ride and set the work aside momentarily. If I tried to work on at that moment, not only would I not make progress but I'll probably have an anxiety attack. Once I give my brain room to breath programming issues seem so much easier.

Re: ADHD Is Fuel for Adventure

#84

Post by ghostcake » Fri, Jan 29, 2016, 2:10 PM UTC

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…

Rather than a desire to be active, I think it's a need. I can manage without medication but only if I'm active physically. That's why we shake our legs or arms while learning or digesting information. We need the activity.

Re: ADHD Is Fuel for Adventure

#85

Post by panglott » Fri, Jan 29, 2016, 2:15 PM UTC

spacedmountain wrote: post #82

panglott wrote: post #66

Isn't it normal to have difficulty focusing on things that are really boring? ADHD diagnosis rates are several times higher in the US than in other developed countries, and orders of scale higher than in low-diagnosis countries (such as France). The biggest risk factors for an ADHD diagnoses include things like "being male" and "being in the youngest quartile of your kindergarten class". That's an amazing thing to pa…

This speaks to a common commment about ADHD. Where is the border between a 'personality trait' and a disorder? The condition is usually defined by having an impairment in at least two environments (ie school, home, work, sports teams). 'Impairment' is obviously subjective, but implies something more than simply being bored. Playing a game in a boring meeting probably isn't ADHD. Being unable to focus for more than a…

Yea, my concerns are threefold: overdiagnosis, the diagnosis of young children, and the impact of treatment on developing children. I don't doubt that ADHD is a real disorder, but if the true rate of occurrence is 2-5% while the US diagnosis rate is 10%, that means that a huge proportion of American kids are overdiagnosed. And the leading treatment for ADHD is quite intense: lifelong use of very powerful drugs, with no real understanding of how that impacts normal child development.

I would be surprised if exercise alone works for people who struggle with a very disabling condition, but I suspect interventions less extreme than a full ADHD diagnosis and medication regimen would do a lot of good for kids who might otherwise be overdiagnosed as ADHD.

And as far as the concern as to whether the 95% should change to accommodate the 5%, what we're talking about here is "getting more exercise"—and when huge numbers of schools don't require recess—it's something that the 95% would benefit from.