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How I Run a Company with ADHD

andrewaskins.com

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Re: How I Run a Company with ADHD

#131

Post by omgwtfbyobbq »

ScottFree wrote: post #36

My reaction to this article has been... complex. ----- Bah! Another article about ADHD. ADHD's over diagnosed and not not as big a problem as people make it out to be. But, I'm curious all of a sudden, so I might as well read it. > For the first 19 years of my life I knew I was lazy. Yeah, I'm pretty lazy too. That's just who I am, though. I don't have ADHD... > So what, you can't stop bouncing your leg at the restau…

Haha! I have I think 800+ tabs open (not loaded) in firefox on my personal laptop, and who knows how many on my phone. This is with 27mg of Concerta and 40mg of Strattera every day. Caffeine's next to useless for me. I get a 15-45 minute energy burst on it in followed by a few hours of extreme drowsiness, which is usually not worth it.

Re: How I Run a Company with ADHD

#132

Post by justin66 »

philliphaydon wrote: post #75
ScottFree wrote: post #36

My reaction to this article has been... complex. ----- Bah! Another article about ADHD. ADHD's over diagnosed and not not as big a problem as people make it out to be. But, I'm curious all of a sudden, so I might as well read it. > For the first 19 years of my life I knew I was lazy. Yeah, I'm pretty lazy too. That's just who I am, though. I don't have ADHD... > So what, you can't stop bouncing your leg at the restau…

> > I was happiest with my nose in the book > I'm seeing a disturbing pattern take shape. I fall into alot of the list but I will say I do not suffer from ADHD. When I was at school I was told I had ADHD and put on Ritalin. But I couldn't tell the difference between taking ritalin and not taking it, I didn't focus any better, didn't get in trouble any less. I always figured I wasn't challenged enough in school, or wa…

> And I don't believe the Author suffers from it.

The author was diagnosed after multiple sessions with a medical professional.

Re: How I Run a Company with ADHD

#133

Post by swsieber »

Nition wrote: post #102
swsieber wrote: post #76

If by chance you have ADHD symptoms and you haven't been to a sleep clinic, please visit one. Not getting enough sleep can be a major contributing cause.

I've always found it interesting that the effects I get from not getting enough sleep seem extremely similar to the effects people describe from ADHD. When I tried to look up whether ADHD could actually be a sleep disorder, I only found a lot of the reverse: Articles saying that people with ADHD often also get a bad sleep. But I certainly wondered whether the causation might be the other way around. From what you're…

Yeah. There's a study referenced in "why we sleep". I'll have to find it. IIRC, the number given there was that about 50% of ADHD could be traced back to bad sleep.

I have a friend who knows a dentist. The dentist said that when he sees signs of sleep issues (apnea, but he might have seem more) in his patient's mouth, he recommends they get treated. And very often, if the patient had ADHD symptoms, the symptoms went away after getting the sleep apnea treated.

And lastly, yeah. I Also get a lot of ADHD symtpoms depending on my sleep quality/quantity.

Re: How I Run a Company with ADHD

#134

Post by driverdan »

colechristensen wrote: post #19
blakesterz wrote: post #2

ADHD sucks. I mean, it ain't cancer, but it sucks. I was never officially diagnosed, but when my son was at 7 is when I realized what ADHD really is, and that I'm an ADHD guy. Some how I made it through 40+ years with it and never knew it. I struggled though college, took me 9 years to get my BA. Somehow got a masters. Somehow managed to get a series of better jobs after my degrees. And I've somehow succeeded in life…

ADHD doesn't suck. Forty years of 9-5 jobs, mortgages, university degrees, and elementary school sucks when you're the type of person who can get diagnosed as ADHD. The world discriminates against people who don't have the temperament to fit in to its patterns of society. We don't quite know how to pursue ἀρετή, virtue, eudemonia, excellence, whatever you want to call it in life because modern life was built for anot…

ADHD does suck. It's not about fitting the patterns of society, it's about being able keep your shit together and get things done.

No matter how you live with ADHD there will always be distractions pulling you away from what you need to do. There will always be things you should remember but don't, things you should have done at a specific time but were distracted and forgot.

It doesn't matter what society you live in or what the cultural norms are, those of us with ADHD are lacking some basic functions that makes life harder. And it sucks.

Re: How I Run a Company with ADHD

#135

Post by timhaines »

icxa wrote: post #96
firecall wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have ADHD. There are other serious neurological issues connected to ADHD. It's a very misunderstood disorder with a broad spectrum of identifiable symptoms that could indicate ADHD. If you are heavily medicating with caffeine, then that can be a signal. I was using Pseudoephedrine and caffeine to self medicate and stabilise my moods and behaviours. That was before I got prescribed Ritalin. But as the article says,…

> Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria is big problem for me. I over think things, the slightest misread comment can ruin my day. I am a recent adult ADHD diagnosis recipient, and I never knew that there was words to describe this but it describes me perfectly as well, so thank you for the knowledge kind stranger. I ditched my Ritalin for similar reasons, although I do have a hunch Adderall would help me better since the on…

"I got my homework done that day according to schedule!" :)

Re: How I Run a Company with ADHD

#136

Post by jhayward »

jachee wrote: post #112
firecall wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have ADHD. There are other serious neurological issues connected to ADHD. It's a very misunderstood disorder with a broad spectrum of identifiable symptoms that could indicate ADHD. If you are heavily medicating with caffeine, then that can be a signal. I was using Pseudoephedrine and caffeine to self medicate and stabilise my moods and behaviours. That was before I got prescribed Ritalin. But as the article says,…

How, as an adult, did you get a doctor to diagnose ADHD? Every time I've brought it up with a healthcare provider, I lay out my difficulties and coping mechanisms, and the conversation ends with them saying "Well, it sounds like it's not much trouble for you. Anything else?" I just don't know how to make them get it. I feel like I have so much potential for success, but I can't harness it.

Schedule an appointment with a clinical psychologist who specializes in ADHD and ask to be evaluated. It may take some looking to find someone who is accepting adult patients.

Re: How I Run a Company with ADHD

#137

Post by pseudalopex »

ClassyJacket wrote: post #91
falcolas wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Work with a psychiatrist to try other meds. There are non-stimulant meds that work with ADD too. Adderall is not the only option; it didn’t work for me. It took a bit, and I ended up with Dextroamphetemine. The physical side effects dulled down to the occasional restless leg, and the mental effects work well.

Adderall and Dextroamphetamine are almost the same. They're both amphetamine (speed) with just slightly different ratios of the isomers.

Dextroamphetamine is a pure enantiomer. Adderall includes levoamphetamine, which has stronger peripheral effects.

Re: How I Run a Company with ADHD

#138

Post by kqr »

ScottFree wrote: post #47
internet_user wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

ADHD is some degree of impairement in the ability to self-direct your own behavior, also known as executive function.

Isn't that at odds with your previous comment? > Inability to sustain concentration is not a temperament. It's a neurological impairement. The impression the article gave me is that ADHD is more the inability to choose what you focus on, not an inability to sustain concentration?

I don't want to speak for others but that is exactly the way I experience it. I can sink deep into an unimportant but complex analytical problem after lunch and the next time I take note of time passing, it's 3AM and I forgot to drink, eat, go home, exercise, love, and sleep.

The amount of focus I'm capable of is not the problem. The problem is putting it to use where I want to, rather than where it, by pure chance, happens to end up for the day.

It also applies to the small stuff. Someone asks me to bake a cake and I think it's probably best if I know what temperature it should bake at. An hour later they ask me how the cake is coming along and I realise I know a lot about the chemistry of baking but I haven't brought out the flour yet, and I no longer have time to shower, shave, send that important email, and clean up after baking.

I go back and forth between viewing it as an inability to perceive time and an affliction of directing behaviour. Perhaps they're two lenses through which to view the same thing, and I haven't yet discovered their symmetries. (Only vaguely aware of them -- directing behaviour to achieve future goals requires the ability to perceive time acutely.)

Re: How I Run a Company with ADHD

#139

Post by thrav »

fouc wrote: post #109
ScottFree wrote: post #36

My reaction to this article has been... complex. ----- Bah! Another article about ADHD. ADHD's over diagnosed and not not as big a problem as people make it out to be. But, I'm curious all of a sudden, so I might as well read it. > For the first 19 years of my life I knew I was lazy. Yeah, I'm pretty lazy too. That's just who I am, though. I don't have ADHD... > So what, you can't stop bouncing your leg at the restau…

I think the best description of ADHD I heard was that it has more to do with an "attention-switching" deficit. People with ADHD are capable of intense focus on highly stimulating things like a good book. The intensity of focus drowns out everything else, making it hard to deal with other important tasks until the book is finished. It's also much more difficult to maintain their attention on things that are no longer…

I also like the idea that it would be better labeled, “intention deficit disorder”.

Dr. Barkley’s talk completely altered my understanding of the disorder. I always knew I had it. My life roughly paralleled the author’s. After failing out of school, I found workarounds that got me through the second time (thanks to extremely supportive parents).

This video, combined with my wife’s urging, caused me to find a legitimate doctor who specialized in it (he’s ADHD too), and get treatment. I was already doing well with my coping mechanisms, but my life took off like a rocket with treatment.

If anything in the article or the comments resonates, I would watch this ASAP: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=SCAGc-rkIfo

Re: How I Run a Company with ADHD

#140

Post by thrav »

nsilvestri wrote: post #125
fouc wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the best description of ADHD I heard was that it has more to do with an "attention-switching" deficit. People with ADHD are capable of intense focus on highly stimulating things like a good book. The intensity of focus drowns out everything else, making it hard to deal with other important tasks until the book is finished. It's also much more difficult to maintain their attention on things that are no longer…

The attention switching idea seems consistent with my own experiences. I dated a girl with pretty severe ADHD; whenever she watched Arrested Development (a very fast paced sitcom with a lot happening) she would turn into a zombie and be almost entirely oblivious to any outside stimuli.

I have ADHD and have literally trained myself to use Arrested Development to put myself to sleep. Always the same episode. Even with the most crowded mind, I lay down with one earbud in, and I can’t make it 3 minutes without passing out.

The rapid dialogue means there’s no opportunity for intrusive thoughts to enter, but I know it all by heart, so there’s zero intrigue in any of it.

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