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How I Run a Company with ADHD

andrewaskins.com

451–460 of 515 posts

Re: How I Run a Company with ADHD

#451

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ADD is now under the umbrella of ADHD. ADHD just has 3 types:[0] 1. ADHD Predominantly Inattentive (ADHD-PI) 2. ADHD Predominantly Hyperactive (ADHD-PH?) 3. ADHD Combined (ADHD-C) ADD falls under the first one. It makes sense that you'd recognize yourself in that. They're now considered to be the same disorder, but just presenting in a different way. One of the things that's usually not discussed, but what you should…

Yeah, this is called emotional disregulation. I have it to some extent, but am an adult with lots of experience noticing and regulating it. One of my kids is super kind but often responds to minor annoyances with an extremely irritated tone, or will collapse into an incoherent puddle at minor obstacles. ADHD can be a huuuuge problem in relationships. Especially if you're going out with someone who would score very hi…

At the time I was going out with the mother of my to be first child, my father (a psychiatrist) gave me a preliminary test just to see where the land was, so to speak.

On my partners request I should add.

For fun my then partner took the test as well.

My score 80% or whatever: “severe autistic traits”. WTF?! Ouch...

Hers? A clean 0. Zero?! You’re kidding. Sure she’s probably the most compassionate human being I’ve ever met, but come on!

Eventually we got a daughter and split up a year later.

Best thing that could have happened for anyone of us, daughter included, and we have a great relationship where we hang out all the time.

I believe in part this is because she doesn’t expect “normal” from me when we’re no longer together.

It also gave me a wake-up call telling me I had shit to properly sort out.

Re: How I Run a Company with ADHD

#452
post #422

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> Perhaps I should write about how I run(?) a family with ADD? It would make for a lot of laughs and a some sad stuff. Given how poignantly you expressed my own experience of living with ADHD Primarily Inattentive (what you called ADD above), and as someone on the cusp of becoming a father, I would appreciate this more than I can express.

As a random suggestion from someone who did manage to not get his children killed despite ADD... look into bullet journaling as an organizational system for parenting duties. Ignore the endless art-project nonsense on the internet, read the book, and focus on using it for task management and scheduling. As an adult with ADD, it was a miraculous new perspective on tracking all the things I used to fail to do. I so, so…

I hear my partner is not the only one that worries? :)

I’m constantly playing the “no ones died yet on my watch” card.

It somehow doesn’t make her feel any better.

Re: How I Run a Company with ADHD

#453

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Yes, you pretty much summed up all. Don't forget sleepless nights if you took it after 11 am or later. Also: Heartburn, dry mouth, and severe dehydration, loss of appetite (yay for this one actually). And flushing (pee pee pee all day). IF you are working from home with minimal contact, it works. Never EVER answer a phone call when you are on it (this is to whoever planning to use it in the future). God knows, how ma…

Looks like your dose is way too high...

Usually people take 20-30 mg pills. This happens anywhere after 10mg. I see lots of sleepless dudes in tech industry. All angry and intolerant :)

Re: How I Run a Company with ADHD

#454
post #139
post #109

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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 legitima…

Any insight on how you went about finding a competent doctor for this?

After watching this video, and almost being moved to tears with how accurately everything in it described my life, and seeing your comment about being better off with treatment, I am convinced I should finally try something.

I too have been able to cope, but I would love to live beyond just coping and I am realizing it is only shame and pride stopping me from getting help, and fear that meds could make me worse or I couldn't find a good doctor.

Re: How I Run a Company with ADHD

#455
Not everyone has the opportunity to be CEO. I value this persons recount of his experience but does anyone have tips to be successful that are more down to earth.

For example I heard emergency room doctors are really good careers for those with ADHD.

Re: How I Run a Company with ADHD

#456
post #112

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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.

I was just diagnosed about a year ago, at age 38. I'd suspected for years, but was mired too deep in depression to do anything about it. Finally I had my depression under control, and with the help of my wife (I'm terrible at making appointments!), made an appointment to see a psychologist who specialized in ADHD. He interviewed me about my symptom history for an hour. Pro tip! Make yourself a list of all the things…

> with the help of my wife (I'm terrible at making appointments!)

It's so, so helpful to have a partner who can help with actually getting an appointment set up. I found it to be one of the hardest parts of the process of getting diagnosed, and probably wouldn't have gotten through it without help from my wife.

Re: How I Run a Company with ADHD

#457
post #422

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a random suggestion from someone who did manage to not get his children killed despite ADD... look into bullet journaling as an organizational system for parenting duties. Ignore the endless art-project nonsense on the internet, read the book, and focus on using it for task management and scheduling. As an adult with ADD, it was a miraculous new perspective on tracking all the things I used to fail to do. I so, so…

I hear my partner is not the only one that worries? :) I’m constantly playing the “no ones died yet on my watch” card. It somehow doesn’t make her feel any better.

Amanda Palmer covered this well, in her song A Mother's Confession (which should make any parent cringe). It starts with her baby, whom she thought couldn't roll yet, rolling off a changing-table shelf and landing on the floor. "At least the baby didn't die" becomes her mantra, as the song details terrible parenting mistake after terrible parenting mistake.

Re: How I Run a Company with ADHD

#458

Okay, I start with a disclaimer, I suspect this opinion to be unpopular on HN. Anyway, I can't help thinking that ADHD is one of those mental disorders that merely reflects some increased demands of society rather than a genuine mental disorder and that people with ADHD are just part of the natural variation of different personality types. There also seems to be a huge divide between the US and Europe, where such dis…

Diagnosed at 6 with ADHD in the US by a proper battery of psychiatrists, therapists, etc. Medicated until 17. Still going to therapy regularly in the EU to deal with a myriad of ongoing issues as ADHD has changed how it impacts my life into adulthood. I am a "textbook" case. So basically the reality of my life is not subject to your opinions. Stop projecting your value system onto other people's lives.

>So basically the reality of my life is not subject to your opinions. Stop projecting your value system onto other people's lives.

how ironic

Re: How I Run a Company with ADHD

#459
How does one determine the "normal" levels of distraction/laziness from clinically diagnosable ones? Surely this is a spectrum. How does one determine the threshold? Is this just stats/distribution based? Does it vary from population to population? How much of this is nature vs nurture? Are there physical/neuro-structural/procedural differences in the brain? How do we know the so called medication isn't just treating the symptoms as opposed to solving the problem, if not causing more/other problems (kind of like anti-depressants)? How much do we actually know about all of this?

I don't know any details about ADD/ADHD, but I can relate to a lot of these symptoms. I never once thought I had ADHD, but it would make sense that something like this is a spectrum rather than a binary property.

Re: How I Run a Company with ADHD

#460

Okay, I start with a disclaimer, I suspect this opinion to be unpopular on HN. Anyway, I can't help thinking that ADHD is one of those mental disorders that merely reflects some increased demands of society rather than a genuine mental disorder and that people with ADHD are just part of the natural variation of different personality types. There also seems to be a huge divide between the US and Europe, where such dis…

>I can't help thinking that ADHD is one of those mental disorders that merely reflects some increased demands of society rather than a genuine mental disorder

There's physiological differences in the brain though

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attention_deficit_hyperactivit...

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