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ADHD, a Lifelong Struggle (2018)

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Re: ADHD, a Lifelong Struggle (2018)

#161

Post by wahern »

khalilravanna wrote: post #80
vonseel wrote: post #47

I’m 31 and have ADHD (diagnosed in my teens) and I’m pretty sure NOBODY with ADHD is going to have the wherewithal to read this entire article! Unless it happens to magically coincide with their hyper-focus topic of the moment! In all seriousness, I skimmed parts of the article and kept scrolling and it just kept going and going and going... like the Energizer bunny. I guess the author found a doctor to prescribe sti…

That's interesting to hear about ADHD causing mood swings/anger/irritability and the stimulants doing away with them. Is that a common trait of the illness? I only noticed that after I started taking stimulants my temper became a lot more short. It's to the point that I have to be really cognizant of it lest I inadvertently snap at someone due to some biological response (really not good as a leader in an organizatio…

Is that while the medication is at its peak, or more toward the tail end of the cycle? The extended amphetamine release Vyvanse, for example, can leave you feeling tired after it wears off. Especially on "vacations", like weekends or other extended periods, until you readjust. Such exhaustion would likely shorten anyone's temper, but especially someone with ADHD.

Re: ADHD, a Lifelong Struggle (2018)

#162

Post by grawprog »

lawrenceyan wrote: post #143
ZitchDog wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How long did it take you to see results? I've battled (manageable) ADHD all my life and have been meditating for around a year. I've seen many positive impacts on my life, but the ADHD is still very much a thing I still battle.

Interestingly enough, it took until I stopped trying to think of meditation as something to game or try and get something out of, for it to finally start working. My personal hypothesis is that the inherent expectation of wanting/needing to feel some kind of effect every time I tried meditating ended up being the very blockade that prevented me from doing so. I kept falling into a negative recursive thought loop of,…

>The biggest thing that helped me was coming to a realization that the thoughts in my head are, at the end of the day, just thoughts. They have no ability to harm or control me other than what I choose to allow them to.

This is probably one of the most important lessons i've learned in my life. Realizing this made a hugely drastic improvement to my emotions, my ability to control them and my ability to focus on things and pay attention. Learning to quiet that voice or just ignore it when I need to is a skill I think everyone should learn and would benefit from.

Re: ADHD, a Lifelong Struggle (2018)

#163

Post by vonseel »

khalilravanna wrote: post #80
vonseel wrote: post #47

I’m 31 and have ADHD (diagnosed in my teens) and I’m pretty sure NOBODY with ADHD is going to have the wherewithal to read this entire article! Unless it happens to magically coincide with their hyper-focus topic of the moment! In all seriousness, I skimmed parts of the article and kept scrolling and it just kept going and going and going... like the Energizer bunny. I guess the author found a doctor to prescribe sti…

That's interesting to hear about ADHD causing mood swings/anger/irritability and the stimulants doing away with them. Is that a common trait of the illness? I only noticed that after I started taking stimulants my temper became a lot more short. It's to the point that I have to be really cognizant of it lest I inadvertently snap at someone due to some biological response (really not good as a leader in an organizatio…

So, the mood swing thing was something I didn't identify with ADHD until I saw it mentioned in a book called "Driven to Distraction". I can't remember the exact details, but I think in the first few pages the author talks about a patient who was often getting in arguments with his boss or spouse and losing his temper in frustration, and I guess what I took from it was that a lot of his emotional instability was either a symptom of ADHD or stemming from his inability to focus.

In regards to your comment about shortened temper on stimulants, I think this is very normal and expected, and I have experienced the same at times. I don't know how to explain it, but I think overall I'm more agreeable than I was before I was medicated. This might be an age thing; I honestly don't know. Maybe I just grew out of it (I was the kid who threw tantrums lol).

Re: ADHD, a Lifelong Struggle (2018)

#164

Post by TOGoS »

lawrenceyan wrote: post #143
ZitchDog wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How long did it take you to see results? I've battled (manageable) ADHD all my life and have been meditating for around a year. I've seen many positive impacts on my life, but the ADHD is still very much a thing I still battle.

Interestingly enough, it took until I stopped trying to think of meditation as something to game or try and get something out of, for it to finally start working. My personal hypothesis is that the inherent expectation of wanting/needing to feel some kind of effect every time I tried meditating ended up being the very blockade that prevented me from doing so. I kept falling into a negative recursive thought loop of,…

This reminds me of troubles I used to have falling asleep if anyone was making any noises nearby (I would get very annoyed at the fact that I was startled, which would make it even harder to fall asleep, in a terrible feedback loop). I think I managed to improve eventually, using the 'Paradoxical intention' technique that Viktor Frankl talks about in Man's Search for Meaning.

Re: ADHD, a Lifelong Struggle (2018)

#165

Post by alerighi »

vonseel wrote: post #47

I’m 31 and have ADHD (diagnosed in my teens) and I’m pretty sure NOBODY with ADHD is going to have the wherewithal to read this entire article! Unless it happens to magically coincide with their hyper-focus topic of the moment! In all seriousness, I skimmed parts of the article and kept scrolling and it just kept going and going and going... like the Energizer bunny. I guess the author found a doctor to prescribe sti…

I never heard about this since reading two articles today (one here and one on Reddit). And I think that this thins explains perfectly every aspect of my personality.

Yes, me too I didn't read all the article, as I skipped around parts in articles, books, and similar stuff.

Re: ADHD, a Lifelong Struggle (2018)

#166

Post by firethief »

ctruzzi wrote: post #70
rustybelt wrote: post #51

Thousands of words and no mention of diet. I was diagnosed ADHD in 5th grade, tried just about every medication out there, and never landed on a workable long-term solution until I modified my diet. Medication always had mixed results. Many allowed me to focus and better control impulses, but the emotional crash at the end of the day was too much. Others caused insomnia or palpitations. Cutting sugar and limiting car…

I was diagnosed with ADHD around the 3rd grade (2 separate psychiatrists diagnosed me) and have never heard about diets as working above all others. Are there any studies or information about this route or is it perhaps changing your eating behavior allowed you to do those same things with other parts of your life?

Evidence for dietary intervention is too weak to recommend it in general: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diet_and_attention_deficit_hyp...

That said, it's always possible that an intervention works well in a subgroup of high-responders (this can be true even if the particular intervention is a placebo, not that that's necessarily the explanation here), so everyone saying it works for them should probably keep it up.

Re: ADHD, a Lifelong Struggle (2018)

#169

Post by pgt »

TOGoS wrote: post #164
lawrenceyan wrote: post #143

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Interestingly enough, it took until I stopped trying to think of meditation as something to game or try and get something out of, for it to finally start working. My personal hypothesis is that the inherent expectation of wanting/needing to feel some kind of effect every time I tried meditating ended up being the very blockade that prevented me from doing so. I kept falling into a negative recursive thought loop of,…

This reminds me of troubles I used to have falling asleep if anyone was making any noises nearby (I would get very annoyed at the fact that I was startled, which would make it even harder to fall asleep, in a terrible feedback loop). I think I managed to improve eventually, using the 'Paradoxical intention' technique that Viktor Frankl talks about in Man's Search for Meaning.

What is the ‘paradoxical intention’?

Re: ADHD, a Lifelong Struggle (2018)

#170

Post by zarmin »

matheusmoreira wrote: post #67
vonseel wrote: post #47

I’m 31 and have ADHD (diagnosed in my teens) and I’m pretty sure NOBODY with ADHD is going to have the wherewithal to read this entire article! Unless it happens to magically coincide with their hyper-focus topic of the moment! In all seriousness, I skimmed parts of the article and kept scrolling and it just kept going and going and going... like the Energizer bunny. I guess the author found a doctor to prescribe sti…

> Unless it happens to magically coincide with their hyper-focus topic of the moment! It's funny. People with ADHD suffer from attention deficit but at the same time they display hyperattention when they encounter a subject they like. I've experienced it as well: once I start programming I have no problem doing it for 12 hours straight. I've found this trait in many ADHD patients. There's usually something that reall…

It's less of an attention deficit and more of an _intention_ deficit.
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