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Me and ADHD

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Re: Me and ADHD

#121

Post by mbgerring »

0xb0565e486 wrote: post #74

Am I the only one who feels a bit discredited when someone blames their ADHD for their shortcomings? To me, all the ADHD symptoms listed in this article sounds like nothing more but normal human traits. Also, author hasn't been diagnosed with ADHD, and the tips can be helpful to everyone.

I had the opposite experience -- for a very, very long time I assumed that a bunch of harmful, chronic behaviors were just a result of some unspecified personal or moral failing on my part. I would beat myself up about it and tell myself to "do better," without a path forward for how to do that.

2 years ago a friend who was diagnosed with ADHD started describing some of her symptoms and I realized it sounded exactly like what I experience. I started seeking treatment a few months ago (currently therapy, and undergoing screening for medication), and just reading through the list of symptoms while I was filling out a questionnaire recently was like suddenly being able to see color for the first time.

Knowing that what I experience is not just "normal human traits" and is in fact an identifiable disorder with concrete causes and solutions has totally reoriented how I think about some issues I face and has enabled me to actually address them in a way that wasn't possible before.

Re: Me and ADHD

#122

Post by philsnow »

hmottestad wrote: post #79
O_H_E wrote: post #52

Anybody else here thinks their ADHD influences some hoarding tendencies or fear-of-missing-out? I am basically a tab-opening machine. Whenever I come across any link that I feel might be helpful in some point in the future, I open it in the background knowing full well that I don't have time to look at it soon. Thank god for TheGreatSuspender, and SessionBuddy extentions.

FYI. Something something something the great suspender stealing all your data.

not just the great suspender, but any browser extension that both

    1. asks for permissions like "Read and change all your data on the websites that you visit" / "Read and change your browsing history", and
    2. either
      a. auto-updates, or
      b. includes by reference code that isn't contained in the extension bundle (so it could change day to day)
"any extension" because popular extension developers regularly get offers to include extra code in their extensions, see e.g. https://old.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/1vjj51/i_am_one_of_th...

Re: Me and ADHD

#123

Post by renewiltord »

0xb0565e486 wrote: post #118
jeffnv wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're not the only one that feels this way. Just like you're not the only one that probably feels like alcoholics should just learn to handle their liquor, bulimics should accept their body image, people with cardiovascular issues should just exercise more, stutterers should just stop stuttering, asthmatics should just breath better, etc. What you have is a lack of empathy and understanding for people that genuinely…

As far as I can tell, empathy goes both ways, and I think it's a bit unfair of you to call me unempathetic for simply expressing how I'm feeling. I also don't think the examples you give are great analogues to the situation (although highly related) as I've not meet a lot of people using alcoholism, bulimia and asthma as a way to avoid everyday tasks in contrast to ADHD.

I think you've misunderstood, which is natural considering feedback like this can be easily perceived as an attack, but GP's response was actually well-worded. You have a lack of empathy for the conditions these people have. That doesn't mean you are unempathetic. It means your behaviour to these people exhibits a lack of empathy for their condition. That is objectively true.

And it's worthwhile to remember, sometimes people have debilitating conditions that make them worthless for tasks. It is sad that some people are paraplegic. Those people cannot be wildfire firefighters. It's not an excuse or anything. I would not want to pay that person to be a wildfire firefighter because they cannot fight wildfires. If I were paying someone to be a wildfire firefighter, and then they lost all their limbs, I cannot indefinitely employ them as a wildfire firefighter anymore. If they were to say "It's not my fault I don't have limbs", I'd have to say "No, it isn't, but also, you can't fight fires. So I'll fulfill my responsibilities to you, but I can't employ you in this capacity any more".

If someone has ADHD and they can't do a job, then they can't do the job. Any general requirements you have as an employer are to make "reasonable accommodations", not to sit there as your employee sits there on their fourth year of doing nothing because they "have ADHD".

Re: Me and ADHD

#124

Post by 0xb0565e486 »

afarrell wrote: post #101
0xb0565e486 wrote: post #74

Am I the only one who feels a bit discredited when someone blames their ADHD for their shortcomings? To me, all the ADHD symptoms listed in this article sounds like nothing more but normal human traits. Also, author hasn't been diagnosed with ADHD, and the tips can be helpful to everyone.

> the tips can be helpful to everyone https://medium.com/@mosaicofminds/the-curb-cut-effect-how-ma...

That was an interesting read. Thanks!

Re: Me and ADHD

#125

Post by forgotmypw17 »

mbgerring wrote: post #121
0xb0565e486 wrote: post #74

Am I the only one who feels a bit discredited when someone blames their ADHD for their shortcomings? To me, all the ADHD symptoms listed in this article sounds like nothing more but normal human traits. Also, author hasn't been diagnosed with ADHD, and the tips can be helpful to everyone.

I had the opposite experience -- for a very, very long time I assumed that a bunch of harmful, chronic behaviors were just a result of some unspecified personal or moral failing on my part. I would beat myself up about it and tell myself to "do better," without a path forward for how to do that. 2 years ago a friend who was diagnosed with ADHD started describing some of her symptoms and I realized it sounded exactly…

i don,t think it is either, but an environment way more demanding than what we previously lived in trying to squeeze every last drop of productivity out of ,,the stock,, and calling anyone who falls short disordered.

Re: Me and ADHD

#126

Post by specialjack »

logicslave wrote: post #62
borski wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Only if abused at high doses. I was recently diagnosed with ADD and the adderall XR is incredibly helpful, and at my 10mg dose on an “as needed” basis (since I don’t need productivity every day) I’m not concerned at all.

How long have you been taking it? The cracks will show years down the road, not initially.

Curious if you have any sources for this? I have heard this before and struggled to find data that backs it up.

Re: Me and ADHD

#127

Post by curiousllama »

throwaway713 wrote: post #2

> Minimizing menial tasks. Menial tasks really suck. I know everyone must hate doing these, but to put it into perspective, I would rather do 20 hours of really really hard work on a tough project than do 5 hours of menial tasks Interesting. I have ADHD (inattentive subtype) and am quite the opposite. My apartment is never cleaner than when I have an extremely important, open-ended project with multiple stakeholders…

I'm 100% the same - I once accidentally trained for a marathon.

Re: Me and ADHD

#128

Post by brazzledazzle »

commandlinefan wrote: post #75

> hard time focusing on things that I don’t like or want to do Not trying to be insensitive, but doesn't that describe everybody? At what point does difficulty motivating yourself to do something unpleasant become an actual pathology? I identify with a lot of the symptoms he lists, but I've never thought that meant there was anything "wrong" with me, I thought everybody felt that way. Are there really people out ther…

There's a clinical psychologist that describes it as a disorder in large part characterized by a lack of executive function. In other words, you can't necessarily make yourself do what you're supposed to unless you have a desire to do it. So your desires tend to take priority or distract from your wants or needs. And obviously like all disorders it has to be debilitating to some degree–usually interference with two or more areas in your life (home, professional, school, etc.).

Re: Me and ADHD

#129

Post by renewiltord »

ryandrake wrote: post #82
madamelic wrote: post #20

Fellow ADHD person: Get diagnosed and get a low-dose of meds. It helps _a lot_. You will likely hate the feeling they give you for the first week (you will genuinely feel high even on 10mg Adderall XR), along with nightmares and night sweats but after a few weeks, you'll suddenly be productive at a very normal level. I don't feel strung out nor is it some addiction. Ignore the people screaming about Adderall being "l…

This is a super-edge-case but if you happen to want to be a pilot (either small planes all the way up to airlines), the FAA considers ADHD and other attention-deficit conditions to be disqualifying. If you're taking medication for ADHD or similar conditions and want to be a pilot, you're dead in the water until you get off them and can show that you don't have some kind of attention difficulty. FYI!

Fascinating, but appears to make sense. Hopefully, some day we will be able to quantify the difference so that people like me (who do worry that they can't stay on top of all the details in a plane) are excluded from flying¹ while other people who have a similar condition to mine but are capable of flying are allowed to do so.

¹ As much as I want to.

Re: Me and ADHD

#130

Post by justasidenote2 »

madamelic wrote: post #20

Fellow ADHD person: Get diagnosed and get a low-dose of meds. It helps _a lot_. You will likely hate the feeling they give you for the first week (you will genuinely feel high even on 10mg Adderall XR), along with nightmares and night sweats but after a few weeks, you'll suddenly be productive at a very normal level. I don't feel strung out nor is it some addiction. Ignore the people screaming about Adderall being "l…

I'm working on ADHD diagnosis now and my doctor was kind enough to let me begin taking Ritalin and then switch to Vyvanse. Medication is literally, demonstrably changing my life for the better.

I used to drink multiple cups of coffee a day and felt like it was almost baseline requirement just to attempt to focus. Actual ADHD medication makes coffee almost obsolete. The first time I took Ritalin it was almost scary to realize how chaotic my mind was minute-to-minute, every day without fail. Suddenly the noise all went away.

It feels like I can actually create coherent sentences. I stop getting overwhelmed by asynchronous communications (Slack, email). The "volume" of every single distraction that used to monopolize my attention gets turned way down. Yeah, I still get distracted -- but now it's a conscious choice to either let that distraction take precedent or to re-focus to the task at hand.

The day to day benefits are great, but the big picture / life-style benefits are the most appreciated. In general my anxiety and stress management is honestly 10x better. I've gone from being stressed over my career choice every week to finally feeling like I can thrive. I stop getting irritated by the most innocuous things someone might say or do. I stop waking up anxious every weekend trying to process the million things I need to get done just to exist and make forward progress in my life. I could go on and on and on about how "real" ADHD is, without even having a formal diagnosis yet.

I'm sure the discussions in this thread regarding the utility and risks of these medications sounds intriguing if you don't have ADHD and already know how to sit still and focus at will. But anyone who doesn't have our experience should understand this shit is honestly helping people live their lives for the better. My only regret is I didn't know sooner.

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