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How to Read Books When You Have ADHD

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Re: How to Read Books When You Have ADHD

#151

Post by fatnoah »

JoeCianflone wrote: post #97

No. ADHD does not work this way for me, or people like me who are inattentive . This article is the equivalent of the time my primary care physician said, “just use a calendar”. You want me to maintain a set of documents? Buddy, without meds I can’t remember to brush my fucking teeth. I’m not exaggerating. ADHD is a spectrum, articles like this paint everyone with the same brush, which furthers many people to feel li…

Very much this. My son has ADHD (full neuropsych eval) and he has attention issues, but his main challenge is executive functioning. Daily routines do exist, but are achieved through literally months of repetition, not by conscious effort to identify and organize all of the things that need to happen before school, after school, etc.

Establishing and sticking to a formal program to read books is literally the hardest thing he could do, but when he finds a book he likes, he'll stay up late to read it, and would stay up all night if we let him.

Re: How to Read Books When You Have ADHD

#152

Post by vbsteven »

swader999 wrote: post #139
splithalf wrote: post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Lots of addicted folk talk this way. I couldn’t function without ____, where ____ could be anything from coffee to amphetamines. That isn’t to say that you are abusing the medication, but that the dividing line is more arbitrary than most people understand. Many addicts are simply people with inadequate health coverage who are forced to self medicate, often with the exact same substances (adderal, benzodiazepines, pa…

I have a hard time without eyeglasses. Am I also an addict? ADHD medications are quite similar in their effect for those with this condition.

Agreed. Most medications work by correcting a chemical imbalance. If I understand it correctly it kind of makes our brain work more like that of someone without ADHD. With similar balances.

So I do see ADHD medication as similar to eyeglasses or hearing aids. A correction for the way our brains work.

Re: How to Read Books When You Have ADHD

#153

Post by fao_ »

CubsFan1060 wrote: post #132
fao_ wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

(Since you called them a "GP", I'm guessing that you're in the UK) I mean, nobody can really tell you anything about your set of circumstances without you giving info. For some people under the NHS, with good doctors, they go to their GP and the GP listens to their reasons why and then refers them to a psychiatrist who can diagnose them formally, and they are given other interrim support in the meantime, along with t…

Thank you! Actually in the US (I didn't realize that term may have country connotation), but this advice is still very good and applicable.

I would say it applies much more strongly in the US, because you are quite literally paying for them to listen to you, rather than in the UK where it is a negligible amount through a specific type of tax. If they do not help you or listen to you then there's quite literally no point paying for their salary.

Re: How to Read Books When You Have ADHD

#154

Post by gcatalfamo »

nicbou wrote: post #100
gcatalfamo wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thank you so much. They make articles for people with ADHD then make it unreadable for them.

I believe that those articles are unreadable for everyone. They are written for search engines. I built a whole business around giving straightforward answers. I remove superfluous text, and I use formatting to make my content easier to skim. There's no clickbait, no cookie notice, no newsletter prompt, no author bio and no sidebar content. There's just you and the answer you came for, and it loads in under 500 milli…

Can you link me your website?

Re: How to Read Books When You Have ADHD

#155

Post by WhompingWindows »

Does anyone with ADHD want to comment about audiobooks? I have moved 90% of my pleasure reading to audiobooks, since I can get through SO much more material during chores, driving, etc. I do zone out from time to time, so I'll have to rewind a couple minutes, but it's nbd, I'm there for pleasure. I'll even re-listen to a book a month later if it was great, and I find my retention is pretty great if I listen to a book a few times.

Re: How to Read Books When You Have ADHD

#156

Post by sethc2 »

cratermoon wrote: post #147
splithalf wrote: post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Lots of addicted folk talk this way. I couldn’t function without ____, where ____ could be anything from coffee to amphetamines. That isn’t to say that you are abusing the medication, but that the dividing line is more arbitrary than most people understand. Many addicts are simply people with inadequate health coverage who are forced to self medicate, often with the exact same substances (adderal, benzodiazepines, pa…

The ridiculous double standard is that we see physical devices -- glasses, hearing aids, canes, as corrective, but drugs that treat disabilities are seen as "crutches", which happens to also be a physical metaphor, but one that implies some transience, suggesting that eventually we'll get better and not need the drug. Try telling a deaf or blind person that their assistance devices are "crutches" they'll eventually n…

I think you might have been missing his point. It came off to me that he was trying to defend drug addicts not shame people using drugs. Like if you have no money the way you might treat your anxiety is different than the way the wealthy developer does. Someone might get a new prosthetic leg, but they might have to fight their asses off to learn how to not rely on their former chair or crutches and they’ll likely keep them around when they just need a break and will always have a cane.

Right now people like me with ADHD can easily get drugs. But why should I assume I might not be struck by misfortune. If I end up poor and on the street, unable to afford nice drugs. If I have learned how to manage without a drug that would genuinely help me I’d probably be better off in that case.

Saying he is shaming those who use drugs is just covering your ears and wanting to pretend that there are no negative effects. Me saying if you learn to live without Netflix you’ll have more fun when the power goes out, isn’t meant to say Netflix is a wrong way to entertain yourself, simply that if you rely on it for entertainment it can be hard to find entertainment if the lights turn off.

Calling it an addiction, doesn’t mean that addiction is worse than the alternative. By reacting as you do, you paint addictions as something reprehensible and shame those who have them.

Re: How to Read Books When You Have ADHD

#157

Post by nicbou »

gcatalfamo wrote: post #154
nicbou wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I believe that those articles are unreadable for everyone. They are written for search engines. I built a whole business around giving straightforward answers. I remove superfluous text, and I use formatting to make my content easier to skim. There's no clickbait, no cookie notice, no newsletter prompt, no author bio and no sidebar content. There's just you and the answer you came for, and it loads in under 500 milli…

Can you link me your website?

You will find it in my post history. I'd rather not spam it too much here.

Re: How to Read Books When You Have ADHD

#158

Post by nicbou »

ryanwhitney wrote: post #148
nicbou wrote: post #84

I really dislike this sort of blog. Every article feels like it was written for their affiliates and for search engines, and rarely for the readers. It's certainly not written for people with ADHD. Here's the only useful paragraph in the article: > This idea came from Megan, a guest on Hal Elrod’s podcast. Megan explained she keeps track of all the books she reads in a spreadsheet. Each time she finishes a book she a…

Ditto on environment. I had found that getting out of my normal setting helped with this immensely for me. Going to a coffee shop had been working pretty well (not every time but most times), but covid killed that routine. No thanks to a spreadsheet though. Lots of adhd advice around bullet journals too, but that worked as well as every other past attempt to keep a journal in my life.

I set up my balcony with nice plants, relaxing lighting, and a comfortable chair. It's a nice place to spend quality time with a book.

If I'm stuck insight, I'll light some candles and read on the couch, or run myself a bath. It's a great way to end the day.

Re: How to Read Books When You Have ADHD

#159

Post by aidenn0 »

nicbou wrote: post #84

I really dislike this sort of blog. Every article feels like it was written for their affiliates and for search engines, and rarely for the readers. It's certainly not written for people with ADHD. Here's the only useful paragraph in the article: > This idea came from Megan, a guest on Hal Elrod’s podcast. Megan explained she keeps track of all the books she reads in a spreadsheet. Each time she finishes a book she a…

> I found that a good book in a good environment is all I really need to read more. It takes 5-10 minutes before my thoughts stop buzzing around and I can focus, but once I'm in that zone, I'm good for a while.

I think there is a huge variance in how ADHD people process information. I am 100% this way as well, but know just as many ADHD people who literally cannot finish reading even a short book. They often report audiobooks and podcasts as being much better, but I can take about 5-10 minutes of auditory input max before I am completely done. If I'm not moving I'll fall asleep[1], if I am moving my mind will wander and I'll just have 20 minute intervals that I have zero recall of ever hearing.

1: This made college lectures quite challenging. For one particularly bad class where the professor dimmed the lights to use an overhead projector, I sat in front of someone who had ample reason to want to kick me and told them to kick me any time I fell asleep. In another one that was fairly small (maybe 50 students?) the professor seemed to get sympathetic noticing I was struggling to stay awake and would wake me up as needed.

Re: How to Read Books When You Have ADHD

#160

Post by sudosysgen »

splithalf wrote: post #121
JoeCianflone wrote: post #97

No. ADHD does not work this way for me, or people like me who are inattentive . This article is the equivalent of the time my primary care physician said, “just use a calendar”. You want me to maintain a set of documents? Buddy, without meds I can’t remember to brush my fucking teeth. I’m not exaggerating. ADHD is a spectrum, articles like this paint everyone with the same brush, which furthers many people to feel li…

Lots of addicted folk talk this way. I couldn’t function without ____, where ____ could be anything from coffee to amphetamines. That isn’t to say that you are abusing the medication, but that the dividing line is more arbitrary than most people understand. Many addicts are simply people with inadequate health coverage who are forced to self medicate, often with the exact same substances (adderal, benzodiazepines, pa…

Hey, I'm someone with ADHD but that never had any medication.

Most of the time, I can't function. I'm exactly as they describe they are without medication. The only way I get through it is by doing things that need to be done faster.

And thankfully for me it's not as hard to focus on programming. Actually programming is probably the thing I'm best at, despite my inattentiveness costing me. It's everything else that is the issue.

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