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Ask HN: Is ADHD Real?

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11–20 of 110 posts

Re: Ask HN: Is ADHD Real?

#12
post #5

I got new glasses a few weeks ago. As I was being fitted, I asked the guy if there were any tools I could buy that would help me adjust my glasses myself. He asked me what I do for a living. "I'm a programmer." "Well, would you want an optician messing with your code?" People that specialize in mental health, psychiatry and brain research have concluded that ADHD is a diagnosable mental disorder. I'm glad they're doi…

> As I was being fitted, I asked the guy if there were any tools I could buy that would help me adjust my glasses myself. He asked me what I do for a living. "I'm a programmer." "Well, would you want an optician messing with your code?"

That's a pretty useless response when the entire premise is that you have no idea whether the task is simple or difficult. It really only makes sense when you already kind of understand the ease or difficulty of the task, at which point the response is kind of redundant. It would've been a lot more helpful if he'd said something more like, "This requires professional expertise, it's not something laymen can do." That would actually give you useful context.

Imagine how silly this exchange would sound when talking to a car mechanic regarding routine maintenance: "Are there any tools I can use to replace/jump-start/whatever my car battery?" "Would you want a mechanic messing with your code?" Uh, no, but the answer to the first question is "yes" nevertheless...

Re: Ask HN: Is ADHD Real?

#14
It’s real unfortunately and not treatable. One can try to manage it but it’s not guaranteed success and has its drawbacks. That’s a lifelong struggle but ultimately I think that having diagnosis is at least something to hook on.

I’m slightly confused that person who provided you with diagnosis didn’t provide you with overview of how ADHD works.

Re: Ask HN: Is ADHD Real?

#15
post #5

I got new glasses a few weeks ago. As I was being fitted, I asked the guy if there were any tools I could buy that would help me adjust my glasses myself. He asked me what I do for a living. "I'm a programmer." "Well, would you want an optician messing with your code?" People that specialize in mental health, psychiatry and brain research have concluded that ADHD is a diagnosable mental disorder. I'm glad they're doi…

Your conclusion is correct, but I really don't think treating scientific communities as the sole arbiters of truth is a good idea. Science is all about being continually wrong (that's what progress is), and the experts are wrong all the time, ESPECIALLY when it comes to fields such as the human mind. These types of fields are also subject to debate among experts - it's not as if EVERY single one all agrees on the same things.

>I think a lot of the common hesitance and skepticism is the result of stigma in the vein of anti-vax ideas.

Definitely disagree. ADHD has been misunderstood as "laziness" and many things similar for a very long time. It's not a recent phenomenon.

At the end of the day, who really cares if it is a real condition or not? What I know is that my life is improved when I take Concerta. If I didn't have ADHD/ADHD wasn't real, and Concerta made my life better, then that still doesn't change the end result of taking meds = net positive.

Re: Ask HN: Is ADHD Real?

#16
It is real. I've dealt with it since before the internet was a big thing. Before the web, people used to tell me that books were too much of a distraction.

I highly recommend you treat it as an actual disorder because the sooner you address it, the less it will affect important parts of your life, especially your relationships.

Re: Ask HN: Is ADHD Real?

#17
Disorder basically just means something that causes problems in your life, I don't think we know enough about psychology to have great ideas about how different environments could affect stuff like this. Scott Alexander has an interesting post about the nature of categorising stuff like this in general and ADHD in particular: https://astralcodexten.substack.com/p/ontology-of-psychiatri...

Re: Ask HN: Is ADHD Real?

#18
As a heuristic, assume that it is never the right question to ask "Is ___ real?"

Asking how it is measured, what kind of effect it has, whether the effects are meaningful, how it can be explained, whether there are more appropriate labels, what kind of alternative explanations exist, etc.

Asking whether something is "real" fails even when talking about fundamental physical phenomena like gravity, math or consciousness. So, this is almost always the wrong question.

Re: Ask HN: Is ADHD Real?

#19
post #9
post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Did you get the theta-dominance signals?

I'm sorry but I don't know. I was laying down, eyes closed with light patterns blasting into them, and instructed to try to not focus on anything. Afterwards, I got a written report from the concilium (3 people were studying the recording for a few days), but that did not include these details, it's intended for layperson like me and it simply says "Conclusion: ADHD very likely, hints of Asperger syndrome too.". I in…

Cool. I have a consumer-grade Muse EEG thing. I learned about theta and ADHD links and thought it was probably bullshit. I figured out how to get the raw data with nodejs after years of using their app.

The patterns were jaw-dropping. My graphs were all theta. It's like I'm driving my brain around with the handbrake on. It was pretty startling. I dropped that EEG project after a few hours lol I should get back to it to see if I can change my brainwaves...

Anyways, here's some links to give a cardinal direction on this:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23086616/

https://www.additudemag.com/slideshows/neurofeedback-for-adh...

Btw, in light of the EEG, what sort of treatments or interventions did your doctors prescribe?

Re: Ask HN: Is ADHD Real?

#20
post #9
post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Did you get the theta-dominance signals?

I'm sorry but I don't know. I was laying down, eyes closed with light patterns blasting into them, and instructed to try to not focus on anything. Afterwards, I got a written report from the concilium (3 people were studying the recording for a few days), but that did not include these details, it's intended for layperson like me and it simply says "Conclusion: ADHD very likely, hints of Asperger syndrome too.". I in…

ADHD is absolutely measurable on an EEG (I've seen it done), but asperger is A. not a real current diagnosis and B. is not clearly measurable on an EEG AFAIK. Because of how old of a diagnosis Asperger is, I would have real doubts with one.
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