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Ask HN: How to find what I am really good at?

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Re: Ask HN: How to find what I am really good at?

#101

Post by thenaturalist »

User23 wrote: post #95
thenaturalist wrote: post #93

Hi there, This might be an off beat chance, but have you had a history of or ever looked into the topic of adult ADHD? Changing several jobs, jumping between hobbies or projects is textbook ADHD, especially if you don't feel like you can get out of it and describe it as a "huge live hurdle". That is the same for me. Got diagnosed at 30 two months ago. If you have a suspicion you might have it, I highly recommend doin…

I’m not sure about the whole neurological dysfunction story. It sounds a lot like the now debunked chemical imbalance story for depression. So far as I know there’s no ADHD blood or other objective test. I am however sure about stimulant drugs being a shockingly effective productivity booster when properly dosed though. As the comment I’m replying to notes, it’s trivially easy to walk into a psychiatrist’s office and…

> I’m not sure about the whole neurological dysfunction story.

Are you a medical professional or do you have a scientific source backing up your suspicion?

The point why there is no objective blood test is mainly rooted in the fact that getting a true measurement of a neurotransmitter is prohibitively costly (measurement across intra- and inter-daily blood samples to establish a true baseline). Yet, scientists are doing this and there are genetic and neurotransmitter markers which are abnormal in people classified with ADHD. For further reading with a variety of medical sources I recommend [0].

It's a disorder, and presents with a large variety of expressions or comorbidities, but the symptoms (restlessness, jumping between hobbies) are shared and the consequences both in private as well professional lives are severe.

The inability to focus on single things lead to worse career outcomes and worse relationship outcomes. It is a serious suffering for those affected. Ritalin has a 60 year pharmacological history and has proven to help people. Modern stimulants are even better.

I am hugely grateful for the fact safe access exists and as someone affected badly, [I don't think it's appropriate to make fun of someone seeking access to this medication.] STRIKE that out, GP explained his intended meaning further below.

[0]: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/325499

Re: Ask HN: How to find what I am really good at?

#102

Post by kayodelycaon »

User23 wrote: post #95
thenaturalist wrote: post #93

Hi there, This might be an off beat chance, but have you had a history of or ever looked into the topic of adult ADHD? Changing several jobs, jumping between hobbies or projects is textbook ADHD, especially if you don't feel like you can get out of it and describe it as a "huge live hurdle". That is the same for me. Got diagnosed at 30 two months ago. If you have a suspicion you might have it, I highly recommend doin…

I’m not sure about the whole neurological dysfunction story. It sounds a lot like the now debunked chemical imbalance story for depression. So far as I know there’s no ADHD blood or other objective test. I am however sure about stimulant drugs being a shockingly effective productivity booster when properly dosed though. As the comment I’m replying to notes, it’s trivially easy to walk into a psychiatrist’s office and…

ADHD is quite well studied. If you're up for it, there is a 2.5h video that goes into some detail about what it is and how it affects children. I found it quite fascinating and it helped me understand some of my symptoms. (Mine is comorbid with bipolar. Yay.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSfCdBBqNXY

Re: Ask HN: How to find what I am really good at?

#103

Post by hooby »

I believe one typically doesn't just happen to be good at something - like inherently good.

There's always first a phase of getting good at something - which took time and effort, regardless of whether it was conscious effort or not.

When people think they simply are good at something, that usually means, that they did NOT have to put in conscious effort to get started. But they still put in some effort, even if they didn't really notice it.

How much effort (conscious or not) any individual is going to need to get good at anything, can vary a lot. But more importantly, for most people the amount of effort does not really matter, when they enjoy something and are passionate about it.

The important thing to note here is, that there's a positive feedback loop. If you enjoy doing something, you will get better at it - and getting better at doing something makes you enjoy it more.

When it comes to work and jobs though, the whole setup surrounding the actual work (the hamster wheel of weekly work times, company politics, pressure to perform etc.) can really hurt the passion though.

Finding something you like doing and find easy to get better at is typically the easy part. Finding a work place that doesn't suck the fun out of it... that's more difficult. At least in my experience.

Re: Ask HN: How to find what I am really good at?

#104

Post by vikR0001 »

First of all, you're really good at identifying the need for people to be able to answer this question! It's a very good question because often people aren't aware of their own skills. I don't have an answer here but if you could develop one you'd have many customers to utilize this as a service.

I googled "what hidden skills do i have" and found other people looking into this question as well.

Re: Ask HN: How to find what I am really good at?

#105

Post by blamarvt »

thenaturalist wrote: post #101
User23 wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m not sure about the whole neurological dysfunction story. It sounds a lot like the now debunked chemical imbalance story for depression. So far as I know there’s no ADHD blood or other objective test. I am however sure about stimulant drugs being a shockingly effective productivity booster when properly dosed though. As the comment I’m replying to notes, it’s trivially easy to walk into a psychiatrist’s office and…

> I’m not sure about the whole neurological dysfunction story. Are you a medical professional or do you have a scientific source backing up your suspicion? The point why there is no objective blood test is mainly rooted in the fact that getting a true measurement of a neurotransmitter is prohibitively costly (measurement across intra- and inter-daily blood samples to establish a true baseline). Yet, scientists are do…

> I don't think it's appropriate to make fun of someone seeking access to this medication.

As someone who takes daily medication, I didn't read the GP's comment as making fun. It seemed to just be a statement of belief.

Re: Ask HN: How to find what I am really good at?

#106

Post by jasonlotito »

Have fun.

Seriously, stop trying to be focused and give yourself permission to enjoy life. This is key, giving yourself permission. Right now you are trying to hustle, you are trying to optimize, but you need to give yourself permission to just stop trying to optimize everything.

Explore, try new things, and don't settle on anything. Just live.

Most importantly, go out and try new things. Even things you might not otherwise have wanted to try. There are countless free classes out there where you can go spend a couple hours after work and learn something new. You don't have to stick it out, but this gets you out of the house and trying new things without any expectation. You'll meet new people, and while you might not make new friends, you might as well.

This is from personal experience. I believe you need to give yourself permission to just exist. Taking time off is pointless if you don't give yourself permission to just relax and enjoy.

Anyways, that's what helped me.

Re: Ask HN: How to find what I am really good at?

#107

Post by modo_mario »

User23 wrote: post #95
thenaturalist wrote: post #93

Hi there, This might be an off beat chance, but have you had a history of or ever looked into the topic of adult ADHD? Changing several jobs, jumping between hobbies or projects is textbook ADHD, especially if you don't feel like you can get out of it and describe it as a "huge live hurdle". That is the same for me. Got diagnosed at 30 two months ago. If you have a suspicion you might have it, I highly recommend doin…

I’m not sure about the whole neurological dysfunction story. It sounds a lot like the now debunked chemical imbalance story for depression. So far as I know there’s no ADHD blood or other objective test. I am however sure about stimulant drugs being a shockingly effective productivity booster when properly dosed though. As the comment I’m replying to notes, it’s trivially easy to walk into a psychiatrist’s office and…

>So far as I know there’s no ADHD blood or other objective test.

There's a few genes that have been found to be responsible/correlate strongly i believe but I assume genotyping goes a bit far for common diagnosis.

I'm sure it's not the same for everyone that's diagnosed tho and there's a good amount of misdiagnosis too.

Re: Ask HN: How to find what I am really good at?

#108

Post by Mezzie »

thenaturalist wrote: post #93

Hi there, This might be an off beat chance, but have you had a history of or ever looked into the topic of adult ADHD? Changing several jobs, jumping between hobbies or projects is textbook ADHD, especially if you don't feel like you can get out of it and describe it as a "huge live hurdle". That is the same for me. Got diagnosed at 30 two months ago. If you have a suspicion you might have it, I highly recommend doin…

And related to this, don't get discouraged if it ISN'T ADHD and medication for it doesn't help.

I thought I had ADHD and was frustrated as to why medication made it worse until I discovered I actually have PTSD + crippling anxiety that meant I avoided stability because I didn't trust it and 'flight'/taking on a new identity is one of my preferred 'fight, flight, freeze, fawn' responses. Basically my body only knows how to exist in chaotic environments.

Re: Ask HN: How to find what I am really good at?

#109

Post by Mezzie »

kayodelycaon wrote: post #102
User23 wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m not sure about the whole neurological dysfunction story. It sounds a lot like the now debunked chemical imbalance story for depression. So far as I know there’s no ADHD blood or other objective test. I am however sure about stimulant drugs being a shockingly effective productivity booster when properly dosed though. As the comment I’m replying to notes, it’s trivially easy to walk into a psychiatrist’s office and…

ADHD is quite well studied. If you're up for it, there is a 2.5h video that goes into some detail about what it is and how it affects children. I found it quite fascinating and it helped me understand some of my symptoms. (Mine is comorbid with bipolar. Yay.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSfCdBBqNXY

Quick questions, apologies if they're too sensitive:

- Regarding your co-morbidity, how did you know/decide to seek ADHD treatment and diagnosis? Was it before or after your bipolar diagnosis?

- Was there any concern about med interactions?

I live with my sister, who's bipolar and we think she MAY have ADHD, hence my curiosity.

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