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My ADHD founder toolbox

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Re: My ADHD founder toolbox

#61

Post by resonious »

ReaLNero wrote: post #53
throwawaaarrgh wrote: post #51

I diagnosed when I was like... 8 years old. From then to 17 I was on various meds, finally gave them all up. So for about 22 years I've coped with ADHD without meds. I am a Staff Engineer and make a good living, respected in my field. Regardless of anything else, I think the key thing to remember about ADHD is that you do not need to be a high-performing human being, at all, in life. You will forget things and get di…

Why did you stop taking meds? Curious what would be your reasons against it.

I'm not GP but I also stopped taking meds (actually recently for me, and I'm 27). I'm sure GP's reason is different. My reason was that I had realized that a lot of my old ADHD symptoms were actually still happening. I was still procrastinating, still getting stressed when forced to focus on stuff I don't care about, still forgetting stuff. As an experiment, I decided to keep lowering my dose to see what happens. I kept lowering it until 0 and basically nothing has changed. I still do great at my job, can study stuff I'm interested in, can function completely normally. Makes me wonder whether the effects had simply worn off after so long, or if it was placebo from the start.

Re: My ADHD founder toolbox

#62

Post by yc-kraln »

throwawaaarrgh wrote: post #51

I diagnosed when I was like... 8 years old. From then to 17 I was on various meds, finally gave them all up. So for about 22 years I've coped with ADHD without meds. I am a Staff Engineer and make a good living, respected in my field. Regardless of anything else, I think the key thing to remember about ADHD is that you do not need to be a high-performing human being, at all, in life. You will forget things and get di…

I was diagnosed when I was six, and, like you, I dropped all meds at 17. Recently (as in, this year) through a combination of therapy and introspection, I realized that while indeed I was able to have a successful life, career, relationships without the medication, and that, yes, my coping mechanisms were satisfactory, I was

punching myself in the face for no reason

Last month I saw a psychiatrist and got a prescription for stimulant medication for the first time in 20 years. After a week I had to sit down and just cry: stuff which was difficult or stressful was just simple, and at the end of the day I have so much more energy to do things, to be present, to live my life. The medication is an aid, a crutch, sure, and I don't need it, but it makes my life better, easier, less stressful and less tiring.

Why are you punching yourself in the face for no reason?

Re: My ADHD founder toolbox

#63

Post by jasonladuke0311 »

bitexploder wrote: post #40
tonyarkles wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Yes it can make you more reckless and impulsive to take risks like founding a company, but it's important to keep in mind that ADHD is a serious cognitive disability, and we should treat it as that. There is so much it messes with on a daily basis and it absolutely sucks. I think the r/ADHD approach on Reddit nails it: even if it did have benefits for you , please don't refer to it as a superpower because there's a…

Thank goodness for auto pay on bills and a NT wife. I don’t know how she puts up with where my brain has ended up some years, but we have done great together as a family :) Also, I totally get that picking up random links thing. I always found I could sort of link together certain kinds of concepts together really quickly. Never super deeply, but like, learning new programming languages, I could just dive in, look at…

> Some of the time I read tech people’s ADHD experience and I feel so… understood. Like, are you me? You could be me.

Exactly what I thought reading this post :D

Strangely enough, I applied at your firm and we have traded emails.

Re: My ADHD founder toolbox

#64

Post by TeMPOraL »

bitexploder wrote: post #11
triggercut wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Weirdly, he was there due to some sponsorship related to disabilities because he had ADHD. Can I ask why you find that weird? ADHD is, and is also comorbid with other learning disabilities. ADHD has so many dimensions and interrelationships between those dimensions that everybody's lived experience is different. If you know one person with ADHD, then you know one person with ADHD, you don't know everyone with ADHD.…

I feel the ADHD is a strength not weakness mentality is generally harmful. There are some aspects of it that can help, especially when you are not deep working on one thing, but in general, I think it is unequivocally not a benefit to almost anyone who has it. edit: I would add there is some survivorship bias to it too. Successful CEO says ADHD helped? Huh. Cool. There is a reason alcoholism and substance abuse have…

Agreed with you and responders here. I want to add, there's also change in life circumstances aspect to it.

Like, it's nice if you can use hyperfocus to do great things, that on the net outweigh the inability to handle "normal life" things like paying bills on time. Then you marry and start a family and at some point wake up realizing this new life is perfectly structured to prevent you from using the positive aspects of your brain, while exacerbating the negatives.

I've been thinking recently, how come all those blog posts and stories about success despite (or thanks to) ADHD come from people who are single?

Re: My ADHD founder toolbox

#65

Post by bpicolo »

tstrimple wrote: post #23
ttcbj wrote: post #2

I saw the guy who founded kinkos speak at Babson business school about 20 years ago. Weirdly, he was there due to some sponsorship related to disabilities because he had ADHD. He got up and in the first 30 seconds said he thought ADHD had helped him, didn’t think of it as a negative, and just came because he wanted to tell his story. Like so many founders (esp of retail businesses, I find), he was super charismatic a…

It can feel like a super power at times. But it's one you cannot control. When I was in my teens and early twenties my area of interest happened to align with something which would turn into a very lucrative career. Software development. I couldn't get enough of it. I soaked things up like a sponge and was able to internalize so much that has stuck with me. But once I "figured out" programming, the interest dropped t…

Apart from the kids piece (none yet), your experience matches mine to the T.

I've found that management has left me in a better place of balance. Less hyperfocus (on the occasions it can be useful), but also better able to do the long term day to day because things are a bit more dynamic. Not without many challenges, especially in a world with more remote work. The combination of Zoom and Slack is devastating for my attention. Though slack reminders keep me tied together in more ways than one, too.

Will say that I recently went for rediagnosis to see if meds can help. Low dose, short duration meds have been pretty great for me since. Don't feel the need to take them daily, but having it as an option to achieve a normal executive function is something I should have done a lot sooner.

Re: My ADHD founder toolbox

#66

Post by terribleperson »

yc-kraln wrote: post #62
throwawaaarrgh wrote: post #51

I diagnosed when I was like... 8 years old. From then to 17 I was on various meds, finally gave them all up. So for about 22 years I've coped with ADHD without meds. I am a Staff Engineer and make a good living, respected in my field. Regardless of anything else, I think the key thing to remember about ADHD is that you do not need to be a high-performing human being, at all, in life. You will forget things and get di…

I was diagnosed when I was six, and, like you, I dropped all meds at 17. Recently (as in, this year) through a combination of therapy and introspection, I realized that while indeed I was able to have a successful life, career, relationships without the medication, and that, yes, my coping mechanisms were satisfactory, I was punching myself in the face for no reason Last month I saw a psychiatrist and got a prescript…

While meds can definitely help, one month in is way too early to know if the change is long-term positive. This is especially true with stimulant medications.

Re: My ADHD founder toolbox

#67

Post by idontwantthis »

yc-kraln wrote: post #62
throwawaaarrgh wrote: post #51

I diagnosed when I was like... 8 years old. From then to 17 I was on various meds, finally gave them all up. So for about 22 years I've coped with ADHD without meds. I am a Staff Engineer and make a good living, respected in my field. Regardless of anything else, I think the key thing to remember about ADHD is that you do not need to be a high-performing human being, at all, in life. You will forget things and get di…

I was diagnosed when I was six, and, like you, I dropped all meds at 17. Recently (as in, this year) through a combination of therapy and introspection, I realized that while indeed I was able to have a successful life, career, relationships without the medication, and that, yes, my coping mechanisms were satisfactory, I was punching myself in the face for no reason Last month I saw a psychiatrist and got a prescript…

I think your question is pretty rude. Different people are different.

Re: My ADHD founder toolbox

#68

Post by californical »

throwawaaarrgh wrote: post #51

I diagnosed when I was like... 8 years old. From then to 17 I was on various meds, finally gave them all up. So for about 22 years I've coped with ADHD without meds. I am a Staff Engineer and make a good living, respected in my field. Regardless of anything else, I think the key thing to remember about ADHD is that you do not need to be a high-performing human being, at all, in life. You will forget things and get di…

Yeah I went through something similar, but recently started trying meds again. Not to take every day hopefully, but only in periods where I feel especially affected and want to be more productive. I feel it’s the best of both worlds, but will see how it goes and if I stick with ‘em.

I think it’s good to experiment and figure out what works for you. I’m generally opposed to relying on drugs for things like this unless it’s really necessary, which is why I stopped taking meds for a while. But I’ve been having some real challenges recently with my focus & it’s been so frustrating. Hoping I’m able to find some sort of balance with it.

Guess my point is that it’s ok to let the meds help you too, and it doesn’t need to be problematic. I think I resisted going back on medication for a while because I was thinking “I don’t need anything, I can get by just fine with no help from meds!!” And while that may be true, it can still make my life significantly less frustrating to take the help sometimes.

Re: My ADHD founder toolbox

#69

Post by throwawaaarrgh »

yc-kraln wrote: post #62
throwawaaarrgh wrote: post #51

I diagnosed when I was like... 8 years old. From then to 17 I was on various meds, finally gave them all up. So for about 22 years I've coped with ADHD without meds. I am a Staff Engineer and make a good living, respected in my field. Regardless of anything else, I think the key thing to remember about ADHD is that you do not need to be a high-performing human being, at all, in life. You will forget things and get di…

I was diagnosed when I was six, and, like you, I dropped all meds at 17. Recently (as in, this year) through a combination of therapy and introspection, I realized that while indeed I was able to have a successful life, career, relationships without the medication, and that, yes, my coping mechanisms were satisfactory, I was punching myself in the face for no reason Last month I saw a psychiatrist and got a prescript…

I'm glad the meds have helped you, and I hope other people try them too if they think they need help.

Re: My ADHD founder toolbox

#70

Post by PragmaticPulp »

resonious wrote: post #61
ReaLNero wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why did you stop taking meds? Curious what would be your reasons against it.

I'm not GP but I also stopped taking meds (actually recently for me, and I'm 27). I'm sure GP's reason is different. My reason was that I had realized that a lot of my old ADHD symptoms were actually still happening. I was still procrastinating, still getting stressed when forced to focus on stuff I don't care about, still forgetting stuff. As an experiment, I decided to keep lowering my dose to see what happens. I k…

> My reason was that I had realized that a lot of my old ADHD symptoms were actually still happening. I was still procrastinating, still getting stressed when forced to focus on stuff I don't care about, still forgetting stuff.

Anecdotally, I've watched a lot of friends and colleagues go through this exact cycle: Going on meds and then just focusing more intensely on their distractions. I really think we're doing a disservice to all the people who get a prescription and get sent out the door without a more involved framework for how to use the meds as part of their ADHD treatment strategy rather than a presumed cure in a pill.

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