301–310 of 413 posts
Many people here write about trying or hoping to be normal. Do you realize how man founders and extraordinary people have or had ADHD? How about not getting normal, but finding a life/work that fits to you and your lifestyle.
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No need to feel so bad (edited from: be so negative) about meds. They’re a crutch, sure, or maybe a wheelchair. But you wouldn’t begrudge a disabled person their wheelchair, would you? Or if you dislike thinking of it as a disability (even if there’s nothing morally wrong with being disabled): a pair of glasses. Do we really think less of people (or in this case likely ourselves) for using a wheelchair or wearing gla…
I don't care about stigma, but comparing a drug to a wheel chair is just ridiculous. I don't want to get addicted to another thing in my life, here in Europe we're quite familiar with (ab)using speed (amphetamine paste) and the idea of being on speed every single day seems pretty bad. I don't feel "more like myself" on speed and I seriously doubt most positive effect would persist after a year of using and rising tol…
The 2x deep linked article here is pretty spot on: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33635291
> Regarding the long-range management of ADHD, it is important to point out that the relapse rate for ADHD is 100%.
What I think is maybe related to what is discussed about CBT... In the past I've relied on being able to set aside large spans of time to either get things done, allow myself time to be mindless (mindfulness?), organize things, etc before the interruptions started. This worked fantastically as I was up at 4-6 am every weekday (father duties at the weekend), reading, learning, working, writing, etc, before the slack messages, meetings, email started rolling in.
I guess I had a similar system long ago when I was single, staying up all night till the crack of dawn reading, writing, but mostly wasting time on the internet. That wasn't feasible with a family so I somehow managed to push everything over to the other side of my sleep schedule, despite NEVER being a morning person. It was tough, but I made it work and things got better. It still took me forever to do the most basic things, but at least I had more uninterrupted time to get them done. I feel like I had found a coping strategy for my ADHD.
Recently, everything came crashing down when my routine was disrupted by having to get my daughter up, ready and dropped off at school. I was able to figure out a way to split this responsibility to half of the week, but that's since become my whole responsibility. I also have to pick her up from school (50% of the time), make dinner, clean up, etc... I also put her to be every night. By the time that's all done and I've taken care of my own needs it's basically time to get to bed.
Now I've fallen so far behind at work, no time for professional or personal learning, no organizing, etc... Additionally my marriage is in a state that I could never have imagined (although this was on its way to happening either way). Now I think I'm battling some depression, anxiety, sleep deprivation... all of this obviously just makes everything even worse.
What I now recognize is that I became far too dependent on the luxury of having large spans of uninterrupted personal time. This is great while it lasts, but for some like me, not guaranteed. Instead, I've begun to rely on small increments of time and effort, and I think that some of these CBT techniques and the overall framework might help.
> This harkens back to our notion that CBT for adult ADHD provides a framework for understanding how dif- ficulties arise as well as companion coping strategies with which to make changes
It's tough, but I think it's the only way I'm going to survive. Btw, I am in therapy and have medicine, and despite all of this I am a happy individual and still love life.
> I also went from taking nothing on weekends to taking half my weekday dose. My life on the weekend doesn’t need as much executive function, but it doesn’t not need any
One thing that wasn't immediately apparent to me was that my ADHD isn't restricted to work hours. I need to be able to focus on my family, friends and self as much as whatever I'm trying to get done at work. I too felt shameful about being on medicine, but come to realize that neurotypicals just don't understand the effects and benefits of some of these medications.
I'll prob add more if i can find some time to come back to the article and this thread.
FYI, recently diagnosed with ADHD in my forties. I've been unknowingly dealing with ADHD all my life. It explains so many issues that I've been dealing with since I can remember. It's hard not to feel some kind of resentment and anger about why no one noticed long ago. In many ways I feel like someone has just woken me up from a 40 year slumber, like an adult that didn't listen during school and has to go back and learn everything from scratch. Whenever I heard about people with ADHD I always imagined they had some kind of focusing superpower. Fuck ADHD, I feel like it's trying to ruin my life.
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That is an interesting paper, as is the co-morbidity of ADHD with epilepsy that they cite. It's also hopeful for some people suffering from ADHD because it is suggestive of the possibility of a more complete treatment for some. However there's a general understanding of ADHD (and related disorders such as ASD) as a spectrum of conditions with multiple contributing factors. Depending on the person ADHD will manifest w…
You are making a complicated when it’s effing simple. Just try taking high dose P5P. And probably zinc: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-94124-5 If you knew the metabolic pathways thus would be as clear as day. We need enzymes to make neurotransmitter and those enzymes need cofactors to work. These are the cofactors.
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Thanks for the yak shave! I’m out of empty slots in the breaker panel, and, well, a couple of the rooms have two-prong outlets with no ground… guess I need to rewire the whole house and install a new panel! And since we’ll have to cut into the drywall, may as well upgrade the insulation and vapour barrier while we’re in there.
While you're doing insulation and vapor barrier might as well replace all the windows too. Think of the efficiency gains!
I have this question which comes up in my mind every time I read about ADHD in tech (here, Twitter, blogs etc), which is really genuine and with no second intentions: my feeling is that ADHD seems over represented in tech, but I don't know if it's because ADHD is more invisible in life outside tech jobs, or because people with AHDH in tech are "louder", or because there is a relationship between ADHD and being good a…
We are overrepresented in tech, relative to the general population.
In the most recent StackOverflow developer survey, respondents self-reported at a rate about double the global average.
> but I don't know if it's because ADHD is more invisible in life outside tech jobs
You almost certainly know or have met people in other industries with ADHD and didn’t know it. Masking is an unfortunate survival skill for most. It’s mentally taxing, and can take hours to recover from after doing it for a day.
There used to be a thought that people grew out of it as they got older. They don’t, they just get really good at masking anything that might indicate they have it.
We’re seeing an increase in adults with ADHD, not because more people now have it. They had it all along (by definition, ADHD is symptomatically present before 12).
> or because there is a relationship between ADHD and being good at software engineering
Software engineering has some of the fastest feedback loops of any creative endeavour, and that really helps keep ADHD brains on task. But I don’t think there’s a relationship between the two, other than people with ADHD have a tendency to go really deep on things they’re interested in—and then subsequently drop it and move on to the next thing.
Software always has a next thing.
People with ADHD thrive on novelty and external consequences.
Agile software teams, infra/ops roles provide both. See also fighter pilots, firefighters, ER nurses, as well as outdoor jobs like landscaping (exercise is very good for ADHD brains).
We also really hate being told what to do, but will gladly solve a hard problem given the opportunity. Software enables that in a way many other jobs don’t.
> I know the topic might be delicate, but I would really like to understand better.
I really hope it’s not a delicate topic. Our brains work differently, but with some accomodations we can fit well into a team. I think there’s a very complimentary overlap with teams composed of neurodivergent and neurotypical people.
This short scene from Malcolm in the Middle is the best explanation I've found of ADHD as an adult: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbSehcT19u0 He tries to turn on the light, the bulb is dead, unscrews it, then as he's getting the bulb the shelf in the cabinet it's in is loose. He gets a screwdriver to fix the cabinet, but the rails on the drawer the screwdriver's in are squeaky. He gets some WD-40 to fix that, but t…
And he missed the obvious (with hindsight) options of, calling a taxi, catching a bus, etc.
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I know exactly how you feel, but I there is a bigger question: how well do these medications do in the medium term (counted in months)? I have read people testify how the initial boost evaporates, and when things come back to normal, they have to either continue the drug for not much benefit or face withdrawal. Edit: to clarify, I'm not telling anyone not to try medication. Everyone's response will be different. Just…
No idea, but habituation is a much bigger deal than people give it credit for. I did the titration regimen after my diagnosis with a licensed psychiatrist and ADHD specialist, so you start very low and test a dosage for a month at a time. You increase it slightly until side effects are noticeable, then you scale back. This was my timeline: Euphoria lasts perhaps two days, and you're on the lowest dose so it's pretty…
This is key to appreciating the value of the medication and also benefits as a way to fight tolerance. "Medicine holidays" it's often called. Every month take a weekend off, and every 6 months take a week off. Those off days will leave you terribly lethargic. But going back on will make you really appreciate it. Or not in which case take a longer break and maybe lower your dose.
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I take meds for unrelated things, for allopecia, like Finasteride, Minoxidil, Saw Palmetto. I am not sure how those would interact with the medicines I saw on this thread. I also take Algae based Omega 3 semi regularly (but that stuff tastes like crayons).
Oh jeez definitely look into the potential side effects of finasteride if you haven’t already. ADHD meds have nothing on it, side effect wise.