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Aldous Huxley predicts Adderall and champions alternative therapies

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Re: Aldous Huxley predicts Adderall and champions alternative therapies

#151

Post by alterom »

luckydata wrote: post #68
alterom wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Therapy, and most of all, understanding how our brains work make all the difference in the world. It's like realizing that the reason you've been getting stuck in the mud is not that you're a bad driver. It's just that people who don't are driving 4x4 trucks, and you've had a Nissan Z series sports car. Turns out, farms and off-road are simply not the right environment for your vehicle, and when that environment has…

I'm sorry but therapy does NOTHING for ADHD. I wish it did, it would be very useful to me, but it's just not the case.

> I'm sorry but therapy does NOTHING for ADHD. I wish it did, it would be very useful to me, but it's just not the case.

The therapist that worked for me practiced ACT, and was more close to coaching when it came to ADHD.

Therapists are living databases of solutions to certain kinds of problems that people have.

Problems caused by ADHD certainly belong to that category, and if your therapist is specializing in that area, they can save you a lot of time and effort by suggesting approaches that you'd otherwise have to figure out on your own.

Finding such a therapist is, unfortunately, a bit like winning a lottery that most people in the US wouldn't have the resources to play.

Re: Aldous Huxley predicts Adderall and champions alternative therapies

#152

Post by notepad0x90 »

potato3732842 wrote: post #142
notepad0x90 wrote: post #110

amphetamines feel a lot like people putting NO2 on their cars, or overclocking their computers. You might just fine in the end, but the likelihood of wear & tear catching up to you increases. It should be treated just like any other medicine, don't use it unless you really have to, and expect adverse effect (known or unknown).

To continue the analogy, a Dodge Challenger with a 50-shot of nitrous on it that gets used once a day is gonna still come out looking better at any milage/age than the same engine in a Promaster van because you can't drive around at 17k gross in a Challenger so the area under the abuse curve is way lower even if it peaks ever so slightly higher. An office worker on meth-lite (or whatever you want to call it) is still…

I don't disagree at all. at medicinal doses, treated as medicine are fine. at higher doses they're addictive and lend themselves to excessive use.

Re: Aldous Huxley predicts Adderall and champions alternative therapies

#153

Post by notepad0x90 »

throwuxiytayq wrote: post #123
notepad0x90 wrote: post #110

amphetamines feel a lot like people putting NO2 on their cars, or overclocking their computers. You might just fine in the end, but the likelihood of wear & tear catching up to you increases. It should be treated just like any other medicine, don't use it unless you really have to, and expect adverse effect (known or unknown).

Amphetamines are safe, well-studied and non-addictive at prescribed doses. On the other hand, untreated ADHD VASTLY increases likelihood of addiction and many mental disorders. Definitely DO use this medication if you need it - it's the first medication your doctor will likely ask you to try precisely because an extensive body of research says it's the most effective way for treating ADHD.

> at prescribed doses

If you're getting Adderall from "a guy I know" instead of with a prescription, that's the problem. you keep taking more until you're satisfied.

Re: Aldous Huxley predicts Adderall and champions alternative therapies

#154

Post by notepad0x90 »

fragmede wrote: post #119
notepad0x90 wrote: post #110

amphetamines feel a lot like people putting NO2 on their cars, or overclocking their computers. You might just fine in the end, but the likelihood of wear & tear catching up to you increases. It should be treated just like any other medicine, don't use it unless you really have to, and expect adverse effect (known or unknown).

Is that based on a rigorous PhD level understanding of the neurobiology of the brain and the chemistry behind that particular medication, or just something you absorbed though popular culture, eg movies and Instagram reels?

An observation of how our body and machines in general behave under stress, and a skim of the wiki page for amphetamine.

Re: Aldous Huxley predicts Adderall and champions alternative therapies

#155

Post by ProllyInfamous »

lukan wrote: post #138
mfro wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree, soma definitely parallels weed much more closely, but I don't think it's a perfect match. Huxley imagines a drug a bit more insidious, without obviously negative side effects, and with somewhat unrealistic(imo) intended effects.

Disagree. Weed is somewhat psychadelic ... and makes people enjoy the colors and not work so much. Soma made people numbless working with a feeling of glow. So I always understood it as antidepressant and moodlifter with some amphetamine compoments.

Weed isn't really psychedelic (it can be profound, and sometimes you'll get extra giggly...) but really it's more about being okay with the numbness.

It's also not really an antidepressant any more than it is an amphetamine (it's neither). Attempting to self-medicate in either direction is not beneficial, longer term.

If your marijuana usage carries you through such wide-ranging symptomology, that's on you homey [holds-back next pass to you]. It's okay to ask for help.

Re: Aldous Huxley predicts Adderall and champions alternative therapies

#156

Post by lukan »

ProllyInfamous wrote: post #155
lukan wrote: post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Disagree. Weed is somewhat psychadelic ... and makes people enjoy the colors and not work so much. Soma made people numbless working with a feeling of glow. So I always understood it as antidepressant and moodlifter with some amphetamine compoments.

Weed isn't really psychedelic (it can be profound , and sometimes you'll get extra giggly...) but really it's more about being okay with the numbness. It's also not really an antidepressant any more than it is an amphetamine (it's neither). Attempting to self-medicate in either direction is not beneficial, longer term. If your marijuana usage carries you through such wide-ranging symptomology, that's on you homey [ho…

.. and it is on you, if you misread. I believe my writing was clear.

(Antidepressant was about "Soma", the Huxley fantasy drug)

Re: Aldous Huxley predicts Adderall and champions alternative therapies

#157

Post by boat-of-theseus »

raducu wrote: post #127
DonaldPShimoda wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I believe parent commenter was referring to recreational use, i.e., use by people without such diagnoses who want a "performance boost". I heard about that sort of thing being popular when I was in college — people would take Adderall to cram for an exam or to study late into the night. You're right that, for people with ADHD and related disorders, stimulant medication sort of just adjusts their baselines so they can…

> You're right that, for people with ADHD and related disorders, stimulant medication sort of just adjusts their baselines so they can pay attention like a "normal" person. I have ADHD and take metylphenidate(I've tried many kinds of stimulants as well) -- and the NO2 analogy is an imperfect but better analogy than saying stimulants simply adjusts the baseline of people with ADHD to function like "normal" persons. I…

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Re: Aldous Huxley predicts Adderall and champions alternative therapies

#158

Post by cjrp »

brandall10 wrote: post #5
earlyriser wrote: post #4

I read champignons and it kind of fit even better. Adderall (Brave New World) and mushrooms (Island).

Soma in BNW is more analogous to MDMA as it's about sedated pleasure, not mental clarity/performance.

Isn't it more like morphine or another opiate?

Re: Aldous Huxley predicts Adderall and champions alternative therapies

#159

Post by boat-of-theseus »

NilMostChill wrote: post #111
notepad0x90 wrote: post #110

amphetamines feel a lot like people putting NO2 on their cars, or overclocking their computers. You might just fine in the end, but the likelihood of wear & tear catching up to you increases. It should be treated just like any other medicine, don't use it unless you really have to, and expect adverse effect (known or unknown).

Isn't the whole point of amphetamine based treatement for ADHD to correct(or beneficially alter, depending on your point of view) an non-standard brain chemistry? AFAIK some neurodivergent brains deal with amphetamines differently and the baseline levels of chemical affected by amphetamines is different. Wear and tear might be a thing, i don't know, but the analogy of putting NO2 in their car feels a bit off. It'd be…

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Re: Aldous Huxley predicts Adderall and champions alternative therapies

#160

Post by pfannkuchen »

cluckindan wrote: post #108
pfannkuchen wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It definitely doesn’t help sleep quality, but it could plausibly help with creativity in people who have the capacity to have good creative ideas. This is because it seems to produce a feeling that all (or at least more) of one’s ideas are good. If someone has a problem with idea development because they decide early that the idea isn’t worth exploring, perhaps due to low self confidence in ideation etc, then simply…

It definitely helps sleep quality in some people.

I’ve read that it interferes with one or more sleep stages enough to make them ineffective. My understanding is that it may help someone fall asleep, but the actual sleep they get will definitely be worse. So for insomnia, where the alternative is just not sleeping at all, yes, but otherwise no, AFAIK.
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