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Reverse engineering my ADHD test

nullpt.rs

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Re: Reverse engineering my ADHD test

#121

Post by thaumasiotes »

akoboldfrying wrote: post #95
genxy wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

ADHD also evolutionary advantages, so there is unlikely to be a single gene that encodes for it.

1. How is it advantageous? 2. Assuming it really is: Why would this make it unlikely to be encoded on a single gene? As a layman, the only condition I'm aware of with this "downside but also upside" quality is sickle cell anaemia (downside is anaemia, upside is increased resistance to malaria), which is decided by a single nucleotide change on chromosome 11.

> As a layman, the only condition I'm aware of with this "downside but also upside" quality is sickle cell anaemia

Essentially all traits that you might think of as "traits" and not "features of the species" have downsides and also upsides. Where there's any significant imbalance, the genes for that trait will be purged from the gene pool (if the trait is basically all negatives) or sweep to become universal (if all positives).

Re: Reverse engineering my ADHD test

#122

Post by msteffen »

msteffen wrote: post #109
subarctic wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why is it so life changing to get help? What kind of help is there besides meds?

Therapy, which (at least for me) has focused dually on adhd management strategies that can be very helpful (including, in particular, enhancing relevant social skills related to setting expectations and boundaries) and on identifying and modifying negative self-image issues and counterproductive learned behaviors (e.g. various forms of self-directed hostility that attempt to assert control over a neurophysiological i…

lol, we’re all writing the same thing. I’ll give you one example, because I particularly liked it. My therapist always talks about separating people from problems, and I never had any idea wtf he was talking about. And then he gave me this exercise where he was like, “let’s construct a narrative where this person’s eccentric personality makes them really good at something specific. Where would you expect a person like that to encounter friction and how would you manage it?”

It was sort of fun, we talked about how Arthur Schawlow (who co-invented the laser and won the Nobel prize) was banned from driving on Stanford campus and had to be chauffeured. And I finally understood what he was talking about; you can access this perspective for anybody by constructing such a narrative. What if everybody’s a misunderstood genius at something? Why not? How would you live in such a world? One insight among many.

Re: Reverse engineering my ADHD test

#123

Post by RossBencina »

hbarka wrote: post #106
timster6442 wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From a molecular neuroscience perspective, for both ADHD and ASD (autism) you're unlikely to find any pure biomarkers as clean as a disease like huntingtons disease whose mechanism is clearly understood as extra CAG repeats on the HTT gene (a clean mendelian disorder). ADHD is defined by behavior/cognitive symptoms and most all behavior/cognitive diseases are multifactoral, which ADHD is. WES/WGS and GWAS has been do…

There’s a doctor who goes by Russell Barkley, PhD on his popular YouTube channel and claims to be able to brainscan for ADHD with certainty. Is his claim legitimate?

Russel Barkley is a pioneer in the field of ADHD research. I have heard of such a claim, but not from Russel Barkley. Could you provide a link of Russel Barkley making the claim please?

Re: Reverse engineering my ADHD test

#124

Post by RossBencina »

usernametaken29 wrote: post #38
anamexis wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

ADHD is not an autism spectrum disorder, is it?

That’s my bad for conflating the two. Indeed they are not the same in ICT-11 but! diagnostics is moving towards the direction of treating them the same. ADHD and ASD have extremely high comorbidity and it has been proposed many times to classify them together because the symptoms overlap (difficulties at school, aggressive behaviour or temper, lack of social skills, etc). In fact it has become so difficult to find di…

CBT is not a first line treatment for ADHD in Australia. Indeed standard CBT is contra-indicated because it requires the kind of "homework" that ADHDers struggle with. There are CBT variants tailored for ADHD however.

Re: Reverse engineering my ADHD test

#125

Post by reacharavindh »

subarctic wrote: post #103
johnwalkr wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I want to add that the comment is also funny to me because it and the blog post are very relatable to me. I don't mean to dismiss it at all. It's really important to get a good diagnosis for anything like this and not dismiss it or lock into the wrong diagnosis because of your own tunnel vision. You wrote "the test is quick, easy, and painless" but I also want to note that it's not always. Depending on your country,…

Why is it so life changing to get help? What kind of help is there besides meds?

I will say how it was life-changing for me getting diagnosed as 39M.

The quick answer:

Understanding neurobiology and the meta-cognition about the why of certain behavioural patterns and experiences is extremely helpful to just calm down and "forgive" myself, and not judge myself so harshly. It's as if I can optimise my life by leaning on my strengths and importantly recognising and dealing with my weaknesses. Just the awareness lets me catch myself getting into patterns, and act on them sometimes, and just let myself be the other times without any guilt. This insight brings peace more than you think. I can now organise my inner dialog and enjoy the diverse thoughts while also being aware of my impact on people in my life.

I was skeptical of the meds myself. I spoke with about 20 people through AHD support groups and group sessions. The drugs are mostly a trial and error affair with side-effects and altered behaviour. My subtle lifestyle changes - keeping one true todo list, always logging down my thoughts and taking comfort in the fact that they are jotted down so that I dont have to keep going down that thought and actually get up and go catch the train etc already gave me the biggest benefits. Then I wanted to see for myself what the drugs could actually do. At the end of it I may choose to take them or not. After 8 months of slow analytical trial and error with a very helpful psychiatrist who understood where I am coming from, I now take a very small dose of Elvanse(Vyvanse) + Guanfacine on some days of the week where I feel like I could use the help. They are not life-changing. They nudge me into being more capable of being me. My wife can notice the regulation the drugs let me have - A win for me. My kid has a better relationship with me than before - A win for me. Could I do without? Sure. But, I choose to have that little support to manage myself to get to who I want to be around my family without losing who I am. To each their own.

Longer background:

Despite reading about and knowing the symptoms of ADHD, and being told by a professional 10 years ago that I should consider getting formally diagnosed, I thought to myself - "Hey, I am smart. I feel happy and satisfied. I dont have any problem. I'm good as I am. I dont need to do anything about it." and promptly kept sweeping any thoughts about it under the proverbial rug.

Until, I started seeing my son develop in front of me. Seeing all those symptoms - impulsivity, hyper-focus on few things and inattentive to most others, emotional regulation issues, extreme reasoning abilities in some areas while being "immature" in other areas. This was me growing up. Being smart and intelligent, but longing to fit in, struggling to deal with the mundane. So, I decided to get diagnosed properly. Basically, I could hide behind my smartness and the ability to manage my symptoms until it just myself in my life, and then my wife, and then my son, but when the second one came along, I couldn't manage anymore and the overwhelm started to show the real patterns.

It takes courage to be honest and vulnerable.

Re: Reverse engineering my ADHD test

#128

Post by Weryj »

thaumasiotes wrote: post #120
Weryj wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’ve always thought, it’s not absurd to think there different development routes which the brain takes depending on the environment it develops in. With your foraging example, it does make me think ADHD is a small group/individual optimisation. Prioritising high vigilance and individual productivity over social cohesion. I speak with no authority. I don’t even know how such a theory could be tested.

> I’ve always thought, it’s not absurd to think there different development routes which the brain takes depending on the environment it develops in. What do you think nutritional stunting means? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stunted_growth

I don’t mean from a nutritional standpoint, but a behavioural perspective. Smaller groups would have an higher percentage of responsibility per individual to be vigilant and proactive.

It would make sense to me that evolutionary there would be different mental development paths depending on the requirements of their situation.

This is coming from my understanding that ADHD is more prevalent in stressful upbringings.

Re: Reverse engineering my ADHD test

#130

Post by applfanboysbgon »

usernametaken29 wrote: post #38
anamexis wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

ADHD is not an autism spectrum disorder, is it?

That’s my bad for conflating the two. Indeed they are not the same in ICT-11 but! diagnostics is moving towards the direction of treating them the same. ADHD and ASD have extremely high comorbidity and it has been proposed many times to classify them together because the symptoms overlap (difficulties at school, aggressive behaviour or temper, lack of social skills, etc). In fact it has become so difficult to find di…

> distinctive features of ADHD both in diagnostics AND treatment (both are usually treated with cognitive behavioural therapy and in more severe cases medication)

Uh, what? How exactly could treatment be more distinct than ADHD people being indicated for a highly-regulated drug like amphetamines, which are extremely effective to the point of being life-changing treatment? Meanwhile nobody would consider prescribing Adderall to treat autism. What a bizarre conflation of two completely different disorders.

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