Reminds me of one of the first video games to get FDA approval as a medical device. EndeavorRx I believe it's called. You have to keep the character moving down the path while not paying attention to all the shit the game produces to distract you.
Reverse engineering my ADHD test
181–190 of 247 posts
Re: Reverse engineering my ADHD test
#182The most surprising thing my adult ADHD diagnosis revealed was that as I began telling friends that I had been diagnosed positive they told me they had known that since they met me. These were childhood friends. Thanks friends. I thought I was bad at lots of things other people were good at, because I was more disciplined and saw the bigger picture. So I only worked on important things. Things that could matter to mi…
> The most surprising thing my adult ADHD diagnosis revealed was that as I began telling friends that I had been diagnosed positive they told me they had known that since they met me. These were childhood friends.
As someone with peer reviewed ADHD but not official diagnosis, what are friends gonna do about it? They can tell you, you're always late and it's annoying but that's about it. At some point it becomes just who you are as a person, part of your character sheet. If you're not planning to change and it's mostly under control (have job, life, etc), does it even matter to put a label on the thing?
I feel like a diagnosis in my 20's would've been useful. Now it's like I got me my coping strategies and they work pretty well. If I do or don't have ADHD doesn't really change anything.
And for anyone else reading, the leading symptom of adult-diagnosed adhd is saying and thinking things like "I don't get it, ADD can't be real, that's just how everyone is"
Re: Reverse engineering my ADHD test
#183Earlier quoted context omitted.
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ADHD is not a disease; it is disorder. People with ADHD are differently wired in their brain, you cannot cure it like you can disease.
> People with ADHD are differently wired in their brain
I am not sure that is objectively true in the sense that people think. If so, the condition would have a much more objective diagnostic process. I have been professionally described as ADHD, had an fMRI (unrelated reason), and my results came back perfectly normal.
I know n=1, but the data doesn't necessarily suggest that ADHD is some kind of organic, neurological disease.
Re: Reverse engineering my ADHD test
#184I was researching this test yesterday for my own appointment and did not expect to see it on hacker news. I am having a really difficult time finding a reputable psychiatrist to assess adult ADHD. I called 15 places and only heard back from one. I scheduled an appointment. They had 1/5 stars, gave me a 30 year old 1 page questionnaire, and asked to see my childhood report card. I did not see them again. Yesterday I g…
My psychiatrist gave me some questionnaires (BECK Depression Inventory, THE BECK Anxiety Inventory) and gave me an IQ test (Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale), she noted in her report the fact that I had a tendency to be restless, that I was distracted by the sound of the clock in her office ticking and that the IQ test scores were very lopsided with Processing Speed being much lower than everything else (and slightly lower working memory). Total test took 8 hours. I had abysmal results on the (Picture Completion) subtest.
Re: Reverse engineering my ADHD test
#185Earlier quoted context omitted.
By seeking out novelty, someone could be a more effective forager or better able to spot predators/prey hiding. ADHD often comes with a high attention to detail, so there's lots of advantages that could come with that (e.g. that twig wasn't broken before, something has passed through here). Also, having different sleeping patterns can mean that the people with ADHD are likely better equipped to keep a fire burning ov…
> ADHD often comes with a high attention to detail Per the DSM-5, one of the core symptoms of ADHD: "often fails to give close attention to details or makes careless mistakes in schoolwork, work, or other activities
Yes, it's both a lack of attention to details in "boring" tasks and an exceptional attention to details in "interesting" tasks.
Re: Reverse engineering my ADHD test
#186The most surprising thing my adult ADHD diagnosis revealed was that as I began telling friends that I had been diagnosed positive they told me they had known that since they met me. These were childhood friends. Thanks friends. I thought I was bad at lots of things other people were good at, because I was more disciplined and saw the bigger picture. So I only worked on important things. Things that could matter to mi…
I found out through a friend who has ADHD just talking about it and finding myself saying "oh god I know EXACTLY what you mean" too often. Then I stumbled upon the reddit adhdmeme community and found myself laughind and saying oh god so true to many of the posts there. Funnily enough now that I'm diagnosed I am noticing that I have unconsciously surrounded myself and just meshed much easier with ADHD people. My wife also has ADHD for example and was always undiagnosed, the friends at work I mesh best with.. you guessed it, also ADHD. Then I learned about how its to a majority genetics and a couple of months after (independent, not somehow induced by me) by nephew gets diagnosed too.
Re: Reverse engineering my ADHD test
#187Earlier quoted context omitted.
Some friends I've known for over a decade clearly have ADHD, and I'm not going to tell them unprompted. I feel like it is very disrespectful, especially when the conversation is about something completely different. Also, I'm not a medical professional, and it is possible that their ADHD-like symptoms are caused by something else. That being said, if they ask if I think they have ADHD, or any other form of neurodiver…
Speaking as someone who only got our ADHD diagnosis in our late thirties and our autism spectrum diagnosis at forty fucking two, please consider just telling them. That could be years or decades of social, pharmacological, and even legal assistance that they deserve and need and aren't otherwise getting.
Second this too. I went through live until mid thirties thinking life just was that hard for everyone and I was just bad and shit at things, worse than others - I suffered alone thinking everyone had to be like me, because I'm normal right? It was a huge relief finally being diagnosed because I could finally understand myself better, even found community of sorts.. strategies that worked for others and most of all.. just allowing myself to be KIND to myself, not always beating myself up, being angry at myself for being shit.
Re: Reverse engineering my ADHD test
#188The biggest risk for ADHD treatment is that most diagnosed people are told: "you brain doesn't make enough dopamine" which makes it feel safe for you and why they say non-ADHD people cannot take it. But for your specific brain it does make enough and it will fight to maintain that via homeostasis (usually by creating more dopamine vacuums/re-uptakes that stick around a long time...there is good science on this). So y…
Not going to get into a back/forth due to the pseudo-conspiracy end, just stating that this is significantly inaccurate.
Those are some possible outcomes, yes, but it is not a black/white thing, and that is actually WHY it's important to work with a qualified doctor to monitor medication, effects, dosage and so on, and make adjustments as necessary.
Different medications work very differently as it relates to dopamine, uptake, production, etc. And there are also non-stimulant medications that may be effective for some folks.
Re: Reverse engineering my ADHD test
#189seems like lack of focus to me. doesn't mean you have a medical condition.
Pre-taking medication, here's what my personal experience trying to focusing looks like:
I have some really interesting, but lengthy text that's really important for me to read for class. No cell phone, cleaned my room, put on specialized focus music, jot down all my random thoughts on a notepad, got myself a cup of coffee and made sure I eliminated all distractions.
I then proceed to read the first two or three sentences before I realized I have been mindlessly scanning the text with my eyes like I'm reading, but instead I am doing the equivalent of watching a movie. I'm 100% zoned out and in la la land.
I realize this, so I stop, refocus, repeat. I realize I did it again, stop, refocus and try reading out loud. I'm annoyed because I'm saying the words out loud but not comprehending it.
I meditate for 30 seconds to calm my mind, try to refocus and repeat. I finally get through it after about 30 minutes.
Here's how my personal experience looks with medication:
I pick up the damn paper, read it and summarize it with notes in 5 minutes.
Re: Reverse engineering my ADHD test
#190The most surprising thing my adult ADHD diagnosis revealed was that as I began telling friends that I had been diagnosed positive they told me they had known that since they met me. These were childhood friends. Thanks friends. I thought I was bad at lots of things other people were good at, because I was more disciplined and saw the bigger picture. So I only worked on important things. Things that could matter to mi…
Some friends I've known for over a decade clearly have ADHD, and I'm not going to tell them unprompted. I feel like it is very disrespectful, especially when the conversation is about something completely different. Also, I'm not a medical professional, and it is possible that their ADHD-like symptoms are caused by something else. That being said, if they ask if I think they have ADHD, or any other form of neurodiver…
Not only that but it's not always clear that friends don't already know! It's entirely possible their friends might have assumed that they already were aware and had been diagnosed.