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Mental illness, attention deficit disorder, and suffering

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111–120 of 359 posts

Re: Mental illness, attention deficit disorder, and suffering

#111
post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I started adderall a few weeks ago after a vary recent diagnoses at 30 years old. It affected my personality in the sense that my wife claims that I now seem interested in what she has to say, I no longer get angry at the smallest things, I have patience with my son, and I don't get so overwhelmed that I regularly want to curl up in a ball and cry. Otherwise, I'm the same me. Just functioning and less pissed off or a…

Pay extra attention to your gums

I'm not sure what you mean by this. It's a bit vague. I had dry mouth for a day or so, but got over it pretty quick.

I'm a regular brusher and flosser, for what it's worth.

Re: Mental illness, attention deficit disorder, and suffering

#112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If the authors life is not being impacted by his ADHD then he does not have ADHD. The clinical diagnosis for a mental illness is that it impacts your life in a negative way. His attention deficit does not impact his life in a negative way, therefore it’s not a disorder. The author frankly does not know what he’s talking about. And, clinically, he does not have ADHD. I have a mood disorder (NPSLE). I am on permanent d…

ADHD is a physical condition, not a mental illness. You can still have it an not be negatively affected by it.

> ADHD is a physical condition

It sure is not handled like one. If that is the case, then I find it odd that most people get treated by psychiatrist and not neurologist. Also, why are fMRI and other neurological scans not used to diagnosis the illness? It seems to be merely symptom based diagnostics coupled with psychological evaluations.

(I am not saying there are not structural neurological differences.)

Re: Mental illness, attention deficit disorder, and suffering

#113
post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On the other hand, starting adderall was the best personal decision I have ever made. I am less angry, less impulsive, more deliberate, more attentive, more kind, and more patient. Your reaction sounds like the reaction of someone without ADHD. I'm not claiming that's the case. I know everyone has different reactions to medications and you should do what's best for you. That said, starting adderall literally changed…

I didn't mean to imply that I only eat bread. Just that it is my main source of the few carbohydrates I eat anymore. They will have to pry chocolate from my cold dead hands.

Sorry, I meant "getting rid of bread". To be honest, I was snarky at you for suggesting dietary changes instead of talking to a professional. It has very "wow thanks, i'm cured" energy. I won't be snarky in the future.

Re: Mental illness, attention deficit disorder, and suffering

#114
post #104
post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yep, just like someone who takes insulin for their diabetes should not refer to themself on insulin as "their true self".

the trap in your example would be following the true scotsman fallacy into believing that you need your insulin to survive/thrive - which could be true in the case of diabetes, so not just like.

Considering people with ADHD have a much shorter lifespan, I would disagree. I encourage you to actually look into what medication for those with ADHD looks like before disparaging those who seek treatment.

Re: Mental illness, attention deficit disorder, and suffering

#115
It IS odd that ADD/ADHD is approached this way. There's a sort of weird relativism wherein ADHD can be considered a deviated cognition and not a disorder, but it depends on the environment. Because of the ways of the world, and how modern life goes, it's considered a disorder largely because of the effect it has on integrating with that norm.

If life were different but the ADHD brain wasn't, I think there might be a world where it's not considered a disorder.

I've lived with ADHD-C all my life, and it was something that got me labelled as "lazy" and "unfocused" and even sometimes I was told that I didn't give a shit. People who saw me work 16hr days or work for weeks on end without a day off, these same people called me those things because of how I came across in social situations or in everyday life situations.

I think my tribe of ADHDers sorta see it as part of the formula in how we evaluate our own merit. I'm capable of incredible creativity and ruthless hyperfocus on task when I get spooled up the right way, and so I feel GOOD about myself because I know my true potential. I don't think of myself as some leper weirdo who can't talk right, asks too many questions, turns on a dime. Other people don't really think about that, it's not natural to take that sort of probabilistic view of people, of what they MIGHT be capable of. Stakes are high, and the cost of error correction is high enough usually to motivate a rigid adherence to cautiousness.

I'm not sure how exactly I feel about this article, but I'll say this in conclusion: I've never, ever, ever, even once wanted a different brain than the one I have.

I've wanted to be treated better, and considered more fairly.

Re: Mental illness, attention deficit disorder, and suffering

#116

The author really does not do a great job, here, at least in saying something sensible as a response to DeBoer's piece. The core premise seems to be that: > I find it so very irritating that there is no term for my so-called ⸢attention deficit disorder⸣ that does not have the word “disorder” baked into it. I know what a disorder is, and this isn't one. But the author then argues against a strawman: > Why does any dev…

My main grip with having ADHD is why it's so damn hard to do simple things like open the mail or make a phone call, it's almost like needing a secretary to survive. Second gripe is how hard it is to get an appointment to get medication sorted. I've never felt judged or victimized for it, though I have felt personally lacking due to my struggles to get things done.

> I've never felt judged or victimized for it

I wish I could say the same. Were you diagnosed as child or an adult? I was diagnosed as an adult, and the school system I grew up in was rather... unwilling... to accommodate my "personality" differences.

Re: Mental illness, attention deficit disorder, and suffering

#117
post #26

DeBoer does the classic thing of "Inventing a guy to get mad at." Are there people who think their ADHD has no downsides and give them superpowers? Sure. There's a lot of people on earth and a distribution of opinions. Why not let people commiserate over their suffering and celebrate the quirks they've leveraged into strengths?

How is he "inventing a guy to get mad at" when the article is directing criticism at someone who exists? Most of the article is about Marianne Eloise.

Re: Mental illness, attention deficit disorder, and suffering

#118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

ADHD is a physical condition, not a mental illness. You can still have it an not be negatively affected by it.

> ADHD is a physical condition It sure is not handled like one. If that is the case, then I find it odd that most people get treated by psychiatrist and not neurologist. Also, why are fMRI and other neurological scans not used to diagnosis the illness? It seems to be merely symptom based diagnostics coupled with psychological evaluations. (I am not saying there are not structural neurological differences.)

Agree! How many times have I been hospitalized (psychiatric) and have not even had a single blood test?

Six.

I had an MRI for hearing problems and they found flares around my occipital horns. They still did nothing.

Mental illnesses are the most medically stigmatized disorders.

Re: Mental illness, attention deficit disorder, and suffering

#119
post #34

The author really does not do a great job, here, at least in saying something sensible as a response to DeBoer's piece. The core premise seems to be that: > I find it so very irritating that there is no term for my so-called ⸢attention deficit disorder⸣ that does not have the word “disorder” baked into it. I know what a disorder is, and this isn't one. But the author then argues against a strawman: > Why does any dev…

The "neurodiversity" viewpoint here is that what we call "ADHD" is part of the natural variation in how human brains work, and that it's a category error to think of it as a malfunction to be repaired, but rather as a difference to be accommodated. That accommodation may or may not be via medication and therapy, but that shouldn't necessarily mean that the underlying neurological state is a diseased one. A good analo…

But than the logical conclusion is there are no disorders only a failure to accommodate?

If someone is psychotic and disconnected with reality are we just applying our neurotypical filter? Should we just accommodate people who hear voices?

Re: Mental illness, attention deficit disorder, and suffering

#120
post #9

Medicated AD(H)D of Hacker News, did your medication (please specify) influence your personality? If so how?

I was diagnosed at 8 years old. Was on Adderall for 10 years. Went off of it as I entered my 20s. Started it again at 31 after doing a rediagnosis, and I've been on it for a year. I now regret not starting it up again in my 20s. I don't think it affects (or would have affected) my personality, but it would have positively influenced my life. In the last year, I've been able to overcome a lot of stuff to get my life "back on track," and I'm finally in a place where I feel happy and productive again.
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