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The silent struggles of workers with ADHD

bbc.com

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Re: The silent struggles of workers with ADHD

#131

Post by ravenstine »

k__ wrote: post #32
2bitencryption wrote: post #17

I just started working with a new team a few weeks ago. So far I've had "nice to meet you" calls with six or seven of the people on this team. And nearly half of them mentioned "by the way, I have ADHD, just so you know." And since I share so many characteristics with these individuals, now _I'm_ wondering if I have ADHD. Certainly the never-ending Instagram ads want me to think so. Or is this becoming a blanket term…

I went in an ADHD rabbit hole a week ago. I never considered my self suffering from it, my quirks were individual parts of my character! But now I highly suspect I have it. I lose focus all the time. For example, Going from doing laundry, to gathering dishes, and bringing out trash without finishing one of them. Or I can't read long articles with topics that are important for me but don't tickle one of my interests.…

I suspect a lot of ADHD people become programmers because software can compliment the countless fleeting interests we have. That said, programming as a career is still more challenging to us because non-ADHD programmers are more likely to succeed with numerous responsibilities and more complex and boring tasks. The more an ADHD programmer advances, the fewer of his immediate peers will have ADHD.

This is one of the reasons why I will refuse a job title that is greater than senior engineer. I know in my heart of hearts that being a staff or lead engineer will be bad for everyone. I'm not even particularly stellar as a senior engineer, but I can at least sustain it.

Reaching this point can be astonishing to the undiagnosed ADHD programmer. For the first handful of years into their career, their shortcomings were either dismissed as inexperience or covered for by coping mechanisms. In my experience, the coping mechanisms start to buckle once you're a senior level programmer.

Get a diagnosis ASAP if you suspect you have ADHD. Medication and other things can definitely help. I also think there's nothing wrong in figuring out just how much mental capacity you have to give to your job and not exceeding it, even if that means rejecting prestige.

Re: The silent struggles of workers with ADHD

#132

Post by acuozzo »

itronitron wrote: post #122
wins32767 wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How effective would you be if someone stood behind you all day and interrupted you every minute or so on tasks that you found uninteresting? Would you perform at the same level as you would if someone wasn't interrupting you all the time? Would tools eliminate this problem or just mitigate it?

You are describing a workplace that isn't suited for the type of work that needs to be performed. That is a management failure not a medical diagnosis.

OP is not being literal.

They're more-or-less stating that any "tools" would need to be set to such an extreme level of annoyance to have impact in the average case that they would undermine flow/"deep work".

Re: The silent struggles of workers with ADHD

#133

Post by DannyBee »

lzaaz wrote: post #42

>If I struggle with timeliness, you’re going to think I don’t care about my job. If I forget something, you might just conclude I’m dumb. If you struggle with timeliness or forget about things frequently I don't care what the reason is, you are out anyway. If I needed things done on time, it wouldn't matter to me if you were late frequently because you are careless or because you have an illness.

Consider having just the tiniest bit of empathy for other people.

In the end, who cares if they write "was good at work" on your tombstone. Why not try for "helped people when they needed it"?

As a severely ADHD person who manages a lot of people and managers, if i saw a manager acting like this, this sort of "don't care at all about anything but the output" is not a thing i would generally reward.

Certainly people need to be able to do the job, but there is a different between trying to lift people up and help them do it, and just burning through people to try go get things done.

Re: The silent struggles of workers with ADHD

#134

Post by whycome »

treeman79 wrote: post #112
RationPhantoms wrote: post #53

This article feels like it was written for my brother. He's been fired, sequentially, 4 times in roles of progressively narrower scope/salary. From project manager (80k+) at a large NYC-BASED structured-cabling company to a billing coordinator position ( It makes me want to put my head into a pillow and scream because he's an intelligent, sociable and kind person but his mind just sits so juxtaposed from what these c…

In 40s now. Diagnosed a couple years ago. My career was a mix of huge successes and horrible failure. Really hard complicated and interesting projects I would shine at. Basically CTO founder type roles I was amazing. I stunk at routine day to day work. For me the worst pain possible is boredom. I’ve had kidney stones. Boredom is in same range. First time I took medication was shocking to find that the pain of boredom…

What did you end up taking? Similar boat

Re: The silent struggles of workers with ADHD

#135

Post by chrsig »

treeman79 wrote: post #114
EdwardDiego wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are non-amphetamine medications available now that might work for your brother, and cognitive-behavioural therapy can really help too.

Any recommendations? I took one that you take at night. It slightly improved my focus during day. But would leave me sleepy all day. Even with taking it before bed.

Strattera (atomoxetine) is a commonly used SNRI developed for adhd. I personally had a very bad reaction to it, but it allegedly helps some people.

Guanfacine is another, I haven't tried it, so I can't give any first hand experience. I think it's used more to help blood pressure & agitation that can come up with adhd

Welbutrin is also commonly used.

Re: The silent struggles of workers with ADHD

#136

Post by lzaaz »

DannyBee wrote: post #133
lzaaz wrote: post #42

>If I struggle with timeliness, you’re going to think I don’t care about my job. If I forget something, you might just conclude I’m dumb. If you struggle with timeliness or forget about things frequently I don't care what the reason is, you are out anyway. If I needed things done on time, it wouldn't matter to me if you were late frequently because you are careless or because you have an illness.

Consider having just the tiniest bit of empathy for other people. In the end, who cares if they write "was good at work" on your tombstone. Why not try for "helped people when they needed it"? As a severely ADHD person who manages a lot of people and managers, if i saw a manager acting like this, this sort of "don't care at all about anything but the output" is not a thing i would generally reward. Certainly people n…

No, what I'm saying is that the article makes it sound like a boss will fire you for being oblivious about your diagnosis and your illness. Instead, I think that the job needs to be done, and if you aren't able to for whatever the reason is the boss is going to have to find a replacement for you.

Re: The silent struggles of workers with ADHD

#137

Post by adynaton »

lcnPylGDnU4H9OF wrote: post #95
EdwardDiego wrote: post #61

So much of this is familiar, the timeliness, forgetfulness, the blurting things out, but especially that feeling of "FFS, why can't I do these things like everyone else, I suck". I was incredibly lucky, once I got into software dev, that my untreated ADHD often manifested in hyperfocus, so I could deliver large amounts of business value in bursts, that meant my other foibles were tolerable. Of course, my spending 20…

> "Just write a list, how hard is that?" 1. Remember to keep a list 2. Remember to update the list 3. Remember to check the list 4. Start a new list because I can't remember if / why I care about anything on the old list (Personally, I've never started a list but I can imagine how it would go.)

I feel personally attacked by this comment. I've tried to used every single type of note taking software (even the second brain types) and I've failed because I always forget to use it.

Re: The silent struggles of workers with ADHD

#138

Post by acuozzo »

Eumenes wrote: post #94
d--b wrote: post #49

Can people stop a second with ADHD-as-a-disease? It’s the society that’s sick!! Prevalence in the US is 10% of the general population. Many of whom have active social lives and high paying jobs. Those people play the game they have been told to play. Corporate bullshit, boring tasks, endless meetings, and then they complain to their doctors they don’t feel like it fits. Something’s afoot. and the doctors say: “right…

“Imagine a society that subjects people to conditions that make them terribly unhappy then gives them the drugs to take away their unhappiness. Science fiction It is already happening to some extent in our own society. Instead of removing the conditions that make people depressed modern society gives them antidepressant drugs. In effect antidepressants are a means of modifying an individual's internal state in such a…

> Imagine a society that subjects people to conditions that make them terribly unhappy then gives them the drugs to take away their unhappiness.

THX 1138

Re: The silent struggles of workers with ADHD

#139

Post by ravenstine »

WheatMillington wrote: post #10
Moissanite wrote: post #5

As an adult who feels like they identify with these characteristics, it is hard to know when to try to get help, or whether you are just seeing what you want to see and looking for an excuse. I have always shied away from seeking an adult ADHD diagnosis, partly because of prideful denial (not wanting to acknowledge that there might be something wrong with me), and partly because I have no faith in the NHS giving a sh…

FWIW here's my experience: mid 30s, New Zealand, wife read about ADHD due to young kids and recognised the adult symptoms in me. After some prodding I saw a specialist and was diagnosed. I take daily ritalin - outside of the first few days (which were dramatic) I haven't had a life altering experience on the drugs, and tbh it doesn't change much whether or not I take it. However, having a diagnoses changes the way I…

I find that stimulants are mostly good for one thing, which is the ability to push through uninteresting tasks. Listening to others also becomes much easier. I don't find they have that dramatic of an effect, but I feel more "normal" if that makes any sense. Stimulants won't fix ADHD and magically make uninteresting work stimulating. They just lift a thin veil a bit.

Re: The silent struggles of workers with ADHD

#140

Post by ekanes »

marketerinland wrote: post #77
RationPhantoms wrote: post #53

This article feels like it was written for my brother. He's been fired, sequentially, 4 times in roles of progressively narrower scope/salary. From project manager (80k+) at a large NYC-BASED structured-cabling company to a billing coordinator position ( It makes me want to put my head into a pillow and scream because he's an intelligent, sociable and kind person but his mind just sits so juxtaposed from what these c…

Hey. Sorry to hear this. I have also been fired a bunch of times, and people describe interacting with me in the exact same way as you just described it. Your brother is consistently going for the wrong kind of job, from the sound of it. Operations jobs. I eventually succeeded when I switched to work that is more strategic and creative. I got really into language learning, blogging, website building, and then just fo…

+1. As a founder with adhd and it was a strength not a weakness. Constant change and problem solving is exhilarating.
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