Live data from Hacker News

Hacking ADHD: Strategies for the modern developer

ledger.com

141–150 of 755 posts

Re: Hacking ADHD: Strategies for the modern developer

#141

One key identifier not mentioned in the article is that ADHD, as well as manically depressed, people typically produce extremely low levels of serotonin. It is common for ADHD people to compensate with stimulants like caffeine and sugar. Many people crave minor stimulants in the afternoon or early morning when serotonin levels dip in the day. People chronically low on serotonin however will crave these all day long i…

Huh heard this before about caffeine but not sugar, that might explain why I'm an absolute sugar fiend. I'm just very lucky that my blood sugar isn't through the roof somehow.

Re: Hacking ADHD: Strategies for the modern developer

#142

ADHD is medicalizing a set of mental habits that many smart people form early in life partly out of boredom, and partly because they can get away with it. The criteria for diagnosing it in adults are impossibly vague and ad-hoc, and I have yet to meet anyone who went through the evaluation process who wasn't diagnosed with it. By all means have at it if you enjoy legal access to terrific stimulants (they really do he…

I strongly disagree and think you should consider watching the following:

ADHD: Essential Ideas for Parents - Dr. Russell Barkley https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSfCdBBqNXY

Re: Hacking ADHD: Strategies for the modern developer

#143

I read that whole thing and didn’t read one word about nutrition? I’ve come along way to understanding the nutritional metabolic pathways that may increase the symptoms of ADHD. Pyridoxine, or B6, is the most studied nutritional factor when it comes to reducing ADHD symptoms. I’m not saying this is the only cause of ADHD, but if this works other things might work as well. Zinc is a good possibility on the list also.…

https://sci-hub.hkvisa.net/10.1016/j.mehy.2013.11.018 While it discusses multi-year treatment, the paper says "After several weeks of such treatment the pattern of behavior in ADHD patients is normalized." which feels like something that could be easily tried out. Since it was published in 2013 I'd expect some follow-up? (checking for citations now) Edit: Sadly, "No Tryptophan, Tyrosine and Phenylalanine Abnormalitie…

Nutritional studies are hard to get funding for in the first place, never mind the follow-ups.

They found nothing in the study, because IMI they were measuring the wrong neurotransmitters. Dopamine is not the cause of the symptoms. It has to do with glutamate and GABA Balance. Since stimulants can control effect glutamate and GABA as well as Dopamine , that’s why there is all the confusion.

B6 also plays a role in glutamate GABA balance through stimulating the glutamate dehydrogenase enzyme.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5545734/

Re: Hacking ADHD: Strategies for the modern developer

#144
post #71

My therapist recently diagnosed me with ADHD. I strongly disagree with that diagnosis, and I realised I don't know what ADHD actually is and that the internet and this article haven't been of any help. I can relate to everything that this article says, but I suspect this is true of every single person with a mentally challenging job. HN is full of developers complaining about open offices and useless meetings; do all…

> complaining about open offices and useless meetings; do all of them have ADHD?

There's a commonly used diagnosis survey you can check. It should give you a better idea than this.

> ADHD developer and a regular developer

To give you one example (but this won't cover all cases / everyone's experience), if you're in the bathroom and think you need to change the toilet roll, then proceed to forget and remember it again 6 times before leaving the room, then head for the toilet roll stash, forget about it and go make yourself a sandwich instead... and that applies to almost everything you do throughout the day, you're probably in category 1 not 2.

For medication, another example would be when you take stimulants and get relaxed, less nervous and feel like you could finally go for a nap...

What I'm saying is, some people may be experiencing smaller issues for the same reason, or they may just not be satisfied with their environment and are able to act on it, but there's some threshold where it's not even the same category. If you don't know what ADHD actually is, maybe check the experiences written by people who do struggle with basic things daily while seemingly highly functioning otherwise? There's a number of subreddits where you can find them.

Re: Hacking ADHD: Strategies for the modern developer

#145

"Coping Mechanisms: Over the years, adults develop various coping strategies that can mask ADHD symptoms. For instance, someone might excessively rely on calendars, to-do lists, or alarms to compensate for forgetfulness." You're goddamn right I do

do you find that todo lists help you? I certainly agree with calendars/alarms but todo lists for me are a place to put things instead of doing them and then they become a separate problem all of their own

I used to think they didn't. It is entirely pointless and even something of a distraction if it's something that's currently part of my hyperfocus/obsession.

If it's something I might forget (e.g. an admin task), then if I don't put it in a list and have either a habit to pluck it out of the list or a reminder prompting me then it is usually forgotten.

I also rely very much more heavily on checklists (especially templated checklists) than the average person. If I'm traveling and I don't set a reminder for 7pm the night before a trip with a packing checklist then I will either forget 4 critical items or I will be frantically packing at the last minute or both.

Re: Hacking ADHD: Strategies for the modern developer

#146

I swear that every time I read an article by somebody who claims they've been diagnosed with ADHD, it is the same formula: "when I was a child...", "I didn't know what it was", ..., "I was finally diagnosed with ADHD", then finally "I have super powers no one else has so I will use them to my advantage". I would love to see an ADHD version of the horoscope/personality tests administered by Stagner and Forer. I predic…

I personally don't believe in any "superpowers". Its just adversity you face, nothing good about it. I'd rather not have it obviously. But maybe my experience is different became I later also got diagnose with having Aspergers.

Re: Hacking ADHD: Strategies for the modern developer

#147
post #137
post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This comment absolutely reads as someone with ADHD telling a story :D

I think self-deprecating humour is one and sometimes the only weapon against today. Glad it made you smile!

I want to add that I've also been diagnosed with ADHD so I didn't mean anything bad by it :)

Re: Hacking ADHD: Strategies for the modern developer

#148

I love how this community has such a disproportionate number of people who have ADHD. It's almost like programming is actually just incredibly difficult to pay attention to for any normal human being and the field is competitive enough that people basically have to find a way to get a prescription for stimulants. (Honestly not trying to discredit anyone actually suffering from ADHD, just seem implausible to me that s…

To make it broader, neurodiverse conditions, autism spectrum being the other one; no surprise there's a lot of overlap between ADHD and ASD when it comes to some of the symptoms.

Re: Hacking ADHD: Strategies for the modern developer

#149
post #81

TIL using calendars and to-do lists means you have ADHD

No, that isn't what the article said. It said that calendars and to-do lists help cope with ADHD, not that everyone who uses them has ADHD.

Ironically, it's easy to forget to put things in a calendar or on a todo list.

Re: Hacking ADHD: Strategies for the modern developer

#150

I've gone through the process now of being reviewed for ADHD both in Australia and the US, and I can say Australia really makes the process nightmarish. To start with: the meds are so restricted ordinary doctors / GPs can't prescribe them. And trying to bring up 'ADHD' may get you labeled as a 'drug seeker.' But let's say you get an appointment with a psychiatrist (the ordained ministers who can write stimulant presc…

It’s a good thing Australia takes it seriously. Every man and his dog thinks he has adhd now-a-days.

It's better to have a diagnosis either way to be honest. If you have it and were undiagnosed for decades, you will finally have an answer to why you're different, and as some that took medication for the first time, it can finally go quiet in your head.

And if you don't have it, then you can look at other causes for your problems. Because nobody (and/or their dog) will think they have ADHD unless they have identified a problem first.

Post reply on HN