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…
Hacking ADHD: Strategies for the modern developer
141–150 of 755 posts
Re: Hacking ADHD: Strategies for the modern developer
#142ADHD 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…
ADHD: Essential Ideas for Parents - Dr. Russell Barkley https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSfCdBBqNXY
Re: Hacking ADHD: Strategies for the modern developer
#143I 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…
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.
Re: Hacking ADHD: Strategies for the modern developer
#144My 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…
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
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
#146I 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…
Re: Hacking ADHD: Strategies for the modern developer
#147Earlier 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!
Re: Hacking ADHD: Strategies for the modern developer
#148I 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…
Re: Hacking ADHD: Strategies for the modern developer
#149Re: Hacking ADHD: Strategies for the modern developer
#150I'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.
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.