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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

#171

Post by itronitron »

unethical_ban wrote: post #59
ryandvm wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In my experience, most ADHD is really just a case of "I have limited willpower for extremely boring shit." Give me something interesting to do and I can work on it non-stop for 12 hours. The problem is that most jobs and almost all schooling is flat out incompatible with being an easily distractible person. I think it's just a phenotype that doesn't work well in the traditional professional environment. And yes, Adde…

I am having this issue at work, and have throughout my career, come to think of it. Give me a challenge, AND all the tools to conquer it, and I can get it done. Give me a lab environment with the servers and scripting tools I need to automate something, and I'll put it all together. Hamstring me by not giving me the tools I need, make the barrier to accomplishment too much, or give me really boring work without some…

>> Hamstring me by not giving me the tools I need, make the barrier to accomplishment too much, or give me really boring work without some kind of clear path, and I lock up.

I'd like to point out that, at least in the first two cases, the workplace is hoping you will lock up and the system is functioning as intended. This isn't a shortcoming on your part.

If you still feel compelled to be productive in those instances then a fun game is to dig into your employer's policy/security/IT hoops in order to identify the hidden workarounds in which you can get stuff done.

Re: The silent struggles of workers with ADHD

#172

Post by [deleted] »

fallingfrog wrote: post #119
spritefs wrote: post #79

Imho this whole ADHD/adderall thing is just the pharma industry peddling medication and shilling super hard. I wouldn't be surprised if pharma dollars somehow influenced this BBC article getting published If some people like paying an additional tax to the pharmaceutical industry, good for them. For me personally, I'd rather jump off a cliff then support it Before someone gets shitty with me for "denying their experi…

Well, it's an anaesthetic. It makes the discomfort of forcing yourself to focus on something you find maddeningly pointless more tolerable. As long as the pain is there the anaesthetic will have a purpose.

[deleted]

Re: The silent struggles of workers with ADHD

#173

Post by LesZedCB »

lzaaz wrote: post #136
DannyBee wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

you are looking at it from the perspective of the boss.

try looking from the perspective of the worker who want to succeed in a highly regimented world that's artificially constructed that way.

if you don't believe the world is artificially constructed in myriad ways which are counterproductive to vast populations, i recommend the book Invisible Women.

Re: The silent struggles of workers with ADHD

#174

Post by grayclhn »

TurkishPoptart wrote: post #54
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…

>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." Is this a generational thing? I mean, are these people in their early 20s? I'm in my 30s and would never say anything about my mental health in a phone call with a stranger unless my boss is bringing up this subject with me on a one-on-one.

Wow, it's almost like ADHD is independent of mental health.

Re: The silent struggles of workers with ADHD

#175

Post by alwillis »

cheeseomlit wrote: post #21
whatshisface wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's too late for you to apply any standards to your DNA, you've already been born.

Is there any evidence ADHD is genetic? The only connection I've read about is that parents who are diagnosed with ADHD are more likely to have their children diagnosed with it, but that itself is not evidence of a genetic trait. Seems just as likely to be nurture than nature to me- for example if parents over-stimulate their kids by putting them in front of TVs/iPads/etc. from a young age it's not surprising they'll…

> Is there any evidence ADHD is genetic? The only connection I've read about is that parents who are diagnosed with ADHD are more likely to have their children diagnosed with it, but that itself is not evidence of a genetic trait.

Short answer: yes, there's lots of evidence of genetic factors. One reason this isn't better understood is that a close relative can have undiagnosed ADHD, so people don't see the family ties. And also because it's stigmatized in some families, it's like a "don't ask, don't tell" situation.

I mentioned a great podcast by Dr. Andrew Huberman, a Stanford neuroscientist earlier in the thread that mentions how the genetics of ADHD works [1]:

[1]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33960655

Re: The silent struggles of workers with ADHD

#176

Post by sbate1987 »

astrange wrote: post #145
treeman79 wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 and Tenex are two main ones. They actually have more side effects than amphetamines do, though Strattera works well for me as long as you absolutely always take it with food. (Otherwise it feels like you're getting kicked in the stomach.)

No post body was provided.

Re: The silent struggles of workers with ADHD

#177

Post by schrodinger »

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'm a late ADHD diagnosis (37 now, diagnosed 35) and one thing I noticed is that I needed way less than they would prescribed. I was given 2 15mg tablets a day, and I would take 1/4 of one once in a morning, maybe twice a week. It has been life changing, for days when I need to work through a to-do list rather than something intrinsically motivating. But if I had continued with the prescribed does, I would have stopped—since it had so many side effects.

Re: The silent struggles of workers with ADHD

#178

Post by michael_j_ward »

hateful wrote: post #128
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…

The fact that he's intelligent make him what we refer to in the ADHD world as Twice Exceptional (me included!). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qa5v1a2H-xs

Despite seeing myself almost precisely described in that video and the original article, and despite having been diagnosed with ADHD as a college student...

It's hard for me to believe that there exists persons that won't / don't identify with that description, and thus the cause of my executive dysfunction isn't ADHD, but just a failure to cultivate habits of discipline.

Re: The silent struggles of workers with ADHD

#179

Post by alwillis »

CoastalCoder wrote: post #38

I recently came across Tracy Marks' channel on YouTube [0]. I've been programming for a long time, but I only got neuropsych testing about 10 years ago. I was unambiguously diagnosed with ADHD, and I've been on stimulants ever since. Despite all that personal experience, I still found that her ADHD videos connected a lot of dots for me. The videos also give some practical advice that's working well for me. [0] https:…

Yeah, her videos are great and have been some of the clearest explanations I've seen on ADHD. Recommended.

Re: The silent struggles of workers with ADHD

#180

Post by rrobukef »

P5fRxh5kUvp2th wrote: post #167
dirtybirdnj wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

NTs have no incentive to understand NDs, yet the lives of NDs hinges on how much effort we put into understanding and being understood. One side is motivated to be open and communicative and the other is motivated to be insular and closed. I know the "us vs them" mentality isn't healthy but I've lived an entire lifetime in a societal warzone and I refuse to just roll over and pretend that I'm not part of a socially m…

Lets rephrase what you just said > straight people are the problem for not wanting to date gay or trans people It just is. Everyone has challenges, people with ADHD have challenges that can be particularly difficult for sure, but blaming others for not being like you is and telling them it's their responsibility is the same thing just reversed. It doesn't improve your situation.

Please don't.

Society forces everybody to interact socially. In a society where everybody is expected to date anybody, forcing somebody to date is still abhorrent.

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