ADHD Didn't Break Me–My Parents Did • Hacker News Board

Re: ADHD Didn't Break Me–My Parents Did

#181

Post by RandomWorker » Mon, Feb 03, 2025, 4:28 AM UTC

ghxst wrote: post #129

RandomWorker wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

ADHD and PHD here. Somehow I survived and thrived. I think for us it’s important to know that we are extremely slow on one aspect which is reading/acquiring knowledge/editing drafts, but really fast at making connections, writing a first draft, coming up with new ideas. I’ve always felt my input bandwidth is like dial up, but the output is high speed glass fibre. You will meet many people that are the opposite in aca…

I tend to not edit drafts as much anymore and just start over, more of a destructive iterative design approach. It makes it harder to plan projects and colleagues don't always like it but my output is high and I tend to be really good at cutting off things early that won't work. Do you feel similarly?

Totally it’s all about the kind games, trying to frame every paragraph, sentence or even word as a first draft. Don’t need to wipe an entire document imho.

Re: ADHD Didn't Break Me–My Parents Did

#182

Post by __rito__ » Mon, Feb 03, 2025, 10:56 AM UTC

tasuki wrote: post #175

swayvil wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Can you please site some... I think I read it in Swami Vivekananda's "Raja Yoga". I'm more of a Zennist. Thought and knowledge are overrated. Study and cultivation of awareness is where it's at.

> Thought and knowledge are overrated. Study and cultivation of awareness is where it's at. This comment really hit me. Like most here, I live in a culture centered around thought and knowledge. I think I've always kind of known awareness was important, but never tried to compare its importance vs thought and knowledge so directly.

Thoughts and knowledge are part of the illusion according to many schools of Indian philosophy. I last read it in Ramana Maharshi's book. I also read the same in Zen koans when Hofstadter wanted to push the same in GEB.

I think I also got the same impression from ZMM.

Re: ADHD Didn't Break Me–My Parents Did

#183

Post by 93po » Mon, Feb 03, 2025, 1:51 PM UTC

TeMPOraL wrote: post #151

93po wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I commented back then that ADHD may be understood as introducing chaos into life to avoid being trapped in local optima. I have had life-long crippling ADHD that I am only now, in my 30s, starting to learn to cope with. My biggest thing was educating myself on what ADHD actually was so that I was better able to spot it in my own life, and then apply strategies to address it. I'm not sure the above is relevant, but…

> My life has been really difficult because I simply cannot, ever, force myself to do something I don't want to do. I think there are cool goals in life I'd really appreciate (...). But each of these goals involves an activity that I inherently don't want to do and therefore cannot make myself do them. Studying for exams to get into a grad program, practicing consistently for an instrument, studying a language that h…

I think the success we see despite ADHD is that people are bright enough or resourceful enough to brute force their way through schools and careers.

I had a vasectomy around age 30 knowing kids would make my life really difficult, I think for the same reasons you're seeing right now. It's a lot of responsibility and I frankly struggle to take care of myself as it is. I'd be a really good parent and I take phenomenal care of my partners, but my financial variability would cause me too much stress if I had a kid.

Re: ADHD Didn't Break Me–My Parents Did

#184

Post by olddustytrail » Mon, Feb 03, 2025, 8:12 PM UTC

SteveNuts wrote: post #167

olddustytrail wrote: post #161

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> have no academic basis to apply to a top school Then what exactly are you complaining about? You clearly didn't deserve that college experience.

Why do you say that?

Because you just said you didn't.

Re: ADHD Didn't Break Me–My Parents Did

#185

Post by SteveNuts » Tue, Feb 04, 2025, 2:43 PM UTC

olddustytrail wrote: post #184

SteveNuts wrote: post #167

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why do you say that?

Because you just said you didn't.

I guess maybe I wasn’t clear, my point was that if I had been given the chance to succeed academically from an early age, given my condition, my life could have been significantly different.

Or do you not believe ADHD is a real thing?

Re: ADHD Didn't Break Me–My Parents Did

#186

Post by patcon » Thu, Feb 06, 2025, 8:52 PM UTC

cromulent wrote: post #131

swayvil wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I know. But I'm told they're calling "Aspergers" ADHD now. And the brittleness that comes with habitual focus looks like massive distraction. I mean you've got these guys who can focus to the point of magic, but one push and they crack. And we're borrowing somebody else's terminology anyway. So don't expect precision.

As someone who has both diagnoses late in life (autistic/Aspergers and ADHD), they explained it to me as different things. The ADHD wants to respond to stimulus, the autism wants to resist it and impose order. One at a time is fine. If they both activate, then the result is massive stress.

I have ADHD and dated someone with AuDHD who I cared for deeply (read lots of books about the neurotype and implications on our relationship). your explanation was very clear and helpful. Wish I'd heard it explained so clearly at the time :) thanks!

Re: ADHD Didn't Break Me–My Parents Did

#187

Post by WarOnPrivacy » Fri, Feb 07, 2025, 6:29 AM UTC

tonymet wrote: post #179

WarOnPrivacy wrote: post #170

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> There are also 20 million who take Adderall and the vast majority are not successful. These are two bold claims. What are some independent sources for each of them? They certainly run counter to decades of my own experience. Presently: For every person I know on ADHD meds, I know more who are unable to get them. The vast majority of Dr's are too afraid of the DEA to prescribe them. It's difficult to recognize a hea…

That sounds preposterous. If doctor's are afraid, how are they selling so much Adderall?

> If doctor's are afraid, how are they selling so much Adderall?

They don't. Pharmacies do and mostly they aren't either. There have been chronic shortages for a few years and an inability to get scripts filled has been the rule.