Hacking ADHD: Strategies for the modern developer • Hacker News Board

Re: Hacking ADHD: Strategies for the modern developer

#231

Post by financltravsty » Wed, Nov 15, 2023, 2:38 PM UTC

__potts__ wrote: post #139

austin-cheney wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, it’s absolutely only about low serotonin. Dopamine spikes do directly result from sugar spikes, but that is the effect and not the cause.

I'm honestly interested in hearing the research on this Do either of you have sources?

I really dislike the neurotransmitter discussions because they do not differentiate between "free" or "in-transit" neurotransmitter levels vs. "stored" or "awaiting dispatch" neurotransmitter levels vs. "receptor sites" or "available destinations" for neurotransmitters vs. "receptor activation effect" or "destination's response on delivery." That doesn't even get into the complexity of different types of receptor sites or their roles in all the different bodily systems and organs. It leads for utterly confounding conversations without strictly delineating what everyone knows and/or assumes about the topic at hand.

So, here is my quick and slipshod armchair theorizing: serum serotonin levels may be a predictor of ADHD due serotonin's role in activating certain autoreceptors that mediate dopamine release.

Does serotonin deficit mediate susceptibility to ADHD?: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S01970...

Is there an Effect of Serotonin on Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder?: https://repository.unair.ac.id/106894/1/Is%20There%20an%20Ef...

Re: Hacking ADHD: Strategies for the modern developer

#232

Post by austin-cheney » Wed, Nov 15, 2023, 2:40 PM UTC

__potts__ wrote: post #139

austin-cheney wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, it’s absolutely only about low serotonin. Dopamine spikes do directly result from sugar spikes, but that is the effect and not the cause.

I'm honestly interested in hearing the research on this Do either of you have sources?

1) Serotonin reception explained - https://balancewomenshealth.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/T...

2) Serotonin and ADHD - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25684070/

3) Dopamine cycle explained in context of ADHD - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2626918/

4) ADHD and sugar explained - https://www.verywellmind.com/the-sugar-and-adhd-relationship...

5) ADHD and sugar study - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3133757/

That last one mentioned coloring agents multiple times. Different research has show artificial colors, as derived from petro-chemical processing like reds and yellows, are strongly linked with neurotransmitter disruption in all people, but the effect is an order of magnitude more significant in high risk children.

Re: Hacking ADHD: Strategies for the modern developer

#233

Post by chx » Wed, Nov 15, 2023, 2:40 PM UTC

blitz_skull wrote: post #176

chx wrote: post #126

This again? A blog post stuffed with stolen art and often heard but absolutely not working advice? > Every morning, I start my day by planning it out in a custom template that displays my Google Calendar events and Todoist task list. For real? One of the best ADHD tools I am aware of is called the Anti Planner. It doesn't take long to find posts like "why to-do lists don't work for people with ADHD" https://coachjess…

Yeah but ADHD is different for everyone. Most if not all of the strategies mentioned work for me. > stolen art It looked AI-generated to me.

And AI art is theft.

Hell, even a18n have admitted it! https://i.imgur.com/auBNG0N.jpg

Re: Hacking ADHD: Strategies for the modern developer

#234

Post by taude » Wed, Nov 15, 2023, 2:41 PM UTC

Teridee wrote: post #112

keyle wrote: post #33

This hits home. I think we need to really take a hard look at today's world of tech and how we communicate and collaborate. I find that, if time allows, I get a massive productivity boost after 4:30pm and everyone is either winding down or leaving. All the sudden, the walls flatten, the horizon deepens and I enter a deep state of flow. Around 10 AM, after an elongated "stand up", I should be ready to go... And yet it…

At my company, we have daily standups and they throw off my whole morning. I only really work effectively when I am left to it and so have outlook/slack/messages turned off during periods where I am trying to focus - has got me in trouble with management a few times but I am not sure what else i can do. The piece was a good read but its so personal to me that it doesn't really help sadly.

That's a bummer. My team does standup at 3 PM (we're also bi-costal), but I let the teams chose their time, and this is what one particular team chose. Maybe talk to some of your teammates, and maybe you all decide you want an afternoon standup, so you can hit the ground running in the morning for a few hours, before the interruptions start.

Re: Hacking ADHD: Strategies for the modern developer

#235

Post by fao_ » Wed, Nov 15, 2023, 2:42 PM UTC

blitz_skull wrote: post #176

chx wrote: post #126

This again? A blog post stuffed with stolen art and often heard but absolutely not working advice? > Every morning, I start my day by planning it out in a custom template that displays my Google Calendar events and Todoist task list. For real? One of the best ADHD tools I am aware of is called the Anti Planner. It doesn't take long to find posts like "why to-do lists don't work for people with ADHD" https://coachjess…

Yeah but ADHD is different for everyone. Most if not all of the strategies mentioned work for me. > stolen art It looked AI-generated to me.

What's the difference between stolen art and ai generated stolen art? Both are illegal under the DMCA

Re: Hacking ADHD: Strategies for the modern developer

#236

Post by corobo » Wed, Nov 15, 2023, 2:42 PM UTC

Mordisquitos wrote: post #40

jakey_bakey wrote: post #8

"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

In my case I have to say that is only half true. As an adult-diagnosed ADHD sufferer I cannot say that I developed coping strategies on which I relied excessively that masked my symptoms. Rather, I used to try [0] to develop coping strategies, only for me to eventually drop them for unexplainable reasons at the slightest routine-messing incident or event, regardless of how effective the strategy was being or how good…

I've recently been wondering if maybe I'm overcrowding myself in this way. I mean I definitely am, but I'm starting to wonder if there are any other options besides burning through tasks whenever I get a good day.

I don't think I've had an empty task list in my entire professional career outside of changing jobs and effectively declaring task bankruptcy. Todoist's end of day notification often says something like "review the 54 tasks remaining for the day".. One day someone will figure out a system that works for every ADHDer in the modern world and we'll have a new tech/space/etc renaissance, haha

Incidentally I saw this meme on Twitter while procrastinating something or other earlier, quite apt https://img.imgy.org/1xkR.jpg

Best of luck to you, me, everyone else struggling with this one!

Re: Hacking ADHD: Strategies for the modern developer

#237

Post by dijit » Wed, Nov 15, 2023, 2:43 PM UTC

navjack27 wrote: post #184

mathieuh wrote: post #92

I used to think I had some ADHD symptoms: growing up I never did any revision for any of my school exams until a couple of days before, all my coursework and projects were done last minute in a week of intense focus, I've had issues with drugs in the past etc. Then I met someone who actually has ADHD and saw them before they'd taken their stimulant drugs. They were completely nonfunctional in any sense of the word, t…

Yup! I wish more people who say they have ADHD could have that experience. If someone says they have ADHD but they are unmedicated and they already are holding down a decent job but are only recently kind of struggling with something they called distraction or issues with focus... Then I say they don't have ADHD because it's so much more than that. It is issues with actual executive function. It is being unable to pu…

This is not fair, there are definitely people who struggle with ADHD and do so with the belief they are lazy or internalise their issue as a problem that is due to personality or not being organised enough.

My psychotherapist said something along those same lines but it was in order to force me to answer the question why is it a problem.

For me, in my life, I have always "worked" during the day in an easily distractible state and without being able to commit effort to anything substantial or focus. I self-medicated with caffeine to get anything resembling focus and did all of my actual daily tasks in a 3hr window when I got home and worked into the late evening. Usually with a massive sense of guilt about how I didn't really do anything during the day.

This was ADHD, I could not control when or how I focused. It gets worse with open office environments, but that's not the cause. I have an issue with executive function and delayed gratification. I do not have the ability fundamentally (even when motivated!) to task my brain with working.

But I can hold down a job and have done so for 16 years at this point and I am very successful in my career. That is not a good judge, you work around your issues if you have them- in my case I just don't have anything resembling a life outside of work in order to paper over my executive function disorders.

Re: Hacking ADHD: Strategies for the modern developer

#238

Post by SquareWheel » Wed, Nov 15, 2023, 2:43 PM UTC

qzx_pierri wrote: post #227

nonethewiser wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seems likely to be a placebo. You have a vested interest in it working, admit its not based on any sort of science, and one of the setup steps is to overcome distraction (which is the problem that’s trying to be solved).

Not to be too confrontational, but why did you feel the need to point this out? When someone has a solution that works for them, why possibly ruin it for them by pointing out placebo? Mind you, pointing out placebo could be useful if the OP made the claim that their solution could cure a disease or something (such claims could discourage someone from getting effective treatment).

> When someone has a solution that works for them, why possibly ruin it for them by pointing out placebo?

You are likely aware of this already, but for others readers, it's important to know that placebos are still effective even when you know they are placebo. The term is "open-label placebo".

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33594150/

Re: Hacking ADHD: Strategies for the modern developer

#239

Post by sureglymop » Wed, Nov 15, 2023, 2:44 PM UTC

navjack27 wrote: post #184

mathieuh wrote: post #92

I used to think I had some ADHD symptoms: growing up I never did any revision for any of my school exams until a couple of days before, all my coursework and projects were done last minute in a week of intense focus, I've had issues with drugs in the past etc. Then I met someone who actually has ADHD and saw them before they'd taken their stimulant drugs. They were completely nonfunctional in any sense of the word, t…

Yup! I wish more people who say they have ADHD could have that experience. If someone says they have ADHD but they are unmedicated and they already are holding down a decent job but are only recently kind of struggling with something they called distraction or issues with focus... Then I say they don't have ADHD because it's so much more than that. It is issues with actual executive function. It is being unable to pu…

I wouldn't go as far as to neglect someone elses experience because as with other disorders, people with ADHD can all be quite different. I understand you because for myself it absolutely affects my executive function and I've been diagnosed as a young child, pretty much coping ever since. Could I get a decent job and hold it down though? Yes, probably. Getting and staying in a job has many many more factors and making that part of the criteria only makes things more complicated.

Re: Hacking ADHD: Strategies for the modern developer

#240

Post by ark4579 » Wed, Nov 15, 2023, 2:45 PM UTC

TheRealHB wrote: post #54

The Blinking LED, A simple Hack that still works for me after years: 1. Place a tiny LED (red or yellow) by the side of your monitor or virtually on the screen corner. Basically anywhere almost bordering your field of view. 2. Make it blink like a fast heartbeat (120-150 bpm) and gradually slowdown to around 60 bpm (or your slow heartbeat base). Make the slope approx 20 to 60 minutes (you can adjust the best rate by…

oh sh*t. here we go again. another IoT that I would love to start and then abandon for some reason knowing full well how fix it but not find the "time" to do it.