Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Prioritize mental health, and why communication is so important

ramones.dev

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

231–240 of 307 posts

Re: Prioritize mental health, and why communication is so important

#231

Post by al_borland »

Aurornis wrote: post #201
shermantanktop wrote: post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Finding a label for personal problems typically results in a honeymoon of self-acceptance and relief. The honeymoon usually ends and the problems remain, but now there are possible paths forward.

There are some traps along this path, too. A number of younger people I've worked with (in the double digits now) have gotten ADHD and/or ASD diagnoses and then become overjoyed that "everything makes sense now". But the diagnoses are only useful as tools for knowing what to work on. The trap is trying to externalize the diagnoses as a get out of jail free card that can be used to justify avoiding hard changes and di…

> The trap is trying to externalize the diagnoses as a get out of jail free card that can be used to justify avoiding hard changes and difficult work.

This is one reason why I'm kind of glad I wasn't diagnosed earlier. I would have 100% done this. Now, in my 40s, there is less need for kind of thing, and less tolerance for it in a work environment anyway. I haven't told my employer and don't plan to. I just assume it would put a target on my back.

Re: Prioritize mental health, and why communication is so important

#232

Post by bit-anarchist »

bsoles wrote: post #217
brightball wrote: post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You have a differing point of view. That doesn't make churches hostile to women. A lot of this seems like Reddit stuff, but I'll address anyway. > women bodily autonomy (being anti-abortion) Pro-life has never been anti-women and this is a political hot button topic that isn't getting settled on HN. The conceived child has it's own life, it's own DNA and the goal is to protect that life. If the baby is a girl, then p…

> Nobody attacks children. Ever heard of the Catholic Church? What does rape count as?

I didn't know the Catholic Church was promoting child rape.

Re: Prioritize mental health, and why communication is so important

#233

Post by pfannkuchen »

hirvi74 wrote: post #158
pfannkuchen wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don’t tell them? I’m pretty sure quite a few people who bring children to church don’t literally believe in the stuff themselves and just think the social elements and the morality are good for their children. Were you trying to meet friends or trying to date though? If the latter I think it would feel a lot weirder. Also if it bothers you to lie by omission I think one could come up with an explanation that wasn’t s…

> Don’t tell them? As arrogantly and incorrectly once thought in my youth, these people are not stupid. In my experiences, some, not all, can kind of pickup on it. It's usually a corroboration of mounting little slip-ups. Perhaps I am not a talented actor. For example, I never grew up in any church systems, and the Christian bible is full of key characters and proper nouns. So, when I pronounced the name "Job" like a…

Ah I had assumed you presented yourself as a convert and what you were faking was honest belief in the stories.

If you were faking already being a Christian, I can see how that could end with you having a bad time.

I’m curious why you didn’t present yourself as a convert? I think Christians are typically very friendly to converts.

Sorry to hear about part of your family being slaughtered in the past, that sucks.

Re: Prioritize mental health, and why communication is so important

#234

Post by astrange »

feoren wrote: post #169
m1aw wrote: post #6

I know this pattern from myself. I'm doing alright as far as my career goes, not great, but okay. Which is disappointing because me and everyone around thought I'd do great, because I/they thought I was a great software developer, since I'm smart and I know my tech and my programming. Unfortunately working as a software developer is a different story entirely, I found many times that my chase for good simple code tak…

> Turns out I have ADHD You just magically found this out when the Mental Health Diagnosis Fairy visited you one night? You spent thousands of dollars for a neuropsych evaluation where the result was 40% reality, 40% chance, and 20% how the evaluator was feeling that day? You self-diagnosed by reading Reddit threads? You somehow magically found the one psychiatrist who is willing to talk about ADHD without immediatel…

Well, you see, all things are empty of independent origination.

(You "have ADHD" if a psychiatrist was willing to say you have it, gave you medication, and it improved your life quality both at work and at home.)

Re: Prioritize mental health, and why communication is so important

#235

Post by astrange »

Aurornis wrote: post #193
graysnow86 wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The treatment for ADD is one of two medications, methylphenidate or dexamphetamine. You can try other things in addition to these, but not instead of these, and you should try both - there really is just no substitute. No, not quite - there's a variety of different ADHD medications and I'd argue there's more popular ones like Vyvanse (lisdexamfetamine). Non-stimulants like Strattera or Intuniv absolutely can and ar…

Intuniv gets a bad reputation because the patient has to be titrated up to the final dose and it takes a long time to see the full effects. It's the opposite pattern of stimulants where the patient feels great (unnaturally so, due to stimulant euphoria at the start) and the effects wane over time. The internet is really, really bad at pushing everyone toward ADHD diagnoses and then pushing them further toward stimula…

> Intuniv gets a bad reputation because the patient has to be titrated up to the final dose and it takes a long time to see the full effects.

I went up, but then backed down because even 2mg was seriously affecting my sleep quality. I'm feeling much better at 1mg.

nb I think if I wasn't employed than I'd be best off with just this, but employment is best with stimulants. Unfortunately stimulants have side effects.

Re: Prioritize mental health, and why communication is so important

#236

Post by astrange »

hallole wrote: post #227
Aurornis wrote: post #193

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Intuniv gets a bad reputation because the patient has to be titrated up to the final dose and it takes a long time to see the full effects. It's the opposite pattern of stimulants where the patient feels great (unnaturally so, due to stimulant euphoria at the start) and the effects wane over time. The internet is really, really bad at pushing everyone toward ADHD diagnoses and then pushing them further toward stimula…

>Stimulants have a habit of being enjoyable at first ... and then the effects wane over the years The standard approach to addressing this is thru the use of "drug holidays," regular short periods during which one doesn't take their medication with the intention of abating the growth of tolerance. I much prefer going this route since stimulants have proven to be such a solid solution. The other standard approach is,…

If you feel you're getting tolerance to amphetamines, the first thing to try is magnesium glycinate/threonate supplements, and then hydration and diet and sleep.

Re: Prioritize mental health, and why communication is so important

#237

Post by annzabelle »

astrange wrote: post #225
xlayn wrote: post #190

Earlier quoted context omitted.

get your eyesight check, at some point in life I was having difficulties staying focus and even started having headaches... and I needed prescription glasses... Also very important, try to sleep the best you can and do exercise... I remember reading here about exercise in some cases exceeding the benefits of ADHD medications... If you are overdosing things... don't... caffeine can be overdosed and the effects are nas…

> Also very important, try to sleep the best you can and do exercise... I remember reading here about exercise in some cases exceeding the benefits of ADHD medications... Exercise is very true. I used to take walks but it didn't help; pushing myself at the gym (inc using a trainer) is a lot more effective. Also, ADHD meds interact with sleep, both making it better and worse. I was on Intuniv 2mg and it absolutely rui…

Definitely agree on exercise. I'm a temperamentally neurotic person and had ADHD diagnosed as a child. I no longer take ADHD medication, but I run 3-4 days a week and it makes my baseline tension and neuroticism much lower, and improves focus.

Re: Prioritize mental health, and why communication is so important

#238

Post by astrange »

sudosteph wrote: post #74
fwlr wrote: post #29

This could be due to ADD, I am still getting tested. Granted, that's a diagnosis, not a root cause. No, it’s a diagnosis of the root cause - in fact, it is plausibly the root cause of everything else described in the post. Inability to complete work, procrastination/distraction by focusing on nearby tasks, the pervasive sense that you struggle with things that other people do not, even the depression (untreated ADD c…

Atomoxetine's effect size is surprisingly similar to methylphenidate, though in my experience it treats different aspects of ADHD than stimulants. Some doctors (mine) are open to combining it with a long-acting stimulant, which actually can be a really nice setup, especially if you're sensitive to stimulants. Hope you get it worked out OP. I will say, if it's ADHD, it's 100% worth trying to get the best treatment you…

> Atomoxetine's effect size is surprisingly similar to methylphenidate, though in my experience it treats different aspects of ADHD than stimulants. Some doctors (mine) are open to combining it with a long-acting stimulant, which actually can be a really nice setup, especially if you're sensitive to stimulants.

I tried this for several years and only afterwards realized it was bad for me - one because of personality changes, two because of high blood pressure.

It will give you a lot of stamina and ability to continue on the life path you're on, but I got metaphorical tunnel vision and basically wasn't able to do anything after the stimulant crash around dinnertime.

Re: Prioritize mental health, and why communication is so important

#239

Post by astrange »

kmoser wrote: post #206
tsoukase wrote: post #199

Depression is for many people the animal in the room, for some a fox and for others an elephant. You cannot avoid, ignore or hack a chemical imbalance in your brain with societal or personal measures. If you find yourself hopeless and helpless, irrespective if you have attended any form of psychotherapy, take an antidepressant. Don't hesitate and if you are in trouble, contact me, seriously. The author takes Fluoxeti…

Can you provide some insight into a) how you know somebody else should take a given drug, without having examined that person yourself, and b) whether you're qualified to prescribe that drug?

Their bio does say they are, but they certainly forgot some things.

(Some people presenting with depression should not be on antidepressants because they actually have bipolar disorder.)

Re: Prioritize mental health, and why communication is so important

#240

Post by Aurornis »

al_borland wrote: post #231
Aurornis wrote: post #201

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are some traps along this path, too. A number of younger people I've worked with (in the double digits now) have gotten ADHD and/or ASD diagnoses and then become overjoyed that "everything makes sense now". But the diagnoses are only useful as tools for knowing what to work on. The trap is trying to externalize the diagnoses as a get out of jail free card that can be used to justify avoiding hard changes and di…

> The trap is trying to externalize the diagnoses as a get out of jail free card that can be used to justify avoiding hard changes and difficult work. This is one reason why I'm kind of glad I wasn't diagnosed earlier. I would have 100% done this. Now, in my 40s, there is less need for kind of thing, and less tolerance for it in a work environment anyway. I haven't told my employer and don't plan to. I just assume it…

I assume most people don’t fall into this trap where they try to get the world to adapt to their diagnosis. I think most people realize it’s something they need to work on.

I get the impression that it’s largely the people who arrive at the diagnosis after being pulled into certain online communities. The Reddit ADHD content can be wildly out of touch with reality because it functions as a space for venting and complaining, masquerading as a space for support and helpful resources.

When I was around a lot of juniors it was surprising to me that so many of them would go through the route of getting an ADHD diagnosis and then trying to get special accommodations at work for it. A lot of the workplaces were very receptive and attempted to provide reasonable accommodations, but it wasn’t what they expected or wanted from their employers. There seemed to be a belief that getting a diagnosis was a shield from being PIPed or that it meant that the employer couldn’t judge them for performance problems.

Post reply on HN