The silent struggles of workers with ADHD • Hacker News Board

Re: The silent struggles of workers with ADHD

#281

Post by bcoughlan » Tue, Dec 13, 2022, 10:26 AM UTC

k__ wrote: post #206

bcoughlan wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Or I can't read long articles with topics that are important for me but don't tickle one of my interests. Can't concentrate on boring things - surely that's normal? It feels like they're casting the ADHD net wider and wider and from reading the internet I'm starting to question whether my behavior fits into the ADHD category. And part of me wants it to so that I have a label that explains and excuses me. But how do…

Losing focus is an automatism for me. It's not that I think "Well, this is boring, I won't read it!" It's like I want to really read it, suddenly I'm on Twitter, Reddit, 9gag, IG, etc. It happens in a matter of seconds to minutes and I don't even remember how I opened an app/website. I can dampen this effect a bit by blocking websites and uninstalling apps, but then I zone out in my mind and don't remember what I rea…

I think the majority of people have the same experience with screens. There's something inherently distracting about reading anything long on a screen. Idly drifting to easy dopamine-hit activities is perfectly normal. Also pro tip, send anything long to your Kindle to read.

I'm not saying ADHD isn't real, just that environment-induced distractions aren't it.

Re: The silent struggles of workers with ADHD

#282

Post by _dain_ » Tue, Dec 13, 2022, 11:04 AM UTC

itronitron wrote: post #122

wins32767 wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How effective would you be if someone stood behind you all day and interrupted you every minute or so on tasks that you found uninteresting? Would you perform at the same level as you would if someone wasn't interrupting you all the time? Would tools eliminate this problem or just mitigate it?

You are describing a workplace that isn't suited for the type of work that needs to be performed. That is a management failure not a medical diagnosis.

he's not describing a workplace, he's describing a mind. it's an endless onslaught of mental distractions that break concentration. it happens even in a silent room.

it's not a question of drugs or tools. you use the drugs to make the tools work. before I was medicated I couldn't make the tools work. I would write things in calendars then never look at the calendar, write down todo lists then forget about the list, etc. now that doesn't happen so much (still does a little bit).

somewhere in my HN comment history there's a thread where I get into a confused discussion about todo lists, I'm talking with this guy and there's mutual incomprehension about how todo lists work. the other guy was saying, obviously every adult uses a todo list to get things done, and I was like, what are you talking about. to me a todo list always meant: a graveyard for unfinished ideas, where you write things down that you're never going to do, and feel disappointed about when you find it again under a pile of clutter months later. it never occurred to me that normal people could literally just write down a bunch of tasks for the day or week and then do them one by one. turns out there was something wrong with me, and medication can fix it.

Re: The silent struggles of workers with ADHD

#283

Post by P5fRxh5kUvp2th » Tue, Dec 13, 2022, 11:14 AM UTC

rrobukef wrote: post #276

P5fRxh5kUvp2th wrote: post #196

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Society forces everybody to interact socially. No, the premise you require in order for me to be wrong is that society forces this on everyone, but I live with a woman who has crippling anxiety to the point of being on disability for it and I can tell you that's emphatically untrue. Even SSI related meetings happen over the phone because of her disability. Those with ADHD have many challenges that other people don'…

The analogy with sexuality and gender bothered me. It is a sore point and fragile. The solution for them is (foremost) equality, the solution for people with disabilities is egality. Yes, society changed to help people as much as possible. With changes your living-mate can interact with society as well as possible. Sure, the missing thumbs are disabling, but somebody insisting on hand-written instead of typed notes i…

reality doesn't give a shit how you feel, that's the point.

I mean, I get it. Every time I point out other groups have challenges too, you're going to attempt to explain why those challenges are not relevant to this conversation.

And when you're done with this conversation, you'll be in the same spot you were before.

Re: The silent struggles of workers with ADHD

#284

Post by markcartwrighty » Tue, Dec 13, 2022, 11:27 AM UTC

I see this as people with fast and curious brains... Being told and sold a "diagnosis". It is a very American thing. The pharmalogical psychiatric industry yap on about it and the rest of the world just adapts.

If you're this kind of person - follow your curiosity. Find a new job. Work freelance on short term projects. Have a lifestyle that isn't crazy expensive and requires lots of soul suckage. Explore a new country, learn a new language. Whatever feels interesting.

Adarall and these "meds" are not meds, they're legalised meth or speed. Everything will be interesting when your nerves are jacked up and running in overdrive. But it will cook you and conk you out eventually. Big pharma have been pushing these substances as a way to placate people who won't fit into the compliant school/corporate world. If you're going to take them, then that is ok, but know that they are hard drugs. No judgement, but if you are taking that there are probably other substances and plant medicines that can help resolve the core of these issues better.

You're far better off following that curiousity, not beating yourself up for being a corporate drone. Celebrate being impatient with slow boring suit people who want to waste your time and energy. There's probably something your soul is pulling you towards. You're not a victim. You're not an "ADHD sufferer" - you're probably a highly intelligent, curious creature who has been trained and shamed to think thats not ok. These toxic NYC corporate psychopath cults in skyscrapers are a waste of your life force. And all of this struggle and strife to fit in, is trying to fight your true nature.

There's a lot of great things that people "with ADHD" can bring and produce and usually suffering comes from being in toxic environments that are ultra confining.

Re: The silent struggles of workers with ADHD

#285

Post by wincy » Tue, Dec 13, 2022, 11:50 AM UTC

cableshaft wrote: post #265

wincy wrote: post #186

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am not depressed and experience the exact same weekend malaise of the person you’re responding to described. I found an exceptional game last weekend that I played through. I laughed, I cried, it was fantastic. I spent a lot of my free time on it, and beat it. This weekend I was just a little disappointed I couldn’t wipe my brain and play that game again. I don’t think that’s depression, it’s just being unwilling t…

Do you like digital card games at all? Try Inscryption, it's fantastic (as far as I've gotten anyway, it's also quite difficult). I like it better than Slay the Spire personally, which it definitely took inspiration from, and ran with it. It's also a game you probably should go into not knowing hardly anything about it ahead of time. I've already accidentally spoiled myself on a few things looking for help getting pa…

The game I just recently played is Roadwarden, which plays like a very prosaic RPG, and after playing I realized is using the RenPy virtual novel engine to fantastic effect. All said and done I played about 20 hours for $9, felt like buying a good fantasy novel/ choose your own adventure, or one of those old Gamebook RPGs from the 80s.

It’s also fun because the source code is all in Python and just sitting there in the folders, which has made me interested in making something similar. Now to just write an interesting branching story…

Since I enjoyed it so much I’ve been branching out and trying games I wouldn’t have considered before, and just downloaded Vampire Coteries of New York.

Re: The silent struggles of workers with ADHD

#286

Post by 331c8c71 » Tue, Dec 13, 2022, 12:00 PM UTC

astrange wrote: post #279

331c8c71 wrote: post #272

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> They will improve your sleep Stims? Definitely not in the long term IMO - I am fully with the parent comment here.

If you have ADHD your sleep is already bad. They help by tiring you out properly once they wear off. Just don't take them too late in the day.

Probably works differently for different people. I was taking them for a while and was waking up with a feeling I hadn't slept at all. Every morning that is (a few years in, not initially). This was the main reason I stopped taking them.

Re: The silent struggles of workers with ADHD

#287

Post by sirsinsalot » Tue, Dec 13, 2022, 12:07 PM UTC

I have ADHD and have had to work as a self-employed consultant for these reasons.

ADHD has caused me a life of chaos. Aside from the "fitting in to corporate requirements" I just have absolutely no chance of stability. Chaos, risk, impulsivity, drugs, drink ... all these things are required to keep dopamine levels at a functional baseline.

Get me coding or debugging an interesting problem, and i'll neglect to eat or sleep to get the job done.

I'm so thankful my brain finds coding (some of it) stimulating enough to earn a living from it. Without coding, i'd be dead or in prison.

Re: The silent struggles of workers with ADHD

#288

Post by [deleted] » Tue, Dec 13, 2022, 12:30 PM UTC

Sugimot0 wrote: post #271

CoastalCoder wrote: post #217

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My GP referred me to a local neuropsych-testing doctor, because I was concerned about my memory. The memory issues were probably some combo of poor sleep / stress / aging. But the testing did reveal massive ADHD as well as (probable) mild Asperger syndrome. Interestingly, this was after I'd already earned my PhD. It's a little sad to think how much better my career might have gone, and how much faster I could have fi…

At least you got a PHD lol. I only found out I had ADHD recently, years after I dropped out and learned to code on my own. All throughout my life I had been ahead of my classes because I love learning, but I hated pointless exercises. I'd ace every test and then fail to turn in busy-work. I was ashamed of turning in unfinished stuff, or just plain didn't touch it. I really used to beat myself up over the whole "waste…

[deleted]

Re: The silent struggles of workers with ADHD

#289

Post by s5300 » Tue, Dec 13, 2022, 3:19 PM UTC

adastra22 wrote: post #280

s5300 wrote: post #224

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Vyvanse is just DextroAmphetamine once processed in your body - AKA Speed in terms of slang drug usage. AFAIK, it’s just that no matter what the dosage, the drug dispenses itself/processes in your body based on a few factors, & is always that amount being continuously released over time. I guess if you’re arguing (I know you are not, I am just putting unsolicited info out) in terms of what amphetamines are the worst……

> a non-negligible portion of people on an otherwise perfectly working Vyvanse dosage seem to need a mild-moderate sleep aid towards the end of the day. & where you may think that just indicates a lowering of the dosage, that is mostly wrong & ruins the “otherwise perfectly working” aspect. I’m in this category. But thankfully 0.5mg melatonin is all it takes to get a good night sleep, and that seems safe enough even…

Saying this genuinely - thank for this post/info

I have been pondering for a very long time what the best options may be. I feel as if low dose benzos are a great option, but also that unless you’re somewhat affluent, finding a doc willing to prescribe & help you through amphetamines & benzos would be hard. Likely something like 0.5mg klonopin, small dose temazepam, or same for lorazepam. Likely not alprazolam.

0.3mg melatonin used to help my insomnia before I was ever prescribed amphetamines, but somewhere between when I was not prescribed them, started a low dosage of Amitriptyline for nerve pain, & now - 0.3mg-0.5mg melatonin started to make me wake up extremely agitated & have nightmares no matter what (like clockwork) - & the higher dosage gummies, like 3mg to 10mg, gave me a great variety of extremely realistic dreams.

Also spiked my heartrate by roughly 30bpm (aka a lot)

I’m glad that melatonin works for you because it’s quite convenient (well, I think having to take any pills is inconvenient, but I digress) - & also glad you can agree with the perfect dosage aspect/idea.

I have ran into middle of their career-ish psychiatrists who simply say it’s an absolute bullshit, but then mostly the entire generation of younger psychs, younger PharmD’s, a & large amount of internet psych anecdata agreeing. Conveniently, those middle aged psychs didn’t start their career when Vyvanse was even a thing, & all of the younger I mention have always known of it…

I just don’t understand why some docs outright refuse to believe such benign information/lived experiences from their patients, & presume their patient is lying to their face before they’d ever agree with them.

For those wondering of my excessively long posts… currently not on any amphetamines while dealing with other acute medical issues, but most definitely in a situation in which I have great need to distract myself. Long posts help with that, though maybe I should resign to saving them in my notes instead of hitting “reply” :P

Re: The silent struggles of workers with ADHD

#290

Post by therealbilly » Tue, Dec 13, 2022, 3:36 PM UTC

I have suffered from ADHD my entire adult working life. I am a developer and it’s been a real struggle. I could not utilize Adderall as I have high blood pressure and it hits your system all at once. Two years ago, a doctor prescribed Vyvanse. It’s been miraculous. I’m now able to function at a high level and maintain that performance throughout the day. I believe it restores your dopamine levels to that of a normal person. Vyvanse is a time release formulation that is also a single enantiomer (highly purified) and does not contain other undesirable chiral components of Adderall. Please look into this medication if you suffer from ADHD.