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The silent struggles of workers with ADHD

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Re: The silent struggles of workers with ADHD

#291

Post by cableshaft »

wincy wrote: post #285
cableshaft wrote: post #265

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 t…

Roadwarden looks very cool and wasn't on my radar at all, thanks for sharing it. Also I'm surprised that was made with RenPy, looks like it really took it above and beyond what that engine was built for originally.

Re: The silent struggles of workers with ADHD

#292

Post by phendrenad2 »

Most tech jobs are great places for people with ADHD. Problems are tough and you can spend a lot of time on deep dives fixing them.

Of course, that's in an ideal world. In reality you'll be forced to take part in hour-long-plus meetings to decide the simplest of decisions (or just blather on needless about decisions that were already made and written down, ughhhh)

Re: The silent struggles of workers with ADHD

#293

Post by Eumenes »

astrange wrote: post #229
Eumenes wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

“Imagine a society that subjects people to conditions that make them terribly unhappy then gives them the drugs to take away their unhappiness. Science fiction It is already happening to some extent in our own society. Instead of removing the conditions that make people depressed modern society gives them antidepressant drugs. In effect antidepressants are a means of modifying an individual's internal state in such a…

Antidepressants don't "make you happy", alcohol does that. Antidepressants are intended to give you the ability to get out of bed in the morning. If depression was just caused by inhumane work environments, why do Americans have it and not Bangladeshi T-shirt makers?

Culture - I imagine traditional cultures aren't inhaling pharmaceuticals at the alarming rates like in America

Re: The silent struggles of workers with ADHD

#294

Post by seba_dos1 »

bcoughlan wrote: post #281
k__ wrote: post #206

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

This has nothing to do with screens. With books or e-readers, you just end up in your own head instead of social media. It's common for me to have to re-read the first dozen or so pages of a book several times before I finally get hooked on enough not to drift away.

However, at that point it becomes hard to do anything else before finishing that book...

Re: The silent struggles of workers with ADHD

#295

Post by swagmoney1606 »

noname120 wrote: post #86
moojacob wrote: post #33

As someone who has experienced a bad reaction to ADHD medication after years of using it, I can say that it was a frustrating and difficult time. I felt like I had been relying on the medication to function, but it suddenly stopped working for me and made me feel even worse. I was worried about how I was going to manage my ADHD symptoms without it. However, I eventually discovered that I could improve my executive fu…

Could you elaborate on the bad reaction that you experienced? Which treatment, brand, and daily amount?

I can throw in my two cents as well.

I've been on several different stimulant medications for ADHD. They all make me anxious, even the one I'm taking now.

Adderall: Grinding teeth, anxiety, didn't like feeling euphoric ("good" for no reason), stomach pain

Vyvance: Same as above

Focalin: Better than both above. This is what I'm currently on. It works for me well but it still comes with some side effects. I have stomach pain pretty consistently after taking my dose, and I have anxiety throughout the day.

It's unfortunate. I absolutely need these meds to keep my life in order, but they honestly suck pretty bad.

Re: The silent struggles of workers with ADHD

#296

Post by strikelaserclaw »

dgunay wrote: post #228

I had an interesting journey with my ADHD, unlike most of the other people I've met who had it. I was diagnosed fairly young (some time Once I left for college though, my life fell apart. I had no one to make sure I was on a schedule and taking my meds. I basically quit taking my meds, struggled to attend class & do assignments, and nearly flunked out of school a couple times. I loathed myself. I thought "what good a…

one of one teaching works amazing for ADHD kids but as you said, learning how to manage yourself is one of key tenets which leads to having a succesful life as an adult and this skill cannot really be taught to you by anyone.

Re: The silent struggles of workers with ADHD

#297

Post by strikelaserclaw »

viburnum wrote: post #97

I feel like ADHD is just normal for a huge percentage of people but the people gifted with an abundance of concentration are extremely overrepresented in medicine and management positions.

I think our world has evolved to be extremely complex for people to navigate and we as humans did not evolve for this. I think ADHD is over-diagnosed as result.

Re: The silent struggles of workers with ADHD

#298

Post by adastra22 »

s5300 wrote: post #289
adastra22 wrote: post #280

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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…

One thing I love about Vyvanse is that it really does have an all-day effect. I'm wired, active, and focused from the moment I take it in the morning, until 11pm or so at night. Unfortunately this also means that it takes a lot of self-discipline to keep a good sleep schedule, which isn't something us ADHDers are very good at, especially as the medication wears off. On just Vyvanse alone, I have a hard time falling asleep and sleeping well.

I got the idea to augment with melatonin from a Slate Star Codex post. Since the author is a board certified psychiatrist, I decided to trust this info. Google should get you the original article, but here's my memory of it: melatonin is safe, little to no side effects, and should be taken by anyone as a first line attempt to fix sleep issues.

Melatonin is ridiculously safe. It basically has no detrimental effects in large doses. As a result, nutrition companies are in a war to make ever bigger over-the-counter doses because those sell better. But unfortunately while 5mg isn't toxic, it also makes me sleep 10 hrs and wake up groggy. As a result it's hard to find over the counter melatonin that is in the real dosage I want, 0.3 - 0.5 mg. However I found that Costco sells kids melatonin gummies with a 1 mg dosage, which is the smallest you can find on the market without paying extra. I just cut/bite the gummies in half to take approx 0.5mg a night. It's perfect, and I'm sorry it didn't work for you :(

The one thing that doesn't replicate for me from the SSC post is that he suggested taking melatonin 7(!) hours before sleep. I find I get tired upon taking melatonin immediately, and to take it early just screws ups my circadian rhythm.

Regarding the dream thing... Here's the weird thing: I have aphantasia when awake, and typically don't dream. But when I take melatonin I not only sleep better, but have vivid dreams that I remember upon waking. I guess I'm fortunate these don't turn into nightmares, generally. I guess I'm saying I can confirm your experience that melatonin leads to active dreaming, but maybe the nightmares are caused by something else? That is to say the melatonin is working to get you quality REM sleep, but some other interaction or issue is agitating you to make those dreams unbearable. Maybe worth talking to a doc about what can fix persistent nightmares.

Re: The silent struggles of workers with ADHD

#299

Post by chrsig »

adastra22 wrote: post #298
s5300 wrote: post #289

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

One thing I love about Vyvanse is that it really does have an all-day effect. I'm wired, active, and focused from the moment I take it in the morning, until 11pm or so at night. Unfortunately this also means that it takes a lot of self-discipline to keep a good sleep schedule, which isn't something us ADHDers are very good at, especially as the medication wears off. On just Vyvanse alone, I have a hard time falling a…

> One thing I love about Vyvanse is that it really does have an all-day effect. I'm wired, active, and focused from the moment I take it in the morning, until 11pm or so at night. Unfortunately this also means that it takes a lot of self-discipline to keep a good sleep schedule, which isn't something us ADHDers are very good at, especially as the medication wears off. On just Vyvanse alone, I have a hard time falling asleep and sleeping well.

Interestingly, adderall not having an all day effect is something I like about it. I take an XR in the morning and have a smaller IR in the afternoon. It gives me the flexibility to not take one or the other if I'm not feeling up for it.

> Melatonin is ridiculously safe. It basically has no detrimental effects in large doses. As a result, nutrition companies are in a war to make ever bigger over-the-counter doses because those sell better. But unfortunately while 5mg isn't toxic, it also makes me sleep 10 hrs and wake up groggy. As a result it's hard to find over the counter melatonin that is in the real dosage I want, 0.3 - 0.5 mg.

My sleep doc has advised ~0.5mg a couple hours before going to sleep. As I've come to understand it, taking it too soon before sleep is what causes the grogginess.

> However I found that Costco sells kids melatonin gummies with a 1 mg dosage, which is the smallest you can find on the market without paying extra. I just cut/bite the gummies in half to take approx 0.5mg a night. It's perfect, and I'm sorry it didn't work for you :(

I found some 1mg flavored chewable tablets that're easy to split in half. I've found the same brand at my grocery store and on amazon

Re: The silent struggles of workers with ADHD

#300

Post by lemming »

adastra22 wrote: post #298
s5300 wrote: post #289

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

One thing I love about Vyvanse is that it really does have an all-day effect. I'm wired, active, and focused from the moment I take it in the morning, until 11pm or so at night. Unfortunately this also means that it takes a lot of self-discipline to keep a good sleep schedule, which isn't something us ADHDers are very good at, especially as the medication wears off. On just Vyvanse alone, I have a hard time falling a…

I buy these ones here on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Melatonin-Capsules-Supports-Relaxatio.... They were linked from either the Slate Star article or gwern's one, I can't remember which.
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