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The silent struggles of workers with ADHD

bbc.com

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Re: The silent struggles of workers with ADHD

#31

Post by ojhughes »

Moissanite wrote: post #5

As an adult who feels like they identify with these characteristics, it is hard to know when to try to get help, or whether you are just seeing what you want to see and looking for an excuse. I have always shied away from seeking an adult ADHD diagnosis, partly because of prideful denial (not wanting to acknowledge that there might be something wrong with me), and partly because I have no faith in the NHS giving a sh…

I got a private diagnosis for around £1000 and was then transferred to the NHS for my prescription and yearly consultations. It was well worth the money for me

Re: The silent struggles of workers with ADHD

#32

Post by k__ »

2bitencryption wrote: post #17

I just started working with a new team a few weeks ago. So far I've had "nice to meet you" calls with six or seven of the people on this team. And nearly half of them mentioned "by the way, I have ADHD, just so you know." And since I share so many characteristics with these individuals, now _I'm_ wondering if I have ADHD. Certainly the never-ending Instagram ads want me to think so. Or is this becoming a blanket term…

I went in an ADHD rabbit hole a week ago.

I never considered my self suffering from it, my quirks were individual parts of my character!

But now I highly suspect I have it.

I lose focus all the time. For example, Going from doing laundry, to gathering dishes, and bringing out trash without finishing one of them. Or I can't read long articles with topics that are important for me but don't tickle one of my interests. I've started reading countless books for only 20-30 pages.

Also, it feels impossible to plan for/estimate longer time periods and I'm constantly bouncing my knee or stimm in another way.

I started freelancing because I couldn't get to work at the same time every day and even now I just work 5-10h a week, because my lack of motivation for repeating tasks.

I thought, well it's biological, I can't have it, my relatives are all normal... But wait, my mother did impulse purchases all the time, was switching jobs constantly and even retired with 50, because of that.

Whelp, guess I should get a psychiatrist soon...

Re: The silent struggles of workers with ADHD

#33

Post by moojacob »

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 functioning skills by getting ten hours of sleep a night and engaging in intense exercise. These changes have made a huge difference for me and have greatly improved my ability to manage my ADHD. I'm glad that I was able to find alternative methods that work for me.

Re: The silent struggles of workers with ADHD

#34

Post by whatshisface »

cheeseomlit wrote: post #21
whatshisface wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's too late for you to apply any standards to your DNA, you've already been born.

Is there any evidence ADHD is genetic? The only connection I've read about is that parents who are diagnosed with ADHD are more likely to have their children diagnosed with it, but that itself is not evidence of a genetic trait. Seems just as likely to be nurture than nature to me- for example if parents over-stimulate their kids by putting them in front of TVs/iPads/etc. from a young age it's not surprising they'll…

You can subtract out nuture by comparing identical to fraternal twins, and by doing that they've found that it has a large genetic component.

Re: The silent struggles of workers with ADHD

#35

Post by ryandvm »

2bitencryption wrote: post #17

I just started working with a new team a few weeks ago. So far I've had "nice to meet you" calls with six or seven of the people on this team. And nearly half of them mentioned "by the way, I have ADHD, just so you know." And since I share so many characteristics with these individuals, now _I'm_ wondering if I have ADHD. Certainly the never-ending Instagram ads want me to think so. Or is this becoming a blanket term…

In my experience, most ADHD is really just a case of "I have limited willpower for extremely boring shit." Give me something interesting to do and I can work on it non-stop for 12 hours.

The problem is that most jobs and almost all schooling is flat out incompatible with being an easily distractible person. I think it's just a phenotype that doesn't work well in the traditional professional environment.

And yes, Adderall will help you focus on boring shit.

[Source: I'm clinically diagnosed with ADHD)

Re: The silent struggles of workers with ADHD

#36

Post by cheeseomlit »

pcurve wrote: post #22
2bitencryption wrote: post #17

I just started working with a new team a few weeks ago. So far I've had "nice to meet you" calls with six or seven of the people on this team. And nearly half of them mentioned "by the way, I have ADHD, just so you know." And since I share so many characteristics with these individuals, now _I'm_ wondering if I have ADHD. Certainly the never-ending Instagram ads want me to think so. Or is this becoming a blanket term…

"And nearly half of them mentioned "by the way, I have ADHD" Statistically that seems rather unlikely, so I wonder if people are being over-diagnosed?

No post body was provided.

Re: The silent struggles of workers with ADHD

#37

Post by k__ »

chrsig wrote: post #29
k__ wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Many of my friends have ADHD. Probably because ADHD people have trouble getting along with neurotypicals

> Probably because ADHD people have trouble getting along with neurotypicals In our defense, normies suck.

I couldn't even say who's normal and who isn't.

I have a very small circle of friends and they're all kinda... special. So for me such behaviour feels normal.

Re: The silent struggles of workers with ADHD

#38

Post by CoastalCoder »

I recently came across Tracy Marks' channel on YouTube [0].

I've been programming for a long time, but I only got neuropsych testing about 10 years ago. I was unambiguously diagnosed with ADHD, and I've been on stimulants ever since.

Despite all that personal experience, I still found that her ADHD videos connected a lot of dots for me. The videos also give some practical advice that's working well for me.

[0] https://www.youtube.com/@DrTraceyMarks

Re: The silent struggles of workers with ADHD

#39

Post by golemiprague »

2bitencryption wrote: post #17

I just started working with a new team a few weeks ago. So far I've had "nice to meet you" calls with six or seven of the people on this team. And nearly half of them mentioned "by the way, I have ADHD, just so you know." And since I share so many characteristics with these individuals, now _I'm_ wondering if I have ADHD. Certainly the never-ending Instagram ads want me to think so. Or is this becoming a blanket term…

No post body was provided.

Re: The silent struggles of workers with ADHD

#40

Post by adolph »

Moissanite wrote: post #5

As an adult who feels like they identify with these characteristics, it is hard to know when to try to get help, or whether you are just seeing what you want to see and looking for an excuse. I have always shied away from seeking an adult ADHD diagnosis, partly because of prideful denial (not wanting to acknowledge that there might be something wrong with me), and partly because I have no faith in the NHS giving a sh…

> looking for an excuse.

> not wanting to acknowledge that there might be something wrong with me

I had a similar mindset about a diagnosis. Here is why I changed my mind:

The purpose of the diagnosis is to guide a course of actions that may improve your life and that of the people around you. It is the opposite of an excuse because getting help is good for you and others. You need never disclose to anyone that a diagnosis affects you but it can be helpful for others to understand some characteristics about you.

ADHD (and many conditions) isn't something wrong with anyone. It is a term for a cluster of cognitive/behavior differences in the area known as "executive function." [0] These difference can be thought of like height or eyesight in that they can be [dis]advantageous or not and they can be compensated for or not.

The choice to go on the road of self discovery is your own. As far as I can tell there is nothing to lose and much to gain.

0. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_functions

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