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Hacking ADHD: Strategies for the modern developer

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Re: Hacking ADHD: Strategies for the modern developer

#311

Post by jihiggins »

boringg wrote: post #214
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…

I assume that is how most people get through high-school and university? Intense focus on the couple days before finals / final projects. I too did that. Is that not the case or is that warning lights for ADHD? High school you can get away with it because the course content is easier - college is much more challenging...

i did that all throughout university and graduated with honors in an engineering program. it really depends on your coping strategies / personality / luck / etc. i definitely have adhd, it just took a few boring jobs for it to blow up my life in any real way. (i completely burned out, turns out relying on adrenaline as an adhd medication is not a great long term coping strategy.) some people will hit that wall earlier or later than others.

once, i accidentally dragged a lab partner into doing work the way i did. we turned in the assignment with less than a minute on the clock, and he nearly had an anxiety attack (i was feeling pretty great about things)

Re: Hacking ADHD: Strategies for the modern developer

#312

Post by atcalan »

marginalia_nu wrote: post #284
fao_ wrote: post #221

Earlier quoted context omitted.

citation needed. ADHD is a deficit in dopamine processing/production within the brain, it has physiological signs that we can look for: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s11689-022-09440-2

DSM-V and ICD? ADHD is diagnosed based on symptoms, not based on physiological signs. Like most diagnoses, it's a co-occurring set of traits we'de decided is outside of what's normal.

Diagnosis is not the same as underlying physiological cause. The Browns or Vanderbilt assessments are useful for identifying the disorder because the symptoms are stereotypical.

Re: Hacking ADHD: Strategies for the modern developer

#313

Post by lelanthran »

disgruntledphd2 wrote: post #103
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).

> 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). Fundamentally, if it works for the OP, who the hell cares? And how would you even double-blind test this anyway?

Trivially, given a small amount of money.

He sees a correlation, correlations are amongst the easiest thing to test.

Causation is the difficult one

Re: Hacking ADHD: Strategies for the modern developer

#314

Post by tayo42 »

swozey wrote: post #262
flir wrote: post #255

Earlier quoted context omitted.

WFH encourages scheduled meetings. It's a nightmare. I'd much rather just get an interruption out of the blue than have someone schedule a meeting to talk to me, because in the run-up to the meeting I won't try to start anything (what's the point if I've got a pending interruption?) At least my standups are first thing in the morning.

I don't understand it. My company is fully remote but they are absolutely horrendous at async comms. I was trying to walk someone through adding a docker build process to their CI and.... he just couldn't communicate/understand it through slack and he wanted to schedule a meeting. Great, now instead of being able to respond while working on other things I have to cut out an entire hour of my day just for you. Thanks.…

Idk if that has to do with async working. People pull that kind of stuff in office too. "Hey I don't get this, can we schedule some time so we can /you just do this for me " then you sit at a conference table or at their desk for an hour lol

Re: Hacking ADHD: Strategies for the modern developer

#315

Post by dublinben »

buzzwords wrote: post #190

This could not have been better timed for me. I was diagnosed with ADHD yesterday. Apparently for me, the working memory is a major issue. If anyone has any tips here I really appreciate it if you could comment your suggestions here.

This is a very long article with lots of helpful information about ADHD and memory: https://add.org/adhd-memory-loss/

The highlights of their suggestions are:

* Break down complex tasks into smaller bits.

* Avoid multitasking.

* Create your own reminders, like setting alarms and reminders. Leave Post-It notes on areas you frequently look at.

* Habit stacking. If you constantly forget chores, you can stack them on top of something you regularly do. For example, you may put a load of laundry in while brewing your usual cup of coffee.

Re: Hacking ADHD: Strategies for the modern developer

#316

Post by atcalan »

KittenInABox wrote: post #228
sedivy94 wrote: post #210

Earlier quoted context omitted.

ADHD has little to no physiological markers. As the floor of expectations for attention and executive functioning continues to rise, the rate of diagnosis increases.

ADHD is known to be highly hereditary and has genetic markets. I don't think it's normal, as it's fairly consistent globally (not all countries have the same access or culture around technology and yet ADHD occurs at around the same rates).

People can't see it. I've had someone chastise my son for missing an appointment due to his calendar app not working while standing right in front of a wheelchair bound person, then proceed to a discussion of accommodations with the latter :|

Re: Hacking ADHD: Strategies for the modern developer

#317

Post by corobo »

cottage-cheese wrote: post #294
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…

> I think ADHD is the new norm. Maybe selection bias, but a significant number of my friends are diagnosed.

There may be a little bit of birds of a feather flocking together on this one. Similarly my closest circle have all got a diagnosis of something or other. Most are in the IT field too.

For me personally I mostly attribute this to how the circle initially formed - a bunch of outcasts to varying degrees new to college glomping on to any familiar faces from highschool (despite not really interacting during high school)

Any additions since college were adopted into the group through a mutual "we're the weirdos in this world, aren't we?" initial bond.

Re: Hacking ADHD: Strategies for the modern developer

#318

Post by helboi4 »

financltravsty wrote: post #231
__potts__ wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 sit…

Can we all just agree though that coffee and sugar are dopamine not serotonin obviously? Like you don't get less depressed from drinking coffee.

Re: Hacking ADHD: Strategies for the modern developer

#319

Post by atcalan »

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…

Sounds like a time timer. The ventromedial pfc is the culprit here. Time blindness.

Re: Hacking ADHD: Strategies for the modern developer

#320

Post by uberduper »

LeafItAlone wrote: post #14

What is everyone’s experience getting officially diagnosed and treated? I match up pretty closely with textbook symptoms and all of the free online “tests” indicate I should get treated for it… but how? I’ve found places that offer an ADHD screening at the tune of multiple thousands, not in network with any insurance, but those places don’t also treat it. I’m more interested in pharmacological treatments rather than…

If you're in the US, talk to your GP, family Dr or w/e. They can prescribe but they cannot diagnose. They'll refer you to someone. You probably want to be referred to a counselor rather than a psychologist.

You should _really_ consider therapy in addition to any medication. The meds will be amazing for a month and then useful for a year. After that you're going to have to make a decision about how you want to continue treatment. Keep bumping the dose and adjust to the side effects or 'typical therapy'. By then, that therapy is going to be much harder to apply to your life than it would have been in the first few months when you started the meds.

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