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Hacking ADHD: Strategies for the modern developer

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Re: Hacking ADHD: Strategies for the modern developer

#391

Post by austin-cheney »

helboi4 wrote: post #318
financltravsty wrote: post #231

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

No. It over simplifies what is happening to the point of drawing false correlations. Low serotonin production is strongly linked with low dopamine production but the reverse is less clear. More direct to this conversation sugar and caffeine consumption addresses low dopamine directly, but this coping behavior seeks to address the results of low serotonin, not dopamine. People with low dopamine but regular serotonin also benefit equally from high sugar and caffeine intake, but are substantially less prone to seek sugar and caffeine for that purpose. In the end its about correcting for mood stimulus not task reward stimulus.

Re: Hacking ADHD: Strategies for the modern developer

#392

Post by JohnBooty »

pc86 wrote: post #209
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…

Such a minor part of your comment, but I simply cannot focus on anything if my apps aren't all fullscreen. I have two monitors, and two applications visible at any time. Right now I have this on one screen and a non-work YouTube video on the other (Your Mom's House is a great podcast btw, especially if you already have YT premium). I have trouble focusing, I don't think quite to the level of ADHD, but it would be so…

You know, it's funny how different we are all when it comes to this.

I need all my apps visible in a tiled arrangement. Shuffling windows shatters my flow. I literally cannot have enough screen real estate. My dream is something like a curved 48" 8K monitor filling my entire field of view at 300dpi. (Vision Pro?)

I know a lot of people, ADHD and otherwise, like me in this regard.

I also know a guy like you, diagnosed with ADHD FWIW, who takes it a little further than you. He needs his apps fullscreened, and can't even do multiple monitors. One screen, one app.

I don't know how the f-- he works that way but I'm jealous. He's effective and has no trouble working on a 13" laptop in a coffee shop or whatever.

Re: Hacking ADHD: Strategies for the modern developer

#394

Post by TheRealHB »

scns wrote: post #351
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…

I like Binaural Beats for this, plenty of Apps on offer. Started out with this one and hacked a bit on it, never published my version though: https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.github.axet.binauralbeat... Now i'm pretty content with this one: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.project.rb... And this tune, it now is on my phone and every PC thanks to NewPipe. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6WNB9JN_2o

Yes, it could be the placebo effect, but placebo works wonders ; )

I detailed better aspects on a question above,

Mostly when I added the heart monitor, somehow I can measure that the time to lowest blink got shorter and I'm not paying attention to the device at all.

When I realise it us OFF I can see the logs and see how long it take vs the heartbeat to sync.

Also, I build myself so I like there was no marketing or product to trust, just test and adjust.

Re: Hacking ADHD: Strategies for the modern developer

#395

Post by [deleted] »

JohnBooty wrote: post #363
collegeburner wrote: post #336

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe you can provide some perspective here: it seems almost universal that people who start these medications never find a dose that provides durable benefit over the long term. Makes sense; we acclimate to a new dopamine baseline, right? Almost everyone I know ends up on a significantly higher dose than they started with. And the stories of feeling like a zombie when off meds are very real and pretty freaky.

I was on Adderall for ~6-7 years. The following is just my personal experience but it seems to match well with the vast majority of anecdotal experiences I have read about in many many years of being immersed in this stuff... although these won't be true for 100% of people. Almost everyone I know ends up on a significantly higher dose than they started with. One: At least in the US, for whatever reason, doctors tend…

[deleted]

Re: Hacking ADHD: Strategies for the modern developer

#396

Post by JohnBooty »

sedivy94 wrote: post #196
PaulWaldman wrote: post #169

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>I find that, if time allows, I get a massive productivity boost after 4:30pm This sounds oddly specific. How consistent is this time? If you start working an hour earlier does it impact the timing of your productivity boost?

I experience a flow state around that time as well. Mostly because everyone leaves the office. 0630-0730 and 1630-1730 have become my golden hours. Which is weird because body doubling is often an effective tool for me. My true “0430” like the parent comment is really at 2000, but I force myself into a normal sleep schedule and fail often.

Yeah. My body/brain's natural "mental flow" time is really early mornings.

In reality, I generally have too much external distraction around me in the morning to capitalize on this.

So my actual productive hours are basically like, "whenever I am reasonably sure that everybody else will leave me the fuck alone for the next few hours." Which often means, "the end of the work day when everybody is signing off for the day."

Re: Hacking ADHD: Strategies for the modern developer

#397

Post by TheRealHB »

nonethewiser wrote: post #91
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…

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).

Yes, it could be the placebo effect, but placebo works wonders ; )

I detailed better aspects on a question above,

Placebo need you to trust it works (or see a figure of authority to believe it does), in my case I expect nothing and got not much on v.1 (software) by v.3 (hardware) it is surprising.

; )

Re: Hacking ADHD: Strategies for the modern developer

#398

Post by _rqgx »

coolThingsFirst wrote: post #279
_rqgx wrote: post #71

My therapist recently diagnosed me with ADHD. I strongly disagree with that diagnosis, and I realised I don't know what ADHD actually is and that the internet and this article haven't been of any help. I can relate to everything that this article says, but I suspect this is true of every single person with a mentally challenging job. HN is full of developers complaining about open offices and useless meetings; do all…

How does noise sensitivity manifest for you? Do you get severely anxious because of it or is it just a distraction?

Noise generates a very physical feeling of pain that tires me down and makes it impossible to focus.

It's the equivalent to having somebody constantly punch me in the face: it's annoying and distracting at first, and it eventually turns into tiredness and lack of motivation to do anything other than leaving the room I'm currently in to breathe some fresh air.

I understand this is something that happens to everyone (which is why so many people dislike open offices), but I have good reason to believe my noise sensitivity is worse than average and that it has been so since I was a kid.

Re: Hacking ADHD: Strategies for the modern developer

#399

Post by TheRealHB »

sonicanatidae wrote: post #270
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…

OMG. I could not do this. I hope it's useful to others, but not for me...at all. The biggest distraction for me, when working/focusing, is movement at the edge of my vision. You know, like most websites with their moving ads, or fly-out videos that no one asked for, etc. I'm glad you found your silverbullet, but that specific approach would wreck my productivity.

I don't recommend my solution BUT

Your description is close to what I experience at times, that blinking thing may help you ignore outside the monitor distractions as it is there forcing you to ignore?

Interesting,

Do one and tell me ; )

I cost me $25 or less.... all spares ESP32 (most of them has a LED pinned anyways) and don't bother the heart monitor initially, just set time and rate of descent for the blink.

Cheap test...

Re: Hacking ADHD: Strategies for the modern developer

#400

Post by Podgajski »

InSteady wrote: post #375
Podgajski wrote: post #179

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They all stashed my brain after years of researching nutritional psychiatry. As far as ADHD goes, I just suggest searching both PubMed and Google scholar for ADHD, glutamate and GABA. I think glutamate and GABA play a larger, or fundenental role, in most psychiatric disorders.

May be a part of why so many people with psychiatric disorders (especially undiagnosed or untreated) often use nicotine and/or alcohol to cope. They both interact heavily with the GABAergic system. Alcohol also inhibits the activity of glutamate and reduces extracellular levels in certain brain regions. Too much glutamate in the brain can cause 'failure of different neurotransmission systems' and is neurotoxic. It's…

Ethanol is my go to medication. It’s the only calcium, sodium, and potassium ion channel blocker that can enter the brain. These are implicated in bipolar disorder which I have. The trick is to not abuse it just like any other medication.

I also have labile hypertension and it’s the only medication I can take that controls my blood pressure spikes.

I feel the same way about nicotine, although I can’t take it because it turns me to up. Nicotine is a stimulant and can be used as a medicine in lower doses. The problem is that people used to do and that sets up the addiction cycle.

I definitely have an issue with a very high glutamate/GABA ratio. My other go to medicine is Klonopin which I use only when I’m in a severe crisis. Like when I had a delusional psychosis when I had Covid.

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