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How I Used ADD to Build Great Businesses

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Re: How I Used ADD to Build Great Businesses

#51

Post by mortdeus »

DamagedProperty wrote: post #35

TL;DR I have ADHD and it made me a better person I was diagnosed with ADHD as a kid. I received many different types of drugs and treatments that, IMO, didn't work. I barely passed the 3rd grade, failed the 6th grade and dropped out of school when I was a junior. I was also a gifted artist, like my father, I could draw anything. I wasn't fantastic but it came easily to me. At 16 I picked up the guitar and quickly lea…

IMHO you probably dont have ADHD. Though we have alot in common, (Im also a musician and dropped out my jr. year of high school), reading your story gives me a feeling you may have been unfortunately misdiagnosed.

The easiest way to know is if Adderall or Ritalin made you feel normal and calm. (sometimes even sleepy. Ive taken naps while medicated on my adderall.) ADHD stimulant meds should have a very profound effect if you have ADHD. How do you feel when the medication wears off at night after having taken it for weeks? Crashed? Not that different? Wanting to take more?

And how did you feel when you stopped medicating after 3-5 days?

Re: How I Used ADD to Build Great Businesses

#52

Post by acadien »

seivan wrote: post #26

I have it, dropped out of college. Remember being up all night learning other stuff than what the education had planned for me. School: learn MySQL Brain: learn Redis. School: Learn javabeans and JEE and etc Brain: Learn Obj-C and Cocoa Contrived example, but something along those lines. Had to drop out, it was killing me staying up all night experiment with stuff that was not related to the education plan setup for…

I'm a graduate student finishing up a PhD, I think I'm at the other end of the tunnel from you. I started meds about a decade ago and I have slowly been weaning myself off of them for the past 6 months. Once you're hooked (taking a daily dosage) on the meds it is remarkably difficult to get off of them. Mostly because you feel like crap when you're not on the them and of course the ADD/HD symptoms do return.

As someone who is actively struggling to concentrate while writing a thesis (hey look I'm on HN now...) I have a few tips that I hope can help you.

Working environment is important. If you're goofing off in your current work spot... then get out of there! Find some other place that you can work from and try working there. You will be surprised how a change in environment can affect your concentration. My experience has been Public and University Libraries are undervalued work spaces. Cafes work really well for me because some part of my brain wants me to appear productive in front of other people, so I goof off less in open working spaces where others can see my screen. I use that to help me concentrate. The point is find that spot that works for you and fight for it. Also don't be afraid to get nomadic, its OK to switch working spots when you feel like it.

Make Lists. Every time you sit down to do work, spend 30 seconds and jot down what you want to do in that particular working session. Then leave that list in front of you. The visual cue of the list in front of you will help you get back to work when your mind strays. It also helps you align your thoughts.

In terms of staying on topic I think it has more to do with personal issues. I've noticed that when work/class induces a lot of stress, that I goof off more and I do less work. So for me, getting over that stress and just simply enjoying the work has been hugely beneficial. I'm not sure if this stress induced distraction is a universal thing, maybe others can chime in.

Finally go get some exercise. Its a panacea and helps everything from ADD/HD symptoms to curing depression.

Re: How I Used ADD to Build Great Businesses

#53

Post by pbhjpbhj »

superplussed wrote: post #34

"So the first thing I do when I wake up is make chocolate Pop-Tarts (I eat like a 10 year old)" As someone that has always struggled with ADD, I can tell you that sugar makes it 100x worse. Since I went on a strict Paleo diet (and especially recently when I've cut out alcohol), my baseline clarity and ability to focus my thoughts have improved immensely. I would recommend trying the Paleo diet for a month and seeing…

So do you think you had/have a pathological disorder or do you think you just were suffering the consequences of bad diet?

[I know what you think about a subject isn't a scientific determination but I feel it's still relevant as an indicator.]

Re: How I Used ADD to Build Great Businesses

#54

Post by shadeless »

As a long time lurker with a (self-diagnosed) ADHD I read quite a few comments telling people to seek treatment. Is the general consensus that the medication is necessary in treating ADHD? (I'm not trying to avoid meds, just happen to live in a third world country where lack of focus and motivation is dismissed by psychiatrist as just laziness)

Re: How I Used ADD to Build Great Businesses

#55

Post by mortdeus »

bmac27 wrote: post #22
saosebastiao wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have always been told by my doctors that I have ADHD because there is a component of hyperactivity in addition to my ADD.

Correct. They are two different strands of the same condition. Inattentive type is what is generally referred to as ADD without physical hyperactivity. ADHD has a physical component as well. The kids I knew in school growing up who were diagnosed with ADHD were those who, in addition to what was going on in their brain, couldn't control themselves physically either. They were the ones always wrestling with you, jumpi…

3 strands. ADHD Combined is also a subtype.

The current theory suggests that ADHD is caused by a mild disorder somewhere between when dopamine is released to communicate between the brain's neurons via synapses and when most of it is reuptaken back into the brain's dopamine bank and the rest is transported to other parts of the body. Some of this dopamine is converted in norepinephrine (adrenaline).

Explained in the simplest way, ADHD is caused either when not enough dopamine is let out, too much dopamine is reuptaken back into the storage and transported to become norepinephrine, and/or norepinephrine is reuptaken too fast.

This is why, theoretically, different ADHD medications are only effective on different types of ADHD patients.

Re: How I Used ADD to Build Great Businesses

#56

Post by mortdeus »

saosebastiao wrote: post #44
mortdeus wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

ADD was changed to ADHD-PI in 1994 when the DSM-IV was published. ADHD comes in 3 subtypes, Hyperactive-Impulsive, Predominantly Inattentive, and Combined (which is what I am diagnosed with). There is also a disorder called Slow Cognitive Tempo that is similar to ADHD, but still a different classification of disorder. The truth is, ADHD is way more complex than what most people believe ADHD is. Many people think they…

Oh I agree with you. I was just reiterating what my doctors have told me. And my medication has helped me in ways I could have only dreamed of. I am married and have been with my wife for six years, whereas before my wife (and medication) I could only maintain a relationship for 6 months max. I took 8 years to complete a 4 year degree, only because my 1.5 years were medicated. I still have bad credit because I never…

Im glad you found help. Better late than never.

Re: How I Used ADD to Build Great Businesses

#57

Post by Buzaga »

reeses wrote: post #49
Buzaga wrote: post #46

I say we should diagnose more ADD because really this stuff is way good, everybody has it and then people sort of like learn to control it or something! X-men is here folks! Really, I have no idea what the fuck is ADD since it's symptoms seems to be stuff that everybody has to deal with and the best I can see people coming up with "no but when you have it it's like a LION is trying to eat you and you still can't focu…

My BS armchair psychiatric definition of ADD is that it was useful when our genetic forebears had to be "distracted" every minute or so to be aware of the need to attack or protect themselves or their social units. It's one of those hypotheses that I don't have the intellectual honesty or rigor to follow up, but it's a simplifying lie that allows me to put it to the back burner. Selfish gene, blah blah.

Well but then diagnosing this equals to making our own nature wrong(or sick) by definition and then it's a paradox... if we need to start synthetically molding our body and cognitive functions that are healthy for the animal we are because it doesn't fit the society we designed and built for us ourselves to live comfortably... well, then something's wrong.

Re: How I Used ADD to Build Great Businesses

#58

Post by nollidge »

reeses wrote: post #45
seivan wrote: post #26

I have it, dropped out of college. Remember being up all night learning other stuff than what the education had planned for me. School: learn MySQL Brain: learn Redis. School: Learn javabeans and JEE and etc Brain: Learn Obj-C and Cocoa Contrived example, but something along those lines. Had to drop out, it was killing me staying up all night experiment with stuff that was not related to the education plan setup for…

Meds. Even if they say the chance of it working is 60% in your case, work with your psychiatrist who handles depression, anxiety, and other conditions as well as ADD. Feel free to shop around until you get the guy who can read you on the first meeting and tell you something other than how he's going to change your life. It sounds as if it is an "easy" solution, but your brain is out of whack. Once I got into my mid-3…

Is there a name for this technique? Is it just a particular application of cognitive-behavioral therapy?

Re: How I Used ADD to Build Great Businesses

#59

Post by groby_b »

shadeless wrote: post #54

As a long time lurker with a (self-diagnosed) ADHD I read quite a few comments telling people to seek treatment. Is the general consensus that the medication is necessary in treating ADHD? (I'm not trying to avoid meds, just happen to live in a third world country where lack of focus and motivation is dismissed by psychiatrist as just laziness)

The consensus is that it takes a (good) professional to decide if the medication is necessary.

If you've got mild cases, there are many behavioral techniques that might help you. People in the thread here are sharing them. (Excercise, nutrition, list making, regular brain dumps, etc.)

But once your ADD reaches a certain severity, those can't really get you back to fully functioning. Psychiatrists are _supposed_ to help you find out if you're past that threshold, and they're also supposed to help you find mitigation techniques that work for you.

Sad fact is that many psychiatrists, third-world or not, will not work for you. Not only do they need to be capable at their job in general, they need to be knowledgable about ADD, and you need to be able to connect with them, so things actually make sense.

It's an arduous process finding the one psychiatrist who works for you

Re: How I Used ADD to Build Great Businesses

#60

Post by reeses »

Buzaga wrote: post #57
reeses wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My BS armchair psychiatric definition of ADD is that it was useful when our genetic forebears had to be "distracted" every minute or so to be aware of the need to attack or protect themselves or their social units. It's one of those hypotheses that I don't have the intellectual honesty or rigor to follow up, but it's a simplifying lie that allows me to put it to the back burner. Selfish gene, blah blah.

Well but then diagnosing this equals to making our own nature wrong(or sick) by definition and then it's a paradox... if we need to start synthetically molding our body and cognitive functions that are healthy for the animal we are because it doesn't fit the society we designed and built for us ourselves to live comfortably... well, then something's wrong.

As a species, those of us in the developed world stopped evolving in many ways since the industrial revolution. Traits that increased the probability of reproduction hundreds, thousands, or millions of years ago stopped becoming a competitive advantage.

What you describe is not a paradox. The brain can self-diagnose and regulate the individual. Sometimes it's the introduction of foreign chemicals into the system (food, medication, whatever) and sometimes it is internal restructuring (learning).

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