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Hacking ADHD: Strategies for the modern developer

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Re: Hacking ADHD: Strategies for the modern developer

#61

Post by helboi4 »

Difwif wrote: post #39
upupupandaway wrote: post #10

I swear that every time I read an article by somebody who claims they've been diagnosed with ADHD, it is the same formula: "when I was a child...", "I didn't know what it was", ..., "I was finally diagnosed with ADHD", then finally "I have super powers no one else has so I will use them to my advantage". I would love to see an ADHD version of the horoscope/personality tests administered by Stagner and Forer. I predic…

I have been personally diagnosed with ADHD and have benefited from medication but it doesn't come without its costs. My wife was diagnosed when she was very young and we've had a lot of time to run self experiments and discuss ideas. I don't think people want to hear this but I believe so many people think they have ADHD because of a lack of discipline. Even people with ADHD will understand what I'm talking about. So…

Yep, I know a lot of people who have the most horrible lifestyles who claim to have ADHD. I had previously been entirely useless in my life and claimed to be depressed. As soon as I made an effort to be happy and implement healthy coping mechanisms I quickly became a much more functional human being. I have found myself recently wondering if I have ADHD a lot. I'm starting to realise this may be the same thing and I do need to have some self discipline. I am pre-disposed to being disorganised, terrible at dealing with time and very contrary in the face of things I don't want to do. However, I'm pretty sure these are things I can sorta improve on and are not so tied to my brain chemistry that I must yield to them. Recently I had a gf who was hypersensitive to all noise, practically unable to sleep, extremely hyperactive, addictive tendencies, impulsive to a ridiculous level, terrible relationship to food, always talking too much or too little to hold a conversation as expected, worse concept of time than me, constantly living in an extreme level of chaos. She was recently diagnosed ADHD and nothing has ever been less surprising to me in my life. That gave me a good insight about what is the difference between me being pretty disorganised and always feeling like it's hard to start doing things, and what being ADHD looks like. Mainly, I do not have all these other neurodivergent tendencies like hypersensitivity. So hopefully I will be able to continue working towards functioning as a normal adult although I do find it sorta challenging. I am investigating physical medical reasons for my difficulty focusing and still looking to see if I can get assessed though, just to rule anything out. But I think I can do a lot more with my behaviour than I think.

Re: Hacking ADHD: Strategies for the modern developer

#62

Post by ShamelessC »

I love how this community has such a disproportionate number of people who have ADHD. It's almost like programming is actually just incredibly difficult to pay attention to for any normal human being and the field is competitive enough that people basically have to find a way to get a prescription for stimulants.

(Honestly not trying to discredit anyone actually suffering from ADHD, just seem implausible to me that so many have it given that programming also just requires an unhealthy amount of attention to finish tasks in a "timely" manner).

Re: Hacking ADHD: Strategies for the modern developer

#63

Post by fredgrott »

From someone that actually has ADHD and has finally got it under control:

1. Our genetics means that one gene producing double the dopamine uptake receptors and a combo of other genes messes with something else (50% of all ADHDers have an anxiety disorder either GABA or serotonin based). In fact that is why ADDERALL is not addictive for us but is addictive to a normal person with the normal count of dopamine uptake receptors as cocaine, meth, etc. work on the TAART stretch of the dopamine uptake receptor. 2. Dopamine analogs plus coffee troopics tend to work at getting leverage to put time org and note org on top. My stack is: -30 mg caffeine taken one to 2 hours after waking when cortisol starts decreasing -green tea extract -maca extract -vitamins through fenugreek -dopamine analog via goji berries -L-theanine to stretch the 2 hour caffeine effect to 6 hours

Note for non ADHD people your cortisol starts decreasing after you wake about 1 to 2 hours after waking as this is what made caffeine drinks a habit. It is not wrong to take caffeine an hour or two after waking or at 10 am. You just should follow it up with the weak EGCG found in green tea and L-theanine to make it stretch to 6 hours.

Re: Hacking ADHD: Strategies for the modern developer

#64

Post by icepat »

83457 wrote: post #11
icepat wrote: post #3

I've been in the diagnostic process for ADHD twice. First time I ended up losing all the paperwork, and getting kicked out of it. In the time between the first and second attempt, I developed PTSD which essentially stalled the second diagnostic as they could not cleanly differentiate between the two. For some reason, getting a diagnosis has been nearly impossible for me, despite each diagnostician saying "ADHD is hig…

How does your PTSD present? Have you tried meditation and breathing exercises?

Yes to both. I also wear an Apple Watch with the main display being a heart rate graph to monitor my stress levels over the day. I tend to average a resting rate of 100 bpm during periods of higher stress, and between 60-70 in periods of lower stress. Longer periods of high BPM indicates that I need to take a break.

The PTSD presents mostly in incredibly severe trust issues, periodic nightmares related to events, depersonalization, sleep problems, and paranoia. I also have an absurdly overblown startle response that looks more like a panic attack than someone being jump-startled. If I'm startled "badly enough", it triggers a panic attack. "Badly enough" can simply be someone tapping me on the shoulder when I didn't notice them coming up behind me.

Re: Hacking ADHD: Strategies for the modern developer

#65

Post by gregsadetsky »

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…

Fascinating! A few questions:

- once the LED has slowed down to 60 bpm, do you keep it at that tempo for the rest of the day? for a few hours? do you ever go back to 120 bpm and then go back down?

- generally speaking, how did you come up with the idea?

- do you think that a software version (i.e. some blinking pixels in the top right corner of a monitor) would work, or is the intensity of the LED (i.e. the fact that it's not part of the monitor) part of the reason why it works?

- could you also talk about the heart-rate sensor - how do you use it / how does it affect the bpm algorithm?

Thanks!

Re: Hacking ADHD: Strategies for the modern developer

#66

Post by Uptrenda »

I've gone through the process now of being reviewed for ADHD both in Australia and the US, and I can say Australia really makes the process nightmarish.

To start with: the meds are so restricted ordinary doctors / GPs can't prescribe them. And trying to bring up 'ADHD' may get you labeled as a 'drug seeker.' But let's say you get an appointment with a psychiatrist (the ordained ministers who can write stimulant prescriptions) - wait times can be anywhere from 3 - 6 months. Upon which you're not guaranteed to be taken seriously because psychiatry isn't an exact science and not every doctor even acknowledges everything in the DSM.

In the state that I'm in I had to be drug tested before and after getting on ADHD meds. Before to make sure that I wasn't a drug seeker. And after to confirm I was taking the meds and not selling them. My doctor then had to apply for a special license just to write my script. He did this by writing a letter full of supporting clinical information and applying for the license to issue the script. So after all that effort (easily 9+ months) you get the chance to be given meds by such a doctor. But currently there are supply chain shortages so many people aren't even able to get their meds.

My US experience (much shorter):

When I was in the US I used a telehealth app on my phone to speak to a amazing clinician who specialized in ADHD (google some or this looks like shilling.) I had my meds not long after that. I currently don't bother with medication though because although it works exceptionally well: I can't sleep on them. I'd say to US people - have a look at some of the apps out there. You'll want to go with people who can actually prescribe and not psychologists.

Keep in mind there are other reasons that can cause concentration issues (depression and insomnia are examples.) It would probably be better for most people not to have ADHD as other illnesses are potentially easier to treat with less side effects.

((I really liked the conciseness, typography, and artwork in the article, by the way.))

Re: Hacking ADHD: Strategies for the modern developer

#67

Post by escapedmoose »

Difwif wrote: post #39
upupupandaway wrote: post #10

I swear that every time I read an article by somebody who claims they've been diagnosed with ADHD, it is the same formula: "when I was a child...", "I didn't know what it was", ..., "I was finally diagnosed with ADHD", then finally "I have super powers no one else has so I will use them to my advantage". I would love to see an ADHD version of the horoscope/personality tests administered by Stagner and Forer. I predic…

I have been personally diagnosed with ADHD and have benefited from medication but it doesn't come without its costs. My wife was diagnosed when she was very young and we've had a lot of time to run self experiments and discuss ideas. I don't think people want to hear this but I believe so many people think they have ADHD because of a lack of discipline. Even people with ADHD will understand what I'm talking about. So…

For a while there I thought I had ADHD, and started looking for avenues to get diagnosed. But when I talked more with some friends who have serious cases of it, I started to doubt. Instead of going for the medication, I removed distracting apps from my phone and logged out of socials. It took a few weeks to settle into the routine, but now my focus/attention problems are all but gone. Go figure!

Re: Hacking ADHD: Strategies for the modern developer

#68

Post by icepat »

sureglymop wrote: post #37
icepat wrote: post #3

I've been in the diagnostic process for ADHD twice. First time I ended up losing all the paperwork, and getting kicked out of it. In the time between the first and second attempt, I developed PTSD which essentially stalled the second diagnostic as they could not cleanly differentiate between the two. For some reason, getting a diagnosis has been nearly impossible for me, despite each diagnostician saying "ADHD is hig…

I feel incredibly lucky that my parents got me evaluated for ADHD and Autism when I was still a minor. It's much much harder as an adult. There is a lot of stigmatization and also this thought of "oh you got through school, oh you got this far" for adults with ADHD. I used to take medication and it helped me a lot. Now however I have come off of them completely. The side effects can be devastating. In my case, I deve…

> The advice I can give is to actively seek interaction with others suffering from the same, actively accept and ask for all accommodations and help, give yourself enough time for what you need to do and don't compare your experience to the neurotypical one. It is different and it's a matter of coping and accepting oneself and ones disadvantages as a normal part of life.

This has been my approach at this point. I've had to accept that I will likely never get medication, or even a proper diagnosis. My family actively fought every teacher who suggested I had ADHD, and there were several. Very honestly, the only reason I have sought diagnosis is to get accommodation which would let me work within the focus patterns ADHD causes.

My closest friend has ADHD, and my partner is in the process of getting an ASD diagnosis. The majority of my time is spent around neuroodivergent types.

Simply having people around you who share your experience is incredibly helpful, since you can talk to them freely and be understood. I've given up trying to discuss the experience with people who are NT simply because the understanding that the challenges I face are not just inconvenient just isn't there.

Re: Hacking ADHD: Strategies for the modern developer

#69

Post by cmplxconjugate »

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…

This should be a product.

Re: Hacking ADHD: Strategies for the modern developer

#70

Post by idlewords »

ADHD is medicalizing a set of mental habits that many smart people form early in life partly out of boredom, and partly because they can get away with it. The criteria for diagnosing it in adults are impossibly vague and ad-hoc, and I have yet to meet anyone who went through the evaluation process who wasn't diagnosed with it.

By all means have at it if you enjoy legal access to terrific stimulants (they really do help you focus!), but maybe take the idea that you've suffered under the burden of lifelong illness with a grain of salt. ADHD is our generation's neurasthenia.

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