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Mental illness, attention deficit disorder, and suffering

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Re: Mental illness, attention deficit disorder, and suffering

#91

Post by lghh »

gfody wrote: post #79
hatware wrote: post #48

Wow, really nice article that gives practical examples of what ADD/HD looks like. I am not officially diagnosed, but I am 99% sure ADD/HD is something I have coped with my entire life. This has come up only recently with the pandemic forcing my schedule to change, and I started to realize how much the "9-5 routine" was keeping my train on its tracks and hiding any semblance of an attention disorder. It's really inter…

> wondering what your true potential looks like since adhd is treated with amphetamine which is essentially a performance enhancing drug that boosts your focus/awareness/intensity. it's probably dangerous to think of your medicated self's potential as being truer than your natural self's. seems like a trap.

Yep, just like someone who takes insulin for their diabetes should not refer to themself on insulin as "their true self".

Re: Mental illness, attention deficit disorder, and suffering

#93

Post by nu11ptr »

I can relate to certain parts of the author's post, but not all of it. I do like that I can focus very intensely and work for hours on end on a single subject, BUT (and it is a big but) it is very hard for me to get there and I have to be vastly interested in the subject. Sometimes I can go weeks, or even months, on a very exciting project (80 hour weeks voluntarily) only to get to some very mundane or boring parts and then go weeks struggling to work at all (and spend weeks trying to shift into a more exciting part to get me revved up again). If it is a subject I hate and don't find interesting at all it is very difficult to get the work done. Overall, I consider ADD in my case way more of a negative than a positive. I'd give it up for free in a heartbeat.

Re: Mental illness, attention deficit disorder, and suffering

#94

Post by lghh »

hatware wrote: post #48

Wow, really nice article that gives practical examples of what ADD/HD looks like. I am not officially diagnosed, but I am 99% sure ADD/HD is something I have coped with my entire life. This has come up only recently with the pandemic forcing my schedule to change, and I started to realize how much the "9-5 routine" was keeping my train on its tracks and hiding any semblance of an attention disorder. It's really inter…

I recently went through the exact same process you're going through. I'd be happy to chat if you have questions or anything. Email in profile if you want.

Re: Mental illness, attention deficit disorder, and suffering

#95

Post by intellix »

nu11ptr wrote: post #93

I can relate to certain parts of the author's post, but not all of it. I do like that I can focus very intensely and work for hours on end on a single subject, BUT (and it is a big but) it is very hard for me to get there and I have to be vastly interested in the subject. Sometimes I can go weeks, or even months, on a very exciting project (80 hour weeks voluntarily) only to get to some very mundane or boring parts a…

I feel exactly the same way. The ultra focus are only when it's super interesting and most of the times it's a struggle to focus

Re: Mental illness, attention deficit disorder, and suffering

#96

Post by orangepurple »

FollowingTheDao wrote: post #36
orangepurple wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Daily 20 hour water (& salt) fasting reduced my desire to jump between tasks. Less scatter-brained too. My thoughts stay on rails longer. Didn't change my diet much; I don't eat many refined foods or carbs other than occasional bread. Years ago in college I was prescribed Adderall but it didn't make me focus more. It made me compulsively clean my apartment, masturbate, tweak out, and occasionally be extremely paranoi…

It’s quite possible you don’t have ADHD. They diagnosed me with ADHD and gave me Adderall. It threw me in to manic episode which landed me into the hospital.

I was diagnosed with ADHD at age 13 when my parents were at a loss as to why I could not focus on my schoolwork and homework. They gave me Ritalin at the time, which only made me hostile (their words; I don't recall)

Re: Mental illness, attention deficit disorder, and suffering

#97

Post by orangepurple »

lr4444lr wrote: post #32
orangepurple wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Daily 20 hour water (& salt) fasting reduced my desire to jump between tasks. Less scatter-brained too. My thoughts stay on rails longer. Didn't change my diet much; I don't eat many refined foods or carbs other than occasional bread. Years ago in college I was prescribed Adderall but it didn't make me focus more. It made me compulsively clean my apartment, masturbate, tweak out, and occasionally be extremely paranoi…

Daily 20 hour water (& salt) fasting reduced my desire to jump between tasks You mean you only consumed water and salt for 20 hours of the day, or avoided these? Just trying to get clarity. Also, did you find that type of carb food had much impact, or just overall amount?

I only consume water, salt, and black coffee for 20 hours of the day.

I found myself reaching for more sweets both natural and artificial when confronted with stressful or difficult tasks as a coping or escape mechanism. This was very distracting. It was the hardest of all to reduce the intake of artificial sweeteners. I used to compulsively chew gum. Gum with aspartame did help me lose 70 pounds when I first started fasting, but I have since sworn it off entirely, as I find the sweets cravings to be a source of distraction themselves. The cravings and irrational dreams of injecting sweets do end after a while. I was very addicted to sweets and was unable to feel full. I think nowadays this is called leptin resistance.

Re: Mental illness, attention deficit disorder, and suffering

#98

Post by triggercut »

lghh wrote: post #73
symlinkk wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I mean, anyone benefits from Adderall whether you have ADHD or not. How are you so sure you really have it?

I understand why you're asking. I have often felt that way myself and it's why I put off getting treatment for so long. I was worried I would just end up being some 30 year old tech dude addicted to adderall who didn't actually need it. I want to address those questions in others since getting a diagnosis was so helpful for me. I want to educate around it. The short answer is that I was diagnosed independently by 2 p…

From one data point in the sea to another, this is genuinely good to see.

Re: Mental illness, attention deficit disorder, and suffering

#99

Post by strken »

djur wrote: post #34
GavinMcG wrote: post #16

The author really does not do a great job, here, at least in saying something sensible as a response to DeBoer's piece. The core premise seems to be that: > I find it so very irritating that there is no term for my so-called ⸢attention deficit disorder⸣ that does not have the word “disorder” baked into it. I know what a disorder is, and this isn't one. But the author then argues against a strawman: > Why does any dev…

The "neurodiversity" viewpoint here is that what we call "ADHD" is part of the natural variation in how human brains work, and that it's a category error to think of it as a malfunction to be repaired, but rather as a difference to be accommodated. That accommodation may or may not be via medication and therapy, but that shouldn't necessarily mean that the underlying neurological state is a diseased one. A good analo…

I'm several standard deviations above the mean in height and it absolutely is a disorder. I can point to the exact hormonal pathway that led to it along with a specific biological root cause, but even if I couldn't, I think it would be disordered. I'll die earlier than a shorter person, have joint and bone problems, have cardiac issues, and nightclubs are way less fun when you can see the entire room.

More to the point, I don't think I'd consider it very offensive if someone called my height a disorder, because it's not core to my identity in the same way thinking is. Calling ADHD (or autism, etc.) a disorder feels like telling someone they're personally deficient, because the person is inextricable from the condition. Growing really tall in your teens is something that happens to you; having ADHD your whole life is something that you are. Note that this is true even if their thinking does meet the criteria to be a disorder.

Re: Mental illness, attention deficit disorder, and suffering

#100

Post by orangepurple »

lghh wrote: post #55
orangepurple wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Daily 20 hour water (& salt) fasting reduced my desire to jump between tasks. Less scatter-brained too. My thoughts stay on rails longer. Didn't change my diet much; I don't eat many refined foods or carbs other than occasional bread. Years ago in college I was prescribed Adderall but it didn't make me focus more. It made me compulsively clean my apartment, masturbate, tweak out, and occasionally be extremely paranoi…

On the other hand, starting adderall was the best personal decision I have ever made. I am less angry, less impulsive, more deliberate, more attentive, more kind, and more patient. Your reaction sounds like the reaction of someone without ADHD. I'm not claiming that's the case. I know everyone has different reactions to medications and you should do what's best for you. That said, starting adderall literally changed…

I didn't mean to imply that I only eat bread. Just that it is my main source of the few carbohydrates I eat anymore. They will have to pry chocolate from my cold dead hands.
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