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The Selling of Attention Deficit Disorder

nytimes.com

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Re: The Selling of Attention Deficit Disorder

#91

Post by throwaway799880 »

onedev wrote: post #88
RankingMember wrote: post #55

I've been on adderall for awhile, and while it has had a marked positive effect on my ability to focus (which has been life changing), the negative side effects suck. I've looked into DIY biofeedback setups, and look forward to the day cheap off-the-shelf biofeedback setups become available for treating ADHD.

I fucking hate that it destroys appetite as well as sleep schedules. It turns you into a zombie, it's terrible.

Have you tried just dextroamphetamine? I was originally on that with no sleep problems, then switched to Adderall during a shortage and immediately couldn't sleep through the night.

Re: The Selling of Attention Deficit Disorder

#92

Post by thaumasiotes »

Shinkei wrote: post #62
invalidOrTaken wrote: post #3

I don't know. I just don't know. I earned a perfect score on the SAT and was voted "Class Genius" in the yearbook, but barely graduated from high school. I was dismissed from university. I went to work for a machine learning company, where we (self included!) did some really neat stuff, including some heroic pre-sales-meeting coding that saved the day in a minor way. But I was fired six months in for low productivity…

This is an honest post, thanks for sharing. I am confused by something though. I have only (to my knowledge) known one person that got a perfect score on the SAT. The reason is that it requires both reasoning as well as 'stamp collecting'--(i.e. book knowledge). If you didn't bother to learn all the obscure vocabulary words used on the SAT that most high schoolers don't know--(extol, capricious, etc.)--then you must'…

I also scored 1600 as a senior (during the 2003-04 school year). As an 8th-grader in 1999-2000, I took the SAT and scored "only" 790 verbal, so high school wasn't good for much in the way of verbal points.

I read a lot. That's what it's testing.

Re: The Selling of Attention Deficit Disorder

#93

Post by atmosx »

invalidOrTaken wrote: post #3

I don't know. I just don't know. I earned a perfect score on the SAT and was voted "Class Genius" in the yearbook, but barely graduated from high school. I was dismissed from university. I went to work for a machine learning company, where we (self included!) did some really neat stuff, including some heroic pre-sales-meeting coding that saved the day in a minor way. But I was fired six months in for low productivity…

I envy you for having the feeling that you do the best you can do. I'd like to make it a constant, but I can't. I'm so happy for myself when it happens and strangely, I never care about the result - it's liberating.

Re: The Selling of Attention Deficit Disorder

#94

Post by vellum »

RankingMember wrote: post #55

I've been on adderall for awhile, and while it has had a marked positive effect on my ability to focus (which has been life changing), the negative side effects suck. I've looked into DIY biofeedback setups, and look forward to the day cheap off-the-shelf biofeedback setups become available for treating ADHD.

Try some l-theanine. It smooths out the jitters and the comedown effect. Take 100-200 mg every time you take Adderall and also before you go to sleep.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theanine

Re: The Selling of Attention Deficit Disorder

#95

Post by atmosx »

I'm European, I live in Greece/Italy/Czech Republic. We don't we have ADHD or ADD as a notion in Europe.

I'm having a hard time believing that it's an actual problem. But on the other hand dismissing easily something that people here believe they are affected from, it's wrong.

Re: The Selling of Attention Deficit Disorder

#97

Post by vellum »

atmosx wrote: post #95

I'm European, I live in Greece/Italy/Czech Republic. We don't we have ADHD or ADD as a notion in Europe. I'm having a hard time believing that it's an actual problem . But on the other hand dismissing easily something that people here believe they are affected from, it's wrong.

We don't we have ADHD or ADD as a notion in Europe.

That's starting to change.

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/8b721a20-b8e9-11e2-a6ae-00144...

Re: The Selling of Attention Deficit Disorder

#98

Post by kevinkyyro »

maratd wrote: post #68
invalidOrTaken wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I want to engage with this comment because it's one commonly encountered with this sort of thing. >Oh please, enough with the drama. I've led the same life. So has everyone else here. It is precisely my tiring of drama that's led me to my present attitude. Please note that this was a response to an article someone else posted, not a please-pay-attention-to-me self-post. I never talk about this sort of thing in person…

> Candidly, this strikes me as relatively irresponsible advice, and half-humblebrag. "I just get so bored with normal corporate work, you know? I always need something new." Wouldn't know, I've never done corporate work. Merely commenting that I myself frequently get tired of doing the same thing after a month or two, to the point where things simply don't get done. Hence the recommendation for short-term projects. >…

It's a false dichotomy to assume you must either a) reject conditions or b) be medicated. This is especially true considering that at least one of the "conditions" mentioned by invalidOrTaken was a social conditions (e.g. millennial entitlement), rather than medical -- widely accepted as such or not.

Suppose some condition that one may have is a real phenomenon and not just sensationalism, then knowing one has the condition allows him or her to better understand what leads to poor performance; you might need short projects because you lose interest, but someone else's performance might be more dependent on the management style of the company due to a symptomatic loss of focus instead.

Re: The Selling of Attention Deficit Disorder

#99

Post by dan00 »

modfodder wrote: post #11
invalidOrTaken wrote: post #3

I don't know. I just don't know. I earned a perfect score on the SAT and was voted "Class Genius" in the yearbook, but barely graduated from high school. I was dismissed from university. I went to work for a machine learning company, where we (self included!) did some really neat stuff, including some heroic pre-sales-meeting coding that saved the day in a minor way. But I was fired six months in for low productivity…

I have a similar history to yours (except GenX not millenial). I've built a decent career for myself, but have always struggled with SAD and bipolar symptoms. When I feel good I'm sure it's something I can control, but as soon as it sneaks up, my life goes into self-destruction mode. I always feel bad about complaining about the effect this has on my life as my income is typically in the top 10% in the U.S., but stil…

Perhaps you wouldn't be as good without these "downtimes".

I think a lot of the true potential thinking is just misguided.

Re: The Selling of Attention Deficit Disorder

#100

Post by enkephalin »

tibbon wrote: post #19

As a person with ADHD, that article was too long to hold my attention (no, I'm not making a joke here). Also, as a person with ADHD who takes Adderall I don't see what the big fuss about it as a drug/medicine is. It works. I don't (personally) note any side effects, and don't see any reason that I'd stop taking it. Before taking Adderall I was essentially self-medicating my ADHD with copious amounts of coffee on a da…

> Also, as a person with ADHD who takes Adderall I don't see what the big fuss about it as a drug/medicine is.

> Over diagnosed? Sure. But I don't see why this drug is so demonized, where nicotine, alcohol and caffeine are just kinda standard parts of society and accepted.

the fuss is about the pharma industry spending millions upon millions on getting ever more people to take these meds. and for the wrong reasons.

“Medicines may make it easier to pay attention and control your behavior!”

"Adderall XR Improves Academic Performance"

these are statements that hold true for EVERYBODY, and not just for people suffering from adhd. that's what stimulants do. the pharma industry is basically trying to get as much people as possible (especially children) hooked on legal stimulants. that's what the fuss is about. it's like marketing opiates as drugs that 'take the edge of'. everybody could do with some of that. most probably on a daily basis.

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