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Comment by QuackingJimbo | Hacker News Reader

I disagree with his list of upsides -- there is no upside to ADHD. It is a disability. I've been able to manage it without using stimulants, through very careful planning and trial and error (step #1 is avoiding useless wastes of time such as reading HN). But it just sucks.

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I don't know. I can't write a CRUD app anymore to save my life, but I can dive into the middle of a foreign code base and quickly understand it and solve issues that stump the primary developers. I struggle with normal daily activities like paying bills or putting away laundry, but in an emergency or high stress situation when others are freaking out I feel comfortable and in control. I struggle with conventional learning, but can pick up things which align with my interests (which are wide and diverse) extremely quickly. The negatives are there, and they can be severe... but I do still see some upsides. I'm currently unmedicated, but have been on Adderall in the past. I've been able to manage it mostly by changing jobs when they become stable and boring or taking on roles where I'm constantly working on new projects for short amounts of time. I suspect at some point this will stop working and I'll have to change careers entirely and end up as a chef, or woodworker or something else completely different than what I do now. Maybe by that time I'll agree with your position, but I feel like I'm able to use ADHD to my advantage for the time being.

I feel the same way. I've never been diagnosed with ADHD but can relate to all the descriptions of it here.

In the past I jokingly said I need the stress and I think it holds true. In high pressure/thight deadline situations I can work with a high focus for hours but struggle working on projects which are going smooth.

I think theres a reason so many ADHD people are in tech.

I am diagnosed, and ADHD sucks of course, but I feel there are many upsides. Immunity to the “existential terror” is one (due to inability to comprehend life time as a whole). When hyperfocus turns on on something relevant (which rarely happens of course), magic things could happen.

why without stimulants?

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