Hacker News Reader

Comment by vonseel | Hacker News Reader

I’m 31 and have ADHD (diagnosed in my teens) and I’m pretty sure NOBODY with ADHD is going to have the wherewithal to read this entire article! Unless it happens to magically coincide with their hyper-focus topic of the moment!

In all seriousness, I skimmed parts of the article and kept scrolling and it just kept going and going and going... like the Energizer bunny. I guess the author found a doctor to prescribe stimulants; they do make it easy to write long rants.

I can identify with some of his analogies, not all. The forgetfulness, standing at desk with power supply / getting “stuck”, lots of that sounds familiar. Some of the stuff he talks about is behavioral though and if it can be called lazy, it probably is at least partially lazy. I could never file TPS reports everyday, but I can do it occasionally. My brain’s capable of it. I just don’t like doing boring things. And yeah, I probably wouldn’t last if I had to do boring things everyday for a job. But the article makes it sound like he’s actually not capable of doing a boring thing.

The more interesting parts of ADHD are the stuff that is lesser-known and often overlooked, like mood swings and anger/irritability issues. Ironically stimulants pretty much cured lifelong mood issues for me. I used to blow up on people all the time; now I’m easygoing.

View on HN

> Unless it happens to magically coincide with their hyper-focus topic of the moment!

It's funny. People with ADHD suffer from attention deficit but at the same time they display hyperattention when they encounter a subject they like. I've experienced it as well: once I start programming I have no problem doing it for 12 hours straight. I've found this trait in many ADHD patients. There's usually something that really turns them on and I always try to find it.

I think of it as an signal/noise ratio problem. Very high signal is needed to grab their attention and there is very low tolerance for noise.

The way I've come to describe it with my therapist is that it feels like, internally, I have 12 different brains. All of them are constantly scanning around, interested in different things, making it very hard to focus on one thing, but conversely making me very good at understanding a thing as a whole.

The other part of this analogy is that when there is something that grabs my interest, it grabs it with all 12 brains and I bury myself in that interest until I burn out after a few hours.

I find that ADHD makes me a very good architect and a very bad regular programmer.

You have no idea how much sense that last sense made to me :)

I think as awful this sounds, it is also why often adhd people can synthesize a lot of information very quickly because their brains have this rapid association chain which can lead to absolutely lucid insights, downside is that it's hard for them to stay on topic and not go into rambling monologue mode.

I always had that. I can’t go as deep on subjects without force of will, hard. But I have always had a knack for integrating information and learning new things with a relatively high amount of new things but not a lot of density for each thing. This can add up, sneakily, to very dense knowledge on a subject and I have made that a part of how I learn. It’s great learning new frameworks, languages, and subjects. That surface scan and seeing the whole of something comes easily.

> I find that ADHD makes me a very good architect and a very bad regular programmer.

I know what you mean. I think if I could click with someone who's really organized and good at execution we could turn one of my 9 billion potentially-pretty-good ideas into an awesome company (I have a pet theory that this pattern is often why it takes 2 to found), but I have never really been able to connect with neurotypicals. They can play along where I can't even tune in, and worse, they are content where I am passionate.

* There's usually something that really turns them on and I always try to find it.*

Yep, and that something can drift over years, days, even minutes. I find code very conducive to hyperfocus, maybe more so than something like playing guitar - it's funny, because so much of coding can be mundane and repetitive, but that quality seems to help with getting started and finding a flow state.

I rarely hyperfocus on writing music or playing instruments anymore, but I used to zone out and play for hours. I'm not sure what changes in a person that makes that more difficult one day than the next.

If you think code can be repetitive, try learning to play an instrument.

Playing the same chords over and over again, making fewer and fewer mistakes, all while this song you used to love, you are now beginning to have serious doubts about.

It's less of an attention deficit and more of an _intention_ deficit.

There's plenty of intent. Just no ability to connect that to outcomes.

Yes, that's what I meant -- sorry if it was unclear. You know what you need to do, but you are unable to use that knowledge to do the thing.

My favorite explanation is that of a hunter.

Those with ADHD spend 90% of their time imagining, thinking, doing everything and nothing. And to any observer they look stupid, or undisciplined, or lazy.

Like the hunt, when somebody with ADHD encounters an situation with very high (perceived) consequences, they will lock into intense hyperfocus, completely singular in their goal.

So the modes of operation are 1) philosophize and daydream or 2) hunt

Is this real? I have no idea, probably not, but it helps me reason about myself better than feeling like a permanent victim

You might be quite interested in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9LRSgxbQqM

There's a few theories out there around sensory processing difficulties, which I've been looking into a lot lately to pretty good effect. Check out The Highly Sensitive Person. (Seriously. get yourself a pair of earplugs and see how that alters your sense of focus on moderately interesting tasks, if it does anything, you should read the book). The TLDR is that when engaging in a task you have to reach the correct activation level to perform it, and it's a struggle for some people.

Some people think that a lot of ADHD people or misdiagnosed, others that it's just another symptom of ADHD.

Which is why some people have to fidget, or listen to music, or move around in order to get stuff done. Or why I'm a worse driver if I can't have the radio on.

The pinnacle of this for me was about half a dozen years ago, I was slugging out some code for a personal project. But I was also feeling nostalgic for an old movie (can't recall which, but let's say it was The Princess Bride). So I put it on in the background. But this isn't quite getting me in The Zone, so this is the scene my partner walks into:

I'm sitting on the couch typing. In all likelihood my knee is bouncing (makes laptops a bit tricky). There's 90's music coming out of my laptop, The Princess Bride is on the TV.

Her head is about to explode. You would think I was killing kittens. She has an ADHD diagnosis, and this plan I have enacted is so anathema to her coping mechanisms that she can't even bear to witness it. Which is too bad because I was getting rather a lot done.

So strange that I have said almost exactly these words. The characteristics that we depended on for survival as hunters now make life difficult in the middle class.

My theory extends to my desire for action and my risk taking behavior as a younger person.

I have had the exact same thought. I have imagined myself being predisposed to being a great hunter. I would have no problem just idling away, alone in nature all day, until the final moment came.

Well, you described me to a T. So, I'd say yes it's pretty accurate. I think there's also some overlap w/ ASD, which I think I may also have to an extent. Undiagnosed though on that front.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hunter_vs._farmer_hypothesis

Hyperfocus is a coping skill if you suffer ADHD. Everyone can do it, but people who suffer from ADHD learn to get very good at getting into that state, because without it they struggle to maintain focus.

I have a pet theory that it's much easier for ADHD people to enter Flow state.

But also that Flow state is often a bad way to write code.

One, virtually everyone has a tremendous case of Sunk Cost Fallacy around things done in Flow state. If someone spent 10 hours in a week working on code that you say is badly conceived in a code review, you'll get pushback and grumbling. Argue with someone who did the PR in a single sitting? They will fight you. Hard. This is the most amazing code ever written (because I felt amazing while I was writing it). The rush goes to their heads.

Two, writing code for other people requires empathy. Rumination. Flow state is considerably absent of both of those. So the problems and gotchas you know about ahead of time get handled, but anything you find along the way is very likely to get ignored. The quantity of your code goes way, way up, the quality goes considerably in the other direction.

I made a conscious decision a while back (making official an unconscious one I'd already made) to stop seeking out Flow state. I felt better, but objectively, it hasn't done me any huge favors professionally. From a practical standpoint, me writing less code means that people who write more baroque code than I do at my worst get to set the narrative for larger slices of the codebase. But I've also done something I hate: reason that if a lot of something is bad, none of it is better.

I need a new plan, and I need it bad.

>Two, writing code for other people requires empathy. Rumination. Flow state is considerably absent of both of those. So the problems and gotchas you know about ahead of time get handled, but anything you find along the way is very likely to get ignored. The quantity of your code goes way, way up, the quality goes considerably in the other direction.

Yeah, I thought "flow" required extremely low resistance in the task (i.e., someone sewing, playing an instrument, or playing a relatively simple game competently and with no interruption of confusion, frustration, or distraction).

I wish I could code like that. xD Constant typing to an ambient soundtrack. Instead, it's a minefield of "uh wait I have to Google this thing", "uh, what should happen here?", "oh no, an error with a complicated message I probably also have to Google".

And I can only carry on the rubber ducking to competently deal with those with a FULL MARSHALLING of my mental resources, which seems too strenuous for "flow" and is exhausting after a few hours.

But if you're sewing, you're just sewing.

It doesn’t have to be that low friction. Generally you can maximize the effectiveness of your short term memory while in flow state. Part of your brain is smashing away at the low friction parts, the rest is strategizing, prioritizing.

There were times before I accepted that “massive refactor” is an oxymoron where I would keep some very complicated task lists in my head and manage to recall nearly all of them. Day to day? I can’t remember your name twenty seconds after you’ve told it to me, unless I work at it.

A common trick to remembering someones name is to repeat it, verbally, when they tell you, and to associate that name with something or someone else, mentally.

A study was done to pay people to build sand castles. In the experimental group, the people were told afterwards to knock down their sand castle (because the researchers said they wanted a different sand castle or something to that effect). In the control group, people were also told to build a new sand castle but in a different spot and so they would leave their other castle there. In the experimental group, people became very very demotivated and felt that their work was pointless and boring. It doesn't matter if you're ADHD or not, if your expectations are greater than reality and you have to kick your sandcastle over after building it, you're not going to do as well at your job.

As a code reviewer they should be giving you a compliment sandwich where the criticism or constructive feedback is placed in between two compliments. As a coder, I've found adding async and await to functions does a lot to make your code look sexier to code reviewers even if it doesn't have a perceptible performance impact on non-network calls.

If I were to comment on a new plan for you, I'd say let flow state be your friend and not your enemy. After all, you have a chair you probably have to sit in for ~8 hours a day while you stare at a computer screen full of code and that's hard for anyone to do for that long let alone someone with ADHD. Flow state will give you an advantage over others. Invariably, your flow state will break. Use that time to spend more time talking to the stakeholders in your group because sometimes stakeholders want what they want and nothing else. They'll appreciate the time you took to listen to them, they'll trust and believe in you more (instead of you being an unknown variable), they'll be more confident that they'll get what they want, and you'll benefit from the confirmation bias. If you deliver what they want, it's less likely that their sandcastle will get kicked over -- though still not unlikely.

5-10 years ago there was a study that said that contrary to common wisdom, 20 minutes is not the minimum necessary to get cardio benefits from exercise. 3x7 minutes also works. This changed my life. I'd gotten so out of shape that 12 minutes hurt, and also if you disappear at work for 25 minutes at a stretch people will talk. 8 minutes twice a day and once after work is easy.

Getting away from the desk for 5 minutes can give you a lot of perspective, and unstick you from a host of problems. I think if I go back (when I go back?) I'll find a pomodoro app that lets you customize the intervals.

I think I agree with everything except this:

> As a code reviewer they should be giving you a compliment sandwich where the criticism or constructive feedback is placed in between two compliments.

Manageable when the code review is 50 lines. Not so easy to do when it's over 500 lines. Damned awkward when the person outranks you, too. I don't know where the cutoff is, but I feel like there's a point where this advice feels like victim blaming, or at least codependency. Don't put your coworkers in this situation, please.

As for knocking over the sandcastle, I agree this is something all humans wrestle with, maybe developers especially. Almost nobody wants to accept that their code is ephemeral. We always push back. Zen or a little horticulture can give you perspective. Kids might too, but that takes decades to play out. Plants are always changing, and they'll never be exactly the way you picture them in your head for longer than a moment. They're alive, and making them 'do' anything is a negotiation that often goes in directions you didn't anticipate. For good or ill.

If anyone has ever tried pushing two strong magnets together at the spots where the same poles are facing one another, where the magnets repel instead of attract, they can understand a bit about what its like to try and focus on something that isn't very stimulating on ADHD.

Each time you try, just as you get close, they slide off one another and all around, until they stick at a different spot. Those sticky spots, are all the very stimulating tasks.

Attention Deficit isn't an inability to focus, it's an inability to exert executive control over focus. When there's nothing interesting going on this manifests as wandering attention. When there's something interesting going on this manifests as a crippling inability to process background events like appointments and bedtime.

This is a great definition of ADHD

I have had this problem through my whole life... My parents and I have never understood that this definition is ADHD and always assumed it was inability to focus. My mom have always been big about don't take pills unless you absolutely have too.

However it isn't until older age I finally been able to force my exert executive control to focus. It has taken a lot of practice and challenging myself and it wasn't until the age of 26 I finally been able to go to college. I keep challenging myself and I feel it get easier and easier every year.

So now I start to question the inability part. Or if it's something you can actually practice and get over.

Practice helps, it’s just an uphill battle without meds.

There are many books on the subject of good exercises, and some therapists that specialise in helping adhd people.

Can u recommend any?

I went down into dark depression 2 years back. Wife just had our first baby. I was 38. I used my kid to draw me out of depression so I didn't do anything stupid to myself. Went to therapy over a year ago, was diagnosed with ADHD. At the same time I started doing crossfit and lost 90 pounds in 3 months. My PCP prescribed me Vyvanse, and just being able to focus a little better and see my life change for better and maybe some of the coping stuff I picked up from therapy and I've not had any depression really since day one of therapy.

Honestly, I think therapy had the least effect except realization what was wrong. Drugs I think helped the most.. lately it feels like they're not as good though, or I feel like I'm in a funk. I don't know if that's just life or being overworked or just I need a dose change. Maybe if I cut it cold turkey a week, then get back on it'd reboot or something.

TLDR: I just feel I'm getting off track a lot more lately than I was the previous 14 months. Not sure what I should do, maybe go back to therapy? Maybe focus more on mindfulness/stoicism? Up my dose of Vyvanse? Go back to the gym? All the above?

> TLDR: I just feel I'm getting off track a lot more lately than I was the previous 14 months. Not sure what I should do, maybe go back to therapy? Maybe focus more on mindfulness/stoicism? Up my dose of Vyvanse? Go back to the gym? All the above?

My understanding is that tolerance is essentially inevitable when you're taking stimulants. I've made a point of checking in with a psychiatrist on a monthly basis so they can help me measure it semi-objectively and adjust if necessary. When resistance does start to develop, a psychiatrist will also have plenty of options for managing it; for example, I think that some people rotate between amphetamine salts, methylphenidate, and other stimulants over the course of several years. They'll also be able to help you figure out which other courses of action would be most helpful, figuring out what issues are actually causing you the most problems and how to address those effectively and so on.

TL;DR There are specialists for "I think my medication isn't working any more" and I'd strongly recommend talking to one, both for this specific problem and on an ongoing basis so you're not forced to try to observe your head from the inside.

im having a similar issue and am also prescribed vyvanse (or elvanse as its called here) i like to test theories out myself so ive tried taking extra and it does seem to help so i plan on asking about a dosage increase at my next review

i also tried cold turkey for near a month in the hope it would lower my tolerance but sadly no such luck, it did however give me some spare meds with which to try the higher dose

Taking extra is a fast track to burnout and disaster. Do it at your own peril.

the symptoms of anxiety and adhd can be very similar.

> i performed well above average, including the estimated iq

This has nothing to do with ADHD.

> i would often under perform on the easier parts and over perform on the harder parts

It is very common that people with ADHD perform better on harder things and will have a problem focusing on simpler (and thus boring) problems.

> This has nothing to do with ADHD.

it literally does have to do with it because it was part of the results of being tested for adhd. i had mentioned the iq thing because i meant to elaborate. it was explained to me that the testing is designed to be independent of iq. however, i am a little suspicious of that fact.

when i say performed well above average i meant that i fell statistically well away from results that point to adhd.

It's can be a fleeting or an obsessive focus. Also, if you tack on depression, it's difficult (for me) to prioritize and proportionality/negative cognitive distortions get in the way of almost everything and depression makes everything seem and feel 1000x harder.

it becomes even stranger when you have both ADD and autism, sometimes i can be completely lost in something for long tracks of time to the point that it blocks out most everything else and other times the slightest thing will shift my focus entirely

it makes it difficult to become good at things you naturally arent good at, once ive been knocked off my obsessive focus on something theres a solid chance ill likely never go back to it. at times i can become almost an expert at things in a very short space of time but as soon as something else takes my focus the new subject basically erases the previous one from my memory

medication has helped greatly but i think i may need to either get my dose adjusted or shift to an alternative medication as im starting to fall back into getting easily distracted again

addendum:

crap i just noticed i spent so long reading and thinking about this that im now late for work, its this sort of thing that causes issues (and yet here i am wasting more time writing this!)

That's interesting to hear about ADHD causing mood swings/anger/irritability and the stimulants doing away with them. Is that a common trait of the illness? I only noticed that after I started taking stimulants my temper became a lot more short. It's to the point that I have to be really cognizant of it lest I inadvertently snap at someone due to some biological response (really not good as a leader in an organization).

So I'm not a researcher, just a sufferer, but my understanding is that yes, emotional regulation issues are common with ADHD. Attention-deficit is kind of a misnomer; a lot of doctors now think "executive functioning disorder" would be a better name. Executive functioning is sort of the layer that sits on top of our underlying systems - whether they be behavioral or emotional - and allows us some level of conscious agency over that stuff.

Poor executive functioning is why I could never make myself start writing a paper prior to the day or two before it was due, despite the rising sense of panic I would get for weeks. (This is key -- it's not laziness, because good lord did I wish I were able to do the work. To me, lazy ~= apathy, and what I felt was just about the polar opposite of apathy.)

Poor executive functioning is also why, unmedicated, it was sometimes difficult to not let my initial emotional reactions just come flying out. It was like there was an express lane between my limbic system and my action system, totally bypassing my ability to control it. I would find myself snapping out something and as it was coming out of my mouth, I would be kicking myself and thinking "Why in god's name am I saying this right now?"

Medication has helped with all of the above and more.

What I will say is that stimulants also can have a tendency to put some people on edge and increase sympathetic nervous system activity, so shorter temper could be a side effect for sure. If it's affecting you that strongly, maybe speak with your doctor about a slightly lower dose?

Or is there a possibility that you only became aware of your tendency to have a short temper once you became medicated? An interesting chicken/egg question; I'm just asking rhetorically, mind, because I have a lot of similar questions.

That sounds like a good explanation for why I've been avoiding studying for something for weeks but feeling guilty, even sick, the whole time about it.

I don't know though. It's hard for me to not call that lazy, and I don't think lazy denotes apathy. Isn't it possible to be lazy and still care about a thing?

I still struggle with emotional impulsivity anytime I take a few days off meds. Drug holidays can be surreal. Or sometimes they might not be special at all. But I've taken time off before and noticed everything - birds, wind in the air, music on the radio, and it felt so surreal that I broke down crying.

Why in god's name am I saying this right now...

Stress is dopagenic. You have learned through trial and error that procrastination will help you get enough dopamine to focus. Those habits don't go away even after you find proper medication

Since we're comparing notes, do you find yourself hearing sounds that nobody else hears?

Executive function may be involved, but the inability to filter sensory information is a pretty big part of things for many people.

When I'm two rooms away shouting "What is the dog eating?" to two people who are sitting in the same room as the dog, that's not about executive function.

> that's not about executive function.

Actually, I'd argue that it is. The other people's executive function is what allows their sensory filtering: they can almost completely filter out sounds their brain has decided is unimportant.

When cars drive past I cannot listen to what someone is saying on the phone. It completely blocks all the sound of them talking.

The cars don’t even have to be that loud or close by. A few tens of metres away at 30mph and I still can’t hear anything anyone says.

Sometimes I have to swap places with a friend when walking down the pavement just so I can try to hold a conversation.

I get impossibly bad social anxiety from stimulants and can’t use them

I've had the same probleme since my doctor prescribed dexamphetamin to me instead of the other ritalin crap.

Sry for my low english skills. I meant "...until my psychiatrist prescribed dexamphetamin..."

Is that while the medication is at its peak, or more toward the tail end of the cycle? The extended amphetamine release Vyvanse, for example, can leave you feeling tired after it wears off. Especially on "vacations", like weekends or other extended periods, until you readjust. Such exhaustion would likely shorten anyone's temper, but especially someone with ADHD.

All I gotta say, a good specialist will definitely attempt to go through different medications with you, as what works great for some people might have side effects for others. And there are new ADHD medications being released too, some of which end up working fabulously for people who previously couldn't find one that works for them without any impairing side effects.

For me it's while it's at its peak. I personally use IR as opposed to XR. This was because I personally have a high propensity for insomnia (to the point that if I have coffee after like 2 or 3 PM I risk not sleeping). So I essentially am prescribed to take it twice a day but rarely go for the second dose. If I do take the second dose I have an insanely productive day but often get no sleep.

Back to the topic of the irritability/temper, yeah it's basically when it's active. Afterwards I'm a bit tired but otherwise totally kosher. For context, I am also on a very low dose of 5 mg. 10mg starts putting me on "talk really fast, move really fast" sort of stimulant buzz. 20mg was utterly uncomfortable. IIRC the higher doses exacerbated the positives and negatives: even better focus, even less patience, even shorter temper.

So, the mood swing thing was something I didn't identify with ADHD until I saw it mentioned in a book called "Driven to Distraction". I can't remember the exact details, but I think in the first few pages the author talks about a patient who was often getting in arguments with his boss or spouse and losing his temper in frustration, and I guess what I took from it was that a lot of his emotional instability was either a symptom of ADHD or stemming from his inability to focus.

In regards to your comment about shortened temper on stimulants, I think this is very normal and expected, and I have experienced the same at times. I don't know how to explain it, but I think overall I'm more agreeable than I was before I was medicated. This might be an age thing; I honestly don't know. Maybe I just grew out of it (I was the kid who threw tantrums lol).

I'm reading "Driven to Distraction" now, and it's excellent and very close to home for me.

> I only noticed that after I started taking stimulants my temper became a lot more short. It's to the point that I have to be really cognizant of it

That scans closer to my experience. I’ve been on Adderal for years, and when I started it I learned that I have the potential to get angry much quicker.

It can manifest differently in anyone. My father, my sister, and myself were all diagnosed with ADHD around the same time. My father has taken medication regularly for years without issue, and my sister used it "tactically" for the purposes of doing schoolwork and testing, and would be focused but really drowsy.

I, on the opposite end of the spectrum, would get strong symptoms of depression, and a constant feeling of nausea and lack of appetite to the point of being suspected of anorexia/bulimia by my physician. I tried a wide variety of medications throughout grade school and high school, and eventually gave up because they all gave me negative side effects of some kind.

    That's interesting to hear about ADHD causing mood 
    swings/anger/irritability and the stimulants doing 
    away with them. Is that a common trait of the illness

For me, absolutely not.

The stimulants made me crankier and more high-strung.

However, sometimes it was a net improvement in my mood because I was getting my stuff done and therefore my stress level was lowered.

I use modafinil now which is less effective for the ADHD but also makes me less cranky.

I know many people who were more angry with stimulants, especially Vyvanse (According to my wife, I definitely had that side-effect).

However, one symptom of ADHD is something my therapist refers to as "explosiveness" which is a very sudden change from not angry to extremely angry and then often right back to not angry. Note that this can also be a symptom of bipolar, and misdiagnosis between the two is why they tend to screen for bipolar before prescribing ADHD meds.

This is not what I experienced on Vyvanse; rather my baseline level of "being annoyed at things" was much higher, so it was easier to make me angry.

The types of medications prescribed for ADHD tend to make one overconfident. They may stop certain variants of mood swings but do they really make you a more pleasant person to be around? My experience and observations tell me that's unlikely to be the case.

ADHD is related to some dopamine dysfunctions which a decent proportion of people correct for with aggression[1] - I think predominantly men do this - since conflict will supply the reward response our brains should have given out for success. So a lot of confrontational people that have un-diagnosed ADHD will actually level out with medication.

1. Sort of a vast simplification, but basically hulking out and raging - maybe physically, maybe passive aggressively, maybe verbally - the form it takes varies wildly.

Yes, this is pretty spot on. In my specific case, most of the aggression gets channeled toward my work and makes me good at what I do. The stimulants (pushed on me by multiple doctors) almost ruined my career, and my life, in more ways than one! Took years away from me. Any other aggression that happens to be there is just a part of who I am, and taking that away is a bug, not a feature. The side effects and danger that comes with any of those drugs is not worth it in many cases.

There are subtypes of ADHD.

This is not really a trait of the Inattentive-subtype. However, a person grows up:

- Being frequently told that they are a disappointment.

- Would have succeeded (at something they really cared about) if they'd actually cared.

- Being tuned out because they're talking in a way that seems scattered or boring to the listener.

Can develop an unhealthy relationship with anger.

Hah. I really liked parts and skipped and scrolled more than a few. It looks a lot like some very helpful reddit posts I've made in the past.

I sent the article to my girlfriend though and she'll read all of it and ask me questions about it so I can cleverly get a proxy summary. ADHD Lifehack!

I'm homeless, live in a vehicle and can't hold a job (getting along with people). My parents insisted ADD was a fad and that I was normal, yet all of my peers said I was weird. Not many friends. Under-treated depression until 30. Lived withdrawn for several years. Finally on atomoxetine at 40, which helps some. Lots of plans but no sustained focus and execution to get anything done. I somehow slogged through getting a CS degree over 10 years, but went bankrupt and have $9k in undischargeable student loan debt. My cognition is declining, I sleep on a very odd schedule and don't really have any purpose or use because I'm too old. Intervention earlier and don't do as I did... because you can basically never recover from homelessness without help but there is no help.

I'm very fortunate that I learned how to read at a very very young age. As such, I'm an incredibly fast reader, when reading for comprehension, I'm close to 700 wpm. So reading to me is easy bc I can read faster than my mind can get distracted.

I think that's the hardest part of ADHD, you'll always find some exceptions to the "rules" used to diagnose it.

Hmm, I have no idea what my wpm measure is, but I've never been able to identify with the perception of ADHD being something only low-IQ kids have. People I know with ADHD-symptoms are typically bright and creative, above-average humans.

I think this comment was a response to the implication that ADHD people won't be able to read long form content without hyperfocusing from your gp comment.

"Long form" is at least partly a function of reading speed.

This is my impression too, but I wonder how much is selection bias.

I think a lot of times ADHD is spotted because a kid is bright, but underachieving. There's a glaring disconnect between potential and performance... could be many reasons, many of which aren't ADHD, but it grabs teachers' and parents' attention.

But, what about a kid whose intelligence is not above average? If they are underperforming, would it be so obvious? I wonder if a lot of folks with ADHD in this category are more likely to go undiagnosed.

I was diagnosed with ADHD. I live in South East Asia (always hot and humid) and found that the stimulants made me just too hot. Ended up trying modafinil. I would take it first day of the week get the momentum going and usually didn't need it for the rest of the week until productivity waned.

I found that getting started and momentum going is my biggest challenge. Maintaining it for several days after was not as hard.

I agree, have ADHD this ran on so hard... I got bored so fast. Got some points here and there but skimmed all the h1 tags.

When writing to us... maybe just try bullet points.... Don't run past the page fold - or I'm out.

So... TL;ADHD

I'll admit, I skimmed it. But I bookmarked it!

> But I bookmarked it!

How many bookmarks do you have left to read?

I can't count that high ;)

I never heard about this since reading two articles today (one here and one on Reddit). And I think that this thins explains perfectly every aspect of my personality.

Yes, me too I didn't read all the article, as I skipped around parts in articles, books, and similar stuff.

who enjoys doing boring things?

Yep - goes on forever - I gave up LOL

Reply on news.ycombinator.com