Comment by spawarotti | Hacker News Reader

Comment by spawarotti | Hacker News Reader

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Thanks for the reply!

Let me elaborate on my point. Consider a thought experiment: If you would spend 3 months in the woods, do you think it is plausible your symptoms would disappear? If you don’t think this as being plausible (likely even) then we have to agree to disagree and that’s it. Not enough data. If you do agree that might cure you then what does it mean about your ADHD diagnosis? It means that you have ADHD in the context of the demands society puts on you and not you have ADHD, period. That should give you some perspective on what is really going on here. To pile up on the diagnosis: in the article you linked a doctor was quoted saying "You're an engineer, that's not a field that people with ADHD have any success like you in.". That’s my point. If I have an ambition to be in the top ~1% of most performing population and sometimes (even often!) I cannot keep up, I won’t conclude I need to take medications, make it become part of my identity, and accept as an excuse. Not being in top 1% all the time is not the same as requiring diagnosis and treatment.

Would my symptoms disappear? Unlikely. They've been with me my whole life.

Would my symptoms be an issue? Possibly not, depending on how brutal the camping experience is.

I will concede that this semester I've reduced my workload and it's helping me avoid burnout and stress. Stress makes my symptoms significantly worse. I'd bet most people don't do well under sustained pressure, though.

That said, my problems aren't just limited to classwork and such. Doing laundry and cooking and other stuff I'd always have to do can be a genuine struggle for me. Even on the weekend, even on holiday break. Even with no pressure, I have these symptoms.

I only went on the ADHD route after exhausting all other alternatives. As I gain more responsibilities in life it's becoming obvious that I need treatment. And it works for me. Maybe something else is better for you. IDK. But don't write off ADHD. Nobody would go through these tests and take these medications if it wasn't genuinely helpful.

Cool. Perhaps I didn't understand how severe were your symptoms based on your article. Thanks for the clarification. I'm glad you found something that actually works well. I know the struggle is real. Hopefully you will be able to keep on keeping on without too much pharmacological medications and won't let that part of life define you. :)

My symptoms definitely wouldn't disappear but they wouldn't matter anymore. My inability to do anything before being right up against the deadline wasn't an issue for me until after highschool, and my inability to make myself focus on stuff like chores wasn't as much of a problem when I was living at home and didn't have as many chores to do.

If I lived alone in the woods and had supplies regularly brought to me I'd probably be mostly fine. I might sometimes run out of clean towels because I put off doing the washing or something, but in the woods I can afford to skip showering for a while.

When I got diagnosed I argued with my doctor at first, how could I have ADHD - I got good grades in school, I don't fidget noticeably, etc. My doctor then pointed out that even if I wasn't fidgeting in class I had told him that I often just read novels during class instead of giving my full attention to the teacher. He also asked if I did anything that is fidgeting but that people tend not to notice such as biting my nails (yes), or drawing patterns on my teeth (yes!).

He then pointed out that intelligence can compensate for issues with attention, but only so far.

Another thing to be aware of is that I had started to lose my capacity to enjoy hobbies of mine, because despite wanting to do them I'd end up just sitting around, or constantly bouncing between 8 different things.

Back when this was becoming an issue I didn't have social media at all, not even something like a HN account so you can't blame that

>If you do agree that might cure you then what does it mean about your ADHD diagnosis? It means that you have ADHD in the context of the demands society puts on you and not you have ADHD, period.

But that is exactly what ADHD is about. People with ADHD can't do future-oriented behavior very well. This makes it much more difficult for them to do well at work and in relationships. A person with ADHD would probably manage fine in the woods, but that would mean a life where they are alone and have no income. It's not about not hitting the top 1%, it's about not ending up homeless[0] or addicted to drugs.

[0] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5533180/

> It means that you have ADHD in the context of the demands society puts on you and not you have ADHD, period.

I tend to agree with this to an extent. But, for me, even in a situation with unlimited resources and time, I simply can't get done things that I actually (truly truly) want to get done.

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