[jwdunne]

I do this. Games are highly stimulating and conducive to hyperfocus. Before I do, I tend to feel lethargic, low in mood due to a sense of never having the focus to see anything through or even be decent at something and a lot of 'bouncing' (thing microscopic chrome tabs, 5 PDFs, all surrounding multiple topics - usually, none hook me that day either). At that point, I usually say "screw it, I'll play a game". Complex strategy games do the trick - extremely stimulating with a fast feedback loop.

After diagnosis and a lot of research, this made more sense (and has improved/lessened with medication). From what I know, those with ADHD get into a rut of sorts from rapidly shifting attention and reach out to an intensely stimulating, where attention becomes fixed and extremely intense.

It used to help but did cause problems for me. One is the neglect of typical duties of maintaining my home. My partner used to despise it as I, along with everything else, blocked her out (weekend is the only time we really get to spend together). I also neglect basic functions/instincts, such as using the toilet or eating balanced meals.

With medication, I try to limit myself to activities that are both stimulating, not AS captivating and that will benefit me, via personal development. As a side note, I also use computer programming as a stimulating activity - interpreted languages with a REPL close the feedback loop and induce hyperfocus particularly. I did this from around ten and has led on to professional work, which is a good silver lining to an adolescence of undiagnosed ADHD.

[reitanqild]

Thanks for sharing! From what I have seen medication seems to work wonders on most of the cases with few if any side effects and a half life of about 16 h and little to no risk of addiction if used according to prescription (for standard R.-type at least I think).

[jwdunne]

It does help a lot. If you take more than prescribed, it can become addictive. Having this disorder, taking twice the dose by accident is a rite of passage (early morning, you forget you've already taken it). After that, it became clear why they are Class B substances.

That aside, the change in my life has been tremendous. My manager didn't believe ADHD was worth exploring and was worried I would typecast myself, thus effecting my work. The opposite has been true - the change in my work has been a complete transformation.

I have recently gone through some events that have turned my life upside, though outside of my control. It's been 8 weeks and I'm amazed that I am coping so well. A fraction of this stress and chaos in my life was enough to lead me into a psychotic break when I was younger.

[ZoF]

I was diagnosed with ADHD in second grade.

Ditto with it being helpful(in some ways) for a career in this field.

Starcraft 2 and cardio do it for me; three miles in the morning and a 1v1 whenever I'm losing focus.

Having a standing desk has been hugely helpful as well.

[jwdunne]

I recognise the plight "in some ways". Professional work does not tend to keep pace with the constant need for ever more stimulating activities. I have no hope in hell of applying recent learning about discrete mathematics in my day job - there's only so many ways you can rub a CRUD app. Out of the Tarpit got me thinking though - I applied lessons from this and other learning in functional programming to a data migration project (from a manually maintained excel sheet to my own DB schema - they refuse to give me a dump of their current DB).

Although not for everybody, a ketogenic diet helps with focus and clarity, providing a constant and consistent stream of energy (no after lunch crash). This goes hand in hand with cardio - I actually did cardio on impulse.