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by mynameisvlad 1523 days ago
> Is this for me? / Who is this for?

Half joking, but you could have simplified these entire sections to "you have ADHD".

Speaking as someone who is diagnosed with it, you more or less described the dopamine ride of a person with ADHD.

The "deadlines give you superpowers" bit definitely reminded me of this video: https://www.instagram.com/reel/CcHQDI8NYzF/
1 comments
laurencei 1523 days ago
Can I ask a bit more about your experience with this? My son has ADHD, and I'm rapidly realising that many aspects of my life correlate with the symptoms, especially in adults.

But then I get worried I'm trying to make my square peg/round hole fit the the diagnose.

Are you medicated or having any other treatment? Did it have any meaningful impact/change to your adult life?

link
mynameisvlad 1519 days ago
In classic ADHD fashion, I had definitely intended to reply, started to reply, and then failed to reply, sorry!

I would say as an adult, I have built coping mechanisms and excuses for what were clearly symptoms of undiagnosed ADHD. Hyperfocus was just "being really passionate about a project", I had a million unfinished projects, both software and physical (not that I've finished most of them, but I have gotten better at it!), and I still chase the dopamine like there's no tomorrow.

What really had sealed the deal was one of my good friends getting their diagnosis and talking about it, combined with a really well timed Twitter post that said something like "an ADHD person's worst nightmare -- a 4PM meeting". Coming out of a late afternoon meeting where I physically could do nothing the entire day except think about that one meeting really pushed it home.

I am on Adderall, and it helps to an extent. It definitely plateaus, and while I'm on a low dose I'm also not keen to increase it unless needed. Another piece of it is just learning more about what ADHD is, and figuring out what's happening and what you can do about it.

One surprisingly helpful resource has been a person on social media, Connor DeWolfe (https://www.instagram.com/connor.dewolfe/) who posts comical videos that both resonate and are just eye opening because they made me second guess things I've done all my life. Things like "out of sight, out of mind" and why people with ADHD tend to leave cabinet doors open, "chasing the dopamine", the intense amount of focus you get when you are right up against a deadline, etc. It really helped me to start pointing these out in my day to day life when before they'd just be things I did.

link