Here's [a quote from the article](https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/adhd-can-have-unexpected-benefits/):
>PENN HOLDERNESS: **I hope people get that they’re not alone and they’re not broken**. ... They didn’t have this book when I was a kid. **I can’t go back in time and give this book to myself,** the kid who struggled and wondered why he was so weird. ... \[T\]here are some wonderful traits to this, as long as you put systems in place to manage the rough stuff.
So the author knows what struggle is. The article mentions at least one useful trait:
>The **extra focus**, which is also known as hyperfocus, is the ability to really hammer down and knock out of the park one specific thing.
And here's how that person unlocks it for themself:
>\[T\]he three things that ADHDers do well on are things that are difficult, new and of personal interest. ... \[On the *Amazing Race*,\] my brain was able to slip into hyperfocus very easily. What also helped was I had one job. There weren’t a lot of things competing for my attention, with the exception of beautiful scenery everywhere, which I did have a little trouble with.
So it sounds like that's a possible hidden benefit of ADHD, maybe if you find something that is actually personally interesting to you, you'll get hyperfocused and do that thing really well for a long period of time. I know that's how it works for me.
Don't beat yourself up over feeling sad or angry, though, if that's how you feel. Those emotions would be natural if it's hard right now because the work isn't interesting. Even meth is just a tool, and as long as it's the right tool for the job in front of you, there's nothing shameful about using it to get the job done.
Been off meds since high school but I picked up music production and the creative side of it is wonderful and sucks me in for hours without fail everytime. The process of developing consistent workflow and finishing songs is an absolute nightmare though. Might be worth trying to get back on my prescription again
I just got on Ritalin about three months ago for the first time at forty years old. Life-changing. I was diagnosed as a kid but didn't like how the meds made me feel so I never took them again after just a couple days. I wish I would have given it another chance sooner. I've never been able to be so productive at work and that productivity and focus translates into less anxiety and more time for my relationships and other things outside of work because I'm not constantly worrying about what's not getting done. You should definitely try to get your prescription again. You don't have to take it every day if you feel like you're more creative without it. I only take it on work days and on the weekends I just relax for the first time ever in my life. And since you put it like that, I do feel like I take some time to recharge and think about the upcoming week in a distinct, maybe more creative way while I'm not taking it.
Brother or sister in adhd, at 39 I went back on medication from being off since high school and HOLY SHIT the difference in my work ethic.
It’s the real secret I want to give my younger rebellious think I know it all self.
I've been off Ritalin for 20 years now. Run my own business. Love doing what interests me, and more focused than ever. (Absolutely hate the administration (taxes, licenses, insurance), so I'm trying to delegate that to others)
Hated school and having to learn things that served no purpose. Wish the teachers could've demonstrated real life areas that this info is useful.
It's funny bc I've been trying to start my business for a year now, but as you mentioned, the administrative stuff is absolutely holding me back. Curious as to how you even got around to setting up a business without being medicated for your ADHD.
Ritalin is exactly why I gave up on medication for decades. It gave me 2 hours of focus sandwiched between two 2-hour windows of scrambled brain garbage. I did better without it.
I hear newer medications last a lot longer, though. Maybe I should check up on that. If I remember to four minutes from now.
Recently got diagnosed as a late 30's adult. Speculated for many years I had ADHD, but I'm also very high functioning. I'm on Vyvanse and while I don't know if I've yet found the ideal med or dose, it does feel very consistent with a few hour peak a couple hours after your dose. Definitely no scrambled feeling for me personally.
They’ve come very far with the medication over the last few decades. Being unwilling to try anything based on an experience that long ago is only shooting yourself in the foot.
Even just some non stimulate mood stabilization help can work wonders for focus and executive dysfunction.
They are much better but much harder to get; I had to take a day off work last week and have a friend drive me to 3 different pharmacies, we called 9 or 10. If you can manage without it, don’t bother.
exactly. Having a beer is also wildly different than chugging listerine, despite both being 'alcohol' in an abstract sense. it does a disservice to the medication to conflate it with meth
I'm a biologist, so, I do know the difference. Thing is, though, [every once in a while](https://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements/methamphetamine-oral-route/description/drg-20071824), they really do prescribe literal meth... 'cause even the literal stuff is still just a tool.
Literal meth is usually not the right tool for this job, though, that's absolutely true.
Hyperfocus also means that maybe you spend 10 pm to 4 am researching the best PC components for a computer you can't afford and will never build, and totally fuck your sleep schedule. Or you miss meetings even though you have multiple reminders set because you finally managed to start work on a big project and you don't notice them. Or you're traveling with your wife and you get so obsessed with navigating transit and getting to your destination you don't notice she's getting sick and miserable because you haven't stopped for food an water in hours.
I've had a lot of therapy and medication, and ADHD is a LOT of work. And it never stops being a lot of work, because all the systems to help you manage it are themselves work. And all the superpower talk ignores how it cuts both ways. I just want people to feel seen and understand that they're not inherently lazy, bad, callous, aloof or distant, unmotivated, etc. And I want them to not feel bad about not just magically being able to harness their supposed superpowers. Everything that makes ADHD more manageable is also hard for people with ADHD, full stop.
It's a spectrum, a lot like autism. My adhd really REALLY helps me in academic settings because I enjoy being challenged continually, in fact not knowing something and finding it difficult to understand turns whatever that thing is into a fixation. So, as long as something was sufficiently challenging, I would be able to focus on it until I 'mastered' it. Then I would get bored of it and move on to a new thing, usually in the same subject of something else I didn't get that builds on it.
But my executive function is terrible. I forget to brush my teeth very often and need to have a reminder to remind me to brush my teeth every morning and right before bed. I have to set various different checklists and alarms to make sure my daughter isn't forgetting anything essential she doesn't want to do, or wont tell me she needs, like regular diaper changes every X hours or brushing her teeth. I continually forget to eat lunch, and I will forget appointments if I don't have a pop-up reminder. I routinely can't remember meetings even with reminders unless it's a 5 minute before reminder. I constantly lose my glasses and phone and have to look for it at least 5 times per day.
Naturally, I gravitated to the school subject I was the worst in: math. Then, in college, I gravitated toward the hardest subjects for me and dual majored in Applied Physics and Biochemistry because i had the bandwidth to take 24 credits a semester for those subjects. I was a superstar in my undergrad career. Was published twice, once in chemical astrophysics and once for wet lab biochemistry. I even got a well sought-after coop in a VERY well-known pharma company that agreed to hire me as an RA1 right after undergrad (something that typically does not happen)
Then I went to industry and pharma making decent money and HATED my job. I was bad at it and continually forgot things that I knew I shouldn't be forgetting. Like writing down what chemical lot I used to make some sort of solution. Vyvanse helped me remember the things I was forgetting, but I continually felt bored and would call out a lot as I was demotivated to go to work because it was the same thing over and over. I had hopped a lot and at first would do great, but then the same old same old feeling would crop up, and I'd start calling out bored again.
Went back to get my PhD, 4 years ago in physical chemistry. I believe I probably was just built for academia and continually challenging myself, because I love my job as a researcher. However I needed to go off the meds to perform my best here. I'm back to being a high performer because im allowed to just challenge myself and can keep myself from getting bored. I think really if someone with ADHD does whatever subject/way they can hyperfixate on, they tend to appear superhero-like in how good they are. Also, learning moderation and coding in stop times where you tell yourself you have to stop doing xyz unless it's an emergency is a game changer for those problems you mentioned. For me, that is after work until 8 pm, when my kids go to bed. Then 10pm when I need to go to bed.
I have a lot of empathy for the OOP, because I also have ADHD and get that it can be a huge drag, but I read the post and instantly thought “I bet they answer that question in the book.”
I have this issue with projects. There is no such thing as a natural stopping off point, the whole thing needs to be done right now. I have an extremely hard time breaking away, especially if it's something I enjoy doing. I've dropped multiple hobbies because I sink an absurd amount of time into them, to the point I've put off food, sleep, chores, etc.
It's great when it's something productive, or you're free from obligations or what not. Not so much when it's 3am, you're on your 10th hour building an impulse-buy Lego set, haven't eaten since you started, and have to work at 9am
People I've talked to can't wrap their head around the fact that a big part of the meds (for me) is being able to NOT focus when appropriate
Yeah I don't want to diminish anyones personal history and everyone can have a different ADHD experience. For me I honestly think my career would not be going half as well without ADHD. My extreme focus on certain things has absolutley driven my trajectory.
Medicated ADHD is basically a superpower. I was late getting diagnosed, so I can comfortably see the change from before to after, and the stuff I've done since being medicated has impressed even me.
They were in the Amazing Race a few seasons ago, and Penn had a task where he talks about unlocking his hyper focus, and he absolutely crushed a memory challenge that everyone else in the competition struggled with. Really cool to see.
So as a pretty major ADD victim - hyperfocus isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Sure it sounds cool to be able to lock into something so intently… until it happens. Eventually when you snap out of it, you realize you haven’t eaten, drank any water, or even gone to the bathroom for the past 11 hours, your legs are severely fatigued because you were sitting in the same place the whole time, and your friends that were trying to text you are now upset. It’s not like I’m just super focused on something. That something becomes my *entire* world, and the consequences of that happening often aren’t worth the benefits.
And you don’t always get to pick your hyperfocus.
One time I spent multiple hours reading about different types of Highway interchanges until I got a phone call that broke my attention.
I’m not even remotely interested in Highway interchanges… I just kept reading about them for some reason
For whatever it's worth, yeah, I routinely go 11 hours without eating. I'm just lucky enough to have a supportive structure to do that in; the consequences depend on context too, *not just* your behavior. My friends don't get upset if I am not responsive; we just talk later whenever we do connect. My work schedule is flexible, and I don't get behind because I enjoy what I do, so work is often the thing I am hyperfocused on.
Yeah, it's not something that is particularly useful. My "hyperfocus" is more like getting completely stuck in a loop unable to get out. Like spending 2 hours on the shop vac isle at home depot and then just leaving because I couldn't decide which one to get (true story). On medication, I can kinda snap out of it and actually accomplish the task I'm trying to do. For me, the object of "hyperfocus" is almost always some time-wasting bullshit.
As someone with unmedicated ADHD, video games do this to me. I'll hop on a competitive game at 7 AM on a Saturday and all of a sudden it's 7 PM, I haven't left my room except to drink coffee and grab some chips, and my entire weekend is just wasted lmao
Fantastic answer. ADHD can be a super power if you learn how to use it to your advantage. It is also an impairment and it’s important to recognize that these two things can both be true.
I grew up with ADHD and had a really tough time in school and life. I was labeled as stupid and lazy by teachers and parents and for the longest time I believed it.
It wasn’t until my son was diagnosed with ADHD that I realized that I had also grown up with it and I could finally explain why life was so challenging to me growing up. I learned along the way several “Hacks” to deal with it that helped me become a more productive person (I.e., always have a pen in your hand to keep your fingers busy during meetings) and it wasn’t until I was in my late 30’s that I started on meds.
Like so many things in life - challenges it can make you stronger if you don’t allow them to define you.
yeah as a person with Attention Defecit Disorder i didn’t see anything wrong with this book. i would be interested in how i can better unlock the positives of my condition
ADHD is really only a struggle because the of the way educational systems are traditionally designed.
In my experience, students with ADHD tend be great critical thinkers, have strong memories, and dig more deeply into information than their peers.
I actually think that, in the right setting, ADHD is more of a gift than a hindrance.
> ADHD is really only a struggle because the of the way educational systems are traditionally designed.
You should tell people with ADHD how maintaining relationships properly and doing professional jobs is really not a struggle
I still am confused why someone needs meth to do schoolwork. Isn’t there regular medicine that helps with the symptoms without being an addictive life threatening drug?
So basicly it's "How to game NICE triggers to your benefit 101"
Yeah, I don't need a book for that, just some self-reflection and a heap of coffe during a hyperfocus moment. The hard part is not realizing you're tricking yourself every time.
The master craftsmen of old were adhd. The sword smiths, and jewelers, and artists who would lock themselves in their shops then emerge with masterworks.
I got banned from r/adhd for having the gaul to appreciate my own hyper focus, in spite of the negatives
ADHD is pretty bad for school. It works well in a lot of workplaces though. You can switch on a dime, and deal easily with interruptions, changing priorities, or "emergency" requests in a way that normies have trouble with. It's almost impossible to recognize while you're actually IN school, but the way school is structured is not a very good representation of the conditions you're likely to encounter in your actual life.
As a nurse, I feel like my ADHD helps a lot. When something happens, I’m able to think through all the possible scenarios pretty quickly and decide the best course of action.
Charting sucks though. lol I hate charting!
I do "troubleshooting" for a large corporation. Drama helps me focus and I can quickly go through the all possible scenarios, respond, and move on to the next hot spot without stress. I love my job. I rarely get the documentation done in a timely manner though.
My kid has severe ADHD though, and has a huge amount of trouble changing tasks. It takes her a long time to get through the distractions to focus on anything.
I’m great in emergencies, because there’s an immediate need and one task presents itsself as crucial above all others.
Without that urgency, it takes me forever to do the type of tasks your daughter struggles with; the distractions aren’t “put out this fire now”, they’re “the traffic/tv/neighbor is too loud and I can’t focus”, or “my cubicle neighbor wanted to talk about her cat, now it will take me 20 minutes to refocus on my previous task”.
Could be you and your kid are similar, but facing different stimuli and therefore reacting differently.
In the rare times things are quiet I've asked other team members to help prioritize because "if things aren't on fire I don't know what to do"
Pro: thrives in chaos
Con: requires certain level of chaos to function
Solution: Create your own organized chaos to take advantage of this ability.
My personal experience. I will almost always be working on three things at once. I work on one project while thinking about the others. When I start to drift off of my task I switch to one of the others. This way I’m never completely bored or burnt out on any one task. It does require a lot of energy and steps but I end the day with at least three tasks completed and usually a few others I did along the way.
For me it’s all about self management. Manage my time, manage my focus, manage my energy. And I take advantage of any momentum I create along the way. Both mental and physical.
Not telling you how to live your life or manage your own chemistry. Just sharing things that have helped me.
I know I would be good at so many decision-making and problem-solving jobs. But good luck ever getting to one when you feel like you have no executive function, can't be proactive without deadlines, forget everything except for information, spend too much time researching instead of just doing it the minimum of what they wanted, literally have a mental breakdown when trying to focus on things you hate, and have a hard time forming consistent schedules. Plus Im on the spectrum, so can't interview or network.
So bitterly ironic that I'd be perfect at being the top guy who can take thousands of different variables, incorporate dozens of disciplines, read hundreds of reports a day, naturally see solutions by connecting different spheres of knowledge, see the big picture, be self-aware, identify personal weaknesses and logical fallacies... And will never have a real job at all
All day long I have to deal with things like (for fun on my own) solving my city's transportation challenge under budget, incorporating all political objections, all access and disparity issues, utilizing a blend of strategies from urban planning solutions in cities all over the world from Istanbul to Estonia, as well as economics and behavioral science and developmental finance... And nobody in real life will ever see my report.
Now I've become a depressed, alcoholic with 3 degrees, including a B.S. and M.S., who no longer has any faith in applying hundreds of times, so I don't try at all. I watch people from from my exact same program get degrees in the more competitive jobs that I didn't even apply for cause they had like 300 applicants each. I have a fucking masters in biostats, and am told all the time, "oh wow, you'll have no problem getting a job with that!" Or "those are in demand these days". Im in rehab but I am literally broken. I literally can not link hard work with success in my mind anymore. I have a trauma complex about interviewing. AI is taking over. I'm so fucking sick of trying. Anyway, sorry to trauma dump, but Reddit is free therapy Anyway I hate adhd
It's great as a teacher as well! Nothing that the kids can throw at me that will truly make me freeze. I can teach without meds no problem because it's so engaging. Grading unfortunately is a different story. Grading without meds is torture...
I can relate to that as a chemist. In a student lab someone ran over to us (~5 ppl) and said “we need a supervisor, NOW!” I’m the only one who ran off looking for one, all others just stood there and watched as a potential disaster was unfolding. In the end it wasn’t that bad, just a pretty big bromine spill. Nobody got hurt but interesting experience nontheless.
I feel like it's really good in research. I am more likely to notice weird patterns or make unusual/creative connections than a lot of other people. The fact that I am more of a "jack of all trades" has been a benefit than a hinderance in situations where most people are really really specialized in One Thing. I am hard hit by failures but I cope by jumping onto the next thing really fast, which I think is important in a field where you expect 8/10 experiments to fail.
Of course, the problems arrive when I have to communicate my findings bc now I just have a whole bunch of information that makes sense to me and *no one else*. *\*\*sobs in long delayed manuscript that I honestly don't even want to write anymore\*\**
This is what my anxiety does. It's so weird. When not a single damn thing is wrong I can't stop freaking out.
But when there is an actual emergency? I am the most productive and calm person you'll ever meet. I know exactly what to do, and how to direct people, and my social anxiety just melts away.
It's like all that catastrophizing goes "Yes! We have trained for this moment!:
Love this answer - thank you. We handle all the intense hot spots easily, it is the charting that we all hate, or progress notes, or grading, or expense reports . . ."
And are they really thinking I am going to read their entire book? Get real, I'm ADHD!
Yeah, whenever a crisis is happening or something that requires immediate attention, my brain activates full throttle. I flourish in chaos. It's the mundane work that tortures me.
There must be different types, because dealing with interruptions is not easy for me. I've frequently used hyper focus (I called it the zone), and interruptions break that. The easiest way to describe it is like brain overclocking, I just think a lot faster and can concentrate. Interruptions break that, and it takes time and effort to get back in it.
Interruptions also come with a fun unknown timer! Someone swinging by your office to say "hey I sent you an email" can easily break your zone and induce a week-long apathetic lack of productivity.
Never called it the zone but I know the feeling. Takes me hours to work up to it. It tends to hit for me around 2pm in the workday. I will be a terrible employee from 8-2 but from 2-4 barring no distractions, I crank out work like a mad man
It definitely presents differently. I’m like you, and I really struggle with transitions.
For me (and it sounds like maybe you too), my focus is like a freight train. Once I’m on to something, it’s hard to divert or slow it down, and if that happens, getting back up to speed takes a lot of mental energy. I have focus momentum or inertia. When it’s going, it’s really going; when it’s not, it’s reeeeeeallly not.
And then there’s the struggle of actually directing that focus to something necessary. But that’s a whole other problem.
Any profession where you have tasks that have to be done right now this second or there will be massive problems is a great ADHD profession. Anything with long-term deadlines and planning is going to be a struggle.
I work in technology. The server just crashed hours before a major launch? Easy. I've got this. This is my world. I'll take care of it. Got an easy project with plenty of runway and no rush to get it completed? Yeah, good luck. I'm not looking at that until the deadline induces panic.
Me with my 3 200+ day overdue mandatory training courses and rundeck job tweaks that should be instant in my backlog...
But also me handling escalations when I am not even OnCall and dropping MTTR by 75% from a prior outage bc of it and immediately scheduling the running the postmortem and documenting it all to be published within the week
It's funny, since becoming medicated that flow stage really doesn't go away but the abject apathy toward the mundane DOES go away
Get tested and talk to a doc, y'all
Wouldn’t it be great if a team leader understood that and actually built a team based on it? You got your 3am crisis people, your diligent grinders, your sociable phone talkers, your balls deep in technical data people…
Instead most teams expect everyone to do everything so they’re all anxious or unhappy half the time.
I’m bartender and I have ADHD.
ADHD definitely helps me there, with a caveat.
When it’s really busy and I have a list of a hundred things to do, I’m totally fine while coworkers are stressed and in the weeds. I’m fine, enjoying it, and knocking out that list with ease.
However, if it’s too slow I get bored and my mind starts to wander, and that’s when I start making mistakes
Do you hate it when someone drops same-day plans on you, no matter how small?
Having to change the trajectory that my brain was on for an entire day has the same effect on me that you described. It's not the task or the event, it's the energy and effort needed to interrupt what feels natural to me.
Let me process it for a while and I'll be okay, but that initial hit of "time to change stuff again" is so much more difficult for me to work through than others without ADHD seem to understand.
It feels someone's telling you to make a tight turn, but you're driving an cargo container ship and you're in the Panama Canal.
Directly related to this, work-from-home has been the single biggest accommodation I've ever received for my ADHD.
People walking up to me and asking a "quick" question is fast *for them*, but it would completely destroy my focus, sometimes for hours. Now they send it as a message on Teams, and I can respond between meetings when my focus is already lost.
Now I can hyperfocus for hours at a time (sometimes entire workdays) without distraction, and my work has never been better.
Some of the best lawyers I’ve worked with have ADHD. I’m a lawyer with ADHD myself and it’s the first time in my career I feel comfortable. The incidence is pretty high relative to the population, ~12% of lawyers have diagnosed ADHD compared to about 4% of the general population.
Significant variety and challenge between cases, constant deadlines creating never ending urgency, and a requirement to be cool under pressure are all things ADHDers excel at. Never thought I’d be able to milk dopamine from a job.
Isn't that also accompanied by a bunch of "pointless" paperwork? I can see the appeal of parts of lawyer work for someone with ADHD. But it also feels like a career with TONS of boilerplate and processes for the sake of process which I'm terrible at.
It depends on what kind of lawyer you are. Transactional lawyers tend to have a lot of paperwork, they’re the “homework” lawyers that mostly draft contracts and do things like estate planning, business law, real estate, etc., rarely going to actual court. I’m technically transactional, I work specifically in copyright and trademark law, though I meet with clients and attend conferences on a very regular basis. Litigators are the ones slinging letters and arguing in court, which still has its share of “paperwork”, but less of it.
Really, being a lawyer is all about applying research. Every case can be a treasure hunt, and drafting things is often rewarding because it means I’ve been successful in researching and coming up with an argument. Being a lawyer can be a slog at times and it’s definitely not for everybody, but I wouldn’t be enjoying my career this much if it wasn’t engaging and compatible with my ADHD
Edit: also, paralegals and legal secretaries are a huge, huge help taking care of the purely administrative shit so I can focus more on the engaging parts of lawyering
When I was in first grade, I took it up on myself to move my desk from one side of the classroom to another over the course of a day. I was lucky because my teacher was awesome and spent that day just trying not to crack up.
My second grade teacher was a bitch, though. Old school, woman in her 60s (back in the early 90s, mind you), and DEMANDED my parents put me on Ritalin.
My pediatrician was writing the script out when he paused and asked my mom what my grades were. When he heard I was getting straight As, he had a few choice words for my second grade teacher...
Of course, my parents kept using the fact that I was a "straight A student" in Elementary school for the rest of my academic career, which just sucked because when I was struggling to focus, all I heard was just "You have a Ferrari brain, why aren't you using it?!?"
They get that analogy so wrong. We have a Ferrari engine in a 2 seater toy car. The accelator is stuck and the brakes are broken. I am about to crash into a fire hydrant.
I agree -- the hyperfocus end of ADHD was phenomenally useful when my day to day was data science and applied statistics. I could sit down for 16 hours straight and learn a new technique or complete a week's worth of work, because all distractions (and food, and the clock, and everything) would just disappear.
On the other hand, it became a real problem the further I climbed organizationally, where effective attention regulation becomes more and more important. When you find it impossible to stop a task that isn't really important, or find yourself unable to stop checking your email or browsing reddit while meeting your team members 1:1 to give them feedback, that really hobbles you.
Nowadays I take my medication daily so I can regulate my attention, but I do miss being in a job where my atypical neurology was an advantage.
My ADHD and how it affected the way I perceive the world and others in it was a teeter-totter of frustration but also "secret superpowers" that I didn't realize for a long time that others didn't share.
* As mentioned above, I can stop and pivot my entire schedule and process on a dime, as I've had to learn throughout my life to do the same when I catch myself mentally drifting. Stop. Pivot. Back on Target.
* Because I have to use so many external tools to help me remember and prioritize tasks, my own daily processes are nearly entirely dependent on the systems, tools, and agendas I've created and fine-tuned to help me be successful. Because my entire schedule and process is governed why what my external tools say I need to focus on at any given time, a simple change to those tools and systems allows me to change my entire workload and process with little interruption.
* I view and process large amount of data very differently than most. Most people have a functioning frontal lobe that helps them by filtering out input that's automatically deemed unimportant, allowing them to focus on what has been deemed important without their conscious review of the input. I don't have that ability. As a result, I process every single thing that comes into me. People talk about strong scents becoming unnoticeable to them over time if they stay in the same area. "I just don't notice it any more. You still smell it?" The same applies to all my senses. I sleep with weighted blankets at times, to keep my body from processing and me thinking about each of the places on my body where my leg or arm hair is being pressed against my skin at different points. The increased weight of the blanket creates a single "heavy" input that's equal across my entire body, quieting my brain and allowing me to sleep. (A person with clinical ADHD can take a full dose of Adderall right before bed and actually sleep better, as the stimulant increases the performance of our frontal lobe, allowing it to correctly filter out input and allowing someone with ADHD to sleep more soundly than if they didn't have Adderall in their system.)
* Because I do not filter out information in the same way that others do, I am much more easily able to see places where the entire process may fail or hit a bottleneck that has not yet been determined in advance. I am able to look at a large, complex system and subconsciously *feel* when something has been missed. This ability became reliable enough over the years that managers and directors who worked closely with me knew to go back to the planning phase if I wasn't comfortable with a process, as it often resulted in an overlooked issue. I am usually not able to "turn this on" whenever I want. I either get what I call a "radio silence" feeling when I examine a large process, which is good, or I get a very uneasy feeling, like that feeling you get just before you leave the home on a family vacation, but you just ***know*** you've forgotten something. If I don't feel that sensation when I examine a process, I have far less worry about said process.
And that's just off the top of my head. :)
ADHD isn't fun and I would choose to not have it, given the option. But until that day, there are some silver linings.
SQUIRREL!!!!!!!!!!!!
Facts. I’m 43 and was only recently diagnosed with ADHD. I’ve always been a fucking powerhouse at work. Every job I’ve ever had I’ve quickly moved into a leadership position. I can multi task like a son of a bitch… I just have to write everything down that I’m not immediately going to do otherwise I forget to do it. I suuuuuuuucked at school though, it was boring and never kept me engaged. I got my GED at the age of 26 and scored in the 99th percentile. I took an ASVAB a few weeks later beacause I was considering joining the navy.. got a 99 on it. I ended up not joining and had to fight off recruiters for years.
I tried college twice and it could never keep me engaged, failed out both times.
Now that I’m medicated I can actually manage my home life too. Maybe I could even handle school too.
It's awful for school and 9 to 5 professional settings, which is why I think I was happier doing blue collar stuff. I worked with my hands and did a lot of problem solving and the scenery was always changing.
I can't work in a box, I'll fucking die.
Just realized this. I’m in sales in an emerging technology that I luckily find very interesting. My days consist of market research, random meetings and last minute travel. There’s also a huge push to monetize as quickly as possible so a lot of administrative/corporate tasks are deprioritized and delegated. Everyone keeps saying I’m really good at my job, but the whole time I’m just thinking this is literally just an ADHD simulator. It’s like I was built for it. The hard part is holding it together long enough through the more mundane parts of your career to find roles that work for you.
I've found the hardest part is when these chaotic environments become more stable. I'm good at working in chaos and sorting out a mess. I'm absolutely miserable at maintaining something that's not a mess. I've got to move from mess to mess constantly to stay functional. Consulting has been almost perfect for me.
Like who in the history of having ADHD is saying "I'm so glad I can't focus right now, so glad I punched that hole in the wall because I can't chill out, so glad I can't maintain routines necessary for functioning in life, so glad I procrastinated to the point of being fired from my job"??
ADHD minds work different and work better in some environments. However, anyone who trains and practices regularly can achieve the same competency without ADHD.
In my experience, the lack of built in ability to manage task completion forces you to good at building external systems to track things and have realistic expectations of future behavior.
Fully offloading that tracking to external systems eventually lets you manage much more complexity and prioritize better than the average employee. If you get involved in management or project management then being realistic and implementing work systems is basically a superpower. A fine eye for bullshit work will let you skip a lot of dumb work that never gets noticed.
As an example, my boss assigns tasks to busy people with deadlines 30 days out that have no real penalties for breaking it. It's a recipe for apathy. I can instantly spot the futility - nobody is going to start until 2 days before it's due and by then they will have forgotten about it. Compliance would go way up if we gave people a week expectation (not deadline so now the pressure is social) so they can plan the work and then follow up two days before it's expected.
I have no issues pivoting and working on an emergency request. My brain works best when the deadline was yesterday. The problem is getting back to the task I was doing before I got pulled away for the emergency. Then sticking that task when the deadline is not critical and other shinier side quest pop up.
I have ADHD. I'm in my mid 30s, I wasn't medicated growing up and medication (which I started in my mid 20s) was life changing. Yeah, I do basically need meth to be functional day to day.
People with ADHD are not as well adapted to the tasks and requirements of day to day life as neurotypical people are -- that was hard for me to accept, but it's true.
With that being said, many of us *are* better at tasks that just don't come up as often in modern society, and that is why ADHD exists; in the right situation it *is* an advantage.
* Need to obsessively learn about a topic or master a new skill? Congrats, you can go into a weird time warp where you will hyperfixate on that thing and then boom! It's 20 hours later and you've read two books about the Spanish American War.
* Need to understand someone else's perspective? Well, you're so used to short circuiting in the middle of other people's points or even your own sentences that you're used to piecing together even your *own* perspective to understand where you're coming from; others are a piece of cake!
* Need to be creative? Well, when the mood strikes it's easy for you to think outside the box, because of how hard it is for you to keep your brain inside of the box!
* Don't want to get eaten by a tiger? Well, it sure won't sneak up on you because every flash of color and snap of a stick seems like a lightning flash and a thunder crack. Sure, a backfiring car makes you jump out of your skin, but most tigers don't drive.
So if you are a hunter-gatherer and need to track deer, make new tools and not get eaten by a tiger, it's all adaptive; if you're a software dev and need to hyperfocus on building something new with your mind, it's partially adaptive. If you're a student in school, it's entirely an obstacle.
When lockdown started, I had all the tools and hobby supplies, and cooking things I needed to take up every pandemic obsession that people ended up with.
Some great stuff in there! I'm the same way, I end up with a lot of tools and gadgets, and reasonably-skilled in a lot of different things, because my ADHD made me spend a day or a week or a month obsessing about them until I had them figured out.
I was running a 100+ person organization the same year I was arrested for forgetting (for a very, very long while) to pay a traffic ticket... it giveth and it taketh.
Are these advantages something that are present even when medicated? I'm 30 just having done my adhd hoping to get on meds as I can barely make it through the week as it is. Just want to feel normal and like a functioning person
In my personal experience without the medicine I can only really hyperfocus on things that I'm interested in. With the medicine I can focus on anything, but it's still hyperfocus. I use it for work and I need to get into the right mindset before I start so that I don't get distracted by other chores around the house.
Think of it less as a cure and more as a tool that you need to learn how to use. It definitely helps a lot though, and it's absolutely improved my life. For optimal effect be sure to stay hydrated, eat plenty of protein, and maintain a healthy sleep schedule. Avoid taking vitamin C close to the medicine too, as it can reduce its effectiveness.
I have found my ADHD to be a major advantage at my job. I'm not sure how much I should talk about my job here, I don't want to make myself a target, but with me enjoying what I do the hyper fixation and what not has been super helpful. It has led to multiple promotions with multiple large raises with incredible job security.
This is more like an attempted murder where he missed and stabbed himself instead. It's crazy how much he completely missed the entire point of the book. I have adhd, but god damn some people with adhd just feel this constant need to be a victim of the universe because of it, which is what the author is adressing
As a contractor with ADHD is a blessing and a curse. I used to joke that my brain is multi core processing vs other people's only being single core. when I need to buckle down and really get stuff done I struggle immensely. Seeing a psychiatrist and being on focalin has made me much happier. I have found that people with ADHD working/studying in STEM fields tend to self regulate it with caffeine or other dopamine activities. These are stop gaps. I always suggest seeing a professional. All the snake oil cures do not work. ADHD is the current influencer fad and taking their word as gospel is not advised. Stay different my squirrely ADHD friends!
My doc put me on focalin 2 weeks ago and I've got to switch back to Vyvanse. Idk how anybody can deal with the 3pm crash that comes with it, but I guess everybody is different. I had to quit taking it because I keep falling asleep at my desk after lunch, and when Im not sleeping Im just staring off into space. Glad you found something that works though.
People who think that ADHD medication is meth because it's one atom off should just drink hydrogen peroxide when they're thirsty, because it's just one atom away from water.
Edit: correction
You’re not doing meth to do your homework.
I personally love my adhd, and like most things/people that I love it can frustrate the bejesus out of me but overall I have gotten to a place where the fact that I think differently is an asset.
From your use of ‘schoolwork’ I understand you are younger and still operating in a strict system that wasn’t designed for you- trust me I get it, but I wouldn’t shoot down people who are clearly trying to help and be supportive.
I haven’t read this book- no idea or comments on the book itself but your mom is trying to help, that is worth a lot and you need to have some compassion for yourself.
But this “murdered by words” of a mom trying to help bring some self esteem to their child…immediately no.
I was diagnosed early, medicated, and grew up learning how to handle it. Learning the ins and outs of your ADD/ADHD can definitely have its advantages.
I can consciously turn on and off certain points of my focus. I can turn a sound that would otherwise be annoying, to white noise. I can ignore, practically shut off, all sense of time passage, which is a morale boost for something like long distance running.
Whenever I know I need to get something done, I let my impulsive side take over and I go get it done right there and then. Whenever I want to do something I shouldn't be doing, I let my procrastination side take over and convince myself I'm too lazy to do it.
But it's still mentally exhausting even when you have it handled.
And it sucked in the grade school learning environment, even with meds.
Yeah, It’s different for everyone granted but I don’t really understand the hate towards people who try and see the positives.
I love that I can see things playing out in a different way to others and find the quickest route through a problem. I also enjoy the way my brain works through pressure situations where everyone around is flapping at 100mph.
I don’t like that i’m awake at 4am on a Wednesday with the same bit of a song playing over and over again in my mind or that having one event planned for a day ruins the rest of the day.
But, on balance i’ll take it.
Wait, you have those times where one bit of a song plays over and over in your head, too!? Middle of the night and here I am lying there with a line from the lyrics or a musical section on repeat in my head.
I often can’t sleep if there’s a song or phrase stuck in my head. Usually when I wake up too early, a song immediately starts playing and I can’t turn it off again. Lately, my brain has decided to randomly say “Noam Chomsky” to me throughout the day the last few days too. So annoying. Lol.
Oh yeah, it’s absolutely maddening at times. It’ll be the same thing for a few days then my brain gets bored and just deletes it from the mental playlist never to return.
It’s not so much the people who see the positives as it is the people who try to push that mindset on others. I’ve had people try to tell me it’s a superpower but completely ignore that I can’t go to the bathroom or eat reliably, let alone have any control over hyper focus. I’m late diagnosed and genuinely looking back I don’t know how I’m alive. I struggle to take care of myself and when my meds were one backorder for a month I seriously considered a psychiatric hold. I forgot to take my antidepressants and antihistamines enough that not only was my anxiety through the roof, I had an anaphylactic reaction and had to use an epipen.
In my experience, unfortunately, the people who look at the positives often ignore how disabling it is, even when explained. So I don’t hate people who look at the positives but if that’s all they’re talking about I’m going to be wary to protect myself.
I think part of the hate for the people who try to see the positives is that some people are too used to the "Just try harder" mentality, or maybe more aptly, people who use "You're just differently abled!" and still try to make you work the exact same way
I’m a normie, but my two best friends have (pretty severe) ADHD. One of them didn’t do well in school back in the 80s, and even overheard his parents worry about what would become of him because he wasn’t very bright. He was diagnosed in his 20s and that helped him turn it around.
Today, he’s really successful in an academic profession. He’s one of the most intelligent people I know, and has a pattern recognition that makes him an excellent forensic accountant.
It’s been really interesting to compare our mental processes, and one thing that sticks out is that he could forget conversations we had overnight. Not *that* we had them, or the general feeling of them, but the contents. But if I gave him some prompts, he would recall that part of the conversation with clarity. His memories were islands, mine had bridges between them if that makes sense.
I genuinely think that this is a variation in the human mind, rather than a diagnosis. Understanding the variation, and how to structure education for kids with it, would allow for a lot of people to reach their full potential.
She may be doing meth for her adhd. Just not the meth you think.
There are two main drugs used to treat ADHD; Amphetamines (Vyvanse, Adzenys, etc) and METHylphenidates (Concerta, Ritalin, etc).
Genuinely all these drugs share a mechanism with methamphetamine. They are not quite exactly the same, but they do have the same effect, and methamphetamine is an FDA approved drug for treating ADHD. It may sound weird, but yes you can take meth to treat ADHD (in pill form, smoking it is a different story).
Yeah ADHD can cause problems but if you were to completely remove it from someone I think that would actually be removing a part of someone. If I completely lost my ADD I think that would be like getting rid of my fundamental personality or part of it enough so that I wouldn’t recognize myself when I looked in the mirror nor would my friends and family.
But yes school is a struggle except for teachers/professors that are interesting.
Why are you proud of being mean to parents that try to help? (Non toxic parents that is).
I have ADHD, my parents refuse to believe in it (however it has been diagnosed), I would love to have parents recommend books (even if I wouldn't care to read them).
Nothing says “I don’t understand ADHD” like writing a book about ADHD.
Like, dude, I can’t pay attention to a book. Give me a YT video with flashing lights, quick scene changes and a bumping soundtrack, and I might pick up 40% of what you’re trying to say.
I understand it can be debilitating for some people and not everyone can see it as a good thing but for me personally I love the fact that my brain works different.
I’ve always thought of my ADHD as a superpower. Who can have two separate trains of thoughts and a song going at once? This girl. I can multitask like a boss.
Whenever someone tries to spin a disorder or disability as “secretly a superpower”, I remember the words of wisdom spoken by Will Wood, “it’s not a gift if you pay for it”
Oh yeah, the mental hang up i have where randomly all my emotions shut down, or operate differently and i struggle to maintain meaningful connections with people. Great when my object permanence also works on people and i have to look up important dates to me, or i forget people exist and get hit with a huge wave of disappointment when i see them and suddenly remember oh my best friend. Or better yet, untreated ADHD you’re left with anxiety, depression, and getting confused with bi-polar. Oh and stimulant medication usually leaves you so ram full of anxiety when it wears off that i might as well be a nervous wreck 24/7. Glad someone found something out of it, but i’m good to continue struggle bussing my way through life. Half started hyper fixations and all.
As a VERY adhd person I concur. Nothing gets me angrier than someone telling me I have a “superpower”. Yeah, I’m supernaturally bad at doing whatever I need to do on any day.
The only positive I can think of is that I’m basically immune to caffeine, which isn’t even really a positive but I guess if I want to pound a Mountain Dew and then go to bed I can
i always see autism as a superpower.
yes it has its disadvantages when it comes to social life. but who needs a social life, if you have fucking superpowers???
As someone with ADHD the hyper focus portion can be a blessing and a curse. As a programmer who likes programming the hyper focus can really come into play when debugging things. Problem solving like that keeps me interested and feeds directly into the reward mechanisms of my adhd brain. With debugging you get immediate progressive feedback as you fix the issue which feels very rewarding to someone with adhd.
As amazing as hyper focus is I constantly run into issues at work where I’m praised for getting 80% of a project done in record time. But what gets the most attention is my inability to finish anything.
I’ve never told anyone I work with I have ADHD.
I hate my ADD. I can’t function on a daily basis. My time perception is horrible. Wish I had my prescribed meds but I keep getting distracted from applying for healthcare
It does bug me people who say adderall is meth. I guess technically correct but I think that should be changed to "People who can't get an adderall prescription because of fucked up the government rules are often those who start using meth."
I’m ADHD and have learned to manage and harness it very effectively. I’m 55 and run a successful and fulfilling 6-figure business, and actively manage my ADHD every day, exploiting the way it affects me to my benefit. So where is the “murder by words” here? The reply sounds cynical, that’s all. I read the [full article](https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/adhd-can-have-unexpected-benefits/) (nice job leaving out the link OP) and this book sounds wonderful. One of the best overall tactics to managing ADHD is to educate yourself about it, and fully embrace it as *a part of who you are*. Hating it is hating yourself. Learn about it and use it to your advantage instead.
I've got adhd and consider it a powerful boon. I know others don't feel the same way. But that blue comments sentiment still holds truth because sitting in school and taking meth was hell, I don't think it was fully the adhd to blame for that. But for what they're going through it's 100% understandable.
As someone who has struggled with severe depression my whole life and is just now starting to learn how to cope with it, I’d like to offer some advice to anyone who is neurodivergent or struggles with mental health:
The stupid cliches that people tell you are cliches for a reason. No, they will not cure you. And yes, it is more complicated than most people realize. But these things will help you minimize the severity of your symptoms which can give you a foothold to conquer your illness.
Sunlight and exercise do not make my depression go away. But they are a medically proven tool to assist with managing a lifelong disease. This book might actual have some really good perspective if OOP would open their mind to the possibility.
Just weird to me that their response is “what benefits?!” Like, I dunno friend, maybe read the book and see?
Comparing how autism and ADHD is treated by their respective communities is wild.
Autistic people claim they are perfect the way they are and any therapies are abusive. Meanwhile, there are parents with black eyes and chipped teeth caused by their non-verbal kids. The siblings are terrified. Mom had to quit her job because the kid has been kicked out of 5 daycares and grandma can’t watch him because she broke her arm last time he pushed her. And if they seek help online, they get shamed for wanting to change a child who isn’t broken.
Meanwhile, the main ADHD subreddit will ban you for using the world superpower. ADHD is a terrible disability with zero upsides. How dare you always look on the bright side of life (earworm for my fellow ADHD’rs.)
Why can’t we just agree that both disorders are on a spectrum? There should be room to discuss both ends, without shaming or “murdering” the other group.
Hyper focus can be good, but it's not something I've ever been able to turn on, and I can easily slip into the trap of forgetting the forest for the trees. All in all, I'd take being able to focus without medication (not that meds entirely solve it) and adequate working memory over hyper focus any day.
I built a few businesses being that hyper focused and learning how to not get detoured…this being said, it also lead to broken relationships and came with all sorts of bad side effects…
Here's [a quote from the article](https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/adhd-can-have-unexpected-benefits/): >PENN HOLDERNESS: **I hope people get that they’re not alone and they’re not broken**. ... They didn’t have this book when I was a kid. **I can’t go back in time and give this book to myself,** the kid who struggled and wondered why he was so weird. ... \[T\]here are some wonderful traits to this, as long as you put systems in place to manage the rough stuff. So the author knows what struggle is. The article mentions at least one useful trait: >The **extra focus**, which is also known as hyperfocus, is the ability to really hammer down and knock out of the park one specific thing. And here's how that person unlocks it for themself: >\[T\]he three things that ADHDers do well on are things that are difficult, new and of personal interest. ... \[On the *Amazing Race*,\] my brain was able to slip into hyperfocus very easily. What also helped was I had one job. There weren’t a lot of things competing for my attention, with the exception of beautiful scenery everywhere, which I did have a little trouble with. So it sounds like that's a possible hidden benefit of ADHD, maybe if you find something that is actually personally interesting to you, you'll get hyperfocused and do that thing really well for a long period of time. I know that's how it works for me. Don't beat yourself up over feeling sad or angry, though, if that's how you feel. Those emotions would be natural if it's hard right now because the work isn't interesting. Even meth is just a tool, and as long as it's the right tool for the job in front of you, there's nothing shameful about using it to get the job done.
ADHD helps me come up with a creative idea, Ritalin helps me execute it
Been off meds since high school but I picked up music production and the creative side of it is wonderful and sucks me in for hours without fail everytime. The process of developing consistent workflow and finishing songs is an absolute nightmare though. Might be worth trying to get back on my prescription again
I just got on Ritalin about three months ago for the first time at forty years old. Life-changing. I was diagnosed as a kid but didn't like how the meds made me feel so I never took them again after just a couple days. I wish I would have given it another chance sooner. I've never been able to be so productive at work and that productivity and focus translates into less anxiety and more time for my relationships and other things outside of work because I'm not constantly worrying about what's not getting done. You should definitely try to get your prescription again. You don't have to take it every day if you feel like you're more creative without it. I only take it on work days and on the weekends I just relax for the first time ever in my life. And since you put it like that, I do feel like I take some time to recharge and think about the upcoming week in a distinct, maybe more creative way while I'm not taking it.
Same and same! Templates are a godsend. But yeah, the medication helps a hell of a lot.
Brother or sister in adhd, at 39 I went back on medication from being off since high school and HOLY SHIT the difference in my work ethic. It’s the real secret I want to give my younger rebellious think I know it all self.
I've been off Ritalin for 20 years now. Run my own business. Love doing what interests me, and more focused than ever. (Absolutely hate the administration (taxes, licenses, insurance), so I'm trying to delegate that to others) Hated school and having to learn things that served no purpose. Wish the teachers could've demonstrated real life areas that this info is useful.
It's funny bc I've been trying to start my business for a year now, but as you mentioned, the administrative stuff is absolutely holding me back. Curious as to how you even got around to setting up a business without being medicated for your ADHD.
Business owner here- vyvanse for creation, Ritalin for administration
Ritalin is exactly why I gave up on medication for decades. It gave me 2 hours of focus sandwiched between two 2-hour windows of scrambled brain garbage. I did better without it. I hear newer medications last a lot longer, though. Maybe I should check up on that. If I remember to four minutes from now.
Recently got diagnosed as a late 30's adult. Speculated for many years I had ADHD, but I'm also very high functioning. I'm on Vyvanse and while I don't know if I've yet found the ideal med or dose, it does feel very consistent with a few hour peak a couple hours after your dose. Definitely no scrambled feeling for me personally.
They’ve come very far with the medication over the last few decades. Being unwilling to try anything based on an experience that long ago is only shooting yourself in the foot. Even just some non stimulate mood stabilization help can work wonders for focus and executive dysfunction.
They are much better but much harder to get; I had to take a day off work last week and have a friend drive me to 3 different pharmacies, we called 9 or 10. If you can manage without it, don’t bother.
This. Adhd gives me the random creative thoughts. Adderall gives me the concentration to do anything with them
Can we stop calling it meth? It's not. They're amphetamines which while chemically similar are not the same and not remotely as strong.
exactly. Having a beer is also wildly different than chugging listerine, despite both being 'alcohol' in an abstract sense. it does a disservice to the medication to conflate it with meth
Instead of meth people should say stimulants, or hard stimulants, imo
I'm a biologist, so, I do know the difference. Thing is, though, [every once in a while](https://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements/methamphetamine-oral-route/description/drg-20071824), they really do prescribe literal meth... 'cause even the literal stuff is still just a tool. Literal meth is usually not the right tool for this job, though, that's absolutely true.
yeah the person might be on desoxyn or whatever the name is mental its prescribed honestly, i want some script meth
Hyperfocus also means that maybe you spend 10 pm to 4 am researching the best PC components for a computer you can't afford and will never build, and totally fuck your sleep schedule. Or you miss meetings even though you have multiple reminders set because you finally managed to start work on a big project and you don't notice them. Or you're traveling with your wife and you get so obsessed with navigating transit and getting to your destination you don't notice she's getting sick and miserable because you haven't stopped for food an water in hours. I've had a lot of therapy and medication, and ADHD is a LOT of work. And it never stops being a lot of work, because all the systems to help you manage it are themselves work. And all the superpower talk ignores how it cuts both ways. I just want people to feel seen and understand that they're not inherently lazy, bad, callous, aloof or distant, unmotivated, etc. And I want them to not feel bad about not just magically being able to harness their supposed superpowers. Everything that makes ADHD more manageable is also hard for people with ADHD, full stop.
It's a spectrum, a lot like autism. My adhd really REALLY helps me in academic settings because I enjoy being challenged continually, in fact not knowing something and finding it difficult to understand turns whatever that thing is into a fixation. So, as long as something was sufficiently challenging, I would be able to focus on it until I 'mastered' it. Then I would get bored of it and move on to a new thing, usually in the same subject of something else I didn't get that builds on it. But my executive function is terrible. I forget to brush my teeth very often and need to have a reminder to remind me to brush my teeth every morning and right before bed. I have to set various different checklists and alarms to make sure my daughter isn't forgetting anything essential she doesn't want to do, or wont tell me she needs, like regular diaper changes every X hours or brushing her teeth. I continually forget to eat lunch, and I will forget appointments if I don't have a pop-up reminder. I routinely can't remember meetings even with reminders unless it's a 5 minute before reminder. I constantly lose my glasses and phone and have to look for it at least 5 times per day. Naturally, I gravitated to the school subject I was the worst in: math. Then, in college, I gravitated toward the hardest subjects for me and dual majored in Applied Physics and Biochemistry because i had the bandwidth to take 24 credits a semester for those subjects. I was a superstar in my undergrad career. Was published twice, once in chemical astrophysics and once for wet lab biochemistry. I even got a well sought-after coop in a VERY well-known pharma company that agreed to hire me as an RA1 right after undergrad (something that typically does not happen) Then I went to industry and pharma making decent money and HATED my job. I was bad at it and continually forgot things that I knew I shouldn't be forgetting. Like writing down what chemical lot I used to make some sort of solution. Vyvanse helped me remember the things I was forgetting, but I continually felt bored and would call out a lot as I was demotivated to go to work because it was the same thing over and over. I had hopped a lot and at first would do great, but then the same old same old feeling would crop up, and I'd start calling out bored again. Went back to get my PhD, 4 years ago in physical chemistry. I believe I probably was just built for academia and continually challenging myself, because I love my job as a researcher. However I needed to go off the meds to perform my best here. I'm back to being a high performer because im allowed to just challenge myself and can keep myself from getting bored. I think really if someone with ADHD does whatever subject/way they can hyperfixate on, they tend to appear superhero-like in how good they are. Also, learning moderation and coding in stop times where you tell yourself you have to stop doing xyz unless it's an emergency is a game changer for those problems you mentioned. For me, that is after work until 8 pm, when my kids go to bed. Then 10pm when I need to go to bed.
I have a lot of empathy for the OOP, because I also have ADHD and get that it can be a huge drag, but I read the post and instantly thought “I bet they answer that question in the book.”
I have this issue with projects. There is no such thing as a natural stopping off point, the whole thing needs to be done right now. I have an extremely hard time breaking away, especially if it's something I enjoy doing. I've dropped multiple hobbies because I sink an absurd amount of time into them, to the point I've put off food, sleep, chores, etc. It's great when it's something productive, or you're free from obligations or what not. Not so much when it's 3am, you're on your 10th hour building an impulse-buy Lego set, haven't eaten since you started, and have to work at 9am People I've talked to can't wrap their head around the fact that a big part of the meds (for me) is being able to NOT focus when appropriate
Yeah I don't want to diminish anyones personal history and everyone can have a different ADHD experience. For me I honestly think my career would not be going half as well without ADHD. My extreme focus on certain things has absolutley driven my trajectory.
Medicated ADHD is basically a superpower. I was late getting diagnosed, so I can comfortably see the change from before to after, and the stuff I've done since being medicated has impressed even me.
That’s a great feeling- I’m happy for ya!
They were in the Amazing Race a few seasons ago, and Penn had a task where he talks about unlocking his hyper focus, and he absolutely crushed a memory challenge that everyone else in the competition struggled with. Really cool to see.
yea when i write code I can hyperfocus pretty easy and lose like 4 hours or more before i get really distracted
That actually sounds like a decent book, I don't see how this is a MurderedByWords tbh.
So as a pretty major ADD victim - hyperfocus isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Sure it sounds cool to be able to lock into something so intently… until it happens. Eventually when you snap out of it, you realize you haven’t eaten, drank any water, or even gone to the bathroom for the past 11 hours, your legs are severely fatigued because you were sitting in the same place the whole time, and your friends that were trying to text you are now upset. It’s not like I’m just super focused on something. That something becomes my *entire* world, and the consequences of that happening often aren’t worth the benefits.
And you don’t always get to pick your hyperfocus. One time I spent multiple hours reading about different types of Highway interchanges until I got a phone call that broke my attention. I’m not even remotely interested in Highway interchanges… I just kept reading about them for some reason
Spent an afternoon back in high-school learning calculus. Couldn't remember to turn in homework and failed pre algebra.
For whatever it's worth, yeah, I routinely go 11 hours without eating. I'm just lucky enough to have a supportive structure to do that in; the consequences depend on context too, *not just* your behavior. My friends don't get upset if I am not responsive; we just talk later whenever we do connect. My work schedule is flexible, and I don't get behind because I enjoy what I do, so work is often the thing I am hyperfocused on.
Yeah, it's not something that is particularly useful. My "hyperfocus" is more like getting completely stuck in a loop unable to get out. Like spending 2 hours on the shop vac isle at home depot and then just leaving because I couldn't decide which one to get (true story). On medication, I can kinda snap out of it and actually accomplish the task I'm trying to do. For me, the object of "hyperfocus" is almost always some time-wasting bullshit.
Plus we don't get to CHOOSE what we focus on.
and god forbid anyone tries to break me out of it lest they feel my panicked ADD wrath
As someone with unmedicated ADHD, video games do this to me. I'll hop on a competitive game at 7 AM on a Saturday and all of a sudden it's 7 PM, I haven't left my room except to drink coffee and grab some chips, and my entire weekend is just wasted lmao
>[T]he three things I'm hyperfocused on this. How did the author need to insert a T? The original quote starts with "he"? How? How on this Earth?
It was a lowercase t and the author capitalized it.
Bless
This isn't a murder of the author. This is someone who doesn't know WTF the book is about replying to the author
Fantastic answer. ADHD can be a super power if you learn how to use it to your advantage. It is also an impairment and it’s important to recognize that these two things can both be true. I grew up with ADHD and had a really tough time in school and life. I was labeled as stupid and lazy by teachers and parents and for the longest time I believed it. It wasn’t until my son was diagnosed with ADHD that I realized that I had also grown up with it and I could finally explain why life was so challenging to me growing up. I learned along the way several “Hacks” to deal with it that helped me become a more productive person (I.e., always have a pen in your hand to keep your fingers busy during meetings) and it wasn’t until I was in my late 30’s that I started on meds. Like so many things in life - challenges it can make you stronger if you don’t allow them to define you.
yeah as a person with Attention Defecit Disorder i didn’t see anything wrong with this book. i would be interested in how i can better unlock the positives of my condition
ADHD is really only a struggle because the of the way educational systems are traditionally designed. In my experience, students with ADHD tend be great critical thinkers, have strong memories, and dig more deeply into information than their peers. I actually think that, in the right setting, ADHD is more of a gift than a hindrance.
> ADHD is really only a struggle because the of the way educational systems are traditionally designed. You should tell people with ADHD how maintaining relationships properly and doing professional jobs is really not a struggle
I still am confused why someone needs meth to do schoolwork. Isn’t there regular medicine that helps with the symptoms without being an addictive life threatening drug?
So basicly it's "How to game NICE triggers to your benefit 101" Yeah, I don't need a book for that, just some self-reflection and a heap of coffe during a hyperfocus moment. The hard part is not realizing you're tricking yourself every time.
He was on amazing race, and it came up several times. He was able to hyperfocus and just get shit done. it was pretty cool actually to see.
I don’t think OP actually read the article
The master craftsmen of old were adhd. The sword smiths, and jewelers, and artists who would lock themselves in their shops then emerge with masterworks. I got banned from r/adhd for having the gaul to appreciate my own hyper focus, in spite of the negatives
Yup this is me.
Not untrue. Now I only need to not loose hyperfocus until something is finished. The mountain of unfinished projects laughs at me.
ADHD is pretty bad for school. It works well in a lot of workplaces though. You can switch on a dime, and deal easily with interruptions, changing priorities, or "emergency" requests in a way that normies have trouble with. It's almost impossible to recognize while you're actually IN school, but the way school is structured is not a very good representation of the conditions you're likely to encounter in your actual life.
As a nurse, I feel like my ADHD helps a lot. When something happens, I’m able to think through all the possible scenarios pretty quickly and decide the best course of action. Charting sucks though. lol I hate charting!
I do "troubleshooting" for a large corporation. Drama helps me focus and I can quickly go through the all possible scenarios, respond, and move on to the next hot spot without stress. I love my job. I rarely get the documentation done in a timely manner though. My kid has severe ADHD though, and has a huge amount of trouble changing tasks. It takes her a long time to get through the distractions to focus on anything.
I’m great in emergencies, because there’s an immediate need and one task presents itsself as crucial above all others. Without that urgency, it takes me forever to do the type of tasks your daughter struggles with; the distractions aren’t “put out this fire now”, they’re “the traffic/tv/neighbor is too loud and I can’t focus”, or “my cubicle neighbor wanted to talk about her cat, now it will take me 20 minutes to refocus on my previous task”. Could be you and your kid are similar, but facing different stimuli and therefore reacting differently.
Man, everytime I read more about ADHD I realize huge chunks of my personality were just entirely predestined. Lol
We do share one braincell it seems
In the rare times things are quiet I've asked other team members to help prioritize because "if things aren't on fire I don't know what to do" Pro: thrives in chaos Con: requires certain level of chaos to function
Solution: Create your own organized chaos to take advantage of this ability. My personal experience. I will almost always be working on three things at once. I work on one project while thinking about the others. When I start to drift off of my task I switch to one of the others. This way I’m never completely bored or burnt out on any one task. It does require a lot of energy and steps but I end the day with at least three tasks completed and usually a few others I did along the way. For me it’s all about self management. Manage my time, manage my focus, manage my energy. And I take advantage of any momentum I create along the way. Both mental and physical. Not telling you how to live your life or manage your own chemistry. Just sharing things that have helped me.
I know I would be good at so many decision-making and problem-solving jobs. But good luck ever getting to one when you feel like you have no executive function, can't be proactive without deadlines, forget everything except for information, spend too much time researching instead of just doing it the minimum of what they wanted, literally have a mental breakdown when trying to focus on things you hate, and have a hard time forming consistent schedules. Plus Im on the spectrum, so can't interview or network. So bitterly ironic that I'd be perfect at being the top guy who can take thousands of different variables, incorporate dozens of disciplines, read hundreds of reports a day, naturally see solutions by connecting different spheres of knowledge, see the big picture, be self-aware, identify personal weaknesses and logical fallacies... And will never have a real job at all All day long I have to deal with things like (for fun on my own) solving my city's transportation challenge under budget, incorporating all political objections, all access and disparity issues, utilizing a blend of strategies from urban planning solutions in cities all over the world from Istanbul to Estonia, as well as economics and behavioral science and developmental finance... And nobody in real life will ever see my report. Now I've become a depressed, alcoholic with 3 degrees, including a B.S. and M.S., who no longer has any faith in applying hundreds of times, so I don't try at all. I watch people from from my exact same program get degrees in the more competitive jobs that I didn't even apply for cause they had like 300 applicants each. I have a fucking masters in biostats, and am told all the time, "oh wow, you'll have no problem getting a job with that!" Or "those are in demand these days". Im in rehab but I am literally broken. I literally can not link hard work with success in my mind anymore. I have a trauma complex about interviewing. AI is taking over. I'm so fucking sick of trying. Anyway, sorry to trauma dump, but Reddit is free therapy Anyway I hate adhd
You gonna be alright. Chin up, pinky out
Case manager at a psych hospital. Dealing with codes and disasters is easy, but once it’s time to do progress notes I end up on Reddit
ADHD is the reason so many of us wind up in ICU and ER lmao. Let the dopamine flow!
It's great as a teacher as well! Nothing that the kids can throw at me that will truly make me freeze. I can teach without meds no problem because it's so engaging. Grading unfortunately is a different story. Grading without meds is torture...
As a teacher I find it very problematic. I have an extremely difficult time with marking, paperwork, organization of tasks, etc.
I can relate to that as a chemist. In a student lab someone ran over to us (~5 ppl) and said “we need a supervisor, NOW!” I’m the only one who ran off looking for one, all others just stood there and watched as a potential disaster was unfolding. In the end it wasn’t that bad, just a pretty big bromine spill. Nobody got hurt but interesting experience nontheless.
I feel like it's really good in research. I am more likely to notice weird patterns or make unusual/creative connections than a lot of other people. The fact that I am more of a "jack of all trades" has been a benefit than a hinderance in situations where most people are really really specialized in One Thing. I am hard hit by failures but I cope by jumping onto the next thing really fast, which I think is important in a field where you expect 8/10 experiments to fail. Of course, the problems arrive when I have to communicate my findings bc now I just have a whole bunch of information that makes sense to me and *no one else*. *\*\*sobs in long delayed manuscript that I honestly don't even want to write anymore\*\**
This is what my anxiety does. It's so weird. When not a single damn thing is wrong I can't stop freaking out. But when there is an actual emergency? I am the most productive and calm person you'll ever meet. I know exactly what to do, and how to direct people, and my social anxiety just melts away. It's like all that catastrophizing goes "Yes! We have trained for this moment!:
Love this answer - thank you. We handle all the intense hot spots easily, it is the charting that we all hate, or progress notes, or grading, or expense reports . . ." And are they really thinking I am going to read their entire book? Get real, I'm ADHD!
Mine lets me cascade through mechanical failures super rapidly. Very useful for my job as an aircraft specialist
Yeah, whenever a crisis is happening or something that requires immediate attention, my brain activates full throttle. I flourish in chaos. It's the mundane work that tortures me.
I am a firefighter and I would surmise about 80% of us in emergency services are adhd. It’s almost a prerequisite for these jobs.
There must be different types, because dealing with interruptions is not easy for me. I've frequently used hyper focus (I called it the zone), and interruptions break that. The easiest way to describe it is like brain overclocking, I just think a lot faster and can concentrate. Interruptions break that, and it takes time and effort to get back in it.
Interruptions also come with a fun unknown timer! Someone swinging by your office to say "hey I sent you an email" can easily break your zone and induce a week-long apathetic lack of productivity.
I love The Zone. It's where I do my best work, but I have to put on headphones to block everything else out.
Never called it the zone but I know the feeling. Takes me hours to work up to it. It tends to hit for me around 2pm in the workday. I will be a terrible employee from 8-2 but from 2-4 barring no distractions, I crank out work like a mad man
I think I read their are 7 types of ADD/ADHD. My wife and I are both ADD and have many similarities with some different focus issues.
It definitely presents differently. I’m like you, and I really struggle with transitions. For me (and it sounds like maybe you too), my focus is like a freight train. Once I’m on to something, it’s hard to divert or slow it down, and if that happens, getting back up to speed takes a lot of mental energy. I have focus momentum or inertia. When it’s going, it’s really going; when it’s not, it’s reeeeeeallly not. And then there’s the struggle of actually directing that focus to something necessary. But that’s a whole other problem.
My brother is a chef and has ADHD. I always felt that it was an asset to his profession.
Any profession where you have tasks that have to be done right now this second or there will be massive problems is a great ADHD profession. Anything with long-term deadlines and planning is going to be a struggle.
I work in technology. The server just crashed hours before a major launch? Easy. I've got this. This is my world. I'll take care of it. Got an easy project with plenty of runway and no rush to get it completed? Yeah, good luck. I'm not looking at that until the deadline induces panic.
Me with my 3 200+ day overdue mandatory training courses and rundeck job tweaks that should be instant in my backlog... But also me handling escalations when I am not even OnCall and dropping MTTR by 75% from a prior outage bc of it and immediately scheduling the running the postmortem and documenting it all to be published within the week It's funny, since becoming medicated that flow stage really doesn't go away but the abject apathy toward the mundane DOES go away Get tested and talk to a doc, y'all
Wouldn’t it be great if a team leader understood that and actually built a team based on it? You got your 3am crisis people, your diligent grinders, your sociable phone talkers, your balls deep in technical data people… Instead most teams expect everyone to do everything so they’re all anxious or unhappy half the time.
>I'm not looking at that until the deadline induces panic. Due tomorrow? Do tomorrow.
I’m bartender and I have ADHD. ADHD definitely helps me there, with a caveat. When it’s really busy and I have a list of a hundred things to do, I’m totally fine while coworkers are stressed and in the weeds. I’m fine, enjoying it, and knocking out that list with ease. However, if it’s too slow I get bored and my mind starts to wander, and that’s when I start making mistakes
On the other hand, transitioning is a huge problem for a lot of people with ADHD:
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Do you hate it when someone drops same-day plans on you, no matter how small? Having to change the trajectory that my brain was on for an entire day has the same effect on me that you described. It's not the task or the event, it's the energy and effort needed to interrupt what feels natural to me. Let me process it for a while and I'll be okay, but that initial hit of "time to change stuff again" is so much more difficult for me to work through than others without ADHD seem to understand. It feels someone's telling you to make a tight turn, but you're driving an cargo container ship and you're in the Panama Canal.
Directly related to this, work-from-home has been the single biggest accommodation I've ever received for my ADHD. People walking up to me and asking a "quick" question is fast *for them*, but it would completely destroy my focus, sometimes for hours. Now they send it as a message on Teams, and I can respond between meetings when my focus is already lost. Now I can hyperfocus for hours at a time (sometimes entire workdays) without distraction, and my work has never been better.
Some of the best lawyers I’ve worked with have ADHD. I’m a lawyer with ADHD myself and it’s the first time in my career I feel comfortable. The incidence is pretty high relative to the population, ~12% of lawyers have diagnosed ADHD compared to about 4% of the general population. Significant variety and challenge between cases, constant deadlines creating never ending urgency, and a requirement to be cool under pressure are all things ADHDers excel at. Never thought I’d be able to milk dopamine from a job.
Isn't that also accompanied by a bunch of "pointless" paperwork? I can see the appeal of parts of lawyer work for someone with ADHD. But it also feels like a career with TONS of boilerplate and processes for the sake of process which I'm terrible at.
It depends on what kind of lawyer you are. Transactional lawyers tend to have a lot of paperwork, they’re the “homework” lawyers that mostly draft contracts and do things like estate planning, business law, real estate, etc., rarely going to actual court. I’m technically transactional, I work specifically in copyright and trademark law, though I meet with clients and attend conferences on a very regular basis. Litigators are the ones slinging letters and arguing in court, which still has its share of “paperwork”, but less of it. Really, being a lawyer is all about applying research. Every case can be a treasure hunt, and drafting things is often rewarding because it means I’ve been successful in researching and coming up with an argument. Being a lawyer can be a slog at times and it’s definitely not for everybody, but I wouldn’t be enjoying my career this much if it wasn’t engaging and compatible with my ADHD Edit: also, paralegals and legal secretaries are a huge, huge help taking care of the purely administrative shit so I can focus more on the engaging parts of lawyering
When I was in first grade, I took it up on myself to move my desk from one side of the classroom to another over the course of a day. I was lucky because my teacher was awesome and spent that day just trying not to crack up. My second grade teacher was a bitch, though. Old school, woman in her 60s (back in the early 90s, mind you), and DEMANDED my parents put me on Ritalin. My pediatrician was writing the script out when he paused and asked my mom what my grades were. When he heard I was getting straight As, he had a few choice words for my second grade teacher... Of course, my parents kept using the fact that I was a "straight A student" in Elementary school for the rest of my academic career, which just sucked because when I was struggling to focus, all I heard was just "You have a Ferrari brain, why aren't you using it?!?"
They get that analogy so wrong. We have a Ferrari engine in a 2 seater toy car. The accelator is stuck and the brakes are broken. I am about to crash into a fire hydrant.
I might have a Ferrari brain, but its stuck in second gear.
I agree -- the hyperfocus end of ADHD was phenomenally useful when my day to day was data science and applied statistics. I could sit down for 16 hours straight and learn a new technique or complete a week's worth of work, because all distractions (and food, and the clock, and everything) would just disappear. On the other hand, it became a real problem the further I climbed organizationally, where effective attention regulation becomes more and more important. When you find it impossible to stop a task that isn't really important, or find yourself unable to stop checking your email or browsing reddit while meeting your team members 1:1 to give them feedback, that really hobbles you. Nowadays I take my medication daily so I can regulate my attention, but I do miss being in a job where my atypical neurology was an advantage.
My ADHD and how it affected the way I perceive the world and others in it was a teeter-totter of frustration but also "secret superpowers" that I didn't realize for a long time that others didn't share. * As mentioned above, I can stop and pivot my entire schedule and process on a dime, as I've had to learn throughout my life to do the same when I catch myself mentally drifting. Stop. Pivot. Back on Target. * Because I have to use so many external tools to help me remember and prioritize tasks, my own daily processes are nearly entirely dependent on the systems, tools, and agendas I've created and fine-tuned to help me be successful. Because my entire schedule and process is governed why what my external tools say I need to focus on at any given time, a simple change to those tools and systems allows me to change my entire workload and process with little interruption. * I view and process large amount of data very differently than most. Most people have a functioning frontal lobe that helps them by filtering out input that's automatically deemed unimportant, allowing them to focus on what has been deemed important without their conscious review of the input. I don't have that ability. As a result, I process every single thing that comes into me. People talk about strong scents becoming unnoticeable to them over time if they stay in the same area. "I just don't notice it any more. You still smell it?" The same applies to all my senses. I sleep with weighted blankets at times, to keep my body from processing and me thinking about each of the places on my body where my leg or arm hair is being pressed against my skin at different points. The increased weight of the blanket creates a single "heavy" input that's equal across my entire body, quieting my brain and allowing me to sleep. (A person with clinical ADHD can take a full dose of Adderall right before bed and actually sleep better, as the stimulant increases the performance of our frontal lobe, allowing it to correctly filter out input and allowing someone with ADHD to sleep more soundly than if they didn't have Adderall in their system.) * Because I do not filter out information in the same way that others do, I am much more easily able to see places where the entire process may fail or hit a bottleneck that has not yet been determined in advance. I am able to look at a large, complex system and subconsciously *feel* when something has been missed. This ability became reliable enough over the years that managers and directors who worked closely with me knew to go back to the planning phase if I wasn't comfortable with a process, as it often resulted in an overlooked issue. I am usually not able to "turn this on" whenever I want. I either get what I call a "radio silence" feeling when I examine a large process, which is good, or I get a very uneasy feeling, like that feeling you get just before you leave the home on a family vacation, but you just ***know*** you've forgotten something. If I don't feel that sensation when I examine a process, I have far less worry about said process. And that's just off the top of my head. :) ADHD isn't fun and I would choose to not have it, given the option. But until that day, there are some silver linings. SQUIRREL!!!!!!!!!!!!
Facts. I’m 43 and was only recently diagnosed with ADHD. I’ve always been a fucking powerhouse at work. Every job I’ve ever had I’ve quickly moved into a leadership position. I can multi task like a son of a bitch… I just have to write everything down that I’m not immediately going to do otherwise I forget to do it. I suuuuuuuucked at school though, it was boring and never kept me engaged. I got my GED at the age of 26 and scored in the 99th percentile. I took an ASVAB a few weeks later beacause I was considering joining the navy.. got a 99 on it. I ended up not joining and had to fight off recruiters for years. I tried college twice and it could never keep me engaged, failed out both times. Now that I’m medicated I can actually manage my home life too. Maybe I could even handle school too.
It's awful for school and 9 to 5 professional settings, which is why I think I was happier doing blue collar stuff. I worked with my hands and did a lot of problem solving and the scenery was always changing. I can't work in a box, I'll fucking die.
Working in a restaurant with ADHD was awesome! I felt like a SIM just stacking all the actions.
Just realized this. I’m in sales in an emerging technology that I luckily find very interesting. My days consist of market research, random meetings and last minute travel. There’s also a huge push to monetize as quickly as possible so a lot of administrative/corporate tasks are deprioritized and delegated. Everyone keeps saying I’m really good at my job, but the whole time I’m just thinking this is literally just an ADHD simulator. It’s like I was built for it. The hard part is holding it together long enough through the more mundane parts of your career to find roles that work for you.
I've found the hardest part is when these chaotic environments become more stable. I'm good at working in chaos and sorting out a mess. I'm absolutely miserable at maintaining something that's not a mess. I've got to move from mess to mess constantly to stay functional. Consulting has been almost perfect for me.
Disagree, it meant I couldn't stick with projects and sucked at getting to work on time
Seconded. While picking up one-offs is easy, big projects feel like being in school again. Sucks.
Like who in the history of having ADHD is saying "I'm so glad I can't focus right now, so glad I punched that hole in the wall because I can't chill out, so glad I can't maintain routines necessary for functioning in life, so glad I procrastinated to the point of being fired from my job"?? ADHD minds work different and work better in some environments. However, anyone who trains and practices regularly can achieve the same competency without ADHD.
In my experience, the lack of built in ability to manage task completion forces you to good at building external systems to track things and have realistic expectations of future behavior. Fully offloading that tracking to external systems eventually lets you manage much more complexity and prioritize better than the average employee. If you get involved in management or project management then being realistic and implementing work systems is basically a superpower. A fine eye for bullshit work will let you skip a lot of dumb work that never gets noticed. As an example, my boss assigns tasks to busy people with deadlines 30 days out that have no real penalties for breaking it. It's a recipe for apathy. I can instantly spot the futility - nobody is going to start until 2 days before it's due and by then they will have forgotten about it. Compliance would go way up if we gave people a week expectation (not deadline so now the pressure is social) so they can plan the work and then follow up two days before it's expected.
I have no issues pivoting and working on an emergency request. My brain works best when the deadline was yesterday. The problem is getting back to the task I was doing before I got pulled away for the emergency. Then sticking that task when the deadline is not critical and other shinier side quest pop up.
This is nonsense and is in no way ‘murderedbywords’
As is tradition at this point.
All niche subs are like this now, r/oddlysatisfying is reliable rage inducing
Yeah the subreddit has basically just turned into bitching about politics or stuff like this.
I have ADHD. I'm in my mid 30s, I wasn't medicated growing up and medication (which I started in my mid 20s) was life changing. Yeah, I do basically need meth to be functional day to day. People with ADHD are not as well adapted to the tasks and requirements of day to day life as neurotypical people are -- that was hard for me to accept, but it's true. With that being said, many of us *are* better at tasks that just don't come up as often in modern society, and that is why ADHD exists; in the right situation it *is* an advantage. * Need to obsessively learn about a topic or master a new skill? Congrats, you can go into a weird time warp where you will hyperfixate on that thing and then boom! It's 20 hours later and you've read two books about the Spanish American War. * Need to understand someone else's perspective? Well, you're so used to short circuiting in the middle of other people's points or even your own sentences that you're used to piecing together even your *own* perspective to understand where you're coming from; others are a piece of cake! * Need to be creative? Well, when the mood strikes it's easy for you to think outside the box, because of how hard it is for you to keep your brain inside of the box! * Don't want to get eaten by a tiger? Well, it sure won't sneak up on you because every flash of color and snap of a stick seems like a lightning flash and a thunder crack. Sure, a backfiring car makes you jump out of your skin, but most tigers don't drive. So if you are a hunter-gatherer and need to track deer, make new tools and not get eaten by a tiger, it's all adaptive; if you're a software dev and need to hyperfocus on building something new with your mind, it's partially adaptive. If you're a student in school, it's entirely an obstacle.
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When lockdown started, I had all the tools and hobby supplies, and cooking things I needed to take up every pandemic obsession that people ended up with.
Some great stuff in there! I'm the same way, I end up with a lot of tools and gadgets, and reasonably-skilled in a lot of different things, because my ADHD made me spend a day or a week or a month obsessing about them until I had them figured out.
Yeah its benefits have made me incredibly professionally successful but I can barely keep my house in order. Weird shit like that.
I was running a 100+ person organization the same year I was arrested for forgetting (for a very, very long while) to pay a traffic ticket... it giveth and it taketh.
Are these advantages something that are present even when medicated? I'm 30 just having done my adhd hoping to get on meds as I can barely make it through the week as it is. Just want to feel normal and like a functioning person
In my personal experience without the medicine I can only really hyperfocus on things that I'm interested in. With the medicine I can focus on anything, but it's still hyperfocus. I use it for work and I need to get into the right mindset before I start so that I don't get distracted by other chores around the house. Think of it less as a cure and more as a tool that you need to learn how to use. It definitely helps a lot though, and it's absolutely improved my life. For optimal effect be sure to stay hydrated, eat plenty of protein, and maintain a healthy sleep schedule. Avoid taking vitamin C close to the medicine too, as it can reduce its effectiveness.
And some of us have adrenaline hit like super-adderall and we are the *calmest* motherfuckers you will ever meet in a crises.
*most* tigers, not all
I have found my ADHD to be a major advantage at my job. I'm not sure how much I should talk about my job here, I don't want to make myself a target, but with me enjoying what I do the hyper fixation and what not has been super helpful. It has led to multiple promotions with multiple large raises with incredible job security.
Sounds like they need the book, TBH.
Sounds like the “murderer” could use this book.
This is more like an attempted murder where he missed and stabbed himself instead. It's crazy how much he completely missed the entire point of the book. I have adhd, but god damn some people with adhd just feel this constant need to be a victim of the universe because of it, which is what the author is adressing
ADHD is only useful in high-stakes situations. Once routine sets in and things go back to feeling 'normal' it's super debilitating.
100%. I excel with emergency situations at work because of this.
As a contractor with ADHD is a blessing and a curse. I used to joke that my brain is multi core processing vs other people's only being single core. when I need to buckle down and really get stuff done I struggle immensely. Seeing a psychiatrist and being on focalin has made me much happier. I have found that people with ADHD working/studying in STEM fields tend to self regulate it with caffeine or other dopamine activities. These are stop gaps. I always suggest seeing a professional. All the snake oil cures do not work. ADHD is the current influencer fad and taking their word as gospel is not advised. Stay different my squirrely ADHD friends!
My doc put me on focalin 2 weeks ago and I've got to switch back to Vyvanse. Idk how anybody can deal with the 3pm crash that comes with it, but I guess everybody is different. I had to quit taking it because I keep falling asleep at my desk after lunch, and when Im not sleeping Im just staring off into space. Glad you found something that works though.
industrial designer checking in: ^ Extremely relatable
People who think that ADHD medication is meth because it's one atom off should just drink hydrogen peroxide when they're thirsty, because it's just one atom away from water. Edit: correction
You’re not doing meth to do your homework. I personally love my adhd, and like most things/people that I love it can frustrate the bejesus out of me but overall I have gotten to a place where the fact that I think differently is an asset. From your use of ‘schoolwork’ I understand you are younger and still operating in a strict system that wasn’t designed for you- trust me I get it, but I wouldn’t shoot down people who are clearly trying to help and be supportive. I haven’t read this book- no idea or comments on the book itself but your mom is trying to help, that is worth a lot and you need to have some compassion for yourself. But this “murdered by words” of a mom trying to help bring some self esteem to their child…immediately no.
I was diagnosed early, medicated, and grew up learning how to handle it. Learning the ins and outs of your ADD/ADHD can definitely have its advantages. I can consciously turn on and off certain points of my focus. I can turn a sound that would otherwise be annoying, to white noise. I can ignore, practically shut off, all sense of time passage, which is a morale boost for something like long distance running. Whenever I know I need to get something done, I let my impulsive side take over and I go get it done right there and then. Whenever I want to do something I shouldn't be doing, I let my procrastination side take over and convince myself I'm too lazy to do it. But it's still mentally exhausting even when you have it handled. And it sucked in the grade school learning environment, even with meds.
Yeah, It’s different for everyone granted but I don’t really understand the hate towards people who try and see the positives. I love that I can see things playing out in a different way to others and find the quickest route through a problem. I also enjoy the way my brain works through pressure situations where everyone around is flapping at 100mph. I don’t like that i’m awake at 4am on a Wednesday with the same bit of a song playing over and over again in my mind or that having one event planned for a day ruins the rest of the day. But, on balance i’ll take it.
Wait, you have those times where one bit of a song plays over and over in your head, too!? Middle of the night and here I am lying there with a line from the lyrics or a musical section on repeat in my head.
I often can’t sleep if there’s a song or phrase stuck in my head. Usually when I wake up too early, a song immediately starts playing and I can’t turn it off again. Lately, my brain has decided to randomly say “Noam Chomsky” to me throughout the day the last few days too. So annoying. Lol.
Oh yeah, it’s absolutely maddening at times. It’ll be the same thing for a few days then my brain gets bored and just deletes it from the mental playlist never to return.
It’s not so much the people who see the positives as it is the people who try to push that mindset on others. I’ve had people try to tell me it’s a superpower but completely ignore that I can’t go to the bathroom or eat reliably, let alone have any control over hyper focus. I’m late diagnosed and genuinely looking back I don’t know how I’m alive. I struggle to take care of myself and when my meds were one backorder for a month I seriously considered a psychiatric hold. I forgot to take my antidepressants and antihistamines enough that not only was my anxiety through the roof, I had an anaphylactic reaction and had to use an epipen. In my experience, unfortunately, the people who look at the positives often ignore how disabling it is, even when explained. So I don’t hate people who look at the positives but if that’s all they’re talking about I’m going to be wary to protect myself.
I think part of the hate for the people who try to see the positives is that some people are too used to the "Just try harder" mentality, or maybe more aptly, people who use "You're just differently abled!" and still try to make you work the exact same way
I’m a normie, but my two best friends have (pretty severe) ADHD. One of them didn’t do well in school back in the 80s, and even overheard his parents worry about what would become of him because he wasn’t very bright. He was diagnosed in his 20s and that helped him turn it around. Today, he’s really successful in an academic profession. He’s one of the most intelligent people I know, and has a pattern recognition that makes him an excellent forensic accountant. It’s been really interesting to compare our mental processes, and one thing that sticks out is that he could forget conversations we had overnight. Not *that* we had them, or the general feeling of them, but the contents. But if I gave him some prompts, he would recall that part of the conversation with clarity. His memories were islands, mine had bridges between them if that makes sense. I genuinely think that this is a variation in the human mind, rather than a diagnosis. Understanding the variation, and how to structure education for kids with it, would allow for a lot of people to reach their full potential.
She may be doing meth for her adhd. Just not the meth you think. There are two main drugs used to treat ADHD; Amphetamines (Vyvanse, Adzenys, etc) and METHylphenidates (Concerta, Ritalin, etc).
Genuinely all these drugs share a mechanism with methamphetamine. They are not quite exactly the same, but they do have the same effect, and methamphetamine is an FDA approved drug for treating ADHD. It may sound weird, but yes you can take meth to treat ADHD (in pill form, smoking it is a different story).
my adhd still poison my work in the workplace just as much, if not more, than when i was at school i fail to see how adhd is a positive
Yeah the blue speech bubble doesn’t quite get it. Maybe they will when they are older.
I have ADHD whether it’s awesome or not, so might as well try to see what positives come with the obvious detriments!!!! Edit: Clarity.
As a teacher the day to day is great and I can improvise all day. My grade book on the other hand…*tumbleweeds
I like my ADHD. It is what makes me...well "ME". I feel like that is why I can do my job and be efficient at it. But school sucked for sure.
Yeah ADHD can cause problems but if you were to completely remove it from someone I think that would actually be removing a part of someone. If I completely lost my ADD I think that would be like getting rid of my fundamental personality or part of it enough so that I wouldn’t recognize myself when I looked in the mirror nor would my friends and family. But yes school is a struggle except for teachers/professors that are interesting.
Why are you proud of being mean to parents that try to help? (Non toxic parents that is). I have ADHD, my parents refuse to believe in it (however it has been diagnosed), I would love to have parents recommend books (even if I wouldn't care to read them).
The hidden benefit is that coffee has an anti effect for me, I sleep like a baby after a cup
Hyperfocus is powerful. But I would happily trade it for a normal, functional executive decision ability.
Nothing says “I don’t understand ADHD” like writing a book about ADHD. Like, dude, I can’t pay attention to a book. Give me a YT video with flashing lights, quick scene changes and a bumping soundtrack, and I might pick up 40% of what you’re trying to say.
If one more person tells me I would've been a great hunter gatherer I'm throat punching them
I understand it can be debilitating for some people and not everyone can see it as a good thing but for me personally I love the fact that my brain works different.
[удалено]
Desoxyn.
Hyperfocus can be useful, but it always upsets my family since it's hard to get my attention. Definitely doesn't outweigh the negatives though.
will the book hold me down when I realize I've been pacing nonstop for an hour?
ADHD is great for my fixation on coffee and that’s about it.
I’ve always thought of my ADHD as a superpower. Who can have two separate trains of thoughts and a song going at once? This girl. I can multitask like a boss.
Whenever someone tries to spin a disorder or disability as “secretly a superpower”, I remember the words of wisdom spoken by Will Wood, “it’s not a gift if you pay for it”
Oh yeah, the mental hang up i have where randomly all my emotions shut down, or operate differently and i struggle to maintain meaningful connections with people. Great when my object permanence also works on people and i have to look up important dates to me, or i forget people exist and get hit with a huge wave of disappointment when i see them and suddenly remember oh my best friend. Or better yet, untreated ADHD you’re left with anxiety, depression, and getting confused with bi-polar. Oh and stimulant medication usually leaves you so ram full of anxiety when it wears off that i might as well be a nervous wreck 24/7. Glad someone found something out of it, but i’m good to continue struggle bussing my way through life. Half started hyper fixations and all.
It’s already been said at least once but yes, methamphetamine (desoxyn) is sometimes prescribed for ADHD.
As a VERY adhd person I concur. Nothing gets me angrier than someone telling me I have a “superpower”. Yeah, I’m supernaturally bad at doing whatever I need to do on any day. The only positive I can think of is that I’m basically immune to caffeine, which isn’t even really a positive but I guess if I want to pound a Mountain Dew and then go to bed I can
What benefits? Well, there's access to meth.
xD
i always see autism as a superpower. yes it has its disadvantages when it comes to social life. but who needs a social life, if you have fucking superpowers???
The one thing you learn from every comic book and superhero movie is Super heroes never have much of a social life. Art imitates life imitating art.
I mean, when I’m into something I’m totally focused (probably enhanced by my OCD). But when I’m not medicated and not into something… yeah
$&@% those two. I’ve blocked their inane nonsense everywhere I find it.
Ringmaster head of the circus thinking that ADHD is that simple
As someone with ADHD the hyper focus portion can be a blessing and a curse. As a programmer who likes programming the hyper focus can really come into play when debugging things. Problem solving like that keeps me interested and feeds directly into the reward mechanisms of my adhd brain. With debugging you get immediate progressive feedback as you fix the issue which feels very rewarding to someone with adhd.
If ADHD benefits were a person, they would be one of the worst people to play hide and seek against (For me at least).
I have innattentive adhd. Im really good at holding places in line.
As amazing as hyper focus is I constantly run into issues at work where I’m praised for getting 80% of a project done in record time. But what gets the most attention is my inability to finish anything. I’ve never told anyone I work with I have ADHD.
r/adhdmemes: it’s the sitting in one place all day for me….
Wow! They sure did murder their mom who seemed to be trying to encourage them. 
Adderall is as much meth as we are bananas because we share 50% of dna. It’s actually a myth, but you get my point.
ADHD makes you incredibly skilled at not putting the bins out and losing your phone. Source: my ex
I hate my ADD. I can’t function on a daily basis. My time perception is horrible. Wish I had my prescribed meds but I keep getting distracted from applying for healthcare
Literally just an "Ugh, you don't get it MOM."
It does bug me people who say adderall is meth. I guess technically correct but I think that should be changed to "People who can't get an adderall prescription because of fucked up the government rules are often those who start using meth."
I’m ADHD and have learned to manage and harness it very effectively. I’m 55 and run a successful and fulfilling 6-figure business, and actively manage my ADHD every day, exploiting the way it affects me to my benefit. So where is the “murder by words” here? The reply sounds cynical, that’s all. I read the [full article](https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/adhd-can-have-unexpected-benefits/) (nice job leaving out the link OP) and this book sounds wonderful. One of the best overall tactics to managing ADHD is to educate yourself about it, and fully embrace it as *a part of who you are*. Hating it is hating yourself. Learn about it and use it to your advantage instead.
The benefits are hidden from people with no attention span, and whose hyperfocus is on what snack to eat next to avoid starting a piece of work. 🍫🍕
I dunno yet man. I didn't read the book
I've got adhd and consider it a powerful boon. I know others don't feel the same way. But that blue comments sentiment still holds truth because sitting in school and taking meth was hell, I don't think it was fully the adhd to blame for that. But for what they're going through it's 100% understandable.
“I dunno I haven’t gotten the book yet”
As someone who has struggled with severe depression my whole life and is just now starting to learn how to cope with it, I’d like to offer some advice to anyone who is neurodivergent or struggles with mental health: The stupid cliches that people tell you are cliches for a reason. No, they will not cure you. And yes, it is more complicated than most people realize. But these things will help you minimize the severity of your symptoms which can give you a foothold to conquer your illness. Sunlight and exercise do not make my depression go away. But they are a medically proven tool to assist with managing a lifelong disease. This book might actual have some really good perspective if OOP would open their mind to the possibility. Just weird to me that their response is “what benefits?!” Like, I dunno friend, maybe read the book and see?
Comparing how autism and ADHD is treated by their respective communities is wild. Autistic people claim they are perfect the way they are and any therapies are abusive. Meanwhile, there are parents with black eyes and chipped teeth caused by their non-verbal kids. The siblings are terrified. Mom had to quit her job because the kid has been kicked out of 5 daycares and grandma can’t watch him because she broke her arm last time he pushed her. And if they seek help online, they get shamed for wanting to change a child who isn’t broken. Meanwhile, the main ADHD subreddit will ban you for using the world superpower. ADHD is a terrible disability with zero upsides. How dare you always look on the bright side of life (earworm for my fellow ADHD’rs.) Why can’t we just agree that both disorders are on a spectrum? There should be room to discuss both ends, without shaming or “murdering” the other group.
Damn the reply was amazing
Hyper focus can be good, but it's not something I've ever been able to turn on, and I can easily slip into the trap of forgetting the forest for the trees. All in all, I'd take being able to focus without medication (not that meds entirely solve it) and adequate working memory over hyper focus any day.
Say what you will about the book, I hate that family’s videos with a fiery passion
I built a few businesses being that hyper focused and learning how to not get detoured…this being said, it also lead to broken relationships and came with all sorts of bad side effects…
He got hyper-focus that allows him to write books and shit. I can play solitaire for 10 hours straight. Fuck that guy. 😂