4 ms·

I was diagnosed with ADD as a kid and took Ritalin for a little while, but hated it so I convinced my parents to let me stop. I haven't sought medication or tre

I was diagnosed with ADD as a kid and took Ritalin for a little while, but hated it so I convinced my parents to let me stop. I haven't sought medication or treatment since then. I can manage it really well if I'm intentional about how I arrange and use my environment, and it usually seems like the bursts of intense focus and creativity compensate for the tendency to be distracted and chasing multiple concurrent threads. Granted, I need a manager and work environment that indulges my need to deep dive on something without a lot of structure occasionally. Losing those bursts and everything becoming kind of gray scale is why I hated taking the meds as a kid.

ekanes 6y ago
It's a long conversation and hard to have here/in-comments, but I'd encourage you to look into it again, for several reasons. I get the focus/creativity aspect for sure! 1. Medications have come a long way, and there's more than just Ritalin (or Adderall) as options. I get the grey scale concept, but I don't think it has to be that way. There are varying doses and varying medications, and you might find something that is almost all upside with (possibly) no downside. 2. You might perceive yourself to be managing / coping fine (and you might be, I don't mean that in any disrespectful way!) but there could be vast undiscovered focus abilities you could access. For me personally, the difference on and off medication is VAST. 3. You might not always have that manager/environment. Or (what happened for me) someday you might (already) have a family, and fewer options for those bursts of focus. I used to work until 3am when I was on a roll, but now I can't. 4. The distraction / multiple threads stuff can have other impacts on your own self-image. Depends on how well it's managed I guess, in the world and inside your head. Good luck! :)
forgotmypw17 6y ago
Don't let society dictate how your brain should function. You are fine and valid the way you are, and don't let anyone call you a disorder.
- ekanes 6y ago
  ADHD and Autism are "spectrum" disorders. Meaning that in a sense, we ALL have them to varying degrees, on a spectrum. (For example, we can all be distractable..) The definition of a disorder is that it's interfering with your life. So, if it's not bothering you, ALL GOOD. :) You don't have a disorder. I appreciate that you're well-intentioned. And of course if someone is happy exactly as they are, that's awesomesauce! But to the degree someone expresses that they struggle with something, and they might benefit from learning more or exploring options, it's not wrong to gently and respectfully encourage them to explore learning/options. It doesn't mean someone is "calling them" something.
- eloisius 6y ago
  Yeah, that's the narrative I fed myself since I was a teenager, and I had plenty of validation for it from family members that loved me. I was just "too smart" to sit in class bored all day or whatever. I'm trying to question that narrative. The burst of focus and creativity might be great, but I wonder if the sibling commenter is right that I could be missing out on vast, untapped potential and I might not lose the upside. I don't know.
  - forgotmypw17 6y ago
    > I was just "too smart" to sit in class bored all day or whatever. Yes, you WERE too smart to be forced to sit around and learn at a pace that was way too slow for you. Imagine how much you could have learned if you were progressing at your own pace (let's say top 10%) rather than school curriculum pace (let's say tuned for 90% of students to keep up) Think about how much more successful you could have been in programming if you had learned calculus by 8th grade, a task I'd say at least half our U.S population is capable of. Instead, you are forced to put up with the same spoonfeeding as everyone else, and if you don't like it, you have a disorder? You were rightfully frustrated and upset at this waste of your time. Not to mention how unnatural and unhealthy it is to sit in place for hours at a time. It's not a disorder, it's a natural response to reality.
    - eloisius 6y ago
      > if you had learned calculus by 8th grade Joke's on you. I still haven't learned calculus.
      - sieabahlpark 6y ago
        They taught it too slowly to you for it to sink in.
sam1r 6y ago
Tbh you just gotta find something you love doing and the rest will resolve itself

ekanes 6y ago

It's a long conversation and hard to have here/in-comments, but I'd encourage you to look into it again, for several reasons. I get the focus/creativity aspect for sure! 1. Medications have come a long way, and there's more than just Ritalin (or Adderall) as options. I get the grey scale concept, but I don't think it has to be that way. There are varying doses and varying medications, and you might find something that is almost all upside with (possibly) no downside. 2. You might perceive yourself to be managing / coping fine (and you might be, I don't mean that in any disrespectful way!) but there could be vast undiscovered focus abilities you could access. For me personally, the difference on and off medication is VAST. 3. You might not always have that manager/environment. Or (what happened for me) someday you might (already) have a family, and fewer options for those bursts of focus. I used to work until 3am when I was on a roll, but now I can't. 4. The distraction / multiple threads stuff can have other impacts on your own self-image. Depends on how well it's managed I guess, in the world and inside your head. Good luck! :)

forgotmypw17 6y ago

Don't let society dictate how your brain should function. You are fine and valid the way you are, and don't let anyone call you a disorder.

ekanes 6y ago
ADHD and Autism are "spectrum" disorders. Meaning that in a sense, we ALL have them to varying degrees, on a spectrum. (For example, we can all be distractable..) The definition of a disorder is that it's interfering with your life. So, if it's not bothering you, ALL GOOD. :) You don't have a disorder. I appreciate that you're well-intentioned. And of course if someone is happy exactly as they are, that's awesomesauce! But to the degree someone expresses that they struggle with something, and they might benefit from learning more or exploring options, it's not wrong to gently and respectfully encourage them to explore learning/options. It doesn't mean someone is "calling them" something.
eloisius 6y ago
Yeah, that's the narrative I fed myself since I was a teenager, and I had plenty of validation for it from family members that loved me. I was just "too smart" to sit in class bored all day or whatever. I'm trying to question that narrative. The burst of focus and creativity might be great, but I wonder if the sibling commenter is right that I could be missing out on vast, untapped potential and I might not lose the upside. I don't know.
- forgotmypw17 6y ago
  > I was just "too smart" to sit in class bored all day or whatever. Yes, you WERE too smart to be forced to sit around and learn at a pace that was way too slow for you. Imagine how much you could have learned if you were progressing at your own pace (let's say top 10%) rather than school curriculum pace (let's say tuned for 90% of students to keep up) Think about how much more successful you could have been in programming if you had learned calculus by 8th grade, a task I'd say at least half our U.S population is capable of. Instead, you are forced to put up with the same spoonfeeding as everyone else, and if you don't like it, you have a disorder? You were rightfully frustrated and upset at this waste of your time. Not to mention how unnatural and unhealthy it is to sit in place for hours at a time. It's not a disorder, it's a natural response to reality.
  - eloisius 6y ago
    > if you had learned calculus by 8th grade Joke's on you. I still haven't learned calculus.
    - sieabahlpark 6y ago
      They taught it too slowly to you for it to sink in.

sam1r 6y ago

Tbh you just gotta find something you love doing and the rest will resolve itself