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In what way are all these things related to ADHD? I've previously thought I might have ADHD to some degree (Never been diagnosed though) since pieces like that

In what way are all these things related to ADHD? I've previously thought I might have ADHD to some degree (Never been diagnosed though) since pieces like that article felt somewhat familiar to me. I would say I can relate to most of your list, but they don't really seem to be caused by ADHD to me. Or maybe I do have ADHD and that's why I can relate. I have no clue.

eyelidlessness 6y ago
They’re basically all related to having deficient or broken reward reactions, the primary emotional reaction to dopamine. Willpower is hard to achieve if you expect to be disappointed. Pretending is a social necessity to avoid disappointing others, and the rejection that you could expect from that. Failing to muster willpower or follow through manifests that disappointment. Emotions swing when the little burst of reward that might sustain someone else is gone, and then you scrutinize your ability to even appreciate what you do have. Maintaining friendships is hard if you need to tend to yourself, and then again if you feel guilty for neglecting your friends. It compounds if your guilt makes it harder to reach out after some time being a “bad” friend. People questioning your reality makes you question it too. Now it’s your fault, in your mind. But if you’re incapable of fixing it you’re just... at odds with everything. If you are medicated... those other waking hours you’re dealing with all of this not only without the chemical benefits but with the crash that comes after which can amplify everything else.
- eyelidlessness 6y ago
  Apologies for the giant wall of text. I just sat here on my phone swiping back and forth relating how I’ve experienced each item and didn’t pay any attention to formatting or structure.
  - emteycz 6y ago
    On the contrary, walls of text are greatly appreciated
Jarwain 6y ago
Most of the listed symptoms are characteristic of an executive function disorder, of which adhd is the most well known. Very few people have "perfect" executive function without drugs. In other words, it's pretty normal for most people to experience some form of executive dysfunction and it's usually something one learns to manage. Executive functioning is skill just like anything else. From what I understand, ADHD and other executive function disorders are Defined by having extreme enough of an executive function deficit (relative to peers of a similar age and development) that it has a significant impact on their day-to-day life (because if it didn't, why would you be going to a psych to be diagnosed?). But just because it's relatable also doesn't inherently mean that you have ADHD. If you think of executive function as being a spectrum, and executive function ability being a normal distribution, the line for adhd is some arbitrary point on that upslope. Of course, there are people making the argument that phones and social media and the internet and instant gratification might be contributing to executive dysfunction, but this is the kind of thing that's really hard to measure against some objective scale.
- ZephyrBlu 6y ago
  Your response perfectly sums up why ADHD confuses me. It seems to be very poorly defined, and from what I understand being diagnosed is practically still self-diagnosis because the doctor will ask you questions about your behaviour and judge whether you have ADHD or not based on that. Looking at the CDC website on ADHD [0] and without trying to force things to fit, I easily meet the criteria for inattention. Yet a lot of the things I struggle with like the parent comment listed I don't view as being related to executive function (Ex: rejection sensitivity and maintaining friendships). [0] https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/adhd/diagnosis.html https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/adhd/diagnosis.html
  - JamesBarney 6y ago
    > It seems to be very poorly defined, and from what I understand being diagnosed is practically still self-diagnosis because the doctor will ask you questions about your behaviour and judge whether you have ADHD or not based on that. This seems pretty par for the course. A doctor asking you questions and then deciding whether or not you meet some threshold based on the answers to those questions is a large part of medicine and a huge portion of psychiatry.
kolinko 6y ago
All of them are related to the executive functioning subsystem in the brain, located in prefrontal cortex.

eyelidlessness 6y ago

They’re basically all related to having deficient or broken reward reactions, the primary emotional reaction to dopamine. Willpower is hard to achieve if you expect to be disappointed. Pretending is a social necessity to avoid disappointing others, and the rejection that you could expect from that. Failing to muster willpower or follow through manifests that disappointment. Emotions swing when the little burst of reward that might sustain someone else is gone, and then you scrutinize your ability to even appreciate what you do have. Maintaining friendships is hard if you need to tend to yourself, and then again if you feel guilty for neglecting your friends. It compounds if your guilt makes it harder to reach out after some time being a “bad” friend. People questioning your reality makes you question it too. Now it’s your fault, in your mind. But if you’re incapable of fixing it you’re just... at odds with everything. If you are medicated... those other waking hours you’re dealing with all of this not only without the chemical benefits but with the crash that comes after which can amplify everything else.

eyelidlessness 6y ago
Apologies for the giant wall of text. I just sat here on my phone swiping back and forth relating how I’ve experienced each item and didn’t pay any attention to formatting or structure.
- emteycz 6y ago
  On the contrary, walls of text are greatly appreciated

Jarwain 6y ago

Most of the listed symptoms are characteristic of an executive function disorder, of which adhd is the most well known. Very few people have "perfect" executive function without drugs. In other words, it's pretty normal for most people to experience some form of executive dysfunction and it's usually something one learns to manage. Executive functioning is skill just like anything else. From what I understand, ADHD and other executive function disorders are Defined by having extreme enough of an executive function deficit (relative to peers of a similar age and development) that it has a significant impact on their day-to-day life (because if it didn't, why would you be going to a psych to be diagnosed?). But just because it's relatable also doesn't inherently mean that you have ADHD. If you think of executive function as being a spectrum, and executive function ability being a normal distribution, the line for adhd is some arbitrary point on that upslope. Of course, there are people making the argument that phones and social media and the internet and instant gratification might be contributing to executive dysfunction, but this is the kind of thing that's really hard to measure against some objective scale.

ZephyrBlu 6y ago
Your response perfectly sums up why ADHD confuses me. It seems to be very poorly defined, and from what I understand being diagnosed is practically still self-diagnosis because the doctor will ask you questions about your behaviour and judge whether you have ADHD or not based on that. Looking at the CDC website on ADHD [0] and without trying to force things to fit, I easily meet the criteria for inattention. Yet a lot of the things I struggle with like the parent comment listed I don't view as being related to executive function (Ex: rejection sensitivity and maintaining friendships). [0] https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/adhd/diagnosis.html https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/adhd/diagnosis.html
- JamesBarney 6y ago
  > It seems to be very poorly defined, and from what I understand being diagnosed is practically still self-diagnosis because the doctor will ask you questions about your behaviour and judge whether you have ADHD or not based on that. This seems pretty par for the course. A doctor asking you questions and then deciding whether or not you meet some threshold based on the answers to those questions is a large part of medicine and a huge portion of psychiatry.

kolinko 6y ago

All of them are related to the executive functioning subsystem in the brain, located in prefrontal cortex.