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Pi Hole with my own blocklist. That is, I block all of my problem sites, then let someone else set my pihole password and then I delete my ssh key off the serve

Pi Hole with my own blocklist. That is, I block all of my problem sites, then let someone else set my pihole password and then I delete my ssh key off the server. Then on the phone, remove all apps that allows consumption (social media, games, readers, youtube, even the browser). Debloat it with adb too. Switch off all notification except for your main chat app (like whatsapp) and alarms. If still too distracting, set the screen to monochrome. Do not allow your phone to enter your bedroom & charge in another room. Same with laptops/tv, keep them out of the bedroom. For series, movies & games, have a set window per week/month to watch/play, do not endlessly play when Idle. Give your brain something intentional to do. Avoid pornography as it can hook an adhd brain to the max and destroy your attention span. Avoid caffeine if you can, drink more water, go bed earlier - it all adds up. You basically have to change your relationship with the computers/internet and not allow yourself to consume/browse without intent or a clear goal. The internet is basically crack for our brains, so avoid it as much as possible. Get some physical exercise and/or sunlight, once a day. Something as simple as stretching for 15 minutes makes a huge difference. Remember that your brain WANTS stuff to do, it will generate an endless stream of crap to do if you don't learn to focus it. The internet is just the easiest way for it keep busy if you don't use it.

mattbdc 4y ago
disagree on caffeine, which has shown to have neuroprotective effects, and also enhance neuroplasticity. and the dopamine/norepinephrine release helps focus/motivation/concentration. coffee is not for me, a bit too jittery/anxious unless I hit the perfect dose ... but Yerba Mate tea has been a gamechanger.
hidelooktropic 4y ago
I completely disagree about caffeine. https://www.verywellmind.com/how-does-caffeine-affect-people-with-adhd-5217867#toc-caffeine-and-adhd-can-it-help https://www.verywellmind.com/how-does-caffeine-affect-people... "if you don't learn to focus it." this is nonsensical and harmful
- cardanome 4y ago
  Is the long term consumption of caffeine really a good idea? I would expect the tolerance build up to negate the positive effects fairly quickly. Most people that need to have their coffee in the morning are NOT more awake than a non-coffee drinker but need the coffee to just reach their normal baseline. So you would need higher and higher dosages to see any positive effects and at that point you get nasty side-effects like heart racing and insomnia.
  - aradox66 4y ago
    Some of the effects of caffeine are subject to diminishing with tolerance, others are not. People develop tolerance at different rates, and it depends on dose and usage pattern, etc. It's not hard to use caffeine a lot and never develop a strong tolerance. (Probably not true for everyone, And it's a different story if you've already been drinking multiple cups of coffee every day for decades). There's some really fascinating research on caffeine use out there, highly recommend that rabbit hole for the interested.
  - rrrrrrrrrrrryan 4y ago
    Caffeine isn't heroin: tolerance plateaus after a few weeks of drinking coffee daily. > nasty side-effects like heart racing and insomnia I've been drinking coffee daily for two decades now and haven't ever experienced heart racing, nor insomnia if I limit my consumption to the A.M. People do process caffeine wildly differently through. I apparently have genes that make me not very sensitive to caffeine at all, but I know this isn't true for everyone.
    - now__what 4y ago
      Once upon a time I could drink a full pot of coffee every morning and feel fine. Now a single caffeinated (sugar-free) soda makes me feel terrible: racing heart, anxiety, shakiness. I've tried exposing myself to more caffeine to get used to it again. No dice. Bodies are weird.
- aidenn0 4y ago
z3c0 4y ago
This seems like a very puritanical viewpoint. So much so, that it's a little peculiar and almost feels like a caricature. A life of avoidance does not help an ADHD brain, and the idea that your brain wants stuff to do is not the case at all. You will burn out very quickly going down that path. You'll get much further just taking a few times a day to slow your thoughts via meditation or engaging in a passive activity that allows constructive mind-wandering. Hell, I'd even recommend medicating over locking your whole life down and living in fear of your own brain.
- hollerith 4y ago
  I think some people need to go very puritanical to survive and to succeed in the modern world with its almost-constant easy access to entertainments, distractions and mental stimulations. I'm probably one of them. And the meds I have tried typically prescribed for ADHD have done more harm than good. Specifically I've tried Ritalin, Adderal and modafinil. Actually that is not true: modafinil did more good than harm, and the other 2 weren't significantly harmful (because I was smart enough to stop taking them as soon as I noticed they didn't help on net). But the point is that modafinil didn't help me with the problem we are discussing here. (Modafinil reduces the amount of REM sleep I get, even if I take it in the morning, and my trying modafinil is what caused me to notice that reducing my REM sleep would be a good idea, which motivated me to find a better non-drug way to reduce REM sleep, after which I had no use for modafinil.)
  - z3c0 4y ago
    I'm not denying that some people have a harder time than others, but to restrict an ADHD brain is not unlike repressing a child. The "distractions" are only distractions to an orderly system - it does not imply that your brain is inherently disorderly, only that it doesn't mesh with the order defined by our society. Learning to reconcile the gap between your natural strengths as an ADHD individual and those needed to make it in the modern world will work far better than trying to shoehorn yourself into a set of rules that your brain refuses to comply with. Living without fulfillment will only further muddy the ADHD mind. Medicine is a shortcut to that, but as you've already noted, it's a huge undertaking of trial-and-error, and may only amount to a transitory solution. Nonetheless, if it carries you forward even a little, it's a worthwhile endeavor.
helllo123 4y ago
Agree with locking down sites/apps - if you find your hands just start auto typing addresses in the toolbar as a coping mechanism for dopamine hits then lock up the problem sites and throw away the key. Set the redirect to something to try to queue you/remind you why you have it blocked (e.g a webpage with a quote). Leechblock is a good in browser alternative if you are on a work pc without access to pihole (e.g. through vpn etc) - you can set password and throw it away. I would also add to all of this if you have the ability to work in person with your screen visible it may help you to keep on track if you feel pressure of being "caught" slacking. Research "body doubling" multiple approaches to this. Above might seem extreme but some tricks like this can help you use your other psychological traits as a stick against your adhd trait (because we all know the carrot only lasts temporarily).

mattbdc 4y ago

disagree on caffeine, which has shown to have neuroprotective effects, and also enhance neuroplasticity. and the dopamine/norepinephrine release helps focus/motivation/concentration. coffee is not for me, a bit too jittery/anxious unless I hit the perfect dose ... but Yerba Mate tea has been a gamechanger.

hidelooktropic 4y ago

I completely disagree about caffeine. https://www.verywellmind.com/how-does-caffeine-affect-people-with-adhd-5217867#toc-caffeine-and-adhd-can-it-help https://www.verywellmind.com/how-does-caffeine-affect-people... "if you don't learn to focus it." this is nonsensical and harmful

cardanome 4y ago
Is the long term consumption of caffeine really a good idea? I would expect the tolerance build up to negate the positive effects fairly quickly. Most people that need to have their coffee in the morning are NOT more awake than a non-coffee drinker but need the coffee to just reach their normal baseline. So you would need higher and higher dosages to see any positive effects and at that point you get nasty side-effects like heart racing and insomnia.
- aradox66 4y ago
  Some of the effects of caffeine are subject to diminishing with tolerance, others are not. People develop tolerance at different rates, and it depends on dose and usage pattern, etc. It's not hard to use caffeine a lot and never develop a strong tolerance. (Probably not true for everyone, And it's a different story if you've already been drinking multiple cups of coffee every day for decades). There's some really fascinating research on caffeine use out there, highly recommend that rabbit hole for the interested.
- rrrrrrrrrrrryan 4y ago
  Caffeine isn't heroin: tolerance plateaus after a few weeks of drinking coffee daily. > nasty side-effects like heart racing and insomnia I've been drinking coffee daily for two decades now and haven't ever experienced heart racing, nor insomnia if I limit my consumption to the A.M. People do process caffeine wildly differently through. I apparently have genes that make me not very sensitive to caffeine at all, but I know this isn't true for everyone.
  - now__what 4y ago
    Once upon a time I could drink a full pot of coffee every morning and feel fine. Now a single caffeinated (sugar-free) soda makes me feel terrible: racing heart, anxiety, shakiness. I've tried exposing myself to more caffeine to get used to it again. No dice. Bodies are weird.
aidenn0 4y ago

z3c0 4y ago

This seems like a very puritanical viewpoint. So much so, that it's a little peculiar and almost feels like a caricature. A life of avoidance does not help an ADHD brain, and the idea that your brain wants stuff to do is not the case at all. You will burn out very quickly going down that path. You'll get much further just taking a few times a day to slow your thoughts via meditation or engaging in a passive activity that allows constructive mind-wandering. Hell, I'd even recommend medicating over locking your whole life down and living in fear of your own brain.

hollerith 4y ago
I think some people need to go very puritanical to survive and to succeed in the modern world with its almost-constant easy access to entertainments, distractions and mental stimulations. I'm probably one of them. And the meds I have tried typically prescribed for ADHD have done more harm than good. Specifically I've tried Ritalin, Adderal and modafinil. Actually that is not true: modafinil did more good than harm, and the other 2 weren't significantly harmful (because I was smart enough to stop taking them as soon as I noticed they didn't help on net). But the point is that modafinil didn't help me with the problem we are discussing here. (Modafinil reduces the amount of REM sleep I get, even if I take it in the morning, and my trying modafinil is what caused me to notice that reducing my REM sleep would be a good idea, which motivated me to find a better non-drug way to reduce REM sleep, after which I had no use for modafinil.)
- z3c0 4y ago
  I'm not denying that some people have a harder time than others, but to restrict an ADHD brain is not unlike repressing a child. The "distractions" are only distractions to an orderly system - it does not imply that your brain is inherently disorderly, only that it doesn't mesh with the order defined by our society. Learning to reconcile the gap between your natural strengths as an ADHD individual and those needed to make it in the modern world will work far better than trying to shoehorn yourself into a set of rules that your brain refuses to comply with. Living without fulfillment will only further muddy the ADHD mind. Medicine is a shortcut to that, but as you've already noted, it's a huge undertaking of trial-and-error, and may only amount to a transitory solution. Nonetheless, if it carries you forward even a little, it's a worthwhile endeavor.

helllo123 4y ago

Agree with locking down sites/apps - if you find your hands just start auto typing addresses in the toolbar as a coping mechanism for dopamine hits then lock up the problem sites and throw away the key. Set the redirect to something to try to queue you/remind you why you have it blocked (e.g a webpage with a quote). Leechblock is a good in browser alternative if you are on a work pc without access to pihole (e.g. through vpn etc) - you can set password and throw it away. I would also add to all of this if you have the ability to work in person with your screen visible it may help you to keep on track if you feel pressure of being "caught" slacking. Research "body doubling" multiple approaches to this. Above might seem extreme but some tricks like this can help you use your other psychological traits as a stick against your adhd trait (because we all know the carrot only lasts temporarily).