3 ms·

I would recommend you pay careful attention to your diet - get the proper amount of essential fatty acids - experiment with vitamins, especially magnesium -

I would recommend you pay careful attention to your diet - get the proper amount of essential fatty acids - experiment with vitamins, especially magnesium - green, leafy vegetables - minimal processed sugar & zero alcohol And exercise. Get some cardio, even if it's just walking for a half-hour to an hour. It's a struggle, but learning your body will help you optimize your performance and consistency. Peace be with you, and I wish you the best of luck.

protocolture 2y ago
I was referred to a school counselor in high school because I couldn't sit still, my behavior was inconsistent and I had a hard time focusing. If that person had caught it, and referred me on to get an ADHD assessment, I would be miles better off. Instead he gave me exactly the advice you just did, and it achieved nothing. Guy actually owned the whole food / wellness / woo store he referred me to which makes it worse. Now I have my medication I look back on shit like this with absolute scorn. I know you probably intend the advice in good faith but its absolutely not a replacement for medicine.
- MrMcCall 2y ago
  I got a lot of work done for a few years, thanks to Adderall, but that ship has sailed because of high blood pressure. I'm not selling anything, my friend. I'm sorry I didn't tell anyone that I was diagnosed with ADHD over 15 years ago, but I've been in the trenches for a long time now. And, absolutely, medicine is next-level helpful, but if you can't use it, as I can't, then you have to do the best you can. Out of my love for others like me, I simply offered the best non-pharmaceutical advice I could, because that's what I use. Peace be with you.
protocolture 2y ago
Further, asking adhd folk to "pay careful attention" is like asking a paraplegic to mind where he steps. Just FYI.
- xanth 2y ago
  You're not wrong—but its not impossible—and it really helps! Having followed a lot of that advice in the past, and currently being in a slump; I can say it really it matters. Medication increases your chances of following through and the rewards compound.
  - Doxin 2y ago
    > but its not impossible No but it actually is though. The entire thing with ADHD is that the whole attention mechanism is defective. Yes I can purposefully focus on something, but not consistently or over longer periods. That's the handicap. It's not a matter of not trying hard enough or figuring out one crazy trick. People with ADHD work differently from normal people and so far there's no fix for it.
    - emptysongglass 2y ago
      Hey, person with ADHD here. It is not impossible and you are victimizing all of us by stating it is. There are extreme methods you can take that legitimately solve for the "defective wiring", such as meditating 10 hours a day. It's not permanent once you go off it, but you, yes you, can read a novel straight through. But you don't actually need to go that far to reap 80 percent of the benefits. Real, effective protocols lower the threshold for stimulation. Constant novelty (seeking escape in external stimuli such as phones and computers) exacerbate our symptoms. This whole identifying as a person with ADHD thing has gone way too far, and I say this as someone who has struggled with it my entire life. You can do something about it and that something about it isn't only restricted to medication.
      - Doxin 2y ago
        I've also got ADHD, I'm not just spouting unsubstantiated bullshit. I was simplifying, maybe too much, but honestly I am sick and tired of people that keep telling me to "just try harder". I'm running at redline fucking 24/7 and it's barely enough to survive. I wasn't implying that if you've got ADHD you might as well give up trying to focus or productive. I'm just saying that expecting an ADHD person to get the same results as someone without without lots extra effort is absurd. You can say what you like but ADHD is a real handicap for which we do not have a cure. We've got workarounds with different levels of efficacy. I'm tired of being expected to measure up to a standard which I both can't do and don't even want to do.
danaris 2y ago
On the one hand, it's true that these things are very important. I (as another diagnosed with ADHD) definitely do worst when I don't get proper nutrients. But it's very, very important to remember and understand that these things don't make it go away. I'm not saying you're suggesting that doing these things will make ADHD go away—but your comment is ambiguous as to whether that's where you're going with it, and there's definitely a lot of people who don't really believe that ADHD is a "real" disorder, many of whom give advice just like yours and end with something like "...and if you do all of this right, you'll be perfectly normal!" So I want to both heartily endorse your recommendations (both the general "eat well," and these specific items), and also caution strongly against expecting miracle results.
- MrMcCall 2y ago
  I get that now, but I'm diagnosed, too, with ADHD. Maybe that's why I forgot to mention that I'm in the same, exact boat. I'm still a foot-tapper at nearly 60, with high blood pressure putting the kaibosh on Adderall, so I do the best I can with what I can. Those are the techniques that I have found to work for me, but I wouldn't and didn't call any of them a miracle. No, this programmer's life is non-trivially difficult for we ADHD folks, friend. I apologize for not making that clear, but I'm certainly not downplaying ADHD's reality or difficulty after having dealt with it for over 30 years. And taking Adderall is not without its side-effects, so I wouldn't recommend either it or pharma-grade cannabis, because I'm not a doctor, and those things are dangerous. I only recommend the safest possible path. Besides, all my recommendations actually helped me get the most out of Adderall for the few years I had my prescription. In my experience, there are no miraculous shortcuts, but those are the ways I have found help me tamp it down, after years and years of struggling with it, which has been daily for me with my passion for programming still going strong.
idiotsecant 2y ago
Imagine if someone had a broken arm and you told them to focus on their calcium intake. I mean, yeah, for sure, but it's kind of primarily important to put the arm in a sling before we discuss the finer points of mineral uptake efficiency. This may not be your intention but this post reeks of crunchy granola holistic fluff woo.
- MrMcCall 2y ago
  Is it woo if I'm a diagnosed with ADHD, too, which I am? I explain this more fully in my other comments in this thread. This isn't woo, my friend; it's the advise of programmer who has been in the ADHD trenches for over 30 years. And it's the best advice I can give because it's the best set of advice that I wished I would have gotten those decades ago.

protocolture 2y ago

I was referred to a school counselor in high school because I couldn't sit still, my behavior was inconsistent and I had a hard time focusing. If that person had caught it, and referred me on to get an ADHD assessment, I would be miles better off. Instead he gave me exactly the advice you just did, and it achieved nothing. Guy actually owned the whole food / wellness / woo store he referred me to which makes it worse. Now I have my medication I look back on shit like this with absolute scorn. I know you probably intend the advice in good faith but its absolutely not a replacement for medicine.

MrMcCall 2y ago
I got a lot of work done for a few years, thanks to Adderall, but that ship has sailed because of high blood pressure. I'm not selling anything, my friend. I'm sorry I didn't tell anyone that I was diagnosed with ADHD over 15 years ago, but I've been in the trenches for a long time now. And, absolutely, medicine is next-level helpful, but if you can't use it, as I can't, then you have to do the best you can. Out of my love for others like me, I simply offered the best non-pharmaceutical advice I could, because that's what I use. Peace be with you.

protocolture 2y ago

Further, asking adhd folk to "pay careful attention" is like asking a paraplegic to mind where he steps. Just FYI.

xanth 2y ago
You're not wrong—but its not impossible—and it really helps! Having followed a lot of that advice in the past, and currently being in a slump; I can say it really it matters. Medication increases your chances of following through and the rewards compound.
- Doxin 2y ago
  > but its not impossible No but it actually is though. The entire thing with ADHD is that the whole attention mechanism is defective. Yes I can purposefully focus on something, but not consistently or over longer periods. That's the handicap. It's not a matter of not trying hard enough or figuring out one crazy trick. People with ADHD work differently from normal people and so far there's no fix for it.
  - emptysongglass 2y ago
    Hey, person with ADHD here. It is not impossible and you are victimizing all of us by stating it is. There are extreme methods you can take that legitimately solve for the "defective wiring", such as meditating 10 hours a day. It's not permanent once you go off it, but you, yes you, can read a novel straight through. But you don't actually need to go that far to reap 80 percent of the benefits. Real, effective protocols lower the threshold for stimulation. Constant novelty (seeking escape in external stimuli such as phones and computers) exacerbate our symptoms. This whole identifying as a person with ADHD thing has gone way too far, and I say this as someone who has struggled with it my entire life. You can do something about it and that something about it isn't only restricted to medication.
    - Doxin 2y ago
      I've also got ADHD, I'm not just spouting unsubstantiated bullshit. I was simplifying, maybe too much, but honestly I am sick and tired of people that keep telling me to "just try harder". I'm running at redline fucking 24/7 and it's barely enough to survive. I wasn't implying that if you've got ADHD you might as well give up trying to focus or productive. I'm just saying that expecting an ADHD person to get the same results as someone without without lots extra effort is absurd. You can say what you like but ADHD is a real handicap for which we do not have a cure. We've got workarounds with different levels of efficacy. I'm tired of being expected to measure up to a standard which I both can't do and don't even want to do.

danaris 2y ago

On the one hand, it's true that these things are very important. I (as another diagnosed with ADHD) definitely do worst when I don't get proper nutrients. But it's very, very important to remember and understand that these things don't make it go away. I'm not saying you're suggesting that doing these things will make ADHD go away—but your comment is ambiguous as to whether that's where you're going with it, and there's definitely a lot of people who don't really believe that ADHD is a "real" disorder, many of whom give advice just like yours and end with something like "...and if you do all of this right, you'll be perfectly normal!" So I want to both heartily endorse your recommendations (both the general "eat well," and these specific items), and also caution strongly against expecting miracle results.

MrMcCall 2y ago
I get that now, but I'm diagnosed, too, with ADHD. Maybe that's why I forgot to mention that I'm in the same, exact boat. I'm still a foot-tapper at nearly 60, with high blood pressure putting the kaibosh on Adderall, so I do the best I can with what I can. Those are the techniques that I have found to work for me, but I wouldn't and didn't call any of them a miracle. No, this programmer's life is non-trivially difficult for we ADHD folks, friend. I apologize for not making that clear, but I'm certainly not downplaying ADHD's reality or difficulty after having dealt with it for over 30 years. And taking Adderall is not without its side-effects, so I wouldn't recommend either it or pharma-grade cannabis, because I'm not a doctor, and those things are dangerous. I only recommend the safest possible path. Besides, all my recommendations actually helped me get the most out of Adderall for the few years I had my prescription. In my experience, there are no miraculous shortcuts, but those are the ways I have found help me tamp it down, after years and years of struggling with it, which has been daily for me with my passion for programming still going strong.

idiotsecant 2y ago

Imagine if someone had a broken arm and you told them to focus on their calcium intake. I mean, yeah, for sure, but it's kind of primarily important to put the arm in a sling before we discuss the finer points of mineral uptake efficiency. This may not be your intention but this post reeks of crunchy granola holistic fluff woo.

MrMcCall 2y ago
Is it woo if I'm a diagnosed with ADHD, too, which I am? I explain this more fully in my other comments in this thread. This isn't woo, my friend; it's the advise of programmer who has been in the ADHD trenches for over 30 years. And it's the best advice I can give because it's the best set of advice that I wished I would have gotten those decades ago.