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ADHD - does it exist?


Andy @ Allerton

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Maybe we just need a different conception of illness and treatment, diabetics stop needing medicine if they change their lifestyle but nobody pushes to distinguish anything there.

 

Only for type 2 diabetes.  Don't go round encouraging people with type 1 to stop their insulin no matter what lifestyle changes they make!

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ditto

to the max! except timekeeping, which ranges from mostly punctual to 'reschedule as I have a feeling I'll be so late that it won't be worth it' - but mostly punctual

 

so what are our next moves?

I’m getting into mushroom farming with a guy who is a specialist treehouse builder.

I can’t think of anything else, what about you ?

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I’m getting into mushroom farming with a guy who is a specialist treehouse builder.

I can’t think of anything else, what about you ?

I'm going to get a big sheet of paper, or a spreadsheet and carefully evaluate various courses of action

of course I'll do this at home with my partner....as a family

 

'cos there's no I in team

 

got some irons in the fire though:

 

1 move to France

2 pick fights with chavs

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What melia describes is me to a T

lack of focus

- a series of incomplete projects

- impulsiveness, including interrupting when others speak

- poor timekeeping

- leaving important work until the last minute (self sabotage?)

I’ve not really considered this before.

 

 

Check your inbox, I’ve sent you a message.

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What melia describes is me to a T

lack of focus

- a series of incomplete projects

- impulsiveness, including interrupting when others speak

- poor timekeeping

- leaving important work until the last minute (self sabotage?)

I’ve not really considered this before.

I've always been guilty of the last two.

 

How do you define an 'incomplete project' though? It's human nature to start stuff and decide it isn't for you or you can'tbe bothered. I have managed to complete a few things over the years, but then there's some I haven't. 

 

Totally agree with you on seeking novelty. That's a kind of creativity, and I think it is vital to being a functioning human being. Impulsiveness can be life affirming. Drink or drug use may be self medication, but it can provoke a shift of consciousness in the individual and with it be a force for good. There's a not so fine line here.  

 

While I'm open to there being something called ADHD, I'm also suspicious of a (US?) obsession with labelling things and big pharma's desire to monetise that gap. 

 

I also think Western society is prone to a kind of over analysis to the point of it being a sickness. Humans aren't binary machines. You can apply science to them, but it doesn't tell the whole story and in some cases it may well be counter productive.They need the space to experiment, be creative, act daft. Dare I say it, I think post-industrial revolution capitalism has a lot to do with many of society's ills. When you have a system that in nature is dehumanising, it shouldn't be a surprise that people are unhappy.

 

Very interesting discussion. 

I also realised that I usually aced any course of study that allowed last-minute cramming and exam but performed poorly on any units that required sustained project/research work.

 

I went to a psychiatrist today and, after a decent chat and review of a questionnaire I had completed a few weeks back, he believes that I have ADHD and has started me on a course of Vyvanse.

 

At 52, I’m pretty late for this diagnosis. I’m not the naughty kid I used to be and I’ve done quite well academically and careerwise. But that doesn’t mean that my life can’t be made better with an accurate diagnosis and appropriate medication.

 

In answer to the thead title - yes, I believe it exists but it could probably do with a name change to something like Executive Function Disorder or something that better describes its impact.

 

Same here on the study Melia. Don't see it as a problem (or never have), it is just the way I'm wired. 

 

Be very interested how you get on with the medication.

 

Thanks for raising the topic again.  

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Same here on the study Melia. Don't see it as a problem (or never have), it is just the way I'm wired. 

 

Be very interested how you get on with the medication.

 

 

And that’s a fair point.

 

In chatting to the Psych I said “I’d love to sit down to read a book and enjoy getting lost in it without finding my mind spinning off on a tangent every paragraph and having to re-read everything 6 or 7 times”. To which he responded, “and loads of people would like to be able to just go out for a 20k run but can’t. Some people are good at some things and not so good at others”. I couldn’t really argue with his point beyond saying “if I can make life easier for myself, why shouldn’t I?”

 

If you’re happy with the things you can do and the things you can’t do then there’s no real need to change things. But, if you feel that you are being hampered by your impediments and it causes difficulties/stress/anxieties then you should fill your boots if a ready solution presents itself. I’m looking forward to getting the dull but necessary stuff done in plenty of time and saying goodbye to these things not getting done to the latest minute despite worrying over them for too long.

 

Day two of the meds and my focus is way better than it is without meds - I’m ploughing through book chapters and even got through a 20-minute meditation session with good focus on my breath. I’m still fighting off the speedy side-effects which feel like I’m getting the fear. Let’s hope that subsides as I get used to the meds/settle on the right dosage.

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And that’s a fair point.

 

In chatting to the Psych I said “I’d love to sit down to read a book and enjoy getting lost in it without finding my mind spinning off on a tangent every paragraph and having to re-read everything 6 or 7 times”. To which he responded, “and loads of people would like to be able to just go out for a 20k run but can’t. Some people are good at some things and not so good at others”. I couldn’t really argue with his point beyond saying “if I can make life easier for myself, why shouldn’t I?”

 

If you’re happy with the things you can do and the things you can’t do then there’s no real need to change things. But, if you feel that you are being hampered by your impediments and it causes difficulties/stress/anxieties then you should fill your boots if a ready solution presents itself. I’m looking forward to getting the dull but necessary stuff done in plenty of time and saying goodbye to these things not getting done to the latest minute despite worrying over them for too long.

 

Day two of the meds and my focus is way better than it is without meds - I’m ploughing through book chapters and even got through a 20-minute meditation session with good focus on my breath. I’m still fighting off the speedy side-effects which feel like I’m getting the fear. Let’s hope that subsides as I get used to the meds/settle on the right dosage.

Best of luck with it. Think I've mentioned it before on here, but Headspace is brilliant for meditation. You can build up the length over time. Just getting the feel of it for even a minute is great. 

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I'm going to get a big sheet of paper, or a spreadsheet and carefully evaluate various courses of action

of course I'll do this at home with my partner....as a family

 

'cos there's no I in team

 

got some irons in the fire though:

 

1 move to France

2 pick fights with chavs

 

Action 1 means that there will be an I in equipe....

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