The Job Fit (The more interesting intervention). Sometimes we need to figure out if the problem is the job, not the person. Some people with ADHD simply cannot tolerate meaningless or monotonous tasks. An active person, for example, probably shouldn't work as a data entry clerk. for instance a 50-year-old builder who becomes a manager because his body is too beat up for hard labor. He is suited for leadership but can't stand the administrative work. Even if he wants the job, the boredom of the paperwork makes him miserable. These are the people who often present as depressed and benefit most from medication, as it gives them the stability to tolerate boring but necessary tasks. So basically spanning everything from small techniques, to existential and professional evaluation of best fit, to medication. Everyone is different.
In office, I listened to music almost my entire career, it’s the only way I got anything done for whatever reason, to the point I almost got fired once when a manager tried to stop me heading out briefly to pick up a replacement set of headphones when mine broke. I threw a literal tantrum almost, all I knew is I had no music, and that it was essential I did so I could continue doing what I was doing.
For some reason however, when I made a transition in the last few years to WFH, I’ve been living this bizzarely very different approach where I sit in almost complete silence all day long, and it’s the most I’ve ever struggled with my…focus for lack of a better word.
I now truly wonder how much this may have to do with this huge struggle I’ve felt to remain engaged or on task. I’m getting my job done, but 90% of my effort is me having to force myself to get it done rather than…just getting it done like I used too.
I suddenly feel very stupid.
I've worked in education and helping kiddos get accomodations and fixtures for their learning has made grow a huge amount of compassion and empathy for myself in this respect.
I think the reality is that this new way of working is still relatively new for human beings. For eons we had more natural, environment based rhythms and then suddenly we're thrust into artificial air and lighting environments staring at papers and now screens.
Our eyes and minds wander to literal infinite spaces on a screen, while our body is sitting in the exact same space (often in the same posture) and we all pretend that "this is normal". But our body keeps score and you can't BS it. It takes its toll.
I too WFH and while my days are somewhat longer, it's only because I do life things while I do work things (as if reality actually has a distinction) and it's better for my mental health.
I sit on a yoga ball, I have an office chair, I do standing desk. There is a beautiful garden behind my screen that constantly beckons me to stop staring into the phony black mirror.
Sorry for the rant, but just know that you're not the weird one. Our systems and processes are the weird ones. And it's our prerogative to find, or construct, better ones for our flourishment.
When I was in college, I was prescribed them again just by my primary care physician. I didn't say I was having trouble focusing, I said I was having trouble with wakefulness. I still do sometimes. It was hard to stay awake in a lecture setting for some reason, borderline impossible on days when I had several in a row. Medication definitely helped me get through college but it was a rough time.
As an adult I don't take them, but it is hard to really work the full work day. I have always performed well enough that nobody questions it (and in some cases have brought so much value to a company that nobody cares), but it is a constant source of stress. I resonate with the top commenter in that I also have hundreds of unfinished personal projects across all domains. At this time in my life (33 y/o) I am more concerned about mitigating the constant stress I feel than I am about the actual ADHD symptoms. I am ok with my many personal projects clashing with each other.
At one point a few years ago I was stressed enough about my job to seek medication. For some reason I was not able to get the information about my diagnosis from my old primary care (from 8 years ago) and the one before that was pediatric and didn't seem to count. I talked to a therapist for a bit (which was not useful), got a diagnosis, and then talked to a psych briefly via zoom, and went on medication for a month before deciding (again) that it wasn't worth it. The whole thing was kind of disheartening.
Things are very weird when it comes to ADHD treatment and diagnosis. There seems to be a tendency towards the same 'easy button' when it comes to ADHD. I also don't think it's exaggerating to say that just about every single person I know well enough to have spoken to about these things says that they have been diagnosed with ADHD, often medicated. I don't think very many of them actually do have it. Sometimes I'm not even sure if I do, or there is something else going on.
I'm not sure what to conclude after all this except that maybe there are no answers for me in this space. It's frustrating, but I've never opened up to exploring this problem without the same exact solution being thrown at me, a solution I know is not sustainable for me. I've never spoken to a doctor who's ever suggested it could be anything else. Should I just find my own way, since I seem to be able to function well enough?
> For these people, it’s almost more physiological than psychological.
This stands out to me. I have lifted weights in the past, have not been well physically conditioned in cardio activity since I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at 22. Cardio tends to cause my blood sugar to become unpredictable (or at least you have to actually be really rigid in maintaining your exercise patterns to keep things predictable). Maybe a bit of biking or running would do me some good. What would you do?
On the article I would somewhat agree but it’s too limited a view. It ignores too much of the at current assumed underlying causes that we know are relevant. For instance, it’s more correct to say that autism is associated with an increased attentions to “details”, not small things, and challenges with associations and broad concepts, maybe grounded all the way down to increased dendritic connectivity due to less aggressive pruning. of Also, the effect of motivation to focus over a period of time on unrewarding activities is not well incorporated into this theory of (monotropism). I thing there are some valid obersvation but it’s way to simplistic a model when working with real life ADHD. For instance, on interesting commonality seems to be inability to filter out information. But ADHD are unable to filter out Salient content (like a conversation) and autism are usually unable to filter out details or granular sensory stimuli.
Anyways. Ask and I can attest give my perspective