Post #1724493

2023-09-14 08:52 UTC

Also should be underlined that ADHD is sometimes called an "invisible handicap" because a lot of the symptoms are just much worse versions of things neurotypicals deal with too. Example: everyone can have trouble motivating themselves for a task they're not passionate about. With ADHD's innate dopamine deficiency,it can be literally impossible without proper coping tools and/or meds, sometimes no matter what. A possibly useful analogy would be that sometimes the hill that someone neurotypical has to climb is a mountain for someone with ADHD or similar challenges. Not every neurotypical person understands that their hill can be a mountain or that the person with ADHD can only scale it with the right tools, guidance and a lot more effort.

Replies (1)

@peopleproblems@lemmy.world 2023-09-14 11:07

>a lot more effort I want to highlight this part. Part of the executive dysfunction is that intrinsic rewards don't feel rewarding OR reward too much. Filling out paperwork can be a short 10 minute task, but nuerotypical individuals are rewarded with a small dopamine hit for simply finishing it. I don't get any. So anything else that is slightly more interesting captures my attention and energy. In my experience, I get a dopamine hit for avoiding the boring mandatory thing, not so much whatever the thing distracting me is. This quickly snowballs out of control and a 10 minute task took all day. Likewise, things that are very interesting to me (video games, hobby stuff, the Wikipedia hole) can trigger a lot of reward and I end up hyperfocusing. Adderall helps by reducing the power of those interesting things and increases the reward for doing mundane things.

Open ##1724515