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Comment by rtp | Hacker News Reader

If this behavior is due to ADHD, then the best way to deal with it is to get diagnosed and then medicated, as medication is a really effective treatment.

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"ADD" is so prevalent that it's basically part of normal human variation, and has enormous advantages. The name ought to be changed. I find the knee-jerk suggestion of medication offensive tbh. It's like medicating introversion.

The trick is to learn how to use these personality traits to succeed, not to use a chemical cosh to beat yourself into being just like everybody else.

I don't want to stigmatize ADHD in any way, but the executive dysfunction of this disorder is debilitating and it is definitely not a "normal variation". Neurodiverse people are forced to lean into and develop their other talents to be able to cope with adult life, which gives an impression that neurodiversity has certain advantages, but the negative symptoms of ADHD and ASD outweigh the benefits. I'd rather have a prefrontal cortex that actually works.

“Cancer” is so prevalent that it’s basically part of normal human variation and has enormous advantages.

I find the knee-jerk suggestion of medication offensive tbh. The trick is to learn how to use your tumors to succeed.

Prevalence in adults is 0.5% to 1%. Around a half of the population is introverted. OP, please see a doctor.

Depends which country you're in. Predicted prevalence is 2-3% (you'll see higher quoted) diagnosis rate in the US is higher, of course, and lower elsewhere. 2.5% is higher than a lot of popular modern identities. By all means see a therapist, but you don't need to assume that medicalising normal variation is the right thing to do.

I agree. I added a note to my comment for clarity - I did not want to discuss medication as I'm in no way qualified, but nevertheless agree with this sentiment.

After reading 4 paragraphs of text, your first suggestion to OP is to acquire dangerous drugs? This mentality defies common sense, medication should be a last resort.

Medication in psychiatry is not the last resort but the first line of treatment, because it drags people out of bad mental states and allows them the mental space to adjust their life to better cope with their condition.

Dangerous? Give me a break. You're clearly unaware of the medications given for ADHD, or how they work, how they're dosed, etc.

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