ACE score of 8. I’m happy, live a life I find deeply meaningful and fulfilling, don’t suffer from any depression, I have a wife and two kids. I’m the happiest I’ve ever been in my life. My teens and 20s were really rough, I spent a lot of time ruminating and just being a sourpuss. But I mostly knew I didn’t want to be like the people I’d been surrounded by when I was a kid. I got over it and stopped worrying about it so much. I’m lucky I found a good wife, we’ve talked for probably thousands of hours about our childhoods and worked out a lot of stuff. I feel like I’m continually improving. I just don’t worry too much, in my 20s I was diagnosed with anxiety and depression but those are basically non existent now.

The thing I purposely try to avoid when starting a new job is talking about my upbringing and background too early. I didn’t tell people at my current job my youngest daughter is in a wheelchair until about three months in. I let people form their judgments from how effective I am at work, then reveal more about my personal life. That first impression is so important. If people think you’re damaged goods from the get go you’ll get their pity, which is not what you want. You want their respect. Pity in a workplace means career death.

I’ve started riding my bike regularly which seems to have a very similar effect to taking Adderall. I use super bright lights in my home office during the winter. Home cooked meals improve my overall mood by leaps and bounds.