Patients responded well in times of ‘high environment demand’ because sense of urgency led to hyperfocus
A recent study has revealed that some people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) cope best during periods of high stress.
Maggie Sibley, a clinical psychologist and psychiatry professor at the University of Washington and the study’s lead author, initially set out to learn whether it is possible for adults to recover from ADHD. In an earlier study, published in 2022, she investigated a National Institute of Mental Health data set that tracked 600 patients with ADHD over 16 years, starting from childhood.
“What we found was this pattern of fluctuating ADHD, and most of the people that were getting better, they would then get back to ADHD again,” she said.
Yeah I can perform a lot better under stress, but that doesn’t mean I want to or that it doesn’t take it’s toll on my mental health. I purposefully keep myself in a “I don’t give a fuck, I go with the flow” state as long as I can just to keep myself sane.
Yes exactly. I’m super effective under deadline, with tons of crap flying my way. Problem is, it’s hugely damaging for me to operate in that state for any long period of time. After burnout for the nth time, I made a decision to switch jobs to something way lower stress (which somehow also paid better). I struggle with the low pressure sometimes, but my god am I a happier and healthier person most of the time.
Also: why would they expect people with ADHD to get better. It’s a fundamental baseline in how exec function systems work in our brains. You can mediate it with medication and practice better routines and habits to avoid some of the worse aspects, but until we can physically manipulate neurology at the cellular scale, I doubt you can cure it.
Better implies something is wrong, as well, rather than being a different baseline. If some 15-20% are diagnosed, it is obviously one of the normal baselines as well. Albeit not one which corresponds very well with many of the demands of today’s demands at work.
Yes strongly agree. I realize there are extremes that are very unpleasant, but I also tend to think that the way things are organized at the work/society level is not intrinsically the best or the most efficient or whatever. Like, it’s a compromise that selects for certain kinds of outcomes, and those things may not be necessarily good or important.
Or just to put it simply: I generally like how I am, and I don’t really see what’s so great about fitting into dominant work/office culture. The fact that I’m not a good little office drone isn’t a downside to me…
The number of times I have been down voted for telling young ADHD sufferers to lean into the advantages of ADHD instead of bemoaning the disadvantages, are numerous.
I have to regiment myself every day, if it’s a boring same-old day with nothing urgent. I purposely put things off to increase urgency so I can accomplish mundane tasks. BUT when the shit hits the fan, I thrive. I can take multiple simultaneous inputs from vendors and engineers and pissed-off business people, and correctly direct and respond to those inputs when others are falling apart due to stress.
Lean into your strengths! If you have ADHD. You have a super power. Use it!
Hard disagree. This isn’t a superpower. It’s pressure put on us by timelines due to our chronic procrastination that causes a lot of stress. It leads to less sleep and while it may motivate us short term, the long term health effects aren’t good for us. And yeah we may get things done, but at least in my case they’re splotched together clumsily out of desperation and still haven’t gotten the attention and focus that was required.
It’s more of an “oh shit I have 1 day to do this important thing that I really needed a week to do properly. That doesn’t enable me to do it properly, it just makes me panic and focus long enough to pull an all-nighter and get the bare minimum done that will pass for something decent.
TLDR I have ADHD and I don’t feel like this is a good thing.
Id say its very situational.
When the shit hits the fan at work and I’m running the show I’m very effective because I have people I can tell to go do things I just thought of then and there. I dont have to remember to do them later which is where I fall apart.
"You, go check this and this and let me know. You go get this done let me know when its done. Think for a moment “and you guys get started on that, you guys get that fixed up and Ill take care of this.”
When the shit hits the fan and I have to resort to my memory and planning skills then we might be in trouble.
I grew up in stress, so when I’m not stressed, it means I’ve forgotten something…
So does the lack of stress cause you stress? 😬 Cause it does for me
It’s like throwing a live microphone in front of the speaker it’s attached to, self sustaining cycle…
Definitely does for me too!
Huh. That explains all the times I basically waited until the last minute to study or finish some assignment lol.
I just started taking very low dose vyvanse yesterday. Today I completed some tasks for work that I could have put off to tomorrow night. Hell one of them I could have put off until Wednesday. This is highly unusual for me.
I’ve based my entire career on this aspect of my ADHD
Paramedic or Firefighter?
IT infrastructure engineer
If you’re always nearly-overwhelmed by everything that needs to get done, then periods of stress are just Tuesday 🤷♂️ I’ve trained for this my whole life
I feel like almost everyone with ADHD could have told them that.
I work best under stress, but working under stress too long makes me want to die. Wanting to die for too long makes me stressed… See how this spirals? But at least I’m good at getting work done.
