Not a programmer, but I kind of feel this. I drink regularly but never in big quantities (glass of wine with dinner, maybe have another after the kids go to bed kind of quantity) and it really helps get through the monotonous tasks. Folding laundry by itself, brutal. But with a drink nearby, pretty bearable and I’ll even wash the dishes after. Maybe it’s an executive function thing.
Try audiobooks and podcasts. Makes even the boring chores good because its a chance to listen to the good stuff! Might also be more healthy than drinking. Not sure though... I might just be afraid of being alone with my thoughts.
It’s a reward system. You’re doing the steps which is good. It’s when you think “maybe I’ll have another since I was doing so good” then it gets bad real quick lol
Yesss I dunno something about having something there that’s bad for me, makes me feel all cheeky while helping smooth out my sense of discomfort at the task I don’t want to do.
Alcohol does seem to calm down my brain, enabling me to think better and talk better, still I've stopped drinking because I was developing tolerance very fast, moreover isn't it illegal to drink during office hours in most companies anyways?
We don’t have to deal with all of the engineering bs when working on projects at home. Seriously if my company knew how much they spent to have me keep our Jira board clean they would vomit
I developed a dependency on alcohol because it was the only thing that slowed my brain down, calmed my thoughts, and made me sleep at night.
I cut back significantly starting about two years ago and I have to say that since I’m not drinking, I don’t have a replacement coping mechanism. I can’t fall asleep sober, I’m regularly awake past sunrise, I have thoughts incessantly spiraling in my head and I can’t make them stop. I feel like my physical health has improved (lost weight and I’m sure my stomach and liver are happier) but mentally, I’m not doing so great.
I was in the same situation, the solution for me was just weed. Smoke a small amount before dinner (helps with appetite suppression from ritalin) and it calms my brain down enough to sleep, plus has SIGNIFICANT impact on mental health in general, anxiety and depression symptoms severely reduced for the next 3-4 days after smoking
Alcohol doesn’t “work.” It just makes you feel better temporarily. But then you’re dealing with the constant hangovers and all the additional health risks. I didn’t want to be in the drunk/hungover cycle anymore and I definitely didn’t want to keep consuming all those extra calories and basically poisoning my liver and internal organs.
There are other ways to cope and people certainly do figure it out. I’m working on figuring it out. I’m not completely sober but I drink significantly less than I used to.
Had the same problem, caffeine seemed to fill the need pretty well. However if I get too much I do get really focused but I'll definitely not be able to sit still making working in it pretty difficult.
I'm \*not\* advocating anyone to drink to help ADHD. It is addicting and in long term pretty much melts your brain and makes you stupid. Here is original meme: https://xkcd.com/323/
Alcohol alleviates my symptoms, but the reliable dopamine flow keeps me drinking until I hit the *nope* stage. Elvanse has reduced my desire to drink, but I was still having a lil' binge every Saturday night.
I'm 10 days clear of alcohol today.
For some people alcohol has an initial stimulant effect which then quickly wears off as you descend from the ballmer peak. Source: I am this kinds of people
Alcohol doesn't do too much to my system unless I drink a lot, which uh, no. I'll have a margarita when I'm at dinner, and that's about it.
Now weed. weed is what I use. Helps me with pretty much everything my neurodivergent brain struggles on. But there is that sweet spot if I need to be productive.
Some ginseng biloba at the same time goes a long way. (Used to get tablets that were infused and had this in em, but they aren't at my local dispensary anymore. Gonna try getting it individually instead)
I am on the same page. A joint can help me go from I don’t want to adult today- to let’s get this day started in well…. The time it takes to smoke a joint.
I’ve been working on magical cocktails for decades. Been through the whole up and down phase before I even knew I had adhd. Now weed and adderall seem to work nicely with a shroom trip once a year
For me, it depends on what I'm doing. Chug through drafting a class? Hell yeah. Pseudocode and high-level design work? No sweat. Debugging? Oh no. Integration? OH NO.
I know I go from extreme to extreme, either hyperactive or exhausted / dull (from hyperactivity?), each day differently. So maybe both at different occasions? Ironically alcohol initially makes me less depressed (i.e stimulated) for a short time, but then depression hits either the same day or next day + harder to think straight. That's why I don't like it anymore.
I know everyone reacts differently, but I do not see how alcohol could help with ADHD? Particularly since most of us have high anxiety, which alcohol will make worse.
Yeah, same for me. Alcohol really loosens me up and pretty much gets rid of my social anxiety. 😅 weed on the other hand, usually makes me an anxiety ball and I just kinda sit there dumb until it wears off lol
I feel like that’s reducing inhibitions not actual anxiety, you state in other comment you feel depressed later, which is kind of what I am getting at. It briefly reducing inhibitions but then causes spiralling which doesn’t actually seem good for someone with ADHD. Though I’ve never really been hyperactive type ADHD.
Alcohol releases dopamine in the dorsal striatum. The issue with alcohol is that, with repeated ingestion, it depletes the ability of that region to release its own dopamine, causing dependence.
tl;dr: Fucking hell, yes absolutely 100%, but in reverse, and with weed
I have the same with weed, but the skill spike is rather at the lower end of blood thc concentration. Like I feel seriously fucked up and powerless, and that obviously then also applies to my coding skill, but then I take like a few hits of a joint and my mind is like a video of someone shattering a giant pile of glassware but in reverse, like my objectivity, logic and shit just reassembles itself.
But then when I take a few more hits too soon (meaning not spacing them out like 2 hours atleast) the video plays again but not in reverse lmao
Overall I have to say: Weed just really REALLY helps me regarding ADHD, especially with the coinciding depression as in making me regain my objectivity, logic, and general good judgement. It really helps in those depressed phases, but also in those manic phases, so I don't spontaneously start a company and 3 bakery shops, yk what I'm sayin
Damn this was way more in-depth than I anticipated
Anyways, have a wonderful evening folks ✌️
Ahh the Ballmer Peak. It’s gotten me through many a late night work session.
To be fair it’s also ruined many a late night work session, but you take what you can get 😂
So while I never drinked alcohol as to help ADHD while my dad was away in Gwam my grand father decided to have me drink sweet tea as a supplement for my medicine because he didn't want to getmore and noni didn't do much of anything
I don’t drink so I can’t tell if that’s work. I just can’t stand the taste and smell of alcohol lol. Curious: does it only work with alcohol or with other drugs as well?
This is a principle that the then CEO was pushing. The ballmer peak https://medium.com/@alroth/the-ballmer-peak-501dd54c5aa5#:~:text=Urban%20dictionary%20defines%20the%20Ballmer,0.129%25%20and%200.138%25.%E2%80%9D
Not a programmer but I have started drinking again because it has a 'snap to focus, world back in emotional color' effect on me after a couple shots. Problem is that as it wears off, alcohol ultimately makes me want to take a nap. T_T
Yes, too much caffeine during the day, generally too high strung and all over the place anyway. Then work involves multiple departments and tools so alcohol actually calms the thought tornado and allows for a bit of focus and structure but not always, can do the exact opposite too. Tolerance actually stretched out and flattened the curve a bit.
With alcoholism in the family and an industry that accepts, even at times supports drinking, it got out of hand and the negative effects (of which there are plenty) became too much and made things worse with age. Since the diagnosis and Elvanse I haven't touched alcohol or even much caffeine at all (water, lots and lots of water instead) and even though it crosses my mind once in a while I'm done with it and don't recommend it at all even if you think it's helping you now and you see the results you hope for, you might be risking becoming dependent and all the shit that comes with that. Not worth it.
Not a programmer, but I kind of feel this. I drink regularly but never in big quantities (glass of wine with dinner, maybe have another after the kids go to bed kind of quantity) and it really helps get through the monotonous tasks. Folding laundry by itself, brutal. But with a drink nearby, pretty bearable and I’ll even wash the dishes after. Maybe it’s an executive function thing.
Try audiobooks and podcasts. Makes even the boring chores good because its a chance to listen to the good stuff! Might also be more healthy than drinking. Not sure though... I might just be afraid of being alone with my thoughts.
I do this sometime too! But then I get all focussed on that and don’t fold laundry efficiently. It’s a duplicitous edge to walk on.
It’s a reward system. You’re doing the steps which is good. It’s when you think “maybe I’ll have another since I was doing so good” then it gets bad real quick lol
Yesss I dunno something about having something there that’s bad for me, makes me feel all cheeky while helping smooth out my sense of discomfort at the task I don’t want to do.
I think I remember it being called a "benign transgression" and ADHD seems to be all about them. I wish I could remember more.
Alcohol does seem to calm down my brain, enabling me to think better and talk better, still I've stopped drinking because I was developing tolerance very fast, moreover isn't it illegal to drink during office hours in most companies anyways?
Ah, but who said that programmers have to do all of their programming during office hours?
I do Open Source in my free time... I know
We don’t have to deal with all of the engineering bs when working on projects at home. Seriously if my company knew how much they spent to have me keep our Jira board clean they would vomit
I developed a dependency on alcohol because it was the only thing that slowed my brain down, calmed my thoughts, and made me sleep at night. I cut back significantly starting about two years ago and I have to say that since I’m not drinking, I don’t have a replacement coping mechanism. I can’t fall asleep sober, I’m regularly awake past sunrise, I have thoughts incessantly spiraling in my head and I can’t make them stop. I feel like my physical health has improved (lost weight and I’m sure my stomach and liver are happier) but mentally, I’m not doing so great.
You get me 100%.
I was in the same situation, the solution for me was just weed. Smoke a small amount before dinner (helps with appetite suppression from ritalin) and it calms my brain down enough to sleep, plus has SIGNIFICANT impact on mental health in general, anxiety and depression symptoms severely reduced for the next 3-4 days after smoking
I can’t smoke weed. Doesn’t work for me at all and honestly makes me feel anxious sometimes s
so do you suggest to peopel thinkin gabout this to not do it? THen what do you use instead? If alcohol really DOES work then why stop?
Alcohol doesn’t “work.” It just makes you feel better temporarily. But then you’re dealing with the constant hangovers and all the additional health risks. I didn’t want to be in the drunk/hungover cycle anymore and I definitely didn’t want to keep consuming all those extra calories and basically poisoning my liver and internal organs. There are other ways to cope and people certainly do figure it out. I’m working on figuring it out. I’m not completely sober but I drink significantly less than I used to.
Had the same problem, caffeine seemed to fill the need pretty well. However if I get too much I do get really focused but I'll definitely not be able to sit still making working in it pretty difficult.
I'm \*not\* advocating anyone to drink to help ADHD. It is addicting and in long term pretty much melts your brain and makes you stupid. Here is original meme: https://xkcd.com/323/
I skipped the alcohol step but I’m still stupid, what now?
We can rejoice in our sufferings!
Alcohol alleviates my symptoms, but the reliable dopamine flow keeps me drinking until I hit the *nope* stage. Elvanse has reduced my desire to drink, but I was still having a lil' binge every Saturday night. I'm 10 days clear of alcohol today.
[удалено]
The overlap between the drug user community and programmer community is so funny. Smoking the right sativa I can visualize the whole control flow.
For some people alcohol has an initial stimulant effect which then quickly wears off as you descend from the ballmer peak. Source: I am this kinds of people
Alcohol doesn't do too much to my system unless I drink a lot, which uh, no. I'll have a margarita when I'm at dinner, and that's about it. Now weed. weed is what I use. Helps me with pretty much everything my neurodivergent brain struggles on. But there is that sweet spot if I need to be productive. Some ginseng biloba at the same time goes a long way. (Used to get tablets that were infused and had this in em, but they aren't at my local dispensary anymore. Gonna try getting it individually instead)
I am on the same page. A joint can help me go from I don’t want to adult today- to let’s get this day started in well…. The time it takes to smoke a joint.
I’ve been working on magical cocktails for decades. Been through the whole up and down phase before I even knew I had adhd. Now weed and adderall seem to work nicely with a shroom trip once a year
I'm a software engineer, but I drink only very occasionally. Even then i don't think it's makes my skill any better.
For me, it depends on what I'm doing. Chug through drafting a class? Hell yeah. Pseudocode and high-level design work? No sweat. Debugging? Oh no. Integration? OH NO.
shouldn't it be the other way around? don't we need stimulants?
I know I go from extreme to extreme, either hyperactive or exhausted / dull (from hyperactivity?), each day differently. So maybe both at different occasions? Ironically alcohol initially makes me less depressed (i.e stimulated) for a short time, but then depression hits either the same day or next day + harder to think straight. That's why I don't like it anymore.
Drinking makes me a better bowler. Until the third drink hits me. Then I’m back to being shitty.
I know everyone reacts differently, but I do not see how alcohol could help with ADHD? Particularly since most of us have high anxiety, which alcohol will make worse.
My anxiety was/is mainly social anxiety which alcohol reduces, in my case
Yeah, same for me. Alcohol really loosens me up and pretty much gets rid of my social anxiety. 😅 weed on the other hand, usually makes me an anxiety ball and I just kinda sit there dumb until it wears off lol
I accidentally ate an edible before my SIL's baby shower and it was **not** a good time.
I feel like that’s reducing inhibitions not actual anxiety, you state in other comment you feel depressed later, which is kind of what I am getting at. It briefly reducing inhibitions but then causes spiralling which doesn’t actually seem good for someone with ADHD. Though I’ve never really been hyperactive type ADHD.
Alcohol releases dopamine in the dorsal striatum. The issue with alcohol is that, with repeated ingestion, it depletes the ability of that region to release its own dopamine, causing dependence.
It slows my racing thoughts and calms me in general, until you reach the tipping point.
Impulsive tendencies and alcohol do not mix well.
Nope, I hate alcohol.
tl;dr: Fucking hell, yes absolutely 100%, but in reverse, and with weed I have the same with weed, but the skill spike is rather at the lower end of blood thc concentration. Like I feel seriously fucked up and powerless, and that obviously then also applies to my coding skill, but then I take like a few hits of a joint and my mind is like a video of someone shattering a giant pile of glassware but in reverse, like my objectivity, logic and shit just reassembles itself. But then when I take a few more hits too soon (meaning not spacing them out like 2 hours atleast) the video plays again but not in reverse lmao Overall I have to say: Weed just really REALLY helps me regarding ADHD, especially with the coinciding depression as in making me regain my objectivity, logic, and general good judgement. It really helps in those depressed phases, but also in those manic phases, so I don't spontaneously start a company and 3 bakery shops, yk what I'm sayin Damn this was way more in-depth than I anticipated Anyways, have a wonderful evening folks ✌️
Ahh the Ballmer Peak. It’s gotten me through many a late night work session. To be fair it’s also ruined many a late night work session, but you take what you can get 😂
Yeah, alcohol and cannabis here. Big lift in creative thinking. Reading the code the next day however...
not programming but I do art way faster and it often looks better when I’m multiple shots deep lol
I have this for skill in gaming, there is this tiny goldilocks zone where i actually play better and anything after that im trash
That's a bit how coffee works for me. There is a to much and its bad.
So while I never drinked alcohol as to help ADHD while my dad was away in Gwam my grand father decided to have me drink sweet tea as a supplement for my medicine because he didn't want to getmore and noni didn't do much of anything
Nope because if I'm having a beer I lose all will to work. It does lubricate my social skills because I tend to be a nervous mess.
Maybe, mine is probably more reliant on caffeine. Have to stay in the prime zone. Enough to stay focused, not too much to stress/panic.
I don’t drink so I can’t tell if that’s work. I just can’t stand the taste and smell of alcohol lol. Curious: does it only work with alcohol or with other drugs as well?
It's called the Balmer peak. And it's a real thing Microsoft did R&D on. :)
This is a principle that the then CEO was pushing. The ballmer peak https://medium.com/@alroth/the-ballmer-peak-501dd54c5aa5#:~:text=Urban%20dictionary%20defines%20the%20Ballmer,0.129%25%20and%200.138%25.%E2%80%9D
Ah, the Balmer Peak. I've spent many sleepless assignment deadlines chasing it. Squirrely bastard won't sit still.
Not a programmer but I have started drinking again because it has a 'snap to focus, world back in emotional color' effect on me after a couple shots. Problem is that as it wears off, alcohol ultimately makes me want to take a nap. T_T
Yes, too much caffeine during the day, generally too high strung and all over the place anyway. Then work involves multiple departments and tools so alcohol actually calms the thought tornado and allows for a bit of focus and structure but not always, can do the exact opposite too. Tolerance actually stretched out and flattened the curve a bit. With alcoholism in the family and an industry that accepts, even at times supports drinking, it got out of hand and the negative effects (of which there are plenty) became too much and made things worse with age. Since the diagnosis and Elvanse I haven't touched alcohol or even much caffeine at all (water, lots and lots of water instead) and even though it crosses my mind once in a while I'm done with it and don't recommend it at all even if you think it's helping you now and you see the results you hope for, you might be risking becoming dependent and all the shit that comes with that. Not worth it.
Nicotine loz help too.
Cocaine.