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Maybe you’re not trying

(usefulfictions.substack.com)
448 points eatitraw | 2 comments | | HN request time: 0.002s | source
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throwpoaster ◴[] No.45945029[source]
If you, the reader, are having "productivity problems" please get assessed for ADHD.

A lot of productivity writing has the frame "trust me, I was incorrigible and this system worked for me. If it worked for me it will work for you."

None of those systems ever worked for me. I worried about learned helplessness. I worried that imposter syndrome was actually just me being an imposter. I worried I wasn't trying hard enough, and spent enormous effort trying every idea I could: meditation, delegation, therapy, coaching, exercise, diet, sleep, prayer, etc., etc., on and on.

After DECADES of stress and pain it turned out to be a dopamine deficiency. Contemporary medication addressed this for me, quickly and effectively.

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breakingcups ◴[] No.45945665[source]
How long have you been on your medication?
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1. throwpoaster ◴[] No.45946135[source]
Unfortunately I must decline to answer for legal reasons, but I am aware that some people report a short term “cure” that falls off after a longer period.

I am currently on the lowest commercially available dose of a time release methylphenidate, with a dosage pattern that mitigates this long term falloff in most people.

What has been most meaningful to me is the sense of hope both the diagnosis itself and the medication bring.

Sometimes one is trying, and is working hard enough, but is climbing higher mountains than other people while wondering why none of the online mountaineering advice makes sense.

Sometimes one needs an oxygen tank.

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2. xyzzy_plugh ◴[] No.45949773[source]
> with a dosage pattern that mitigates this long term falloff in most people.

And what is such a pattern, if you could be so kind?