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…