cryptnotic

“Who controls the past, controls the future: who controls the present, controls the past.”

Today I learned that 20 years ago I was a defendant in an unlawful detainer (eviction) lawsuit regarding an apartment I shared in college. I had moved out of the apartment after graduation. Apparently my roommate stopped paying the rent and the landlord sued both of us. I was never served and didn't know about the case until now.

> Today a diagnosis of significant ADHD might have been given.

The hyperactivity component of ADHD is often expressed as impulsivity, so that fits.

> while I still have some lasting nerve damage

Is nerve damage a common side-effect from military vaccinations?

I agree that it's both broader and more complicated than what I wrote. At least in some states in the U.S., a neuropsychologist can diagnose ADHD, but can't write prescriptions for medications to treat it. Meanwhile, a psychiatrist can write prescriptions for a patient with ADHD, but might only do so after he reads a diagnosis from a neuropsychologist. Your experience may vary.

Also, diagnoses for disability accommodations (e.g., in education) are a whole different and complicated thing.

An ADHD diagnosis needs to be done by a neuropsychologist, who usually has a Ph.D. and specific board certifications. An anxiety disorder diagnosis is usually done by a psychiatrist, who is a doctor with an M.D. and specific psychiatry certifications.

> For context, I just turned 21 ... and am on track to graduate soon as a software engineer.

A 21-year-old soon-to-be software engineer losing $25k is not a life-changing tragedy.

> “I have $6k in $AMC that’s like 90% of my money.”

That could be a lot of money to him, but it is not a lot of money compared to what an average worker earns in a year. A probably-young guy losing $6k on a risky stock bet is not life-destroying.

Also, depending on when he bought he could actually be up. And even if he bought at the top, it would still be worth something like 40% of that.

Sorry, I didn't mean to imply that it's possible to treat ADHD with just behavioral changes or occupational therapy. That wasn't true in your case and it wasn't true in my case either. In my case, medication has been eye-opening and life-changing. When I went back to school, however, I also found it helpful to work with an occupational therapist to set up specific strategies for staying organized, keeping up with assignments, effectively using my studying time, and minimizing distractions. Working with an OT who understood ADHD was different from just trying to adopt general studying strategies and it really helped me succeed in grad school. If the parent poster is in university, an OT may be an available resource.

If I regret anything, it's not getting diagnosed until I was in my 30s. I wasted years of my life doing poorly in school, being depressed about it, blaming my performance on being depressed, and then dropping out of school. I eventually graduated, only 10 years late and with a 2.2 GPA. After getting diagnosed and treated, I went to graduate school and finished in the top 15% of my class with a 3.7 GPA. I think I've redeemed myself, but I won't get any of those wasted years back.

If you're in university, then you're probably in a place that has resources that can help. Take advantage of them. For example, you may have access to an occupational therapist who can help you improve how you organize and schedule your work, create effective workplace, avoid distractions, etc. Medication may also help, but it works best in conjunction with active behavioral changes.

That’s amazing. What’s your secret to keeping it under control?

Using them in a raid against a terrorist who had taken hostages is completely reasonable.

Throwing them into a crowd of people is not.

Like any dangerous tool, if you use it carelessly bad things will happen.

Bret is your typical genius visionary. He's bored by the thing that excited him last year.