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AaronfromKY t1_itl5stk wrote

Reply to comment by Ruca705 in Study finds brain changes associated with ADHD remission. As the brains of those with ADHD mature, some individuals may repetitively engage in strategies that compensate for symptoms. These repetitive behaviors may result in the brain changes seen in those who went into remission. by Wagamaga

I mean if the disorder no longer impacts their life, but is still physically there, maybe that's what they're calling remission? And if the compensatory behaviors aren't negatively impacting their live, are they bad?

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Ruca705 t1_itl6wu4 wrote

No, being able to cope is definitely a good thing. Didn’t mean to seem like I was against it!

I have heard of remission for bipolar disorder, which is usually when someone has gone an extended period of time without having a manic episode. But that type of remission is only achieved through the use of medication, 99% of the time. I would assume the same for ADHD honestly, but the difference to me is that bipolar isn’t a neurodevelopmental disorder present at birth. And, most people don’t get full relief of ADHD symptoms even with meds. I guess I’m just stuck on the use of the word remission here because what I’ve read up til this point is that the concept of people growing out of ADHD is outdated and incorrect, and that people learn to compensate and work around their symptoms, but they don’t actually go away.

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ManiacalDane t1_itloyjr wrote

I don't see how large parts of the brain being developed and linked together in a different way (sometimes vastly different) is something that you just... Grow out of. So I reckon you're right; remission is just... The outward-facing symptoms subsiding.

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Angerwing t1_itnxecb wrote

Your take reflects my lived experience (anecdotal as it is). I'm medicated for my ADHD and it doesn't neutralise my symptoms at all, it just mitigates some and pushes me in other areas so I can work around or capitalise on my quirks. Since being medicated I would describe myself as high functioning and my career trajectory has rocketed.

I can often trick myself to force interest in a task so I hyperfocus on that and produce great work. If I'm faced with a bunch of tedious busy work (my bane) I then spend most of my brainpower thinking about how to streamline the process. Workplace loves that stuff, and I love removing unnecessary work from my to do list. Some of the more complex work I've done has been thorough and detailed just because I was personally intrigued by the situation and wanted to deep dive for my own curiosity.

A lot of the thought processes behind the last paragraph have caused massive issues for me in the past. Hyperfocus on the wrong thing, removing unnecessary work by just not doing it, not trying to be interested and then blowing it off etc. The root causes are the same symptoms I've always had, I've just learnt to reroute them in to productivity.

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thruster_fuel69 t1_itlg829 wrote

Apparently I'm a super high functioning adhd, only medicated recently after like 20 years. Although I coped extremely well (did well as engineer), it was so much extra effort. Now that I'm on meds I see how hard my life was before. I would never call high function adhd remission myself..

For example, I was always exhausted and scared of context switching because I knew distractions would ruin my process. Now that I'm medicated there's no fear and in fact I'm very good at multi tasking. At the end of the day I'm not exhaused and defeated like I was before when i was supposedly in "remission".

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Angerwing t1_itnxpp6 wrote

FYI I can easily clock an ADHD individual online by their use of parenthetical comments (probably all those tangential thoughts).

Not making fun, I've been doing that extensively all my life.

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thruster_fuel69 t1_itny7em wrote

I've learned to trust them, honestly I think they act as my gut check on almost anything. A random, but actually deeply related thought always pops up to shake things up.

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Angerwing t1_itnz2k0 wrote

Yeah if I think about it I mostly use them as extra context, a side note, clarification, off the record opinion or as a qualifier.

But now that I've said it you won't be able to unsee it. Scroll through the comments at all the people who are saying they have ADHD and see how many do it (my people).

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proxyproxyomega t1_itlij1l wrote

imagine if the only reason it's called a disorder is because the brain functions differently than the 'societal normal'. like, if you grew up in an environment that was designed specifically for adhd and supported your potentials, you could have become those crazy smart people who are also a bit coo-coo (by societal norm standard). but instead, you had to take meds that basically 'averages' your brain so that you can participate in the society.

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thruster_fuel69 t1_itljbgs wrote

I think you can nurture yourself to be that, even far later on. Might need to eat some shrooms a few times, but its possible. I'm going for coo-coo crazy good at the moment.

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ThrowbackPie t1_itnm602 wrote

Isn't that exactly what it is? It's so prevalent that I can't imagine that it's truly an 'illness', as much as an alternative brain development pathway that happens to not be very compatible with a lot of society's requirements today.

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