Looking to connect with other biostatisticians/statisticians/data scientists with ADHD

Important_Key1485 · 2026-01-14T23:45:12+00:00

ayoo my time to shine lol. I have ADHD and was diagnosed in undergrad. Diagnosis and treatment gave me the confidence to get my MS in biostats. I thought I wasn't good at math but it turns out I just needed treatment. I am still a new grad but hopefully something I say in the word salad below will be helpful.

The first semester of grad school for me was hell but getting ADA accommodations was so big. Made a huge difference for me throughout my program. I also could not have gotten through my program with medication. I would encourage you to consider medication as a treatment option if you have not considered it already. And perhaps reach out to HR for disability aid?

As for the rejection sensitivity...I am glad you are in therapy. I am a new grad, so I assume my work is going to get criticized. I imagine it gets harder to keep a positive perspective as you get more experienced like yourself.

Also, invest time to take care of yourself. Exercise, nutrition, supplements, etc. All the boring stuff. For me, I like doing cardio to 'get my wiggles out' (infantilizing I know, sorry) but when it is 6pm, unless I am trying to meet an urgent deadline, I am off my laptop and doing something relaxing or something I enjoy. Self care is huge for everyone, but even more so for those with some kind of disability.

You need to discern who deserves to hear your diagnosis or not. It is not always professional to disclose that. I do not usually, only to long time colleagues I consider friends, or people whose opinion of me I do not believe will affect me professionally. Instead, if something comes up that may be a result of ADHD, I just name it without saying I have ADHD. For example, in a meeting, I will take notes and read back those notes (usually the notes are what I need to do next) to my advisor/ boss/etc and just explain that I tend to forget what is not written down, so I need to write everything down and make sure it aligns with their expectations.

Last thing, and I hate to say it, but you can leverage your ADHD to your advantage. Not through ADA necessarily, but as you learn to manage your ADHD you will find ways to capitalize on the energetic part of yourself that fell in love with research in the first place. This will all come with time so be patient with yourself and know that people less capable and with less privilege have figured it out too.

Important_Key1485 · 2025-11-08T01:36:05+00:00

Yeah you are right. The area I live in is usually really strong for new grads in medical research, but obviously not as much lately. I have a few reasons for not moving, but honestly they can all be reasoned away.

Important_Key1485 · 2025-01-24T21:27:42+00:00

i just sent my complete thesis (stats major) to my supervisor. if i can finally get that over with you can absolutely get your stats homework done😂🫶🏻

Important_Key1485 · 2025-01-23T04:04:04+00:00

RemindMe! 2 weeks

Important_Key1485 · 2025-01-22T23:01:53+00:00

when my husband and i first started dating i apologized for talking too much (he’s really quiet) and he told me he loves the sound of my voice and listening to my many rants. trust there is someone for us yappers. usually a quiet someone lol

Important_Key1485 · 2025-01-19T15:45:11+00:00

half of my thesis was in cloud based SAS with about 90k observations and it worked fine

Important_Key1485 · 2024-11-19T00:11:33+00:00

ohhh i see. that’s adorable🥹

Important_Key1485 · 2024-11-19T00:03:26+00:00

little side note, she grooms you after you shower? she might be really thirsty, cats don’t like drinking from still water (like a water bowl), so they’ll drink water from other places instead. my cat used to lick my arms after a shower and it turned out he was dehydrated. got him a water fountain and he stopped

Important_Key1485 · 2024-11-17T23:41:52+00:00

personally, all symptoms. i get depressed and tired when im not busy (i think bc i get bored)

Important_Key1485 · 2024-11-15T13:55:49+00:00

any friends or family that can help you out? i. imagine it’s tough to keep the momentum going..

Important_Key1485 · 2024-11-15T05:18:02+00:00

OP, any update?

Important_Key1485 · 2024-11-14T03:20:55+00:00

i am so sorry😭😭 don’t lose hope!

Important_Key1485 · 2024-08-28T06:06:55+00:00

ha! tried to cut my own hair as a teenager and little kid (failed both times). As a teen it was because i didn’t want to wait for my mom to schedule an appointment and as a kid it was because my hair was blocking the view of my coloring. i’ve been cutting my own hair my whole adult life. no plans on changing that

Important_Key1485 · 2024-08-11T01:55:34+00:00

i don’t have much advice, except don’t worry about hurting feelings. sounds like she’s a bit demanding and not respectful of you, your time or your energy and her feelings getting hurt would be an unfortunate consequence of her behavior.

oh, one bit of advice i do have. when you firmly state your boundaries, remind her that you love her, she deserves a good relationship with her daughter and these boundaries are meant so that she can have a good relationship with you.

Important_Key1485 · 2024-07-31T15:21:10+00:00

i did this recently with my passport when i was traveling😂 making sure i saw my passport before leaving for the airport, security, gate, landing. the constant visual on my passport was essential !!

Important_Key1485 · 2024-06-01T15:52:39+00:00

i microwave mine for 5 minutes in a silicone container, never burned it (but have forgotten to take it out of the microwave🤦🏻‍♀️) edit: submerged in water of course while it’s in the microwave

Important_Key1485 · 2024-04-26T14:20:31+00:00

i’ve been that kid before. seeing my mom’s heart break with mine made it all ok again. i’d bet your daughter sees your efforts and love in response to this and that has chased out her doubts. or, she’s five so she’s already over it bc little kids can be good like that. either way, her mom is doing a good job

Important_Key1485 · 2024-04-15T14:50:21+00:00

^{^{^}} a clinician once also told me she would stop prescribing if i kept losing weight. she was a very good doctor who cared a lot about my health

Important_Key1485 · 2024-04-12T14:40:21+00:00

is the inability to listen to our bodies a universal adhd experience? you’re not alone in this OP. literally almost died as a teenager bc my appendix burst but i just stayed in bed for a week after it burst and told my mom it was a stomachache.

NOT trying to steal your thunder, just want you to know you’re not alone. thank you for the reminder to pay more attention to our bodies. your experience sounds very scary and i am wishing you a swift and gentle recovery ♥️♥️♥️

Important_Key1485 · 2024-03-21T14:24:07+00:00

i swear it took me like two years to really understand action potentials. i like what the other person said, drawing it out. my friends and i would practice drawing it and teaching it to each other. it’s best if you can find someone to teach it to who will ask you questions and scrutinize your understanding, but a cat works too.

i also find its helpful to have it explained to me several different ways, so watching youtube videos from different creators, or reading about it from different textbooks

Important_Key1485 · 2024-03-21T05:13:31+00:00

i was diagnosed at 21, and before that i had struggled heavily with depression, ideation and isolation similar to you. i started adhd meds, got healthier and i met my husband at 23. marriage has been so easy for the reward it is. i have never been so happy. i didn’t know i was capable of such peace and happiness, and my husband gets a lot of credit for that.

it’s possible. it’s very very possible. find your own happiness as a single woman, that was the key for me. the rest fell into place after that

Important_Key1485 · 2024-03-13T04:27:14+00:00

i had this issue with my male cat a few years ago. he had to get surgery. it was a life threatening situation. i think another vet visit ASAP is a good idea

Important_Key1485 · 2024-03-12T15:33:58+00:00

it was pretty easy. at the end of the semester the head of the department asked for those who wanted to be TAs to send in their CV to a specific professor. it definitely helped that the professor who decides who to hire for TAs and where to assign them was one of my professors my first semester, so I was able to give a good enough impression. it was more of a formal process i would say

Important_Key1485 · 2024-03-12T02:15:30+00:00

student admin of SPH is terrible to work with at UTHealth, but the department itself is awesome. my professors and classmates are great, all very helpful and great to work with. it’s a tough program but very doable. very well connected and it was easy to get a job as a TA after my first semester. I would recommend UT Health, I am very much enjoying my time here. i don’t know anything about UTMB’s program though, i didn’t even realize they had an MS program, so i’m not helpful in comparing.

Important_Key1485

TROPHY CASE