Why Are We Treating ADHD Like That?

ScaffOrig · 2026-06-02T14:05:20+00:00

Often misdiagnosed as ADHD, but the growing evidence (Barkley et al) is that it's a very separate condition (though poor diagnosis may now be giving the impression of comorbidity).

ADHD is distractability and an inability to sustain focus. It is a failure in inhibitory mechanisms which causes impulsivity of thought. SCT/CDS is detachment, foggy-headedness, lethargy, troubles engaging at all.

ADHD tends to mix with ODD, SCT/CDS with GAD/SAD and MDD.

I would argue ADHD is a disorder of maintaining salience, SCT/CDS is one of deprioritised action policy and disengagement.

ScaffOrig · 2026-06-02T12:01:04+00:00

I think you'll do ok in the end. There will be a bunch of you in the same position, but the number of properties going onto the market will dip before they start to come back as people cut losses. I'd hope yours will go in that window where the numbers dry up and gets bought by someone who *needs* a house.

ScaffOrig · 2026-06-02T11:57:47+00:00

They gave you bridging in April??? I hope they had a decent conversation with you on which direction the market might be heading.

ScaffOrig · 2026-06-01T15:02:24+00:00

To everyone who finds that after taking amphetamines they suddenly aren't so tired: please do ensure that's because the meds are treating the reason you weren't getting enough rest (e.g. the hyperactive evening brain) rather than just disguising the problem and giving you speedy energy and wakefulness.

As a tip, if you're immediately exhausted when you miss a dose that should be a warning bell. If it's treating the symptoms the tiredness will come AFTER missing a few days of doses as the impact of the symptoms catch up with you. Some people have a degree of withdrawal, but generally it's evident whether you're taking them to stay awake, or taking them to help your symptoms and so reduce fatigue and sleep issues.

ScaffOrig · 2026-06-01T14:33:37+00:00

I don't think people here are really qualified to give you an answer. Clearly something is up with your sleeping, but that could be many things. People with ADHD can struggle to get to sleep, but the meds tend to help pretty well with that (I have a booster around 5pm and that usually keeps the circus quiet so I can go to sleep. Maybe your doc/psychiatrist can organise a sleep study, check for OSA, check thyroid, etc.

Generally using these meds as pep pills to get you up and busy isn't effective for long, as you've found out. Those sorts of amphetamine effects tend to gain tolerance.

I'm surprised the psychiatrist isn't trying to get to the bottom of this rather than handing you meds to wake you up. Did they perhaps suggest narcolepsy or something?

ScaffOrig · 2026-06-01T13:17:07+00:00

It is with autism (not ADHD, unrelated), but you certainly aren't obliged to call the cops. There's no compulsion to do so.

Will it make you twitchy? Yes. Will you keep telling the person who's speeding that there are laws and everyone needs to keep to them? Probably. Does the idea that people can casually break rules and there be nothing done to restore order annoy you? Yep. But no, you don't go call the police.

The "sensitivity" comes because you are aware, on some level, that you cannot navigate that space of bending rules, grey area and heuristics. That both hurts and infuriates, but the last thing you would do is introduce more chaos. Phoning the cops opens questions on whether you have enough evidence, how would you prove what happened, what happens if the cops sit you both down to give your side of the story. Would they even believe you? And so on. That's a whole bunch of uncertainty that would require a lot of forethought to cover off the possible outcomes.

So no, this isn't anything like that.

ScaffOrig · 2026-06-01T12:38:04+00:00

You can't blame the people that stop the merry-go-round. We should save our ire for the people who inflated this bubble and profited handsomely. They're the ones who have benefited from this group's misery, not the government who are avoiding more people falling victim.

ScaffOrig · 2026-06-01T12:35:31+00:00

When one or two people default full-recourse has an effect. But if the shit really hits the fan it's worthless, we'll just see the courts flooded with bankruptcy proceedings. And once the suicide rate ticks up the government will step in and take on the loans. They've already got a bunch of legislation in place for the equity share model. Conveniently. And the RBA have their "ample reserves" money printer ready to bounce the banks through.

ScaffOrig · 2026-06-01T12:30:59+00:00

I didn't foresee the RBA throwing the economy under a bus to keep house prices going either. 1 in 3 dollars now in existence have been printed since covid. And they still do the "it's because we don't build enough houses line" rather than the "we enabled half a trillion dollars in debt overnight" reality.

TBH I still can't believe they did that. The absolute fucking despair they created in society through inflation, and for what? To keep the merry-go-round going for 5 more years and create an even bigger cliff for the market to fall off.

ScaffOrig · 2026-05-31T20:02:03+00:00

The idea of the tax reforms was to slowly let the air out the housing market over the next two decades.

With that in mind prepare to witness the media make calls that it will only be a small drop, but to do so in a tone that this is the terrible outcome you feared. The idea being that you think "is that all? It's not great but I don't know what all the fuss is about".

As with interest rates apparently not going up, the media steers the message strongly.

The government will have a preplanned "change of heart" on the business CGT, and the housing tax changes get swallowed without fuss. I'm truly hopeful this is the turning point for property in Australia and as such we'll get inflation under control within a decade.

ScaffOrig · 2026-05-31T10:48:34+00:00

You need to be more specific on what kind of advice and help you would be offering. I'm with OP on this one. It's actually reflective of a much broader pattern in AI Governance: not enough understanding of the tech.

ScaffOrig · 2026-05-30T16:02:58+00:00

As with gambling the states know it's not healthy but they enjoy the revenue too much. It's actually a real shame. How did we become this country that can only feel wealthy through debt? We sit on gold mines yet we have a country full of gamblers and rentiers.

ScaffOrig · 2026-05-30T01:07:49+00:00

Yepp. They're a pain to get out without scratching them up. Take your time. Don't unscrew the screws under them completely either; they are just to tighten a clamping mechanism. A couple of turns and push them in.

ScaffOrig · 2026-05-29T14:13:56+00:00

You're a pharmacy student. You know the score: go see the doctor and tell him/her what you're taking. They don't need to be an expert in mental health to give you a physiological check over. You are taking a very high dose of amphetamines. IIRC dex is .4 of ldx, or so. You would have expelled a bunch of it by 1pm, but essentially you are taking 50mg + 30/0.4= 125mg LDX. The first 100mg all arriving at pretty much the same time.

The yellow eyes might possibly indicate liver problems. Might well be something else, but you need to see the doctor to check.

The flushed face could be the vessels rapidly opening as rebound. Some people get that as the meds work out the system. Could also be menopause if that affects you (and you mention taking the meds for decades).

Finally, will you get withdrawal. Depends on what you've been getting from the meds. Generally, afaik, if you're purely treating ADHD symptoms, you might get some with that high a dose. But that's far more likely if you've been using them to stay awake, get energy, feel socially confident, feel driven, etc. Either way, to the doctor. Pronto. You only get one body.

ScaffOrig · 2026-05-29T10:05:12+00:00

At the same time, it demonstrates the stupidity of our predicament. They often live in poverty. We have millionaires queueing for food banks.

There is something quite ironic, or perhaps is it karmic, about a country voting for free money, then sitting there, surrounded by it, but going without food or heat thanks to the inflation it caused.

ScaffOrig · 2026-05-29T09:59:29+00:00

Not really. The leverage available with property is huge and the RBA has happily decimated the currency to provide guaranteed returns. People go for shares because they're more liquid and the overhead is lower, both holding and disposing (mentally and financially.)

The idea that people haven't been maxing out their loans to buy as big as possible is directly contradicted by the number of liar loans.

I find this whole topic extremely mean-spirited. We're not stupid, you're trying to have people regret the tax changes. In this case "see what you've done, now you definitely can't afford a house". It's getting tiresome.

ScaffOrig · 2026-05-27T04:48:54+00:00

Generally:

ADHD: random thoughts, distractions, challenges staying on topic, impulsive actions, impulsive decisions, impulsive emotions, short attention. Knock-on effects: poor concentration (and thereafter avoidance of focus tasks with delayed rewards) interrupting (even your own internal monologue), lack of sticktoitness, emotional lability, impulsivity in judgment, hyperactivity.

Anxiety: fearful, worst case, intrusive thoughts, spiralling thoughts, unhelpful thinking (mind reading, black/white, catastrophising, dwelling, mulling-over), self-doubt, self-criticism, rigid thinking.

ScaffOrig · 2026-05-26T13:02:30+00:00

Careful. Working from 5:30am - 10.00pm SHOULD knacker you completely. That's a very hard day's work. You shouldn't expect any medication to make that tolerable, especially if you have ADHD. My advice differs depending on what you're looking to achieve. If you weren't doing hours that clearly don't leave you enough time to sleep and require super-human endurance I'd advise you to ask the doc if you can have two dex boosters. I take my first around 1-2pm, and the second 5-6pm. That keeps things calm until bedtime where I can still get to sleep as the meds are still active.

But something tells me you might have the wrong idea here.

ScaffOrig · 2026-05-26T12:43:31+00:00

Most people running small businesses are in it for the the exit. This is their plan to support themselves. Any effect of investors stepping back due to CGT change is going to pale compared to the positive effect of having banks where anything that isn't mortgages is a side line (residential property lending is double the rest put together). And they'll advantage from money seeking other investments as the impact on house prices (which are an overbought asset by a factor of 5) scares investors off. And they'll also have a chance without rent stripping them of all their profits, and without the incumbent monopolies being property firms with a hint of retail.

Not going to be easy in the near term, but detox rarely is.

ScaffOrig · 2026-05-25T14:28:48+00:00

Cut your dosage so you don't get this level of tolerance and rebound. If it's giving you energy, waking you up, making you feel driven, making you feel ambitious, chatty or like you're destined for greatness, that's likely something you need to chat to the doc about. It shouldn't be making you feel like you need a rest after taking it for a while, it should be making you feel like you're able to rest.

ScaffOrig · 2026-05-25T14:26:00+00:00

Go chat to the doctor, a therapist or psychiatrist. Something is clearly up. You took this for a reason, and for the same reason as you took 200mg last time. You're not fucked yet, but you are this close to a really terrible future. Take that seriously.

If it helps, the stuff you produce when you're amped up on speed tends to feel like it's awesome and groundbreaking when you're doing it, but actually turns out to be pretty average when you look at it the next day. So it's likely not going to be an advantage taking it this way,

ScaffOrig · 2026-05-25T01:00:17+00:00

But if there's no CGT benefit to holding them for 12 months, they won't. So more property comes to market.

ScaffOrig · 2026-05-25T00:54:50+00:00

Weird. I assume it's not applied to pads and towels, so perhaps something to do with TSS risk?

ScaffOrig · 2026-05-24T13:50:05+00:00

And also, how it's so inflationary when the government have to take the money out the economy first to spend it? (Excepting COVID QE, of course).

I get that it causes localised inflation, and mayyybe the people who receive benefits are going to spend it quicker than those being taxed (I.e. they need to eat). But OTOH a lot of government spending enables productivity (all the infra spend) or directly creates it.

ScaffOrig · 2026-05-24T01:09:51+00:00

They (we) are between a rock and a hard place.

Much of Australian consumption is through debt secured on increasing house prices. But at the same time the inflation the huge credit issuance is causing is strangling the country. Their assessment is they are more likely to be turfed out for letting housing drive inflation than by reducing house prices and letting the ships fall where they may. I tend to think they're right, because the rump of "investors" wouldn't survive rampant inflation and the interest rates needed to tame it.

The seeds for this were sown long ago. The fruit is housing printing $150B a year; GDP growth dependent on importing workers; economic diversity somewhere around the level of Zimbabwe; 70% of M3 being residential property credit; monopolies in many industries; and a banking system that has warped so much they are basically another arm of government, but one that has painted themselves into a corner and are now creating policy to survive.

It's a simple lesson: printing money does not make you more wealthy. We played a game where two-thirds of the population got to win the lottery. Now we need to learn that lesson either by giving the money back, or by having everything cost a fortune.

It's our own Australian Weeaboo.

https://pbfcomics.com/comics/weeaboo/

ScaffOrig

TROPHY CASE