adhd, autism, ocd, etc; you really think that's all glitches and bugs?

[lritter@mastodon.gamedev.place]

adhd, autism, ocd, etc; you really think that's all glitches and bugs? really?

if you ask me, i think it's all survival strategies that do not seem in tune with their environment. so why not change the environment?

[aeva@mastodon.gamedev.place]

@lritter if i could find the right environment, I might not need adhd meds, but I've yet to find the circumstances in life that would allow for me to be the final word on what is the best use of my attention and energy on a given day much less be in command of my own sleep schedule. However, the meds are such a quality of life improvement that I take them even on my days off, because they allow me to make the most of the limited time that is afforded to me to follow my dreams.

[lritter@mastodon.gamedev.place]

@aeva but sometimes you do not take them? to enjoy yourself?

[aeva@mastodon.gamedev.place]

@lritter I don't not skip taking them. They do not prevent me from enjoying myself.

[hipsterelectron@circumstances.run]

@aeva @lritter doctors and bystanders do not at all get how much they improve every single component of my existence

[aeva@mastodon.gamedev.place]

@lritter and my personal history shows that if I did not have access to my meds, I would likely revert to abusing energy drinks and/or take up tobacco again.

[lritter@mastodon.gamedev.place]

@hipsterelectron @aeva ok. so.. there is no way to be even more whole through mixed use. it's this drug or death?

[farbs@mastodon.social]

@lritter @hipsterelectron @aeva Probs important to note here that this is definitely an area where different people have different experiences.

[aeva@mastodon.gamedev.place]

@Farbs @lritter @hipsterelectron man, I hate that I have to put this disclaimer here: I only live my own life and I am only speaking from my own experience. My statements in this thread do not represent every single person with ADHD, every trans person, my employer, the United States of America, the anglosphere, western cultural values, or any significant part of the human experience; and must not be considered financial, legal, spiritual, marital, or medical advice under any situation,

[aeva@mastodon.gamedev.place]

@Farbs @lritter @hipsterelectron but yes, this is a life saving drug for me, and if it were cruelly taken away and I was told that instead I would be cured if I were to simply find a better environment (or simply applied myself more or any other absurd suggestion I've heard many times before in the past 30 or 40 years of my life), great hardship would follow for me and it would not be my fault

[aeva@mastodon.gamedev.place]

@Farbs @lritter @hipsterelectron because I tried to make it work without it and I have a lot of experimental evidence to show it is very hard for me to hold traditional employment without my meds. It takes about a year for me to get fired when trying my absolute hardest to make it all work out. That's my entire career over and over again before I got proper treatment.

[aeva@mastodon.gamedev.place]

@Farbs @lritter @hipsterelectron now I will readily admit there is one thing I have not tried that may also work wonders. If someone where to provide me enough unconditional funding that I could join the leisure class and have the privilege of not having to engage in traditional employment to provide for my family, and I were to be provided with an assistant to navigate the bureaucratic cruelty of the medical system,

[aeva@mastodon.gamedev.place]

@Farbs @lritter @hipsterelectron then I suspect in that exact environment it is possible that I could experience good mental health for the first time in my adult life without the aid of any medication, however I would not place a great deal of confidence in my ability to be anything resembling productive in that situation.

At any rate, the opportunity has successfully eluded me entirely so far.

[hipsterelectron@circumstances.run]

@aeva @Farbs @lritter not sure i can say much beyond the above except that personally it is difficult for me to accept that any change of environment could replace the beneficial effect of stimulant medication although it is clearly true that the two responses demonstrate some overlapping benefits

[hipsterelectron@circumstances.run]

@aeva @Farbs @lritter i think aeva's proposal regarding the leisure class over traditional employment can be viewed as a description of the drastic changes not just to the self but implicitly to society that would be required to meaningfully overcome and indeed avoid producing the mental failure modes which currently necessitate medication

[aeva@mastodon.gamedev.place]

@hipsterelectron @Farbs @lritter oh yeah like if society changed to have a real safety net, a culture of unconditional mutualism love and support, and space for everyone to be the master of their own lives, that would be fine too, but I think it's more likely that I'll get a blank check mcarthur genious grant in the mail despite not having an in with the harvard legacy old boy's club or having an advanced degree or any significant accomplishments

[lritter@mastodon.gamedev.place]

@aeva @Farbs @hipsterelectron yes. i get that. but this was not my thought experiment at all.

[lritter@mastodon.gamedev.place]

@aeva @Farbs @hipsterelectron see, we gotta get rid of employment and the concept of careers. this is what i'm after.

[lritter@mastodon.gamedev.place]

@aeva @Farbs @hipsterelectron this, but for everyone.

[lritter@mastodon.gamedev.place]

@aeva @Farbs @hipsterelectron considering what employers consider productive, it is not a great loss not to be. ;-)