You’ll have noticed how previously normal people start acting like addicts to their favourite generative AI and shout at you like you’re trying to take their cocaine away. Matthias Döpm…
@jonhendry@o7___o7@techtakes Anecdotally, I didn’t quite understand the appeal of fishing, watching sports, or instant lottery tickets before taking medication. But I’ve heard studies show that typically ADHD people tend to be more prone to addiction issues without medication. I think it might be more drive to see things to completion vs. actual addiction. Like I feel like my “social media addiction” is worse now, but it’s more that I was always addicted and now it takes longer to get bored.
@jonhendry@o7___o7@techtakes There’s also a common misconception as to what dopamine does. It’s not actually the reward chemical as such, it’s the motivation chemical. Dopamine levels increase throughout a task until it’s complete then dopamine levels drop off. So if you have ADHD and you’re not medicated, rewards are still rewarding but working towards them is difficult, which is why you’d be more prone to easy rewards like drugs or gambling without meds than rewards you have to work towards
@jonhendry@o7___o7@techtakes To clarify my point a little, by instant lottery tickets I mean the slightly less instant ones like crosswords or bingo. Before meds I found them too tedious to be worth the brain reward, but not anymore (of course I’d never *pay* for lottery tickets, but I get them as gifts sometimes). So I can kind of see how meds could enable some addictions that wouldn’t have had a chance to form otherwise.
@jonhendry @o7___o7 @techtakes Anecdotally, I didn’t quite understand the appeal of fishing, watching sports, or instant lottery tickets before taking medication. But I’ve heard studies show that typically ADHD people tend to be more prone to addiction issues without medication. I think it might be more drive to see things to completion vs. actual addiction. Like I feel like my “social media addiction” is worse now, but it’s more that I was always addicted and now it takes longer to get bored.
@jonhendry @o7___o7 @techtakes There’s also a common misconception as to what dopamine does. It’s not actually the reward chemical as such, it’s the motivation chemical. Dopamine levels increase throughout a task until it’s complete then dopamine levels drop off. So if you have ADHD and you’re not medicated, rewards are still rewarding but working towards them is difficult, which is why you’d be more prone to easy rewards like drugs or gambling without meds than rewards you have to work towards
@jonhendry @o7___o7 @techtakes To clarify my point a little, by instant lottery tickets I mean the slightly less instant ones like crosswords or bingo. Before meds I found them too tedious to be worth the brain reward, but not anymore (of course I’d never *pay* for lottery tickets, but I get them as gifts sometimes). So I can kind of see how meds could enable some addictions that wouldn’t have had a chance to form otherwise.