Software development is very collaborative and often involves daily and/or weekly meetings and frequent calls with coworkers.

It’s definitely too long of a sentence just to say ‘ADHD is a superpower and society is bad.’

I’m not sure this is actually narcissism. I felt very similar throughout my teens, but it is something I grew out of in my early/mid 20s. I think there are a few reasons for this. Often, people just grow out of it, through brain development or just spending more time around other people. Empathy can also be intentionally strengthened like a muscle.

I studied psychology, neuroscience, philosophy, and logic to understand the general human mind. When you study a lot of things, you learn how little you know. You also get to see how much better other people are at certain things. I no longer assume I’m smarter than anyone else even if it’s obvious in one particular subject or several subjects, because they are probably smarter than me in other ways.

I also saw a therapist and spent more time around other people. I made an effort to understand others’ points of view, asking questions if needed, and really tried to imagine their life experiences and how they could come to feel or believe certain things. This will be an exercise at first but it eventually comes naturally for the most part.

Sponsored by BetterHelp 🤮

What kind of steroids?

They can at least verbalize that they saw something funny so that I know they’re actually willing/ready to share because I hate asking and then waiting as they finish watching/reading/texting.

That saying really bothers me too, but mainly because I’m always hearing it. For example, programming is often really difficult for me because I have a hard time thinking about the big picture, and I struggle to break the task down into parts that work together. I often get too hung up on small details.

Well you also need to be eating at a calorie surplus of a few hundred extra calories per day, but that will ideally happen naturally if you focus on adding more protein to your existing diet. If you’re going the protein powder route, you’ll probably want to have it as an extra meal rather than a meal substitute. If you still struggle, you may need to track your calories to help you adapt.

YouTube can be a good source for some high protein vegan meal ideas. If you can do soy, TVP is a good option. If you can do gluten, chickmeat/seitan is good.

You don’t have to eat meat, but you need to get enough protein, at least .7 g per lb of body weight but preferably around 1g. More than 1.5g is overkill. It helps to divide your protein goals by the number of meals you have and try to hit a per meal goal. There’s no need to count calories or weigh your food or anything if that scares you, but it is good to look at serving sizes and protein content to get a rough idea.

You can try eating more beans and tofu. Bean pasta is a good hack. Seitan is really simple to make, especially if you’ve got a stand mixer and instant pot. You may want to consider getting some protein powder if you’re struggling to get enough through food. You can add avocado and cocoa or nut butter and banana to protein shakes for some extra calories.

If you have an instant pot, you can make rice in that. I’ve ignored it for like 40 minutes before, and the worst thing that happens is that it gets a little dry, which you can then fix by microwaving it in a bowl with a splash of water.

Bouldering is good for building muscle, so I think your problem is you need to eat more. You can work out all day, but you’ll stay skinny if you don’t eat.

FYI, Ritalin (methylphenidate HCl) is not an amphetamine. Methylphenidates and amphetamines are considered separate drug classes for treating ADHD. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/11766-adhd-medication

No hard feelings. I did notice that the ministry documentation was written rather confusingly, so I can see how it could be twisted. It does say you can email them with inquiries at least.

As I stated in my previous comment, it was not clear. You told me I was wrong, you continue to reply to me with false information, and you wonder why I respond defending myself. OP does not seem to have hard feelings about this, so I don’t understand why you seem to.

It does not say that in the OP. They said “I don’t really want to… risk going on a new medication for the trip” which is not the same as “please don’t give me advice on alternative medication” and was also preceded by a false claim that no other stimulants would be allowed.

Please do not imply that I did not fully read the post because you did not like my answer. I noted in my comment that I realize the situation is not ideal, and I provided information that I thought might be worth reconsidering. I’m sorry I did not realize that adjusting your medication is such a hard no for you.

However, it is disingenuous to claim that Japan “absolutely forbids stimulant medication in the country” when that simply isn’t true, and this was causing multiple people in the comments to come to false conclusions. Many other people would consider a temporary adjustment agreeable, and it is unfair to lead people to believe that this isn’t possible unless they can tolerate non-stimulant medication.

I did read that which is why I noted in my comment that I realize it won’t be ideal but may be worth reconsidering for the opportunity. I also wanted to provide some more complete information for the people in the comments who were gleaning false conclusions from misleading information.

Intuniv, Strattera, Concerta, and Vyvanse can be prescribed for ADHD in Japan. Ritalin is also available but not for ADHD, though travelers can bring a maximum of 2.16g of methylphenidate. Other stimulants such as Adderall are not allowed.

https://interacnetwork.com/navigating-stimulant-therapy-for-adult-adhd-in-japan-regulations-and-considerations/

Most doctors would be willing to prescribe a different medication for the duration of your trip. It of course won’t be ideal, but it would be a temporary hiccup that might be worth it considering you seem to be really excited for the trip.

Intuniv, Strattera, Concerta, and Vyvanse can be prescribed for ADHD in Japan. Ritalin is also available but not for ADHD, though travelers can bring a maximum of 2.16g of methylphenidate.

https://interacnetwork.com/navigating-stimulant-therapy-for-adult-adhd-in-japan-regulations-and-considerations/

Ritalin/Concerta is also allowed.