Traders having ADD?

[Trajan]

if you had ADD, you would never be able to keep a list of stuff conistently. As someone who has ADD, I can say that it is real and not an excuse. Meds can help a lot. I have had signifacntly fewer errors than before which had cost me a small fortune. As it happens, I went and got diagnosed after reading an article that described me perfectly. One of the occupations that ADD people go into, it mentioned, was trading.

If you are looking for a drug that isn't an amphetimine, try Provigil. It turns on a light bulb in your head and doesn't have any side effects. I would recomend this for anyone who needs something along these lines. You can get it from some of the Indian pharmacies.

 

[omniscient]

Quote from Trajan:

if you had ADD, you would never be able to keep a list of stuff conistently. As someone who has ADD, I can say that it is real and not an excuse. Meds can help a lot. I have had signifacntly fewer errors than before which had cost me a small fortune. As it happens, I went and got diagnosed after reading an article that described me perfectly. One of the occupations that ADD people go into, it mentioned, was trading.

my bad Trajan. i didn't mean to imply that i do have ADD (i have had problems focusing, even when money is on the line) or that the list/journal technique would cure ADD for those who do have it. i can only vouch for its ability to help me produce a clearer, more focused mind as i enter my trading day.

as far as i know i could just be experiencing SWSD (i came across this looking up info on Provigil; looks like Provigil is used for various sleep disorders):
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/sleep_apnea/114768

http://www.provigil.com/patient/disorders/shiftwork.aspx

hope all continues to go well/keep improving for you.

take care and gtty

omni

BTW: if available, would you mind sharing a link to the article you read? makes a lot of sense that trading would attract those with ADD, or similar personality types.

 

[Trajan]

I have searched everywhere for that article , even Lexis/Nexis. Couldn't find it.

 

[d9d]

Quote from dividend:

i disagree with this one... because its not possible for someone to watch the screens for 8 hrs+ a day if they have ADD.

people would love to have ADD, tho, since it is SUPPOSEDLY linked to creativity. hahaha. the drug companies would love you to believe this.

not possible?

i have ADD, and i trade.

the creativity-ADD correlation is pretty strong. Scientific American had an extensive article on it some years back...mid-90's maybe? search their index for it.

as far as 'cures' go....yah, the exercise is a good one....get the body endorphined, and the mind follows...

-outdoor- activity is the most helpful by far....not just riding a stupid exercise bike in the living room....get out and hike the hills, or go swimming in real water, i.e. river or lake.

if you've chosen to live in a city, i guess you're phucked...

natural randomness in sights and sounds soothes the brain....

 

[d9d]

Quote from dividend:

the "creativity" aspect of ADD probably comes from when you cant concentrate on boring textbooks at school, or mundane office work, you are zoned out and then day dreaming of other things, which enhances creativity but also appears as if you are not _paying attention_. thats the disability from ADD -- not paying attention. if you can pay attention for 8 hrs+ then you dont have it.

no, the creativity comes from the abnormally high levels of neurotransmitter chemicals in the brain.

makes more connections and faster connections...leads to very different thoughts/ideas getting pasted together....voila! new invention...painting....whatever.

the "not being able to pay attention" is a side-effect.

in any case, "not paying attention" isn't the best phrasing of the problem....the most accurate description might be "difficulty remaining focused".

an interesting flip-side of ADD is that one DOES maintain focus....incredibly long and deep focus, for certain tasks which do hold the interest.

For instance, working 30 hours straight designing an entire PC plug-in card. A week's worth of work in one day and a night. Then, usually, a week of normal to slightly 'vague' time follows.

There is also a correlation between ADD and manic/depressive....again, a cyclical thing.

There are plenty of research papers in the literature on the causes and effects of ADD....a lit-search will bring them up.

The Sci-Am article ref'ed earlier is a decent exec-summary of them tho.

 

[version77]

Quote from d9d:

There is also a correlation between ADD and manic/depressive....again, a cyclical thing.

I have heard there might be a possibility that up to 1/3 of kids
diagnosed as ADHD are actually budding Bipolars in the making.

And a lot of them are on Ritalin which only makes it worse.

I have also read, that each time a kid or an adult has a manic type
episode (rage, tantrums, ect.,) it injures the brain.

 

[dividend]

Quote from d9d:

no, the creativity comes from the abnormally high levels of neurotransmitter chemicals in the brain.

makes more connections and faster connections...leads to very different thoughts/ideas getting pasted together....voila! new invention...painting....whatever.

the "not being able to pay attention" is a side-effect.
...
an interesting flip-side of ADD is that one DOES maintain focus....incredibly long and deep focus, for certain tasks which do hold the interest.

For instance, working 30 hours straight designing an entire PC plug-in card. A week's worth of work in one day and a night. Then, usually, a week of normal to slightly 'vague' time follows.

Hm. I was reading about ADHD in children and remembered this thread.

ADHD medications like ritalin are actually stimulants. That is kind of ironic because it is giving a hyperactive child stimulants like caffeine. The hypothesis behind ADHD is that children are hyperactive because their brain "wants" to be stimualted (it is not being stimulated as it should naturally due to neurological problems). Therefore to stimulate the brain, a child will do all sorts of crazy things, like jump up and down, fidget in his seat, yell, etc... This sensation from activity sends pulses to the brain and therefore stimulates it. Drugs like ritalin will use chemicals to affect that area of the brain, so the child won't have to jump up and down... Therefore calming his ass down.

So if someone has ADHD, that means his brain isn't getting enough stimulation. It could be because the topic at hand is very very boring... (this is when a smart kid could be confused with having adhd... he's just not paying attention to some lame professor with no real life experience talking about investing), or it could be a more serious physiological problem and maybe even a minor case of brain damage. Daytraders might actually be ADHD prone... all those blinking lights and ticks changing.

 

[dividend]

Quote from version77:

I have heard there might be a possibility that up to 1/3 of kids
diagnosed as ADHD are actually budding Bipolars in the making.

And a lot of them are on Ritalin which only makes it worse.

I have also read, that each time a kid or an adult has a manic type
episode (rage, tantrums, ect.,) it injures the brain.

imo, a lot (if not most) of psychological problems in children are due to poor parenting. the divorce rate in america is over 50%, but in the minority and "lower income" classes, this statistic is something like 70%. i dont think most parents fully grasp the magnitude of a divorce on children. esp. the fighting in front of them. let's see... sometimes parents are really nice and sweet, other times they are ripping each other apart... if childrens' parents do not act consistently it will be reflected in the child.

what we really need is some sort of robust parenting education... not just sex ed.

 

[version77]

Quote from dividend:



what we really need is some sort of robust parenting education... not just sex ed.

Not only that, but we need to feed our children better. A bowl
of cocoa puffs for breakfast is not in the best interest of their health.

They have just took "sugary pop" out of the local elementary and
middle schools in our area which is a nice start. But the high school
kids still get to feed their brains with high-fructose corn syrup...

 

[dividend]

Quote from version77:

Not only that, but we need to feed our children better. A bowl
of cocoa puffs for breakfast is not in the best interest of their health.

They have just took "sugary pop" out of the local elementary and
middle schools in our area which is a nice start. But the high school
kids still get to feed their brains with high-fructose corn syrup...

but that goes hand-in-hand with parental education :-O most parents are clueless about the ingredients in those fun looking cereal boxes (or if they do they dont know how to say "no").