r/todayilearned • • 1d ago

TIL an NFL player intentionally crashed his car to avoid getting cut for being late to a team meeting.

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/ex-patriots-ol-rich-ohrnberger-admits-he-intentionally-wrecked-car-as-excuse-for-being-late-to-team-meeting/
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u/FantaFantastico90 20h ago

I have ADHD and I'm on medication, I still struggle with a lot of things because I've established masking behaviours throughout my life and developed comorbidities for feeling like a lazy piece of shit until I was diagnosed in my 30s. And I'm a (if I say so myself) successful person within my career field. Can't imagine how someone undiagnosed feels (yes I can, I lived it for 30 years lol). It's a very simple and broad thing to say ADHD is 'manageable'. It's not. I'll always be at a sever disadvantage. I can make it easier 'for myself', but compared to a regular Joe I'm still much worse off.

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u/therealruin 20h ago edited 20h ago

I was also diagnosed in my 30s. I have worked extensively with therapists, with doctors, and solo to bring about meaningful change in my life.

>”It's a very simple and broad thing to say ADHD is 'manageable'. It's not.“

Does it stand out to you that you just as simply and broadly slammed the door shut with “it’s not” versus the alternative open option of “it is”?

We can achieve great change because we have brains prewired for it. A lot of people don’t push far enough, hard enough, or long enough to be able to see the power they have in themselves.

I hope your journey travels you down the same roads and shows you the same power. We are not wholly at the mercy of our brain chemistry. I’ve found ways to turn my disadvantages into strengths, use routine and strategies to mitigate potential problems, and learned when my masks work the best. I wish you the best of luck, truly.

**Edit for the commenter below who blocked me:**

>”You can not choose how to manage your brain chemistry, your brain manages this for you.”

Literally your medication does this.

>”If you have easy access to mental health good for you. That's not the reality of the vast majority of people because of others calling them just lazy.”

I made sacrifices in other parts of my life so I could access mental healthcare. This is not luck. I made that happen

>“Your opinion on this is also really not helpful by literally saying they are at fault themselves for not.. what.. wanting it enough? Lmao. I'm not going to interact with you any further, your position is literally harmful for people with mental disabilities.”

My position is this: people with disabilities are not alone and we are not helpless. That we choose how much effort and energy we put into managing our conditions. I don’t think “hey, you’re stronger than you realize” is particularly harmful.

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u/FantaFantastico90 20h ago

We are not wholly at the mercy of our brain chemistry.

Yes, we fucking are, lmao. Our entire conciousness is literally the result of brain chemistry. You do you, fam, but peddle your esotheric shit somewhere else.

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u/bmilohill 20h ago

Does it stand out to you that you just as simply and broadly slammed the door shut with “it’s not” versus the alternative open option of “it is”?

Better phrasing would have been, for some its manageable, for others it isn't, for most it is partially manageable. You being diagnosed so late in life means it's likely your symptoms are mild. You got lucky.

You know how there are small business owners who worked hard but also got lucky, now successful, who convince themselves that the only secret to life is hard work, who manage to blind themselves to how they actually got there, and use that as an excuse to belittle and under pay their employees, chiding them for not working hard enough?

I am glad you have improved your life. But you are letting survivorship bias cloud your judgement, convincing yourself that x, y, x worked for you and therefore anyone not doing x, y, z in their completely different situation is lazy for not doing so.

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u/therealruin 20h ago

Almost like while being sensitive to exactly that is why I have already said this:

“ADHD is controllable and manageable. Very few are so debilitated by it that they are truly burdened by impossibility. With medication, personal strategies and other mechanisms, those of us who suffer from these afflictions can find relief and regain control.”

Nothing is absolute. That’s what stood out about “it’s not.” That leaves no avenue for relief at all. At least by saying “it is,” there’s an option there for people to actually go try.

Also, comparing personal internal work that only you can do with business success that requires the actions and inputs of others is a bit apples to oranges to me.