and highly specialized career choices, those with ADHD
may be silently suffering from the “tranquility of repetition,”
to borrow a line from one of my favorite films,† often
ending up on drugs like Adderall (dextroamphetamine) and
Ritalin (methylphenidate). These drugs, like cocaine, are
dopamine reuptake inhibitors.
Clinical professor of psychiatry at Weill Cornell
Medicine and the op-ed’s author Richard Friedman wrote of
one of his successful patients: “[He] ‘treated’ his ADHD
simply by changing the conditions of his work environment
from one that was highly routine to one that was varied and
unpredictable.” This may explain why a disproportionate
number of those with ADHD and learning disabilities
gravitate toward more entrepreneurial careers.^27
FIGHTING “HEDONIC ADAPTATION” (AKA THE
HUMAN CONDITION)
A common problem with dopamine is that we can become
tolerant to its effects when stimulated. This is clearly
observed by the phenomenon of hedonic adaptation. Think
of a former life goal that you’ve already achieved. Perhaps it
was buying a car you’d always wanted, or getting that
promotion, or moving into a new house. Certainly, these are
incredible and exciting life milestones, but as sure as you
are human, your level of happiness regressed to baseline
after the initial buzz wore off. This “tolerance” to dopamine,
especially when achieved by any short-circuiting of the