Adhd: how to play with it

In case anyone wonders, I have a previously undiagnosed adult adhd disorder. While I used to be great at chess, once I went to college I noticed that I gradually lost the ability to play well, and I simply started losing games all the time and couldn't "think". It was like there was a fog inside my brain. Everything was cloudy.

Based off another post, a chess.com member sent me a message and asked me to expand on my experiences with adhd, for he felt that he might also be undiagnosed and hence is why he (or she) loses so many games.

I felt that my response might also help someone else, so I have included my response to the message in this thread. If anyone has anything to add or any questions, and if you want to recount your own experiences, please do so! 

Without further adieu:

"My apologies for my delayed response to your message.

Adhd is a spectrum disorder; in other words, what symptoms one person may exhibit are completely absent in another. However, there is also much in common.

When playing chess, I do not get distracted from the game like many others with adhd. Rather, I simply lose the ability to calculate 1-2 moves ahead. I just stare at the board, eyes glazed over, waiting for my opponent to move. It is almost like playing chess while you are extremely tired. This inability to "focus" is a type of adhd that does not manifest itself with the classic "ooh, look, a butterfly!" type of focus problem, but it is adhd nonetheless, and this type is more commonly associated with adults. Adhd also manifests itself in my life by causing me to abandon many projects prematurely, thus I have many things that I have started but few that I have finished. Also, starting anything can feel like I'm taking on the world, as it takes so much effort. I can be innattentive at times. I get bored with video games relatively quickly compared to how long I used to play them, but putting in a new game can take a lot of "mental" effort. Many times I will simply stand in place for a few minutes mulling over ideas on what to do and dismissing them as requiring too much effort almost as soon as I think of them.

The easiest way to explain my innattentiveness in chess is to think of the classic adhd. You play a move, you begin to calculate a tactical sequence, and then you see a butterfly which breaks your concentration. You then have difficulty refocusing on the game. The only difference with me is that there is no butterfly and hence nothing to focus on. I simply lose the focus to "nothing", giving the feeling of glazing over. It is a problem with adreneline in my brain.

Many times I can play 1 really great game, but by the 2nd game I have lost my ability to focus. So if you find yourself playing well only to consistently go on losing streaks with dumb blunders, and the amount of games you win before the losing streaks remains fairly constant, then you might be in the same boat as me. Or perhaps you can't even focus for one game. That is another possibility.

What I have noticed that helps:

Play until you feel yourself slipping away mentally. Then, make that your last game, otherwise you will only get frustrated on the next game. Over time you will learn to tell when you are having adrenaline issues. It is a very specific feeling.

If you lose because of some dumb mistakes, you should probably quit for awhile, if not for the rest of the day. You are not losing because you suck at chess, but rather because of adrenaline problems. Take a break.

Don't play chess after you eat. Eating can cause the adrenaline problems to worsen. You probably already notice that you get a bit tired after eating.

Get a good amount of sleep. I play better in the morning than at night when I am tired. But you may be different.

Talk to a doctor about medication, and also ask him or her about possibly seeing a behavior therapist. Both of these can help tremendously, although some of the medications can be extremely addictive. Personally, I have just started strattera, which is not addictive, and my chess playing has improved. Although it is not anywhere near where it was before college when my adhd got so much worse. However, strattera takes forever to work at peak proficiency and I am on a low dosage, so only time will tell.

I hope this helps. While I won't list your name, I am going to create a new thread in the hopes that this will help someone else."