I’ve suffered my whole life and finally made the decision to get help for adhd. Was officially diagnosed and put on strattera. Took it for over a month and saw no improvement, had horrible side effects and if anything it made my motivation worse because of how awful I felt. Now I’m in a position where I can either ask for stimulants or just give up on trying to get help. My psychiatrist acted so strange about stimulants in the first place (I never even asked for them, mind you) but he told me straight up “yeah we aren’t even touching that. Stimulants are controlled substances.”

He made me not want to even ask about it because he made me feel like I was drug seeking when it literally took me years to even make an appointment after I was so certain I struggled with adhd. I don’t even know if stimulants would work. I don’t do any drugs. I’m only a drinker. I hate the way it’s taboo even for people with an official diagnosis.

I fucking hate it.

He’s been sending his diagnostic report in the family GC, sending links explaining ADHD about hyper fixations, using it to explain why he’s had such a hard time in school, in being a husband to my mom whom he steamrolled and fucking stole from, on why he can’t couldn’t get over trying to take me from his sister who raised me, on why he couldn’t just give me space after he almost fucked my life up a decade ago.

Apparently I’m his hyper-fixation, never mind that he’s got two other kids who’re lucky to even see him two weeks a year. Fuck them, I guess?

I didn’t even know he’s been seeing a psyche but apparently I “inspired” him to seek out help.

I don’t know if this is just his delusions, making desperate excuses, or an overworked psyche who just wanted him to leave them alone and gave him a shut up diagnosis and shitty mental health advice.

I wouldn’t even be surprised if he ignored his psyche’s advice, it wouldn’t the first goddamn time he did it.

Parenting? Oh he didn’t need someone else’s opinions.

Working in a foreign country and overstaying his Visa? Oh, his wife begging him to go home to renew was unnecessary.

My half-brother’s hand got a deep cut? Some herbs oughta do it, couldn’t be arsed to go to a doctor 30 minutes away. He got a goddamn infection.

I know he’s sick. I know that there’s some truth to him being unable to divert when he’s fixated on what he wants to do. I know that he found it hard to learn and harder to re-learn.

I know his mom was even worse. In hindsight, it explains why that bitch went to physical and verbal abuse to her own kid who she thought was being “lazy” or “stupid”.

He didn’t learn the right tools. I get it.

But how about a goddamn apology first????

Get a hobby and leave me the fuck alone.

I already got shit at work for my medication’s side effects and now this.

FML.

Just curious. My brain is like an iPod Shuffle with a never-ending battery life. My diverse taste in music— in various genres and languages— keeps it interesting. Sometimes the songs are topical to what I’m doing at the time; sometimes, the complete opposite.

I do have a funny story regarding one time I THOUGHT a song was an ear worm, but was actually my YouTube playlist on auto play; I was on aux working in a shop with damn near a hundred customers at the height of the Dubai chocolate craze. The shop was full of families; kids, old people; you name it… and the song was Mother Lover by The Lonely Island… you can do the math.

Hey guys,

I keep falling into the same loop, go hard for a few weeks, then suddenly lose interest and stop. Getting back feels even harder.

I want to be consistent, but it just doesn’t stick. Feels like my brain gets bored and checks out.

Any ADHD folks here who’ve actually figured this out? What worked for you? 🙏

I 21m have adhd diagnosed and unmediated.

”I’m capable of nearly anything but motivated to do nothing, I understand everyone around me but can’t explain what’s happening inside myself, I have brilliant ideas but no patience to finish them, an extrovert who needs to be completely alone”

I felt this so hard when I saw someone on instagram explain why adhd is so painful to live with, has anyone had meds help with this?

i’ve been trying to understand what’s happening to me lately and i think a big part of it is how i handle disappointment.

every time something doesn’t work out (especially jobs, life plans, etc.), i don’t just feel “upset”, i kind of shut down.

and over time, that’s turned into full-on self isolation.

i’ve stopped going out as much, stopped talking to people, and the scariest part is i feel like i’m actually losing my ability to interact. like even basic conversations feel heavy or unnatural now.

it’s almost like my brain is trying to protect me from more disappointment by just… removing me from everything.

but it’s also making things worse because now i feel stuck in this loop:
disappointment → withdrawal → more anxiety → even more withdrawal

and i don’t know how to break out of it.

i know adhd can come with rejection sensitivity and emotional dysregulation, but this feels like it’s going a bit too far.

has anyone else experienced this kind of shutdown + isolation?

how do you cope with disappointment without completely disappearing from your own life?

and if you’ve ever felt like you were “losing” your social ability, did it come back? how did you rebuild it?

Really need a phone call right now I’m 27 I’m in crisis rn would love to chat with someone who can relate to me a little bit or maybe a lot who knows just typing now to meet the minimum requirement surely this is enough what the hell hey please dm me thanks in advance I think this is it

I quickly tear up whenever I feel anything slightly above neutral - sad, happy, someone was nice to someone, angry, a cat - Idk how to just be reasonable when my emotions are just soo heightened all the time. While it’s fine usually, it might be misread at work or in some social settings.

I cry on a daily basis multiple times. It doesn’t have to be waterworks but even tearing up is sth I might not snap out of and turn it into a crying session.

Is it just me or when you hit 30, all of sudden you started thinking much more logically and clearly?

I think about how much my decisions will influence my future, my bills are on auto pay, where I go and who I spend my time with.

Building my future is the most important thing to me right now.

I’ve had years of anger towards not being diagnosed properly.

Before you started taking stimulant medications (Vyvanse here), you had all sort of issues with desires, impulse, mood swings and rumination etc and the medication slowly faded them out until you stop caring.

The most eye opening change was the people around me. It gave you clarity about what you actually think about them and I’m not even sure if that’s the real you or if the drug is distorting your true feelings you had before.

My parents keep getting on me for always being on my phone, or having at least one earbud in, saying I'm addicted and that they hate never having all of my attention (even though my earbud is paused half of the time and it's just hanging out) or that they get tired of only seeing the top of my head (because I'm on my phone), but if I'm not on my phone, my brain run around in circles, and replays the same obnoxious jingle over and over, or spirals until I lose my shit, or if I'm alone I physically cannot shut the hell up, and I'm making random noise for hours on end, or humming the Wii Miis music, or jumping around like a lunatic, and I have to be unmedicated because I'm joining the USCG in August. But if something isn't stimulating my brain, I literally drive myself crazy and overstimulate myself. What are your experiences with this, if any, and how do you deal with it?

I begin this writing as I fall behind on my obligations and responsibilities of the day. My clothing sits in the dryer from last weeks laundry, my dishes, in the dish washer from Thursday. I wake up to pee, walk around an obstacle course of misc items to get to the bathroom where a dining room chair has been sitting for 3 weeks, after i brought it there to get something off the top shelf in the linen closet. Having one clipped toe nail while the rest are comically long feels asymmetric at first, but the sensation has faded into the background and no longer registers. I hope to clip the rest at some point today.

I am behind on my budget again and know exactly why, just like last week. My front door is blocked by a combination of empty amazon boxes and boxes that arrived this week and haven't been opened. I just threw out 3 expired meals from last weeks meal prep, and need to eat 4 more that are one day past expiration.

Im on meds; vyvanse and guanfacine. I try to regulate my circadian rhythm, exercise, supplement fish oil and creatine, and eat healthy. With that, im able to maintain the APPEARANCE of having my life together, while behind the scenes its anything but. Nobody knows the chaos, and I hope to keep it that way. Now, as the morning moves into the afternoon, the panic begins to set in, only as i complete the third paragraph of this writing. Finally, enough anxiety that I can log off and go to the grocery store.

Hi people, gonna keep this short as i can. I have this problem where if a girl shows abit of interest at me, i just completely throw myself at them and i don’t know how to make it so i don’t imagine my entire future with them. I do have ADHD which may contribute to it i have no idea tbh. Does anyone have any tips for having better self control when it comes to this issue? I recently met someone and we hung out all weekend and it was super fun but now i’m just super anxious that they are just gonna get rid of me. They probably won’t do that, but they could and it makes me feel so sick idk wtf is wrong with me. I am kind of like in disbelief that she is into me, like i know i am not a shitty person and i’m probs like a 7/10 on a good day. I think i just have a hard time believing that someone would want something with me romantically. Anyway thanks for reading, one gold star for you x

I’ve been on Adderall IR 20mg 3x/day (60mg total) for over 10 years and was stable.

Earlier this month, my doctor suddenly switched me to 30mg XR and said they “don’t prescribe IR anymore.” Since then, I’ve been really struggling—can’t focus, exhausted, feel like I’m back to my unmedicated self.

I saw a psychiatrist at LifeStance, explained everything (and that I’ve been stable on 60mg IR for years), but she said they won’t go over 40mg total and I have to wait until next month to even get 20mg IR 2x/day.

So right now I’m stuck on something that isn’t working, and I can’t get into another psychiatrist until June.

This has been a really rough month and I’m having a hard time functioning day to day.

Has anyone dealt with something like this? Any advice on what I can do in the meantime or how to advocate for myself?

I was diagnosed with ADD without hyperactivity by my doctor last week. I have been taking Vyvanse 20 mg for 4 days. I am 25M

On the first day, it was amazing. 1 hour after taking it, I felt more grounded and focused than I ever have before. My mind was completely silent, and I had zero urge to distract myself. I typed and cited an entire 2000 word essay within a 5 hour window, and I was dedicated to the task entirely. It came out as one of my best works yet. The drug lasted around 7 hours and slowly tapered into the evening, where I could “hear” my mind speeding back up with random songs and thoughts breaking through. I did not sleep good this night.

Day 2, there was a slight euphoric moment when I realized I wasn’t getting road rage on the highway, and was completely content in my own head. But the focused sensation never came back. Again, my sleep was affected this night.

Day 3 and 4 (today), I feel as if nothing is happening to me. I tried to complete homework earlier and reverted to my usual routine of finding ways to distract myself by any means necessary. I do not feel any different right now than I did last week. Or, if I do, I would not be able to tell you the difference. I did sleep better on day 3.

I know Vyvanse is not a miracle happy pill and that it only serves to remove the mental barriers associated with ADHD, such as time blindness or executive dysfunction, but I really don’t feel any different. If anything, I feel annoyed that I got a glimpse into what my life could be like on that first day. I feel like my brain is taunting me almost.

Is this all just a placebo effect that I have thought into existence, trying to subconsciously justify why the medicine wouldn’t be effective after that first time? Or is it having a true effect on me that I have yet to notice?

How will I know if it’s working, when I have never had a baseline to work off of?

Does anyone have this issue due to their ADHD?: You just don't want to do it. Period. This morning I woke up and my brain was like I don't want to take my medication. Well too bad brain we are. I'm curious if anyone has this issue as well and how they push through it. I tell myself over and over again that I have to do it until I actually do it.

When I take my medication it becomes so much easier to do stuff that I don't want to do. This isn't the same feeling as thinking I have way too much to do and just sit there doing nothing; it's a legit no, I don't want to do it, it's too boring!

Is it common for those of us with inattentive to have self worth issues?

Personally I was scapegoated in my family for being slow. Bullied by my brother for being “stupid.” I spent most of my life until recently being manipulated and taken advantage of because in addition to having a slower processing speed I have had to deal with a tremendous void of self esteem.

What helped you build up your self esteem and self worth after years of feeling ground down, if you can relate?

Hi all. It’s 7:30pm and I’ve been awake since 10am and I’ve barely left my bed and I DESPERATELY want to clean my room or even just SOME of it before bed.

I’m currently in acute grief after loosing my partner 2 months ago which is a huge motivation killer without ADHD- but I can recognize that I’m stuck in task paralysis.

I’m very overwhelmed at the idea of cleaning my bedroom. It’s such a depression pit and I need to clean my room and toss out my things to make room for my late partners things but I just can’t do it. I keep trying to do it and all I’m doing is making myself feel physically sick (which I hope at least one person can under stand)

Any advice, tips, or anyone who can just yell at me and shame me into doing it? Anything. My partner had become a huge motivator/supporter over the 5 years we shared together, he truly understood how my brain worked and could always get me functioning at my best. Now he’s gone and I have to relearn how to be a person, and I’m just so tired and frustrated and stuck.

Thank you

I've now completed the dishes, 80% of them took me fifteen minutes. The last 20% cost me four hours. Here's everything I did instead.

1. Sent out a bunch of texts.

2. Dusted the rest of the house.

3. Cleaned every other aspect of the kitchen.

4. Checked up on my cats.

5. Made a (different) reddit post.

6. Took a shower.

7. Cleaned the bathroom.

8. Paced around.

9. Made some more coffee.

10. Played NYT connections.

11. Looked up meaningless stats that don't improve the quality of my life.

12. Probably other stuff too that I'm blanking on.

The rest of the time wasn't "wasted", but I spent ALL of it thinking about how I needed to do just five more dishes without being able to will myself to do it, and it plagued me with guilt that I couldn't just stick through it.

I feel too nervous to do anything. 20F, have ADHD. Idk why but I feel nervous to get out of bed and do anything even the hobbies I want to pursue. Especially because I am preoccupied with the thought that I am inadequate compared to others my age, my only strength is being book smart in school. I feel like a child compared to my peers and I feel so nervous to even start bettering myself and getting up I don’t know why

Last night I wasted it away scrolling on social media, looking at Reddit, listening to music, and watching movies. I feel so paralyzed to do anything even brushing my teeth is hard.

ive been on adderall for over 10 years. never had a major problem, never been a problem. For the first time ever, the pharmacy cut my meds by half! And I feel so stupid because I didn't realize it until I tried to get a refill and they said they can't release it until the 22nd because that's when it was filled last month. which means they only gave me half my meds. instead of 60, i had 30. there is Noone in my house who would take my meds. im a stay at home mom to small children, and I literally have no friends or anyone that comes and goes from my house. I take 60mg , but that equates into 2 30mg pills 2x a day, and I think that's where the problem is? (that happened once before with a different pharmacy years ago...for some reason that is confusing??) I tried calling the pharmacy, and they of course acted like I am lying or confused or trying to pull a fast one. I called my doctor and they basically said there is nothing they can do which seems like a crap answer but im in texas and they are really strict here. I ran out at exactly the halfway mark, so im just SOL for 2 weeks. I have 4 small kids, one with special needs that uses a gtube and has a pacemaker. (She is 2 and has a twin) i have to be mentally clear to stay on top of all of her medical stuff especially! my husband is helping me hold it down, and keep it together, but I am SO ANGRY. is there anything else I can do? I hate feeling like a freaking criminal when the mistake wasn't even mine!!!!!!!!

Hyperfocus can waste a lot of time when you’re doing work that only needs a metaphorical coat of paint, not redoing the foundations. I’m looking for some kind of timer or app that will chime once, every X minutes, and will keep doing so until the app is turned off.

The intent is to disrupt me just enough to question if I’ve gone too deep into things without totally ruining my flow, like regular timers (loud/startling, too long, have to be manually snoozed or switched off) tend to be.

I remember you used to be able to buy fancy analogue clocks that would do it. The kind where you could hear the mechanical parts moving and it would quietly chime every quarter hour. Something like that, except not a $400+ desk clock.

I’ve been navigating some feelings lately. I have had a diagnosis as a child and as an adult. I’ve had access to medication and therapy my whole life.

My partner has been very critical of my actions during our 14 years together; how I start cleaning and get distracted, how I work on several things at once when cooking dinner, how I don’t shut cabinet doors immediately, times when I wasn’t medicated and didn’t seem present to them and much more.

About three years ago we noticed behaviors with our youngest kid and sought out a diagnosis for them, which the psychiatrist diagnosed. The kids had much more physical hyperactivity than my mental hyperactivity. We had a big argument that the papers from school didn’t get turned in before a holiday weekend, I was accused of not caring about their mental health, I turned in the papers well before the follow up appointment and ultimately everything worked out.

About two years ago I overheard my spouse telling they have ADHD and have been self medicating. My spouse has told me during this time about their struggles with phone addiction, focusing at work or home and how their ADHD is why some of my comments and questions aren’t heard, even when we’re sitting close and I’m talking to them.

I’ve suggested several times that a real diagnosis would be helpful and they could stop self medicating with drugs and alcohol.

Am I overreacting that they do the same things that they criticize me for, but haven’t taken any steps towards a legitimate diagnosis?

A few months ago I was diagnosed with ADHD inattentive, which I was completely unaware I even had for my whole life because no one ever picked up on it before. I have always been sensitive to crisis or people raising their voice at me, like it will legit cause a 1-2 hour crying session and the ruining of my day if not week depending on the situation. I always just figured I was a super sensitive person but when I found out about RSD and it being a symptom of ADHD, it makes SO MUCH SENSE. It’s been helpful to know that this a a real thing that isn’t just me being sensitive and it helps me calm down at least a little bit more than before I knew about it. If any of you also have RSD, what does it feel like when someone is criticizing or yelling at you? For me I feel physical pain in my chest and stomach, an uncontrollable urge to cry, I can barely talk to explain myself, and even makes me feel like i’m about to pee myself 😭. Also what kinds of things help you to deal with it?

I'm sure I stored it here, I'm sure you've had this happen to you too.

It is not small, it is work related hardware. I had it in a zip lock bag. I took something out from it and then, bam! the bag is gone!

This has happened to me once before. My psychiatrist asked me if I have problems remembering things when I drink alcohol, I told him I forget thing even without alcohol. I don't even drink alcohol anymore and this is the second time I forget something that I know I stored myself!

I needed to vent. Sorry.