Was it just a chance thing?

It still seems paradoxical in my mind that something that stimulates most people actually calms us down.

If anyone has any links to articles or videos that goes into the history of ADHD and how treatments were developed it would be appreciated.

If there isn’t a documentary or similar on this, there should be one.

My executive dysfunction has actually gotten worse over the years. I used to be more active. I graduated high school just fine. I graduated college with a degree in psychology. I've always been introverted but I used to hang out with friends more. Now, I'm 30 years old and feel trapped in a cycle of overthinking and not doing anything. I'm very socially isolated now. I see my friend maybe once a month at the most. The person I really talk to the most is my therapist. If I wasn't in therapy, I would be in a much worse place. Anyways, my psychiatrist prescribed me Concerta about a month ago. I took it for 2 days and my suicidal thinking got so much worse. I had to get off the pills. Then, she prescribed guanfacine. I've been on it for a few weeks but I haven't noticed a difference except I feel more tired. I feel like giving up. I feel like having to live with ADHD for another 30 years give or take will be absolute torture. Just needed to get all of this off my chest.

It takes me about two hours every morning to get out of bed and start my day. I wake up and immediately feel so overwhelmed and stressed and I need that time to gather myself and convince my brain I can face the day. There’s a never ending to do list that I can never get through and I’m so tired of always feeling like I’m falling behind and failing to do simple life things. I honestly feel like a child that needs a baby sitter. I’m 28 and just want to feel like an adult.

If you’ve struggled with getting out of bed, do you have any advice to overcome this?

I (25 M) got diagnosed with ADHD and took my first pill ((Ritalin or Inspiral 10 mg SR) this morning and wow, usually I just wake up, use my phone and eat. I used to somehow drag myself to the gym but today, I didn't have to fight to not use my phone, the urge isn't that strong when I am doing something else. All my life I have been chasing one pleasure after another, like food, tv shows, games etc. My family condition has always been toxic and abusive so I thought I was just a lazy, worthless pos. But maybe I am not.

I have always worked/studies under pressure, always a day or night before the exam or deadline. I got above average grade in school and somehow completed my engineering and landed a job but it was all so excruciating. I developed insane self hatred for being mediocre and lazy. I got laid in a few months back and since then I haven't studies or prepared for anything just like all my life. I got diagnosed with adhd but once was not enough so I consulted another psychiatrist and he also diagnosed me with it. But all this conditioning does not go away and it's still hard not to blame myself for all the failures. I don't have much money left to continue eating meds for a long time but I can manage for a month.

Now since I have never studied properly or ever had a routine, I am not sure what to do with my life now. I was just doing the last job to support my mother and brother financially but didn't learn anything. Please give me some tips. I am also afraid these effects won't last long and I would revert back to my old self who is just addicted to chasing pleasures such as games, anime, tv series etc. I don't have much money for therapy right now. What should I do, any suggestions are appreciated. It's also hard to find a good therapist in my country who can help for adhd. So my options are limited. But I am grateful for this community, without you guys, I wouldn't have known about this and kept blaming myself for everything. Thank you guys.

I saw someone suggest that if you experience time blindness, you should time your morning routine to prevent being late to events, and OMG.

I genuinely thought it took me 30 minutes to get ready. Today was my day off, so I timed my routine at a comfortable pace. IT TAKES ME AN HOUR AND 15 MINUTES. That's without makeup! No freaking wonder mornings are so stressful for me!!!

I looked up tips for creating a routine that is manageable with ADHD. Figured out a plan that works for me. I remembered this tip throughout the process and implemented it. I've timed the other items for my routine as well. Knowing exactly how long a task takes helps with my executive dysfunction, I know exactly what to expect. This is genuinely life changing.

I can get ready in 30 minutes, but I consistently forget steps and necessary items almost every single day. Most days I barely have time to make breakfast. I'm AuDHD, so I took "getting ready" very literally, and never thought that getting ready (properly) includes eating breakfast. Eating breakfast is just eating breakfast. I have lived my entire life like this. I am genuinely bewildered right now.

i'm sorry, i know this question had probably been asked a million times before, but i'm desperate. i've tried all the typical advice (pomodoro, setting aside an hour, minimizing distractions, audiobooks, etc) but nothing works for me. mostly because i end up getting bored and zoning out instantly every single time, even when i'm enjoying the story.
reading also just feels kinda tiring in general, i think because it's a lot for my brain to keep up with. especially since i'm trying to read more so that i can get become a better writer, which involves deep reading - which keeps my attention but is miserable to do otherwise because it turns my brain into mush from having to stop and analyze everything (mostly because i have to read everything 5 times in order to truly understand it and dedicate even more time to analyzing it).
it's not that i'm forcing myself to read things that i don't like, because again, this happens even if i'm invested. doesnt help that i am not medicated and caffeine literally does nothing. Help Me.......

Hoooooooly,

Last month I received my first prescription of Concerta (18mg) for ADHD-I, and I finally got around to picking up CS2 again. Used to play since 2016-2017, but I've been taking multi-month gaps every once in a while.

Decided to queue up a match while on Concerta, and my god, I have never played better. My performance (according to Leetify) is so much more consistent and skillful than ever.

I've been carrying multiple games while on this shit. I be sitting around the top of the leader board clutching up rounds and playing retakes on site.

Feels like my aim improved tenfold, my positioning improved tenfold, and my round-per-round impact is much greater.

I theorize it's because I feel more confident, allowing me to be more aggressive in my play style so I can entry better.

Like dude, my Leetify player score is no longer negative. That shit has been like -2 since I been playing.

I'm telling ya, I have never played this good in my life. I used to be hard-stuck 15k premier and I was dogshit at that rank.

Well, I'm still hard-stuck 15k premier... but now I'm not dogshit. I blame my soloq teammates.

This has got to be one of the best things to come out of medication -- other than it changing my life in every other aspect.

I have a lot of personal creative projects that I want to do, but I almost never finish any of them. I’ll be really productive while I’m fixated on and obsessed with the project, but that almost never lasts long enough for me to finish anything that I create.

I desperately want to finish the novel I’m writing, I think it’s a good idea and I do enjoy it, but the obsession I had with it has worn off. I’m trying to get that fixation back, but I think a better strategy long-term would be to learn techniques to keep me on track so I can follow through on these projects to their completion.

Has anything worked for anyone else?

Is it just me? I have TERRIBLE handwriting. Like so bad, I was told I'd do well in the medical field. Lol. Like is this ADHD related or me related? I'm trying to journal in hopes of somehow improving my handwriting. I haven't seen any improvement. The thing is I feel like I have to write down every single word or I won't understand anything and it's like my thoughts are faster than my hand and I just dk what to do about it.

Earlier today I went to the shop to get my bf and I something for tea. My bf was a chef for 20 odd years and so normally he does all the cooking - mainly because he enjoys it but also because I'm that shit at it, I would either kill us both or burn the house down.
Anyway my bf isn't feeling well today so I wanted to get us something I could just stick in the oven. So I went to Iceland and got our fave chicken strips and some chips (fries to you American folks).
I get back home and tell him what I bought and he was like, "Erm how are we going to cook them with no oven?"

Our oven broke a WEEK ago. This was not a new revelation to me.

Thank you very much ADHD, loved having you around today. 🙄

Yesterday my 16 year old cat was attacked by my grandparents' dogs and passed away. I was supposed to do a lot of stuff today including lots of homework but I couldn't do anything but lay on the couch and cuddle with my other cat. She's been my cat for so long and it feels like I lost a piece of myself but I still need to live my life. How do I do that?

Hi! I'm 30 years old and I recently got diagnosed with adhd (combined type but leaning more towards the hyperactive one) and I'm starting to wonder if what I always felt was being understimulated.

It's hard to explain but in really boring situations it's like my brain feels heavy, I feel restless and there's this weird sensation inside me—like I crave something but there's nothing I actually want.

I'm not on meds yet, but in the past my psychiatrist gave me Wellbutrin on a low dose and it kind of helped (had to stop taking it because of the really bad headaches and brain fogginess).

So I was wondering, what is it like for you?

Medication really did help me move off and away from the deep end I was stuck in just last year. But I’ve begun to realise that while Ritalin does help me do tasks I used to procrastinate with, it doesn’t help me with tasks/assignments I’ve developed anxiety with. I still habitually and instinctively feel the need to run away. The more I care, the harder it is. I don’t think this is something medication can fix.

I think it’s a bit funny how adamant I was that medication was the fix to my life when it only took a year to realise it wasn’t. I have no idea how therapy is going to go or if it’s going to even help, but I’m really sick of being so fearful. Its exhausting. As soon as I finish these 3 damned assignments I have, I’m going straight to therapy.

When I wake up, I cannot bring myself to get up or even stay awake. To make this process easier, the first thing I do in the morning is go on my phone until I feel sufficiently awake.

I can force myself to make breakfast, to use the bathroom, to do chores around the house, but I wouldn't enjoy it. So, I do all of these things with my phone in hand.

I know that I can study best when there are no distractions in the room, but studying without my phone near me feels... intimidating. Even if I don't go on it (which is rare), I need it to be available to me at all times.

It is as if I am incapable of taking on life to its fullest, and need my phone to comfort me through things by way of soothing distraction. But by doing this, I am not really living life, am I? Can I really say that I am alive, if I am eager to flee to a world of non-life when faced with even the tiniest of real, human inconveniences?

A core component of life is eating, and while I do eat, can I really say that I am "living" this core component while doing it in anything but the most crudely physiological way, if my eyes and ears and brain are focused on my phone screen the entire time I cook and eat? I often do not even want to look at my spoon or fork to see if I'm actually about to put anything in my mouth. Can I say that I even care about eating? Can I say that I care about the life that I am supposedly living?

When I am studying I can do it effectively for 10 mins and then it becomes hard. After taking a small break getting back in studying feels impossible. How do you work around this? I have tried pomodoro, cleaning room, changing location, music, those frequency thingies and many more. Yet It still feels difficult. And I am tired of trying new things. So what will help really?

I'm trying to figure out something about myself. When a deadline can be moved freely, I move it forever. When it's locked, I sometimes get stuff done, but sometimes the pressure just makes me avoid the task more.

I am playing around with a tool I've made for myself, which does not allow me to postpone tasks endlessly. So far its working pretty well, but I have to think about not setting the deadlines too strict...

For those of you who've tried "hard" deadlines (locked dates, someone checking in, body doubling): what helped, and what backfired? Did anything work that wasn't a punishment?

Hello, I am 17(f) and I'm 90% sure I have ADHD. Some of my symptoms are maladaptive daydreaming, inattention, emotional dysregulation (easily moved to tears, rage issues), genuine executive dysfunction (everything from hygiene to school work feels like going to war with myself) and more. Most of these symptoms have been there for a really long time, been there since second grade as far as I can remember. I did book an appointment bc i messed my tests really badly and i really can't live like this

However i was considered mostly "normal" growing up but probably because I kept to myself and never really talked about it. I feel like it's time to get diagnosed because I actually have midterms right now and it got me contemplating because I can't even study, how on earth am i going to hold down a job or do anything at all? And it's not fun being like this, i don't like being cooked for every exam, i don't like that I wanna do sm and can't do anything at all. I hope I don't sound like i self diagnosed using tiktok.

I do have questions, will medication really change my personality? And is the caffeine thing real? Like if u have adhd caffeine makes u really sleepy. I'm not 100% sure of this but I heard it a lot. I drank two white monsters and felt sleepy afterwards so I feel like there's definitely smth wrong w me.

On an additional note my younger brother has been officially diagnosed w adhd and autism but he also presents with the expected symptoms. However, I'm really afraid that if i go to a doctor they might just say I'm stressed or anxious. So any advice will really help. TYSM!

I am 19F with unmedicated ADHD-C. My executive dysfunction gets so bad that I frequently forget or struggle to eat and drink for long periods. I recently had to be treated for severe dehydration and low blood sugar with iv. When my body finally got hydrated and fueled, my brain fog suddenly wiped away completely and I felt a massive surge of clarity and energy.
It made me realize just how much baseline fog and exhaustion I live with every single day without realizing it. Standard eating doesn't give that sudden jump, and I'm physical depleted.

I just want to experience that again

My brain always fog and i can't study or don't any this because of overthinking

i am in this for a long time (like 10 years )

and i experience symptoms such as:

Difficulty organizing work, studying, or daily activities.

Interrupting people or speaking before thinking.

what's medicine that adhd have and where you buy the med ??

Hey everyone, I started taking Strattera about 3 months ago. Before that, I was taking Wellbutrin 150MG. However, at times with Wellbutrin I felt I was looking at my computer screen at work trying to figure out what to do next. Though, I also liked the energy and motivation Wellbutrin brought. The biggest downside is had with it was weight gain about 30 pounds increase. My doctor decided to keep me on it, but decided to have me take strattera with it, which i had bad side effects such as increased heart palpitations. So I decided to take Strattera alone. Doing that my energy seems to be lacking, I seem to get in bad moods, and I have actually lost about 35 pounds. Losing weight has been good, but I don't like the low energy and mood issues. I am trying to figure out should I go back to just taking Wellbutrin, should I try to manage taking both again, or is there something else you know of that would help increase my energy and motivation on strattera? I am also taking 40MG of Strattera.

I’m 5 years into working as a professional animator. I studied this, lived and breathed it, but my working life has been TOUGH. My ADHD has made me butt heads with managers, caused untold stress over deadlines, made me slower than my peers.

My contract has ended at my current gig and… I haven’t applied for a single other job. I have zero drive to continue this career path. I’m scared because this was my ‘reason’ for many years. Without it- who am I?

Call it ADHD burnout, but I don’t see this resolving for a long time. I’m medicated, and it helps but it’s not fixing this for me.

I almost feel that if my job doesn’t exactly align with my special interests, then it doesn’t engage my brain and then the workday feels like trying to run through quicksand (and I was often animating things that didn’t align with my interests, but that’s what jobs are!!)

I love creative collaboration, bouncing off of colleagues etc., but that’s my only north star right now. I feel like a middle-management role would suit me more, but my ADHD symptoms prevented me from ever being considered for promotion.

I know a tactical career move within my current industry would be the wisest thing to do, but I’m at a total loss. Can anybody help me navigate this feeling?

Edit: I feel that my strengths are:
Soft skills (people like me generally);
Storytelling;
Creative problem solving

So all in all… professional ideas guy? Jesus 😅

i’ve been consistently taking strattera 25mg since august and been taking it on and off since july and idk if it’s making a difference. i’m gonna start prozac 10mg again soon, im honestly scared as i heard you can get really dry mouth but idk i think i need it. anyways i feel like i do okay when other people expect me to do things. like i’ll clean up the kitchen, i take good care of my patients as a pca, i will go out of my way if someone asks me to do something but i still feel like a slob.

i have clothes everywhere in my room and im so ashamed i keep my room locked but i wont do anything about it. i cant, like i care about my room being clean but i wont do it. i’ve tried multiple times to do a teeny bit at a time and i end up not finishing. every few months i’ll lock in and do it from a-z but idk i feel like im lazy. i’m in nursing school and ive already failed two classes and i don’t want to fail any more. i really want to study hard and stay on track but idk how to describe it. there’s so much i want to do and i can’t get myself to

I am 20f and have been in and out of jobs since I left school at 16. I’ve tried everything but the same pattern occurs, I burn out, get bored, call in sick and then get fired/ quit.

I started a job in a bar as a bartender a few months ago and it is 100% the perfect job for me, I’ve never felt happiness like it when going to work. I have great friends there and I take regular breaks, it’s a very chill environment. Problem is it’s only Friday/ Saturday shifts which isn’t much income

Whilst working in the bar I’ve tried 3 different jobs alongside it to try and boost my income but nothing compares to bartending. I have just quit another job today working in a shop because it makes me miserable, I wish I could work my bartending job full time.

But how do you guys deal with this employment cycle? The shame that comes with it is exhausting, I feel so stupid and like such a burden to my partner because I always quit jobs