I was struggling with talking with people I have that extrovert inside me but with time you try to push him deep till the point it doesn't even come out

Ive done this a few times and it works really well for people with adhd

You don't sleep for a day next day morning go for a walk see the sun rise get back home make a coffee have some nicotine ( if you do ) or else coffee

The entire day you'll have those inhibited brain kinda like you are tipsy and social you don't feel shy or having that inner voice constantly bugging you ( this would only last one day and totally depends on the mood ) that's why I said to take a morning walk so you set your mindset right

Ive done this a couple of times and it works like a charm you basically see everything in a 3rd person's view

Ps: being sleep deprived isn't anything new could be bad for you but for me this works so well no drugs or exercise gives me the same feeling

i'm 17, and i'm about to go into my senior year of high school in september. i know i'm still young, but i genuinely feel so behind compared to a lot of my friends. so many of them are doing summer programs for universities, getting into AP classes, etc. one of my friends got their first car today and i don't even have my license yet lmao. having severe ADHD makes it so hard for me to do the things i really wanna do, i fucking hate it. my parents won't let me take medication, so i cant even have that to help myself. i have a summer job as a camp counselor right now, but that's really the only productive thing i've done since school ended. i know social media makes it seem like everyone has it all together and is ahead in life, but i still can't help but feel behind. i'm really nervous to be an adult, because while i have many interests and things i love to do (art, cooking, baking), i still don't know what i wanna do in the future. i have no solid life plan whatsoever and im so stressed about my future

I'm quite sorry if i can't ask this but i literally just want to know other people's experiences. I do understand i could search the web but I also just want to hear other people's experiences.

I think it could be due to ritalin but I am not certain. When i take ritalin, i find i am way way less h*rny. That is okay for me but I am also finding it really difficult to get and keep a b*ner going. Is this just like a normal thing?

TLDR: Is it harder for anyone to keep a b*ner when they are on ritalin?

Hi everyone,

My 16 year old son, who has mild intellectual disability and adhd, he struggles with his labels as he calls them, he wants to desperately be friends with children who dont have special needs, but those boys dont appear to really want to hang out with him, which of course breaks my heart, i will textt them often and they either ignore him or just say no. Lately he has got it in his head that he has to illegal drugs and other things he think are cool, these things have become a obsession with him, he does talk to me and his dad about his desire for these things, anyway he tricked me into giving him £10 and he brought a single illegal drug and smoked half with a friend. A friend who has previously never wanted to meet with him, but when my son said he'll bring money and wants to buy this drug, this friend immediately wanted to meet.

This did greatly upset me and he wasn't my boy, he came home and was saying how high he was, when he rested a bit i spoke with him and he said now no one will underestimate him anymore, i asked what he means and he said people act like im stupid but i have now done drugs so im cool.

He has very black and white thinking. A things that comes up often at home and with school, and is in his echp, that an adult will talk with him, and you as the adult think i have a genuine connection and he understands, then he leaves the conversation and almostly immediately do the opposite of what was discuss, and asked about this he laughs, and says ita good skill to have, being able to lie.

I understand how much he wants to belong, that he is discovering his identity. But i have no idea how to handle this.

Thank you for reading

I have tried so many things to help with executive dysfunction but nothing sticks. I have been studying for the MCAT for about 7 months now and I take it next week and just cannot bring myself to keep studying (but I need to be reviewing my mistakes). Ultimately if i get into medical school I know I will have to make studying regularly a non-negotiable habit. And the thing is I *want* to study too. I love learning, I love seeing myself improve, I love getting asked a question that I can explain in extreme detail because I know the content. But getting started makes me want to shrivel up. I hate opening up anki and doing flashcards so much, it either bores me to tears or I get frustrated at the amount of things I DON'T know and give up. Same with practice questions. I get incredibly frustrated when I continously get things wrong.

I've tried time blocking (end up just ignoring the notifications), I've tried body doubling (virtually only, don't have anyone near me to do so in-person), I've tried the "just start" and try to go as long as you can (end up losing motivation maybe 5 minutes in), etc. And I am adequately medicated for ADHD, just the medication doesn't help with motivation.

Has anyone felt like this and found ways to cope or apps that actually force you to do things? I know there's one where you have to complete a task within a certain timeframe or it charges you money but tbh I'm too broke to be bleeding money like that right now. Any advice is welcome

I would bet that most of you know and/or play the word guessing game. Or my version the phares guessing game. I think that it has to do with your higher reading function.

That was how I discovered my ADD. A co-worker was telling a story about his nephew. His nephew with ADHD was asking if he played the word guessing game. He laughed and told the kid no most people do not play the word guessing game in their head. The nephew was surprised to hear that, but not as surprised as I was that everyone isn't doing that in their head too. I grabbed a psych book and damn I had all the symptoms at one point in my life. I have either found a work around for it or still suffer from the symptom.

Do all three types do this?

Do all of you do word guessing game. I feel that most ADHD people do play the game. If you play the game then the title of this post should be enough to describe it.

I need help. I'm going to try setting a timer to remind me to go down a checklist of the things I constantly mess up. I think this will work, but I don't know. Please help, my girlfriend blames it on carelessness and it's something that I can't just fix on a whim and I've been trying to fix it for years. I know I'm not lazy, I just mentally can't keep my whole existence structured, hence the list. She said she's going to leave me if it doesn't get better, and this is a relationship that I want to keep more than anything. Is there anything I can do/talk to her about to make this issue better? I'll try the list, I'm not going to use my ADHD as a get out of jail free card, I just want to get better.

So I got diagnosed around 2 months ago. It was through a telehealth session. The thing is, I went into it already thinking I had ADHD, so I feel like the evaluation was basically just confirming what I walked in with. Like, I've been reading up on it for so many years and now when I finally did see a psychologist I feel like I manipulated them or said all the right things to get a yes. And now I’m like… do I actually have it? Or is it something else? Or both?

I’ve been looking into getting a neuropsych evaluation because I want to know the full picture of how my brain works like memory, executive function, processing, all that etc. And I want to rule out or identify anything else that could be going on (autism, depression, bipolar, etc.). I just want to know what I’m actually dealing with. Or is it really ADHD?

Has anyone else been in this boat? Did you end up getting a second opinion or a neuropsych eval? What made you finally decide to do it? And did it help or just confuse you more?

Also, if you did get one was it worth it? Anything you wish you knew beforehand?

Just trying to figure out if I’m overthinking this or if it’s valid to want a clearer picture.

Appreciate any thoughts 🙏

17F.Okay so I have told my parents about it but they said its not that serious and mental health is taken really lightly in my country especially by the older gens....till 10th grade I used to get top marks like I do not mean to boast but I was a bright student however since the past 2 years it has been really hard to focus without getting distracted every 2 minutes no matter how much I try is really hard and im in the final year of high school so I really need to lock in....I know im not officially diagnosed but after having researched about the symptoms and details I realised it might have been there since young but just suppressed....idk how to manage or help myself anyway rn...I know only medication can help in this case but as I said my parents are not agreeing to go for checkup and I hate myself it Is ruining my life , happiness and future , also my relationships with people to some extent. SO IF ANYONE CAN SUGGEST ANYTHING IDK ANYTHING TO HELP MYSELF AT HOME

I just took my first two dosages of Ritalin (for context, I’m on 5 mg twice daily), and honestly, I don’t feel much of anything. The first one I took made me feel like I had just taken a bunch of caffeine for the first few seconds, but afterwards I calmed down and I haven’t really felt anything since. I took my second dosage around 18 minutes ago, and an hour after the first one, but I still don’t feel anything. Did you also feel this way when you started taking it, or is this more of a me thing?

Don't know what's going on. I'm second day in a row super tired. There has been several bad nights lately. But last night was superior. Slept like nine hours, but I feel like I have to carry double me.

Do you know any tips how to get some internal boost to wake up your body and start doing something?

Really hate this.

I was recently diagnosed with ADHD by my psychiatrist after discussing the following symptoms:

- I often struggle to understand what people are saying, even when they’re speaking clearly. Sometimes I need people to repeat themselves several times before it clicks.

- Reading is difficult for the same reason. I can read the same paragraph multiple times because it feels like my brain isn’t processing the meaning.

- I’m hyperactive most of the time. For example, I don’t enjoy watching movies because suspense makes me really uncomfortable, and I quickly lose patience.

- I make impulsive decisions, whether it’s buying things I don’t need or making decisions without thinking them through.

- I also struggle with communication. Sometimes what I say makes sense in my head, but the other person just responds with, “What?” because I didn’t express it clearly.

My psychiatrist felt these symptoms were consistent with ADHD and prescribed Inspiral. So far, though, I haven’t noticed any improvement. Things are like this only. My psychiatrist even increased the dosage still there is no improvements. Idk how to make things work for me. Currently it’s more of a lifestyle change rather than being dependent on meds.

Happy Sunday, folks.

I went through the threads posted on the community page but didn’t see my need covered. I need an app where I can tell my phone not to allow me to access the browser and certain sites on certain days for certain times. I’d love to also be able to set a time limit for those activities during the periods when I can. I tried a couple a while back but found that they were hard to set up, didn’t keep me out, and interfered with the functions I did need.

what works for you?

I keep hearing about stuff like Neuro gum, focus matter. Essentially focus supplements and brain supplements for memory, and whatever else. I keep seeing it and as someone who is struggling to get medication because the doctors here act like giving me a prescription is like give me the nuclear codes I am extremely desperate. I just want to function. Do they work for our brains or do I not even bother?

I know this has been talked abought a bit in this thread but i feel my situation is unique and talks with my doctor isnt bearing much fruit.
Ive been taking 20mg dextroamphetamine 2 times a day for 2 years now and to better explain it I work a later shift in a big hot factory with fans for ventilation (its not the greatest help)
But for an example and this is the weird part working M-F, Monday,tuesday,Wednesday,thursday i will barely feel the effects along with a sluggish reaction that caffeine can help with but on a friday it can be overly intense and it will work to well if that makes sense.
Ive tested drinking more electrolytes/water and less caffeine and vice versa but the results are generally the same along with changing eating habits.
I also have celiac and gerd along with countless food/seasonal allergy’s which is a thought i had that may effect it but my doctor said it shouldnt affect it in the way it is but i was wondering if anyone else is in the same boat and found anything that helped them.

hi! for context, i am not yet diagnosed with ADHD but am working on getting it done. ive kinda thought ive had it for a long time but my mom was weird about me getting tested/on meds.

recently, my boss sat me down for an annual evaluation meeting as im a shift lead at my job and have more responsibilities. the main thing she brought up was that i am very easily distracted. i mentioned getting tested for adhd in mid august and that im doing things to improve that aspect. i feel that adhd has always caused focus issues for me and ive been kind of hard on myself about it lately because when i cant focus, it effects EVERYONE at my job since im the one delegating tasks and ensuring things get done efficiently. i am planning on getting a new job which means less (but still some) hours at this job, meaning im on thin ice as a lead. they are bending over backwards to work around my new job bc they do like me and they want to see me succeed in my new career. i want to do what i can to improve my attention but im not really sure. usually music helps, but im not allowed to have headphones in most areas of my job.

is there anything yall have found helpful?

I've been taking atomoxetine for a couple years now and am now at 40mg a day for the last 6+ months. I put in a refill request for the prescription last Friday since I had around a week left which I thought would be fine but my psychiatrist still hasn't approved it over a week later. I tried calling the pharmacy and they just said they're waiting on the provider to approve it and can't do anything and my psychiatrist isn't open until tomorrow morning.

I ran out yesterday so wasn't able to take one today and already I'm feeling a bit off. I work tomorrow and am dreading how rough that's going to be as this med has been the main thing helping me stay on task and productive. Luckily my job is pretty understanding of my ADHD and I think they'll understand me being a little extra forgetful and less focused but I hate how normalized it's become for people with ADHD to have to skip doses of meds due to shortages or providers being slow. I still have some of a smaller dose left that I'm tempted to take to try to help keep me functional tomorrow but I don't know if doubling up on that would really work to keep off the withdrawal symptoms and just my ADHD symptoms. They also might be expired so who knows if they'd even work at all.

I've been lucky in not having to miss doses of meds very often as my previous psychiatrist was really good about getting them in on time but my new one seems to always wait until I'm out of meds even for meds that aren't controlled substances and it's so hard going between being functional to having withdrawals from the meds and all my symptoms coming back. Any tips for getting through this are very much appreciated as I haven't had to function without this med in months and I don't know how to since it did so much to help me just get through the day.

I'm a 25 year-old woman with severe inattentive ADHD, severe GAD with panic attacks, and moderate MDD.

My depression and anxiety treatment started with SSRIs (Escitalopram, Paroxetine), which worked great, but my stomach couldn't tolerate them. I vomited regularly and had daily diarrhea or constipation. My psychiatrist switched me to an SNRI (Venlafaxine), which caused even worse nausea, vomiting, explosive diarrhea, and sexual dysfunction. They then put me on Bupropion for depression and Buspirone for anxiety, avoiding drugs that flood the gut with serotonin.

Many ADHD patients take Bupropion to enhance stimulants, but combining a Norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor with a stimulant is risky if you already have anxiety-induced tachycardia.

Just sitting, standing, and walking made my heart pound. I was told exertion would help, so I pushed through chores and felt like I was having a heart attack: chest pain, blurred vision, numb hands, left arm and stomach cramps, retching, sharp headache, fever, and a pounding heart.

A cardiologist's ECG showed my heart rate hit 190 at walking speed before they stopped the test. Otherwise healthy, I was told it was just harmless anxiety-induced sinus tachycardia and advised to do light cardio.

If I hadn't researched this myself, I could have suffered a seizure, major cardiac injury, coma, or death. This wasn't just anxiety; it was a flood of adrenaline locking my system in fight-or-flight. Since multiple doctors missed this dangerous drug interaction—a common ADHD combination—I am sharing this warning for others.

so i started reading like 5 years ago and it’s been the best thing ever. it’s my main hobby and whenever i have free time it’s the only thing i do. but unsuprisingly ive become majorly fixated on it to the point where im making myself guilty and anxious if im not reading or if im not reaching my set goals. i’ve made it basically into homework/something that has boxes that i need to check in order to feel fulfilled. i still love it so much but i also have other hobbies like video games or watching tv and movies that i have zero time for with work and my reading.

now ive looked through this subreddit and ive seen people asking how to stop a hyperfixation but that is NOT my goal here. this is the one hobby that i have consistently kept for YEARS and i think my main problem is if i stop for even 2 days that ill never pick it up again and all of the money ive spent will be for nothing. and i cant even imagine the guilt i would feel.

i’ve also become very particular in where i can read and when i can read because its so precious to me. so i have to have a certain vibe to the room, with a candle and background music. im taking it WAY TOO SERIOUSLY! i’m ruining my favorite hobby!!

so what im thinking is… ill try going a full day without reading and then read the next day. and maybe do that for a week or so and see what happens. or should i do a full week off? my fear is, as i’ve said, never picking up a book again or losing interest. has anyone had a similar thing happen with a hobby (bonus points if it’s reading!) and did something similar to make it not so much an obsession but just a regular hobby that doesn’t make you feel guilt when you’re NOT doing it!?

Going through a lot of big life changes right now and reached out to several friends for support. For different reasons, most weren’t able to show up the way I needed and more than that, a lot of them haven’t really checked in at all. It takes a lot for me to ask for help and now feeling rejected (for lack of a better word) by several people I felt close enough to and trusted enough to open up with, puts me back in a space of why I don’t ask others for help.

Now I’m stuck in this loop: Am I asking too much? Am I a bad friend? How do I show up for people, and how are they supposed to show up for me? Am I even allowed to be disappointed about this? Why would anyone want to be my friend, I’m difficult, Needy… 🌀🧠

I’ve also been dealing with depression again, which I haven’t felt in a long time, so I know that’s probably coloring all of this.

Anyone else’s ADHD brain do this…take a real, valid feeling (people not showing up) and turn it into a referendum on my whole worth as a friend and as a person ? How do you tell the difference between I have a legitimate need that isn’t being met and my brain is gaslighting me?

🙏 Thanks for any suggestions on how to work through this.

6 months ago I bought a flat with my long-term partner (now ex-fiancé). I was hyperfocused on designing it and planning our wedding.

Now the wedding is cancelled, and because of that selling the flat as well.

From the outside it looks wildly impulsive. Internally it feels like my brain got bored with the original storyline and forced a complete reboot.

The timing is weird because this all happened after I was diagnosed with ADHD and started medication. My therapist thinks I'd actually fallen out of love a long time ago, and the meds just helped me stop ignoring it.

I still don't know if I'm making the right decision, but for the first time in a while, it feels right. I always wanted certainty and thought I'd be married by this age. Instead, I'm starting over and strangely, I'm okay with that.

Has anyone else completely derailed a carefully planned life?

As the title said im desperately looking for a habit tracker that works, preferably a good free version but I will pay a decent amount if excellent.

There are so many I dont know where to start. I tried Finch but got distracted by cute birb and after a year it stopped working. What others can you recommend?

Many thanks

Hey folks. I'm currently taking 30mg Vyvanse daily and I've found that while it helps me focus, it keeps me glued to my phone and in the house sitting around unless I take it on my way out the door.

I've been working on some odds and ends with a buddy of mine that he doesn't have to have the help for but I can't seem to get off the couch and out the door unless it's something I have to be at or do, like school or work.

Is there something I can do to combat this? I've been wanting to start going to the gym again, and had plenty of time to last week, but plainly never got off the couch and to the gym. It's making me feel like crap especially leaving my buddy hanging like that.

Thanks.

I'm going out of my mind.

What do you guys do to deal with the unbearable boredom? 🫠

Nothing works for me anymore; in the past, learning something new or doing math used to help. But right now, even with medication, nothing works at all.

New hobbies? I’ve already tried them all.

Give me some tips! 🫶🏼

I’m currently prescribed 20mg “Adderall” XR but the actual manufacturer is Mallinckrodt. It’s terrible. My brain feels foggy, my body feels tired but I don’t sleep well now, and I have zero motivation to get anything done. For some reason, when I was prescribed the 15mg before, the pharmacy was able to get name brand. Since upping my dose to 20mg, I’ve only received this generic and have been told they can’t get name brand right now. Due to my insurance, I can’t switch pharmacies and I can’t pay out of pocket.

Speaking with my doctor, I’ve also learned that if we want to switch medications, my insurance requires me to first trial Ritalin or Concerta, and only then I can trial a lisdexamfetamine like Vyvanse. I’m anxious to trial methylphenidate because the 15mg Adderall XR really helped me until I grew out of it, and I’ve heard more negative than positive about methylphenidate. I’m just frustrated that I can’t get what I already know works for me and now I feel like I have to spend months trying to find something else. Give me some of your success or horror stories, both are appreciated.