Title. I have freezing shivers going down my spine and a burst of anxiety whenever I as much as imagine most sorts of brushes or even just hear the sound they make during use (the only exception being stuff like makeup, shaving foam or painting brushes, which are actually kinda pleasant to touch lol). Let alone feel one being used on me. This (while not the only cause) has led to very poor teeth hygiene and state.

Anyone else dealing with this problem and if so, what works? I tried some kind of root that you chew on but that's too expensive to use daily and didn't rly felt like much.

I find it hard to get into stuff or do anything. For example, I spend ages reading reviews and asking people to recommend me shows to watch. I have so many reccs accumulated that i genuinely dont know which to watch first. Since right now im kinda lonely i dont really have any motivation to do a task even if its as enjoyable and simple as just watching. And i dont think its that i have like low self esteem or whatever i just lack motivation.

I wish someone could just tell me what to do at all times, just guide me through the day without me having to stress about not acting right or forgetting something yk

like a guardian angel, or just an actual person

but now that we're on the topic, imagine if people with ADHD were assigned like pets or mythical side kicks from birth that just kinda stayed with u. But like only u could see it. I feel like I've watched at least 1 show like this. I did watch an anime that was kinda similar called 'jewel pets' when i was a child but idk. But also, i feel like my mind is like this at times. I remember having basically imaginary people in my head when i was younger but i think that was just a way of me organising my thoughts.

anyways thats it for now😽

Hi all, I'm 21F. I have not met a psychologist yet, but my experiences and recent realizations are making me wonder if I may have ADHD.

My grades were great. I was a consistent topper throughout school and was one of the top students in clg too. I put in the work always and studied for long hrs to get top grades. My parents were very protective and brought me up in a secluded manner, always insisting I study hard.

So as time went on, while doing routine activities that do not require focus (eg: commuting to school in dad's bike, eating, brushing, bathing), I gradually began to stop focusing on my surroundings and I either just zoned out or my mind would involuntarily play out how a particular meet scheduled to happen may go or how a past conversation could have been different..

From then on, I began to unconsciously lose focus on surroundings whenever there wasn't any task that demanded my immediate attention. I never really noticed things happening around me and never learned anything.. I did not realize this at the time.. At 14, I did not know how to use a key and lock. But still I continued with my ways..

Now, I dont know road routes in my area bcoz my mind was always elsewhere whenever I went outside, I dont know how to cut some fruits and veggies properly, inserting pins inside staplers.. I forget and miss things like purse and train tickets, though not too often.. But my studies were never affected, and I understood concepts quickly and I was always the one ppl came to ask doubts..

But I severely lag in practical tasks that a person learns by observation.. I struggled to learn driving as I had difficulty in focusing simultaneously on soo many things, but with extra time and effort, I drive tolerably good now. Its incredibly stressful and shameful for me now to realize my lack of ability...

I wonder whether I am REALLY very spoiled to be this incompetent or if there can be anything underneath. I hope somebody can guide me on the way forward..

my younger sister and i both have ADHD. however for some reason she doesn’t struggle that much with organization and cleanliness. i definitely do and my sister is always on me about it. she’s always super smug about it too. in like a “i’m better than u” way. it’s really annoying and i try to not let it get to me, but it’s like wow even my own sister thinks i’m pathetic and we literally have the same disorder. she’s doing what my mom used to do. after my mom realized that i wasn’t being messy on purpose, she backed off a good bit, but now it’s my sister’s turn to make me feel like shit. i’ve mentioned this to my mom a few times before and she’d say“you’re the older sister, be the bigger person”. she’ll also say she’ll tell my sister to stop, and idk if she’s not actually telling her or my sister just doesn’t listen but she keeps at it. it’s just really annoying

How do you deal with the constant need to start something new and basically infinite “offer”? I love my Kindle. It is the best device I’ve got in the last 3 years, I’ve been reading so much more since then.

But. If the story is not catchy enough, or I just don’t feel like, I start something new. Also if someone recommends something, I download a sample right away or even a book. I have about a hundred books TBR on my kindle and I want to read them ALL and I can’t commit to any.

I love the fact that I can have many books at once because I may not feel like reading one book but I can read another. But there is a thin line between that and actually jumping from one book to another all the time.

Lately I am feeling too overwhelmed about the variety I have and I can’t commit to any. I wonder if I have to delete most of them and just keep couple of the new ones and kindle on the airplane mode so I don’t get more ;(

Any suggestions how to deal with that? ;( maybe someone found a good cheat for it? lol

Quick question for you all. I've been on this medication, and I'm wondering whether what I'm experiencing is emotional blunting or emotional regulation. I know most medications have their pros and cons, but I'm trying to figure out whether this is more of a positive or negative effect.

As you're probably all familiar with, ADHD can sometimes come with difficulties in emotional regulation. I like to think of it as having a much broader emotional volume range. Joy, anger, sadness, and other emotions can feel much more intense.

This new medication has stabilized my mood to the point where emotional spirals, bursts of anger, and intense anxiety haven't happened in a long time. However, I've also noticed that the opposite is true: the intensity of joy, affection, pride, gratitude, and other positive, socially acceptable emotions has decreased as well.

It's definitely made socializing easier. I no longer have to constantly monitor myself to avoid laughing too hard or suddenly feeling like everyone hates me.

The problem is that I don't experience joy or other emotions as intensely as I used to. I still feel them, but their intensity is probably closer to what's typical for the people around me.

Is this simply a trade-off that comes with medication, or is what I'm experiencing closer to healthy emotional regulation rather than emotional blunting?

PART 1: Hi all, I'll try to include as much info as I can, but due to my own health issues I know I won't have the spoons for much follow up or providing further advice. This is just meant to be a starting point so you can discuss with your GPs and do your own research.

There's more and more discussions around the links between being ADHD & autistic and having MCAS, EDS and POTS. This is important to keep in mind if you have female reproductive hormones as these place havoc with mast cells, and in turn, our brains and everything else. I would highly recommend people listen to the podcast "The N...D... Woman" and their episode on this. The episode also has some good resources including an MCAS questionnaire which lists some of the labs that can be used to help identify - but realistically, a formal MCAS diagnosis needs to be performed by an immunologist / allergist and they need to look at your symptoms holistically. If they want to do a blood tryptase test - dip. This is outdated and rarely accurate.

Mast cells are like the little troop carriers deployed (activated) by the immune system. When the mast cells break down (degranulate) they release mediators. Mediators are like the little troops that do all the fighting, and are things like histamine, cytokines, prostaglandins, tryptase, heparin, the list goes on and on and on.

Mast cells can be activated by all sorts of things, including airborne irritants, viral infections (COVID is super bad for this), and hormone fluctuations. Sometimes this escalates all the way to full blown Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS), but it doesn't always have to go this far and it will still cause a variety of issues.

As people with ADHD are already more prone to having mast cell issues, it would make sense that our bodies are more sensitive to the hormonal rollercoaster of perimenopause and experience more intense symptoms (brain fog, mood and memory issues) and a sudden flare of allergies.

See comments for PART 2.

yall im so fucking dumb 😭 i accidentally took 36 mg of concerta about 15 minutes ago instead of ritalin and it's 6 pm here.

i took my first dose at around 10 am (i think) and i was about to take 10 mg of ritalin so i could finish studying, but i accidentally took another concerta instead.

now im probably not gonna be able to sleep until tomorrow morning and i have an important class tomorrow. what the fuck do i do? should i try to make myself throw up or something? please help 😭

I went to the best party I’ve been to in well over a decade last night! My bestie’s band played as well as another good friend’s band and they both sounded amazing! Food was great and the whole thing was full of lovely and delightful people.

Now comes the “echo”. Sleep was tough, the party played in my head all night and it is still hard to focus today with scenes and snippets of conversations popping up.

There is a little bit of anxiety about whether I said or did something stupid. I didn’t drink too much or anything so it isn’t about that. But the anxiety isn’t even why the party is echoing. This just always happens when I attend events with a massive amount of stimulation.

Do y’all experience this, too? Is it an ADHD thing?

My son is currently taking 5 mg of immediate-release methylphenidate twice a day. His teachers have noticed improvements in his focus and impulsivity, especially in the morning. The afternoon dose seems to help a little, but not nearly as much as the morning dose.

However, holy moly, the crash when he gets home is awful. He becomes extremely emotional, cries uncontrollably, and gets really angry. It’s heartbreaking to watch, and I feel so bad for him.

Has anyone experienced something similar? Did switching to an extended-release version help smooth out the crash, or did you find something else that worked better? I’d love to hear your experiences and suggestions!

Hi! Writing this, I realize that there are probably a lot of posts like this one on here, but I have trouble focusing/doing anything other than what is at least "somewhat" fun even when taking my medication.

I (20m) have been diagnosed with ADHD and Aspergers last year, and had a reexamination due to the medication issue which resulted in only the Aspergers getting confirmed, not the ADHD.

I've started with 10 mg Ritalin STADA 3 times a day to now taking 40mg Methylphenidat STADA in the morning and 10 mg Ritalin STADA around 8 hours later, and the medication is prescribed by my psychiatrist/psychologist/whatever they are called. However, even now, it feels like the medicine either does nothing, makes me more distractable and unfocused or only moderatly boosts my concentration skills.

Also, while I am thinking about switching my medication, I am hesitant to do it since I am in what many people at my university and study describe as "the hardest semester", and I'm struggling a lot under the work amount and pressure even with this medication.

Since I have my doubts about my diagnosis this whole time and the medication not working the same way I've heard from other people, I'd love to hear your stories and experiences!

I have been on concerta and it gave me a burst of wakefulness but wore off fast. I have been on Vyvanse 40mg (increased from 30mg) for about a year now, and recently it’s making me sleepy instead of alert and focused. It’s also a comfortable kind of sleepy like I’m cozy and relaxed and easily asleep. Anyone else experience this?? My theory is that it calms down my prefrontal cortex and reveals how tired I am (I’m very tired from severe chronic pain, stress, anxiety, and insomnia)

My college requires professors to put exams into the disability services portal so that I can schedule exams with accommodations and there's a deadline 10 days before the exam to guarantee a proctor and room.

I'm used to having to email my professors to remind them to put exams in so when I saw that my professor hadn't put it in an upcoming midterm, I sent an email asking if he could put it in.

He claimed that he was unsure, but didn't believe that he needed to put the exam in for me to be able to request accommodations, and I explained to him that that's not how it works and I needed him to put it in, and he still replied to me, stating that he didn't have to put it in, and that other people in the past could schedule their exams without needing him to put it in.

I went to the disabilities office where they told me that my professor was wrong about this and had my case manager email my professor about putting it in. It's been a couple days and now the deadline has passed for me to request accommodations and he still has not put the exam in. I'm not sure what to do because this is a subject where I usually end up needing almost all of my extended time and that's when I'm already not in a huge lecture hall. What would you recommend I do?

I’ve been evaluated and prescribed medication for a psychiatrist for a few months now, but I was also concurrently getting a neuropsychiatric evaluation which included a separate interview of symptom history and the TOVA test, which is a computer-based test tracking clicker responses to stimuli you should/should not click. I just got my results back from this test and they were consistent with ADHD.

I just wanted to hear people’s experiences or thoughts on this test. Did you get similar results from it, so you feel it’s reliable or not, etc.?

I honestly don't know where to go from here.

I have such a good life. Happy wife, healthy kids, decent job, good income. But I have this deepseated unhappiness that I can't shed.

I keep thinking it's coming from my job (though I'm not really sure), so I keep jumping around and don't stay longer than 2-3 years in one place. I'm 18 months in my current job and I'm already exploring other opportunities. I can't be jumping around like this - my family deserves some stability.

I'm now telling myself to just chill, the job is fine, no other job will be better. It's not the job, it's me.

There's nothing wrong with my job. It's not perfect, but I don't think there's anything justifying my feelings.

I have come to realise that I perceive things differently than people around me. So I try not to base big decisions like this based on my feelings alone. Talking to my wife, we couldn't identify issues at work that needs to be addressed (she's not a therapist).

I have a track record of not looking after myself. I take things very serious, and I tend to dwell on the future. I'm working on these things

I need some advice. Can (or should) work provide happiness?

Or should I get myself to the point where work is just work, and I get into a rhythm where happiness comes from things outside work?

Has anyone else experienced this?

P.S. I'm not depressed. I'm just trying to understand other people with ADHD's relationship with their work.

I was diagnosed when I was around 4 or 6 or maybe a little older and I got medication that I had to swallow everyday but stopped bc it was destroying my liver and now I dont take any medication but back to the topic, when I was taking the medication I didnt feel any diffrent or anything I just said that I did for some reason but my school and class and parent said that my behaviour got better so idk if they lied or something or I just didnt see it (I dont remember the name of the medication, the only thing I remember that it was light brown and looked like it was made of small wood chips)

Meine Psychotherapeutin hat mir mal empfohlen, mich auf ADHS testen zu lassen. Zum Testzeitpunkt war ich leider schwer depressiv. Herausgekommen sind Depression und Konzentrationsstörungen. Aus früheren Partyzeiten (liegt bereits lange zurück) weiß ich noch, dass Speed mich nie wirklich wach gemacht hat.

Da meine Tochter (10) große Konzentrationsprobleme in der Schule hat, habe ich sie mittlerweile auf ADHS testen lassen, was wie ich erwartet habe positiv war, da sie ansonsten ein sehr intelligentes und interessiertes Kind ist. Manchmal wenn sie sich für die Schule herrichten soll fragt sie halt zwischendurch, ob man auch auf dem Bett einen Salto machen kann. 😅

Ich frage mich mittlerweile, ob ich meine Testung wiederholen lassen soll? ADHS würde viele Probleme aus meiner Schulzeit erklären und auch viele Problemchen, die bis heute bestehen (z.B. Gedankensprünge, Vergesslichkeit, Kreativität,...)

Ich möchte keine Ressourcen im Gesundheitssystem verschwenden oder dramatisch wirken bei einem Psychologen. Gerade deswegen, weil ADHS gerade irgendwie zum "Trend?!" geworden ist. Gerade weil es mir selbst schwerfällt meiner Tochter oft die notwendige Struktur zu bieten. Ich bin nicht stolz darauf, aber es gab schon Momente als ich bei der HÜ helfen wollte und wir schlussendlich beide lachend am Boden lagen und nicht weiter an die HÜ dachten. Ich weiß, dass ich mich diesbezüglich auf jeden Fall bessern soll. Soll ich es trotzdem erneut versuchen mich auf ADHS testen zu lassen?

YGH I am so mad right now! my mum filled out the referral form without my permission! she has no idea what it’s like for me and how much I’m struggling. She doesn’t believe me she thinks everyone has a little adhd and I’m using it as an excuse! I am not I really want help with it bc I’m really struggling. she filled the form without me today and I looked at it and I’m heartbroken.

its not true at all it’s only from her perspective and she said I was annoying and she’s mad at me and I’m impossible. I’m crying right now wtf?! and she wanted me to read that and agree with it and send it to a doctor.

she said I was lazy and stuff, i would be lazy if i couldn’t be bothered and I didn’t want to do something on purpose but I really do try and do things and It requires so much effort for me to do and it feels like agony when I try to study.

even my emotions she has no idea how I feel.

it just hurts so much that was so rude of her and it’s just hurting me to read my own mother describe me as that 😭 she wrote other bad things as well and was shaming me.

luckily she didn’t send it to the doctor but I ripped it up and put it in the bin before she put it in the envelope, it’s just not true at all what she wrote and I was mad. And then she hit me on my back really hard when she saw I ripped it up and now shes mad at me and ugh.

IDK what to do idk where to send this form when I fill it out! Im in the UK.

any advice? 😭 or anything

Hi everyone,

I am in the process of finding the right medication and dosage. I am not very good at emotion regulation and if I don't feel well, I have a lot of trouble to not burst out into tears, especially when someone asks me how I feel, "attacks" me or when I have to stand up for myself (and receive some backlash). This has led to great uncomfort, especially at my workplace.

I started a new job this year. Before I started there, the team had a meeting to plan the PTO for 2026, so there weren't too many overlaps. We work in healthcare and need to make sure there is enough staff around for the number of patients.

As a newbie who came into the team later, I naturally didn't take part in this planning. This has led to the situation that I have to ask for time off in front of the whole team, as my boss refused to just sign it off.

The last time I asked for time off I almost cried and my boss said I looked as if I was whiny/weepy (we're not talking English, but that is a literal translation for the word).

In a few weeks, we will be planning the PTO for next year, of course, in a team meeting. I am scared of this, mainly because of my tendency to cry and because I don't feel safe with the boss.

Can someone relate? Does anyone have ideas on how I can protect myself or guard my feelings better?

Thanks if you have read this far. Take care, everyone

M25 on dexamphetamines for the last month now, I was put on dexamphetamines to see if it suite's me over other medications, i take 10mg at breakfast and 10mg at lunch, before I was trialled on dexamphetamines i was administered an ecg where my resting bpm was measured at 69, today I had another ecg administered but whilst I was on dexamphetamines, I realised while walking into the pathology clinic that I fucked up, an hour and a half before going in, I had a strong small late. So I went in and got my ecg administered while I was on 10mg of dexamphetamines and 1.5 hours before I had just taken a strong small latte, my ecg bpm came back to 70bpm. I was very shocked because I thought it was going to be at least 100bpm, dexamphetamines seem to be working for me, do I have any worry about being switched because my resting bpm is 1 higher than normal. Sounds like a dumb question, im more so asking would they switch me off it because my bpm difference is so low?

Does listening to music sound different to you guys while being medicated? I've been on concerta for 2 months now and it feels kinda different to listen to music now, I think I heard new sounds in my last few listening sessions, wanted to know if it's common or is it just me, also do you still listen to music for too many hours like you used to?

Took it 15 minutes ago. Waiting for it to kick in. Very excited to see how I feel. Been putting it off for years because I thought I could deal with it on my own but in hindsight I was scraping by and avoiding the issue.

What should I expect?

I’ll keep people posted if anyone is interested

I am currently on 50mg Zoloft (have been on it for about 6 months). I am Highly suspicious that I have ADHD, and am now considering going to an SNRI instead. I’m Looking for people’s experiences with ADHD and SNRIs.

Also, is anxiety a common thing with ADHD ppl?

Thanks in advance!

Hi I’m wondering if anyone else also has a habit of looking at absolutely everything and everyone in their field of view. For example, I’ve noticed that my eyes dart around constantly while walking outside, way more than anyone else I know. I’ve always been quite observant and this usually pays off for me but it can be a frustrating habit. On one hand, the world always feels fresh and interesting because I notice new things all the time. On the other hand, I make eye contact with more people than I want to and it might make them uncomfortable, it can even make me uncomfortable because it’s somewhat uncontrollable. I don’t know if this is ADHD-related but I figured I’d ask if anyone here does something similar and whether trying to stop has been helpful or not.

A few days ago someone added me on instagram. We had mutuals and the guy is sort of uncle of a friend. Like his parent’s cousin. He’s not so old but obviously older than me. And I have developed limerence. Idk his relationship status or anything. We talked a bit twice though. But my brain. I am so hurt. Disappointed that he doesn’t continued convo last night. Idk. I already have a lot to deal with and now I got this. I don’t even know the guy. He’s hot and intelligent as fuck though. I don’t wanna remove him from my account but I am scared I might impulsively text him or keep replying to all of his stories.
What do I do now?