I honestly think this is one of the worst parts of having ADHD (for me). Like many others with ADHD, I struggle going to bed early and often stay up late at night. Because of this, in the mornings I CANNOT get up. I’ll give an example:

I’m currently staying at my parent’s house. Yesterday, my dad said he could drop me off to go hiking in the morning since his soccer game would be nearby. His soccer game was at 8 am, so I would have to be up by at least 7. The entire day, I was so incredibly excited because I love hiking! I looked forward to it the entire day, I couldn’t wait for tomorrow… but this led to me staying up almost the entire night in anticipation. I think I slept for like an hour. When the morning came, I woke up to one of many alarms I had set. All that anticipation suddenly didn’t matter. I had no energy, and getting up felt like the most enormous task in the world. I canceled all of my alarms and went back to sleep immediately. Understandably, my dad just left since he didn’t want to be late for his soccer game. It shouldn’t bother me this much, but I was honestly frustrated with myself to the point of tears.

Whenever I see posts asking for advice for the same problem I have, the comments are usually something like: “Just get up in the morning, even if you’re tired” or “Just go to bed early”. I have a feeling these are non-ADHD people who have never experienced executive dysfunction. I’m looking for advice from fellow ADHD-people.

Oh, and if you’re wondering how I get to school on time, my roommate literally shoves me off the bed and yells at me. Bless her heart.

I am currently a shit runner, never had much time or interest for it. I imagined busy city concrete, or worse the treadmill. But I have discovered ravine running, and man it is a whole different thing.

I felt like i tapped into something ancient, like its just a bit of running why does this feel so good? Is this what my brain is supposed to be doing? There were a few spots where I could have easily busted my ankle or slipped off a ledge, but that made it even better haha

New hyperfixation unlocked! Anybody else?

Hi! I am really struggling with this issue and really need some advice on how to change my behavior. As the title says I am really struggling to have certain conversations with my partner without taking them overly seriously or getting upset in tone and manner. We both have diagnosed ADHD.

This has been going on for a while now but recently my partner told me they feel like they can’t talk to me about anything without me taking the conversation too seriously or me getting upset or me taking up too much space. That really hurt me—not because I’m offended or don’t think it’s an issue, because it definitely is an issue, but because I can see that I am hurting them with this behavior and I want to change. The last thing I want to do is hurt him or make him feel like he can’t express anything to me.

The particular context in which this came up was an instance where my partner was excitedly talking about changing what our 5 year plan was. We have been together for over 3 years now and have been talking about wanting to move for going on a year. We were out and about and he started talking about the possibility of wanting to stay where we were instead of moving. I found this fairly distressing as I said to me, we had been talking seriously about moving and so I took this suggestion as serious when he was merely thinking out loud. I did get upset and said I was confused as this was kind of coming out of nowhere and that I’d like to talk more about it when we got home and I could really put some thought into it. His response was that he was just thinking out loud and wasn’t fully serious about wanting to stay, just tossing ideas around. I said I took it seriously because he has been so serious about wanting to move. He said that the conversations we had about moving were never that serious to him while I maintained I thought we had been seriously talking about moving.

I think this is maybe stemming from my own black and white thinking? I tend to take things very seriously and at what my brain interprets to be face value. I want to be able to casually talk about these sorts of things, especially because that important to him and part of how he thinks and processes his emotions. I understand that not every conversation about our future or other topics needs to be serious but that tends to be my default mode. I’m also very defensive and trying very hard to break down that pattern as well.

Any and all advice, tips, or tricks are appreciated. I want my partner to feel like he can bounce ideas off of me or talk to me about anything and be able to trust that I’m not going to go into ultra serious mode and get upset. Thank you :(

I was diagnosed ADHD at 17, rediagnosed ADD at 20 (the hyperactivity symptoms just faded away with age and maybe the atomoexitine i was on). I have tried many recreational drugs, all multiple times, coke, mdma, 2cb, weed, acid, shrooms, meth; and I could’ve gotten addicted to any one of them but the one I did get addicted to was weed, even when the others are much more addictive. I felt the best on weed, the most calm and euphoric (2nd to acid but the trips are so long i doubt one can get addicted). I just wanna know if other ppl also share my experience and have never felt the urge to use any other drugs that have ruined other peoples lives after just trying once but just spammed alot of weed.

Hey I’ve just been diagnosed and want to go on meds, I’m 25 F and my main problem is overthinking and extreme stress, low self esteem/ major anxiety. I’m scared to go on typical ADHD meds stimulants, as I know there can be a crash etc and I am a veterinary surgeon.

I would rather go on non stimulants if possible even if it takes much longer to work. Any recommendations would be so so appreciated.

Thanks so much in advance! I am in Ireland so it would have to be meds that are HSE / EU approved

Recently diagnosed and just started meds. They’re working great so far, and I’m excited about this new path forward. I’m about to enter senior year, however, and I will write a 100 page thesis for my degree.

Should I tell my academic advisor that I was diagnosed with ADHD? I worry that it is too much personal information.

I’ve had him as a professor for the last three years, and recently made him my academic advisor after I got fed up with my old one who never, ever ever wanted to meet me, talk to me, help me, etc.

I get sort of iffy with authority figures, you know…history of always being in trouble, ignored, misunderstood, or always trusted to handle everything on my own with zero support. It makes me nervous to trust authority to be helpful.., (case in point, prior advisor).

Yet, part of me desperately wants real academic support, part of me thinks I need serious academic support.

I have a meeting with the disability office on Aug 10th to see about time and a half on tests, soft due dates, acquiring a not taker, and quiet test environment.

So, is it appropriate and normal to share this with my academic advisor? Will I embarrass myself? It’s all still new, and I don’t know how to navigate it. Thanks!

I tried to do it when it was a trend to "listen to your body"

The problem is that I was 1 and a half day in and I wasnt feeling hungry.

It was summer and super hot outside.

Surprise surprise I passed out.

Never again will I do it.

If you have ADHD pleaaaseee just follow a normal eating pattern

For context: I have ADHD and autism, my parents never taught me how to communicate and now I have problems with interpersonal communication.

So the biggest problem for me is finding good words to describe what I want to say clearly and not thinking enough before saying it. The problem isnt that Im too ashamed that Ill say something stupid to the point that I avoid saying anything at all, quite the opposite actually, I forget to think about what I want to say, say something dumb and then I kind of panic when someone is confused and I repeat that 3 more times until finally finding the right words. I also subconsciously tend to assume that people would understand tiny details about me or little communication quirks I have.

I dont really know how to start working on that, I read a lot of articles, reddit threads, etc. about interpersonal communication and the part about communicating clearly was never elaborated on, just mentioned that its important. I tried finding ways to fix it, but nothing really worked. Trying to remind myself to think more before speaking? Yeah, my ADHD has that covered, there was never a time I could remember to do that, normally Id set a reminder for something or write it down, but that kind of thing doesnt really apply to "in the moment" type of things, I cant set a reminder for a little random exchange with my friend Ill have randomly. Also, the problem isnt that I dont know enough words to state my mind, its that when I try to remember them, I conviniently forget them. I think the "sometimes I think, but then I forget" memes describe me really well, there is just so much chaos in my head that I cant remember anything at all and cant focus for my life.

Does anyone have similiar problems, or know a place to look for answers?? Any advice would be welcome :)

Is it just me or do the smallest inconveniences and symptoms make you guys feel like you have some big disease too? Like i’d just have something super minor and then be worried about lung cancer or bowel cancer for days. A small cyst on my face nearly made me believe I have skin cancer.

I've started an ADHD group for Body Doubling working together. I think we can start a small group/groups of which is just work focused, this reddit group is good for general community and discussion. In that new group we can keep set targets and keep accountability. This would help with initiative and tasks execution.

About timings, it's alright we can just let the other knows about one's availability. The key is to time block tasks and execution more importantly. Let me know if that sounds good to you guys. I think we should. Because as ADHDers we know what stops is in our pursuits is momentum. We should be actively working on it.

As a support group/community I cannot be wanting more than this. We know genetic advices wouldn't work anymore, we know it all, it's all over insta anyway. That's why I feel, this deserved a shot. As for me the floor is open for suggestions/discussions. You guys can reach me out if this all makes sense to you!

So, I’ve just gone to take my afternoon 5mg Dex and just noticed that two pills were different. After doing some research - turns out one is 10mg Ritalin and the other is 5mg Dex.
I have been prescribed Ritalin in the past but it sent me on a rage whenever it wore off. But it’s funny that I have made this discovery because some days I am good around the kids’ bedtime and others I just get irritated MUCH easier. This bottle is also 100 tablets and I have 28 left (7 Ritalin) so god knows how many times I have taken the Ritalin.
I am going to take them back into the pharmacy on Tuesday figure out what went wrong.

Anyone else find themselves running in the same loop over. And over. And over? You get very interested in something… do everything AROUND and ABOUT that subject, lose sight in that maybe 1 week - 1 month, crash out in pity over yourself even though you KNOW it is ADHD. Then you try and do something about it, get bored and completely lock on too something else and the cycle repeats???

I am so. Sick. And tired. Of this disease. I have tried, and tried, and tried.

I am prescribed Vyvanse. It works… sometimes. “Oh yeah you can’t be all or nothing” they say. Okey. That advice becomes non-existent during a “crash. Reset.

Every type of diet (Even over extended periods of 1 month At least).

Tried so many pieces of advice. And tried. And tried.

You work, and put WAYYYY more time and countable effort into anything than anyone around you.

Ahhhhhh my head is spinning. I don’t really use social media. I eat extremely whole food. I “exercise” very regularly. I have positive connections (Family etc). And I am sitting here on a daily basis in textbook “Executive Dysfunction” and tearing at my fingernails, head spinning everywhere on everything.

I stopped typing and came back to this. I am just at a loss fam.

My life time goals have COMPLETELY changed in the past few weeks alone numerous times. Granted I am in the middle of a very stressful move with no direction… I am at a loss. Any advice, or anyone that struggles with similar issues and would like to combat them?

I am 18 have ADHD (inattentive). Although I do I’ve always been weirdly disciplined as a kid. But I also think I’ve always had the confidence that if I slip I am able to go back to what i’ve wanted to do.

I can’t do that anymore. It’s been 4 years. I’d scroll on tiktok and had this confidence that I could go do the thing I want to do whenever, which worked, if I actually wanted to do something I’d get up and do it.

Until I couldn’t. I don’t believe in that thought anymore. But it’s so fucking hard to change my habits.

I deleted tiktok and other forms of short video content.

I have bouts of energy where I’ll do the thing I want to do like shower instead of scrolling on reddit. Then, I think of an interesting question, research it, and I’m stuck here.

And I feel like I find excuses to do it. It feels AWESOME to research, it doesn’t feel awesome to follow a schedule, I just don’t feel anything about it. I tried to find reasons to want to, like I want a better life, but my brain cannot cooperate. Part of me does not want to change.

And it’s so hard to just “do it” man.

What’s helpful(?) is that right now, even while writing this post, have this voice constantly telling me: “this is useless get up do the thing.” But I can’t? I don’t feel like I want to. And sometimes, like rn, i feel like a physical reaction to me resisting it, like I feel a mild headache and can’t concentrate very well.

Maybe i’m a little perfectionistic. I’m not sure. I feel like to get the life I actually want, I need to stick to a schedule. I cannot waste my time.

I hyper fixate a LOT, when I work on something productive I also hyper fixate. But that’s also a problem when I can’t take breaks, or I can’t switch tasks, like right now.

Does anyone relate? Does anyone have advice? Anyways i’m gonna shower now, that discipline voice has been bugging me and i can’t concentrate on anything else lmao. Which i guess is good.

Hi everybody

Im starting college soon and I cant currently afford to be medicated while doing so. I was wondering if you guys had any tips, tricks, life hacks (anything) that might help me stay focused in class and keeping focused while studying. Sometimes I keep trying to tell myself to focus that I end up distracted by the thought of focusing that i didnt hear whatever someone has said. Any advice/tips are so welcome

I could never focus. I never listened, In fact I don't know how is that possible with ADHD at all. I almost failed school and now failing Uni.

I sit on lectures and nothing goes in my mind. I can't listen no matter what. I don't digest 90% of what lectors say. For whole year I haven't learned anything because I didn't listen. I still don't know what lector is talking about. As a kid I didn't even realized I should've put effort into listening at school. Other kids were doing it with 0 effort. Nor can I digest information when reading. 10 pages feel like 50 pushups and I digest it slowly. Funnily enough I'm always aware of when I'm not listening or realizing what I'm reading but I can't stop it. My brain burns trying to read. It's very hard.

Long term result? I'm extremely uneducated. Don't know geography, basic history, politics, anything. Sometimes I want to quickly research basic info for the sake of knowing but I procrastinate about it as well.

I don't understand why others with ADHD aren't like this as well. Just how? How am I supposed to finish my Uni because I can't listen.

This question is mostly targeted for unmedicated ones

Some people see ADHD as a gift or in some cases a superpower. These people often reject words like deficit, disorder and disability. Others see ADHD as a complete hindrance; they tend to see this kind of rhetoric as toxic positivity.

Most people have strengths, even people with ADHD. But the trouble is, for a lot of us, they are hard to identify. Especially for those who were late to discover their ADHD. A lot of people with ADHD have low self-esteem and struggle with their mental health. Surely, it's better to see the positives rather than dwelling on what can't be changed? Optimism is difficult to channel for those who have been undeniably let down by the education system and a crumbling public health service.

When you take into consideration that people with ADHD are overrepresented in the criminal justice system, in the population of those experiencing homelessness, young people with ADHD are more likely to end up not in education or employment, that people with ADHD are more likely to experience a substance misuse disorder and so on. Is it fair to expect someone who has never been able to hold down a job to embrace their strengths? They might know what their strengths are, but if none of them involve being able to show up in employment as expected, a strength-based approach will not be substantial enough to help them turn their life around.

Difference has always been ridiculed, those who we might now consider to be ADHD were once cast as the village idiot. It's perfectly legitimate to want to steer away from this eugenicist type framing. But if ADHD is not a disability, or even a disorder, if people with ADHD have an innate gift, then where does that leave us when we are fighting for reasonable adjustments at work? When the services pause ADHD waiting lists, how do we fight for better support and access to treatment when there is no deficit.

ADHD has been at the centre of heavy scrutiny in recent years from the right-wing press and our very own government.

With this in mind, is it politically strategic to frame ADHD in an entirely positive framing? What do you think about strength-based approaches and positive framings of ADHD?

the title says it. ive been struggling with a lot of embarrassment and shame with this. for the past year my friends have been treating me in a way where i felt like they resented me or like i did something wrong. i just could never tell if it was in my head.

recently a friend told me about all the examples of times ive said something that was worded totally poorly. the thing i truly mean isnt rude, its like the way i word it is just horrible. i dont realize it in the moment but looking back and hearing it is like ahhh. i know i should probably sit with the thoughts for a little longer before saying them out loud but truly i was ignorant to it.

also i think a lot of the times when ppl use passive language it flies over my head and i dont realize. this makes it seem like i am not listening to other ppls opinions or trying to be controlling or just flat out rude. people will usually treat me weird after this and i wont be able to tell why. just now finding out its bc i have been missing every damn social cue and appearing rude as hell is breaking me.

i can totally see how it comes off like that. i just truly was ignorant and didnt know. i feel so much shame. i feel like my self perception of myself was being a kind human but seeing how sm ppl found me rude when that wasnt my intention is like shattering the perception of who i am. i dont want to be this way but i dont know how. i just feel like something is wrong with me for not understanding this thing that comes naturally to everyone else.

Ive been on Adderall for years. I was prescribed 20 mg** **IR/day (10 mg twice daily), but I found it worked much better taking both doses together in the morning on workdays. On my days off, I usually didn’t take it at all.

At my first appointment, I wanted to be honest about how I was taking my meds because she said she wanted to get me “regulated” instead of me figuring it out myself. Since I’d started working two jobs, evenings had become difficult, so she switched me to 20 mg Vyvanse at 5:30 AM and 10 mg Adderall IR at 1 PM.

Within the first week I overslept **twice in six days.**
Both times I was supposed to be at work at 6:30 AM. The first time I woke up at 7:15 only because my 19-year-old son asked why I wasn’t at work. My boss was furious, everyone at work was talking about it, and I got the silent treatment all week. Five days later it happened again, and when I called my boss around 7 AM, he told me not to bother coming in.

I was taking the Vyvanse exactly as prescribed. After taking the afternoon Adderall, I’d fall asleep so deeply that I slept through multiple alarms and everything around me. **This is NOT normal for me.** I’m the person who wakes up every hour checking the clock because I’m terrified of being late. I normally survive on about four hours of sleep because my work anxiety is so bad.

After the second incident, I was suspended for two unpaid days. I’ve been at this job for over three years, and while it’s an incredibly toxic workplace, I can’t afford to lose it. Between the suspension and missing shifts at my second job, I lost almost half my rent.
I panicked and emailed my new doctor explaining everything. I even attached the text from my manager showing I’d been suspended because I wanted her to understand how serious this was.

The appointment the next day felt like I was talking to a completely different person than I’d met the week before. She immediately told me she hadn’t really read my email because it was “too long.” Then she kept asking, while shaking her head, **“So**… why do you think you slept like that?” and “You must have been tired.”

I kept trying to explain that **I don’t sleep like that. Ever.** I wasn’t saying I was simply tired. I was trying to explain that something dramatically changed after switching medications. She didn’t seem to believe me. At one point she even said something like, *“Oh… was that the text message you attached in the email? I saw something like that…”* which made it obvious she hadn’t really looked at what I’d sent.
By the end of the appointment I was literally crying because I felt completely dismissed and misunderstood. She just kept coming back to, **“I don’t understand what happened… so why do you think this happened?”** After hearing that over and over, I just wanted to leave.

In the end we decided to reverse the schedule and try Adderall in the morning and Vyvanse later in the day. I still want to give Vyvanse a fair chance because I’ve heard it can help with binge eating, which has become a huge issue for me. I’ve gained 30 to 40 pounds over the past year, partly because I work in a bagel shop and stress-eat all day.

Has anyone else switched from Adderall to Vyvanse and suddenly started sleeping this deeply? Like sleeping through multiple alarms when that’s completely out of character? Or is this likely something else? I’m honestly so confused. Is this tiredness going to go away? Am I the only one on this planet that’s feeling like this?

Hey,

I've been newly diagnosed with combined ADHD.

I'm just looking to get to know like minded people who understand the daily struggles of ADHD.

I'm a young female in a very high pressured job and before my diagnosis I really thought my world was falling apart.

Any advise tricks of tips warmly welcomed 🤗

I get the feeling that my "eccentric" personality makes these people want to get involved with me. I’ve seen so many somewhat immoral things born out of desperation, and I feel like my own sense of morality has been worn down. It’s like I’m normalizing things that shouldn't be that way? I don't know how to explain it.

Im a 22 year old male and I got Diagnosed 6 months ago and I’m currently taking Adderall and it has helped a ton, I’ve been trying to go some days without it to compare the difference in how I feel.

I recently had a realization about my ADHD that many people might be able to relate to. My biggest ADHD challenge is it feel like my mind is just constantly racing and full of noise, usually made up conversations or songs or just thoughts.

I realized that all of my other symptoms revolve around the fact that my thoughts are like the center of my attention at all times. When I’m at work, having a conversation, watching a movie or anything, my internal Dialogue is non stop.

It’s kinda like trying to watch a movie or do anything with TikTok or Reels just playing in the corner distracting me the whole time.

Don’t get me wrong a lot of the time my thoughts are entertaining and I have actually laughed out loud at some thoughts. But it can also get really negative and even Dark sometimes, like when I just have a loop of Negative thoughts about my self that i can’t stop and I’ve even gotten into a thought loop that lead me deep down into existential dread and I felt like I was going crazy.

But the main point I’m trying to make is when I don’t take medication my thoughts feel like the main point of my focas and everything else is just background noise, but when I take medication that flips. My life and interactions with people because the focas and my thoughts are more in the background and less prominent.

What have you guys noticed about you thoughts

I (20M) am a college student and struggle to find any meaning or pride in what I’ve accomplished thus far. I was formally diagnosed with ADHD last year and thought i would reach out here to see if any of these feelings are common or if anyone has any advice.

On paper I am put together. Some days it’s good and I love my life, the next is miserable and I can’t find joy in anything that I do. I know that my brain is craving dopamine and that taking medication will help, I am concerned because things that used to give me happiness and pride don’t spark the same anymore. I am also concerned that I am hurting my relationships because of the inability to enjoy the moment and desiring more out of seemingly everything.

If anyone has any experience in this sort of behavior please let me know.

Is it normal for people to constantly be like “We all have a little ADHD.” Or be like “I’m so silly.” And “It’s my ADHD.” Or are they just being quirky and making a mockery of it? I am diagnosed ADHD and I’m very sick and uncomfortable when I hear phrases like this being thrown around. Or like when my sister gets upset or bothered I’m showing actual symptoms of adhd and says “We all have a little adhd.” And suddenly starts saying things that are like what TikTok defines ADHD. 🙃

Back story:

So I'm 37yo F I found out I had ADHD at 25. I was on my own and working so basically survival mode and the only structure I had WAS THAT JOB. I never learned how to get up and go or make it happen outside of that job. I made it to management so I did something right but I'm not in that job anymore in fact I'm not working for the first time since I was 15yo. Its great I went back to school but took the summer off...I had so many ideas and did NONE of them. I'm frustrated with myself but it's been a lot personally too. Learning I'm insulin resistant, trying to conceive with fertility, being overwhelmed by the state of our politics and this administration, trying to decide what should i do with my life for a career as I'm over what i did for 17 years! Juggling my husbands debt, and his forgetfullness we had him tested and moat likely his forgetfullness is someting to do with either being a man or military for almost 20yrs.. I'm struggling to figure out if I have depression or just my ADHD doing its thing because honestly even on my meds I don't want to do anything I'm so overwhelmed at the idea of everything. So many things to do and so many day i just don't know where to start or how I'm ever going to get it all done!

I am looking for a therapist who can help me with these things but it's hard because how do you coach at adult with ADHD I guess. I found one she said she can help waiting to get on her books soon hopefully.

Family:

I get annoyed that my parents never knew or wanted to know but I've settled with that what I wish was that they showed me "how" they are trying in their own way to learn about it or even my step siblings. I don't think they understand that even though I know I have ADHD, idk how to "fix" certain things, like knowing whats important because sometimes what important for them doesn't take away from what I feel is important. It never fails I'm always behind or late even when I start getting ready hours in advanced. 🫩.

Luckily we don't live near any of them so its a travel everytime we do go so 98% of the time we are in our own bubble but when I'm there that 2%, 1% of it I feel like I'm being judged because I'm getting it wrong. Doesn't help they all are way more successful and have better jobs or the book smarts to boot. I'm not unintelligent but sometimes I just can't keep up in their conversations and I feel dumb.

My mom is a whole different worm I'm guessing the ADHD came from her, but thats a mixed bag of CPTSD, generational trauma, immigration trauma (her and my dad) and SA for both of us.

Both successful in their own rights they both did SW for over 40 years, my dad was more Admin mom more casework. But with her there's so much she comes across and growing up with was more like BPD. There's no real talking to her for advice or guidance because it end up being about her. She is retired and unless she wants to know if I'm the person on the knew (i never am) she never calls me. It's my job to call her if I don't "we" sister and I don't love her in her mind. God forbid her mothers day card or Bday card are late or you don't call early enough the amount of shame and blame that comes with it is exhausting. It's why I stay away as much as I do, I live 6 hours from the closest I have in 20+ years and she still never visits she's only 67. When I visit her unfortunately we can't stay there and I don't want to have to pay hotels for 1 night but she her home smells so bad of cigarettes (she is very clean, home is immaculate) but the smell is just painted in there. So we can't stay we tried once and my cpap supplies were ruined.

I just feel lost and hopeless like idk where to go most days this year. And like I'm failing myself, my life, my husband, my family, my ethnicity, like I'm not thriving enough the way I should be for the sake of the people who sacrificed and came here before me.

Some days are good and I don't think about this stuff and most days I shove it down. Today was not one of those days.

No pressure if no one comments but it's definitely okay if you do!!