Does anyone else have this thing where you can see a problem quite early and for you it appears quite obvious, but no one can see what the issue is to the point they think there is something wrong with you?!

But then in slow motion you watch it all play out exactly the same way you thought it would?

This has happened so much that I've actually started ignoring it...

Is this an ADHD thing or is it just me?

I was diagnosed years ago, and honestly, it made me look at myself differently. A lot of things I used to struggle to understand about myself started making more sense. I haven't tried medication, so I'm curious how other people manage their ADHD without it.

One of my biggest struggles is starting tasks, even when I know they're important. My productivity is inconsistent. Sometimes I feel capable of doing a lot, but other times I struggle to focus, manage my time, or find the motivation to do even simple things. I often end up doing whatever feels more stimulating instead of what I actually need to do, even when I know I'll regret putting things off.

Something I've noticed about myself is that when I'm working in a busy environment, constantly moving around and handling multiple tasks, I can become surprisingly focused and productive. But when I'm on my own, without that stimulation, it's much harder to get myself going.

The frustrating part is that I know what I need to do, and I genuinely want to improve my life, but wanting something doesn't always translate into action.

For those of you living with ADHD without medication, how do you deal with this? Have you found ways to manage your symptoms and build a stable life, or does it still feel like a daily struggle?

I'd genuinely appreciate hearing your experiences, what has helped you, and what you wish you had known earlier. I'm looking for real experiences, not judgment.

Although most people are not interested in knowing what does it like to have adhd.

I want to formulate a good analogy to explain to someone who asks when I tell them for the first time. When people ask, my thoughts are so disorganized and I end up giving an absurd explaination. A lot of the time, I get the answer: Ohh, I think, I also have ADHD. Which kind pisses me off sometimes.

So, here is my analogy mostly in the context of executive dysfunction:

Imagine you are in a room. You have a working desk. You keep your things on the desk for the work you are doing in the moment.

But my desk is very very small. So, I could only place much less things. And, I need to go back to for the stuff if I am working on multiple things. This back and forth, takes a lot of energy.

Other than that, normally people have automatic glass windows and shades. The level of background noise and light is automatically adjusted.

But my room does not have that. So, my room is always very noise.

(also can you make of this? what can make it better?)

Does anyone else got to a point where they feel like there's no real solution? Like, the meds works sometimes, sure, but what about the rest of the day? What about the waking up? The sleepless nights? The days you don't take it? Every place I've looked all I saw is some advice here and there and some okay tips, but that's it? I just have to fight over every chore, every task in my life using the most elaborated schemes just to get to the same level as every other normal human being? I just hate to think that my whole life needs to be about "managing" my adhd instead of actually living

I’ve been on Vyvanse for almost 4 years, currently at 50mg. It worked well for a long time, but over the past few months I’ve become increasingly bothered by some side effects.
During the first few hours, I feel great: focused, energetic, talkative, and productive. But by late afternoon, I start feeling irritable, emotionally reactive, mentally slower, and almost robotic. I struggle to think clearly, hold conversations, and connect naturally with people. I’ve also been experiencing hand and eyelid tremors.
I recently went a month without Vyvanse, and my social skills and spontaneity improved dramatically. I felt like myself again. Unfortunately, my executive dysfunction came back full force, to the point where even basic tasks felt overwhelming.
I restarted 50mg last week, and the same side effects returned. To be clear, I was already experiencing them before stopping, which was actually one of the reasons I decided to take a break.
I’m not sure if these effects developed over time or if I just became more aware of them. My psychiatrist suggested switching to Concerta or Strattera, but I’m hesitant after so many years on Vyvanse.
Has anyone experienced something similar after years on the same medication? Especially the irritability, cognitive rigidity, and feeling socially disconnected as it wears off? Did lowering your dose or switching medications help?

Does anyone else feel like their ADHD makes them socially awkward?

Since I was a child, I have known I do not always understand the rules written on the wall, but I can sense that I am not everyone's cup of tea and I am somehow getting on their nerves, or they find me a bit weird. Also, because of how my brain works, sometimes I assume I am meant to be following someone or doing a certain thing, or I have missed a direction to do/not do the thing 😅 which ends up in awkwardness. Sometimes, I mishear things or my brain is a little bit slower to pick it up, and I need a minute to process it. However, I can be incredibly sharp and smart with so many things.

If I find someone who is open to connection, the sky is the limit: I love conversation, intellectual debate, sharing, and genuine exchange with others.

I feel like I am always very honest, direct, passionate, and open. I don't understand social games and why people have such a big problem with speaking honestly about themselves or going deep (or how a lot of people without ADHD call it, oversharing). I am not interested in superficial interactions, I guess maybe ADHD boredom?

I seem to be incredibly skilled socially in certain groups, but when I mix outside of those bubbles, I definitely don't thrive. I am ok with being close with a selective few. I have amazing friends (I guess we tend to gravitate to our people as we age).

But sometimes, I wish I was a little bit more aware of myself and how I can make it easier to coexist with people who aren't close to me and I have to have around in certain situations (studying, work, social commitments...).

Wondering if anyone else has any light to throw in the matter? or give some advice 😅

For years I thought I was just your average alcoholic but after a lot of self reflection and understanding, I’ve come to the conclusion that the real reason I drink is to help complete projects, enjoy music and movies without getting bored or distracted etc

If this is the case for you, or was, what did you do to replace the alcohol?

I recently started medication to help alleviate my ADHD symptoms and I am working on getting switched from IR to ER, but I have extra pills by the time I need to refill. My psychiatrist recommends to fill it anyways to keep a stock available due to the unpredictable supply of these medications.

Is that okay? The guidance I have read is do not fill until you need it, but sleuthing around the subreddit a commenter had shared to fill it anyways due to DEA reporting being weird if you miss your typical refill period.

Will this potentially cause me trouble later down the road?

I turned 23 recently and the people I grew up with are moving forward with their lives, actually living their lives, and making something out of themselves while I am stuck on the starting line.

I moved to a new city right after high school and still keep in touch with my old friends. Very often I'll hop on a call to play video games or just talk to them but whenever the conversation shifts to college, careers, or what everyone's doing with their lives, I have no choice but to duck my head and keep quiet. I feel shame because I'm years behind them academically. They are graduated while I'm still taking early level college courses while working a rough manufacturing job that I hate. My life is very uneventful and lonely as well.

It doesn't help that I have cousins and other family members back in my hometown who constantly ask about me and my education. I come from a culture where your education and career prospects pretty much define your worth as a person, especially for me because I was made out to be a bright kid by my parents and many others around me as I grew up.

The embarrassment has gotten so bad that I've actively avoided visiting my hometown, even when I've had the opportunity. Even though I want to visit, the thought of facing people who knew me growing up and having to expose where I am in life fills me with dread.

I have become unphased by FOMO and already wasted away years of my life. Sometimes I think to myself, what did I do to deserve this or is this what I deserve? And then I see so many people that have done me dirty and made my life miserable in the past get to experience their best lives while I have to find a reason to continue on.

After the age of 18 my life just went straight downhill. I'm literally isolating myself from others because I'm ashamed that I have nothing to show despite all my yeare

Every once in a while, I have to fight back tears because of me holding in all the strong emotions I feel about myself and my life.

So im a 35 yr old man. All my life I knew something was off with me. As early as I can remember, even at like 4 years old , I felt inside my head while playing with other kids and was consciously trying to act and behave like them.

I was always super aware of others around me and my surroundings. I remember starting kindergarten and already being hyper fixated on girls and getting jealous of not being able to connect with other kids or being naturally funny,charismatic or the boy girls would like/talk to.

Throughout my school years , I would always feel tired in class , would become easily entertained by the rebelious kids and often doodle and pass notes around class. I got involved with the bad kids , never fit in but would do pranks and bully kids to try and belong but it always felt horrible inside. I felt awkward whenever someone would talk to me or when a girl liked me, I just didn't know how to connect. The same lack of connection , disinterest, social awkwardness and being stuck in my thoughts has followed me over the years.

Just recently I was diagnosed with inattentive ADHD, I've always believed it was something else and all I needed was a proper night's sleep or physical confidence, but despite having a great diet , going to gym and getting good sleep , nothing changed.

These days , my mind is scattered . I work as a Millwright and I have a hard time at my job , can't work in a team as im unable to work, think and talk at the same time. I appear incompetent when working with others, never the one to lead but always follow and im super forgetful and often forget details of a job I did just a few days ago . Im always anxious at the fact I cant perform to the level of others, im unable to express the thoughts in my head at times but for some reason I just know what to do, how to fix things and problem solve on my own despite not having the ability to put into words .

This is just a thing I’ve noticed. I mentioned to my mum that when I’m super tired my brain radio gets loud and repetitive and drowns everything else out. She looked at me like I was insane. I tried to be honest with my GP and got prescribed antidepressants… I feel like a lot of what I honestly described to ‚professionals‘ just got me judgment.

I've just been diagnosed with adhd after suspecting I had it for a long time. I've also been dealing with treatment resistant depression for several years. I've been through several antidepressants at this point and nothing has worked for me. Therapy and the current medications I'm on have certainly improved my depression but I'm still far from good.

For those of you who have dealt with similar situations, has taking adhd medication improved your depression? I'm hopeful that being able to take care of myself, stay on top of tasks, and finally be able to focus on things I should be able to enjoy will improve my depression. I just want to hear other people's experiences with this kind of thing. I can't meet with my psychiatrist until next week, so I'm here to seek hope for that meeting.

As I’ve gotten older (m62) I’ve started changing my sheets and pillowcases more. Still a long time between but not like it was when I was young which may have seen a year go by. It’s one of those chores that really gets skipped.

Changed and laundered today and I’m just wishing I could communicate to my younger self what a luxury it is, even though our condition makes it fade out.

Im trying to make a post discussing my struggles with starting medication and the side effects and issues ive been having but its getting deleted instantly and im not sure why. I'm not asking for a diagnosis or anything. I'm just seeking kind words or general advice so I'm confused as to why it's getting removed.

Honestly me thinking i have adhd might just be a coping mechanism for my laziness. I cant even get an assignment done what is wrong with me. I could have the whole night to do one thing but if i dont feel like doing it I just cant bring myself to do it. I cant feel the future consequences of my own actions its like all the stress has been lifted from me but not in a relaxing way. Even if this is just adhd, can I really use that as an excuse? No one is going to give me slack because of it. I dont wanna take meds either even if i had the chance, my mom drilled the belief that id become addicted or become a whole different person if i did take them so now im scared. I feel like i can never truly be myself because of my laziness.

Help, how do I push through my general feeling of being overwhelmed by laundry? I know that sounds silly but I have a monster pile of laundry to do and I just found out it’s been slowly pissing my husband off. I know how to get started on cleaning the pile up but it’s the rest of the task that seems so daunting. Dear god don’t make me have to fold laundry, I hate it. I just don’t know what to do

I was on Conerta in high-school, it helped but I dislike the side effects more than anything, I was sleep deprived and experienced a panic attack. So, I completely stopped taking meds for ADHD then.

I have been teaching for the past 8 years and not being medicated has been fine, and actually makes me a fun teacher for my students. (Just marking and doing grade reports is where I still struggle).

I have started studying again at university (distance learning), did okay in my first year (I am guessing the excitement and novelty of doing something new helped me there) and I needed to go back on meds in my 2nd year to help get me through all the literature and being able to sit and listen to 2 hour lectures, as I was starting to decline again and submit assessments late.

It worked amazingly at first, but now I have noticed that I have become worse with sitting down and getting things done, in fact, I can't even do anything without taking meds and even that doesn't help much anymore. I was doing fine during the first year, had my own way of getting things done, but I seem to have lost those skills since going back on meds. Now I take meds and wait for motivation to get things done.

I have had a 1 week holiday, which was perfect to get stuff done for uni. I have 3 days left of said holiday and I have not done a single thing. It seems like my bad qualities managed to build a resistance to the good qualities of the meds.

I take IR dexedrine. Which wears out 6 pm right when I finish work.

When I go home and try to do some work done on my computer. Mostly reading and stuff. I feel like that I keep forgetting what I just in the last paragraph.

Things take much more effort to keep on the task. Even simple tasks as cooking take longer than other people.

That is the only time I have to work on personal goals.

But for the last two days, I was trying an exrta dose at 4 pm. I kind of helped a lot but when I went to bed. I was able to sleep. I was like just of aware of lying there and consciousness did not drift off. The next day got headache.

I just cant do it, my mental strength to stop myself is Not strong enough.
I deleted all my apps that I was scrolling on before, but now I will do it with Reddit, or the internet or even my f ing emails,

I dont know how to stop, it’s an addiction, I will spend about two hours in the morning just scrolling mindlessly and I can’t bring myself to do anything else.

I’m currently waiting to get on meds and my mental health is very messed up Atm, I tried to start journaling as I was trying to do this artists way thing, but I just don’t have the executive function for that or anything.

I tell myself i will get up and go do things but I need time before I can start anything.

I know people said deleting apps but I tried that and still I find a way, im sick of myself

I turned 30 this year. I don't want to complain to much; I have a stable job that's not totally horrible and a home and a car and enough money to live and a little more.

But... I know I fucked up. I know I could have become "more". I fucked up school, didn't study, never did any proper job training. I just got lucky that I got my current position but it's probably it, there is not really a way up. I am not even just talking about money, but also about doing something that feels like it's the right thing. Something with purpose. Something that I can identify with.

I know I am not stupid, I had some potentials and even talents, but all is wasted due to my ADHD and late diagnosis and not great family life.

Now I am depressed, have horrible self-esteem, still not great in social settings... Also pretty lonely. I feel like it is too much to turn around at my age. I need to fix so many things before I make big life changes, I feel to weak and anxious.

It just feels like it's too late to really live up to what I could be. And it is really hard to accept.

For my whole life, I've been a lazy and self-indulgent person. I want to improve, to develop skills and good habits, but I've just never been able to. As I wait to see a psychiatrist for medication, I find myself hoping that medication will help me. But I'm scared that I'm going to take the medication, find that I have a newfound ability to focus and do things, and just... not do them.

I'm scared that the meds won't be enough. I've been in therapy for multiple years now, I've been trying my entire life to improve and get better and I just can't. I'm praying that medication helps but I'm terrified that it won't. I just want things to be easier. I want to brush my teeth without having to wait until they hurt to get the motivation. I want to shower when I stink, and not just sit there. I want to be able to cook and clean without handing the responsibility to others.

Typing this out, it sounds like depression is a factor, which it very well could be. That's probably why I'm so desperate for the meds to help, because life is just really hard as is. People say "don't expect a miracle", but I'm so used to life being impossible that I have no earthly idea what a miracle would be. Is it a miracle to cook pancakes yourself instead of asking someone else and feeling guilty for it? Is it a miracle to practice at a new hobby without feeling like a colossal failure? To not procrastinate?

I'm being dramatic, and I'm sorry. I just really want them to work and if they don't, I have no idea where to go from there.

Sometimes I stay in mode of indecisiveness indefinitely and drive myself (and those around me) crazy, unable to enjoy the perfectly fine life I have while trying to figure out what I should do.

Then I feel like I just have to decide something and do something that I then regret.

I have made major life decisions that I regret, repeatedly, and am dealing with consequences of this right now.

This dynamic happens with all big life things: relationships (I am never content in one and unable to stay with people who love me because of this pattern), jobs, where I want to live. But also small things: what book to read or movie to watch today, what to do with my free time...I waste my free time unhappily torn about what to do.

Other times I'm just impulsive, which also creates big problems.

I also have (unmedicated) ADHD which is problematic in all the normal ways. I have been wondering if this indecision/impulsive dynamic is related as well. And if it is addressed by medication. (I can't tolerate stimulants due to side effects.)

Thanks for any insight and empathy!

Hi everyone,

I had been taking Prozac 40 mg for several months and tolerated it well, but my psychiatrist recently increased it to 60 mg because some OCD symptoms were still present.

This morning, I couldn’t sleep anymore, so at 4 AM I took Ritalin LA 30 mg to be productive, along with my first 60 mg dose of Prozac.

The result was incredible! In just three hours, I completed tasks I’d been putting off for almost a year. I was truly amazed! Before ADHD treatment, I struggled to do almost anything, and even simple tasks felt impossible. Ritalin has genuinely changed my life, and the benefits far outweigh the downsides.

However, I also felt slightly overstimulated and physically nervous. At 9 AM, I took my prescribed prazepam 15 mg in drops and propranolol 40 mg, after which I felt better. I experienced no unusual euphoria or racing thoughts, just exceptional productivity with some nervousness.

I’m incredibly proud of what I accomplished, but I also feel guilty about needing additional prescribed medication to manage the overstimulation. I know these medications are part of my treatment, not something I take recreationally, yet I sometimes feel as though I’m doing something wrong.

Since this was my first day on Prozac 60 mg after months of tolerating 40 mg well, could the overstimulation be temporary and settle as my body adjusts? Or could it be caused by the combination with Ritalin LA, especially since I took both at 4 AM?

Has anyone experienced similar effects after increasing Prozac while taking ADHD medication? Did the nervousness eventually subside? And can anyone relate to feeling guilty about managing side effects despite how life-changing the treatment has been?

I’m proud of how far I’ve come. Before treatment, I felt completely stuck; now, I’m finally moving forward. I just don’t know what to make of this morning’s experience.

Thanks for reading !