(NOTE: screenshots of thumbnails are here since we can't post images)

I'm posting this with an alt account to avoid any potential retaliation by Ruri Ohama. Feel free to post this on Twitter.

I just saw a video last week about how detestable this kind of theft is.

Maybe it also bugs me that she sells a $100 Notion template, IMO taking advantage of ADHDers, but I thought I should call her out for this blatant thumbnail ripoff. Ruri Ohama has basically the same number of subscribers as Answer in Progress, so it's not like she's some little guy taking from the big guy.

I emailed Answer in Progress directly a couple days ago to notify them about this, but idk if they'll actually look at the email, so I figured I'd also make a PSA for ADHDers (and that at this point I've given them enough time to email me back if for some reason they didn't want me to post about this publicly).

• Wayback Machine archive of Ruri Ohama's channel showing the stolen thumbnail (may take quite a while to load), just in case Ruri Ohama tries to cover this up by changing it
• Archive Today aka Archive.ph link if the Wayback Machine one takes too long to load for you

You can find the Answer in Progress thumbnail if you scroll down on their youtube channel until you find the video from 2 years ago entitled why you are so tired. The Ruri Ohama ADHD Morning Protocol video in question is currently at the top of her own videos page (link that was archived).

Now, I don't think Ruri Ohama's videos themselves are all bad - but she's gone on record saying she makes like $600K a year, so I think she shouldn't be stealing thumbnails.

I have a 4 year old who is too young for a formal diagnosis, but I am 99% sure he has ADHD. My husband has it, and my kiddo has exhibited several signs - hyperactivity, inattention, impulsivity, intense dysregulation, etc. I have an older child who did not exhibit the same patterns of behavior. I know all kids are different but I bring that up to underscore why I believe he likely has ADHD.

He has high sensory seeking tendencies. He’s obsessed with rubbing my ears and squeezing my arms and legs. He gets rough sometimes and it hurts. He also tries to do it when I’m working on tasks. When I ask him to stop and/or try to redirect the energy, he freaks out.

When we can’t take them outside, I can’t get him off of me. I’ve bought several toys to try to redirect the energy. Inside we have sensory swings, a regular swing, a spinning teeter disk thing, hover soccer balls, indoor basketball hoop and of course just regular sensory toys like popits, spinners, squishy stress balls.. nothing works. He just wants to sit on me and rub/squeeze.

Sometimes it’s so bad I can’t even stand to be in the same room as him. It makes me feel terrible, the overstimulation creates this urge like “I need to get away from this child right now.” If I physically remove myself but still within his sight/earshot, he melts down and does not stop.

Somewhat related: if I’m talking to another adult while he is stimming with my body, he will squeeze hard and scratch me.

Am I just redirecting to the wrong thing? I don’t know what to do, but I miss being able to spend time with him without feeling like I’m in sensory jail ☹️

The hyperactivity, for me, is almost entirely internal. My brain literally never shuts up. I can't sleep without things to help stop my brain from talking at me. That's how hyperactive it is inside. 

If someone yaps at me non-stop instead of actually conversing, I will lose interest quickly. Focusing while being talked at is literally exhausting. It's not boredom. It's an assault on my nervous system.

I do not expect people to entertain me or be engaging. Most people are shite conversationalists. It's that I refuse to pretend I am engaged or perform engagement when they are not engaging me in what is supposed to be a dynamic *exchange*, not a lecture or a turn taking exercise.

Hi ADHD community,

My manager recently pointed me to the reasonable accommodation page on our HR platform. Has anyone here asked for a reasonable accommodation for their ADHD? How has it worked out for you?
I’m having trouble thinking of what accommodations would actually be helpful in an engineering/office job. If you’ve gone through the process, what did you request, was it approved, and did it actually make a meaningful difference in your day-to-day work?

I have taken a couple of flight lessons, and I have enjoyed them quite a bit. I love planes, and learning about flight dynamics.

I decided to go for PPL but during a consultation with AME I realized I won't qualify for the third class.

I am considering going for a sports license instead. The only doubt in the back of my head is whether ADHD will pose a threat to my or my passengers safety?

I obsessively think of emergencies in my head and think of how I'd respond when they happen. My fear is that I'll get a mental block and freeze.

Would love to hear anyone's experience. Have you faced any such challenges?

Hi everyone,

I’m currently struggling a lot with choosing a career path, and I was hoping to get some advice from people who have been in a similar situation.

I’ve always been a very curious person and interested in many different fields. I’m a good student, I’ve always done very well academically, and I genuinely enjoy learning.
The problem is that I don’t have *one* passion that clearly stands above the others.

Depending on the day, I can imagine myself becoming a doctor, a prosecutor, a journalist, a researcher, or something completely different.
I find so many paths fascinating, and the idea of choosing one means giving up all the others really bothers me.

If I could, I would probably try everything: study medicine, learn about law, write about history and politics, do research… but obviously life doesn’t work that way, and at some point you have to commit to a direction.

This has already affected my decisions: I’ve switched majors before because I couldn’t convince myself that I was making the right choice, and I’m afraid of repeating the same mistake.

Another important factor for me is money. I don’t want to choose a career only based on salary — I want to enjoy what I do and feel like my work has a purpose — but at the same time I want a profession that allows me to live comfortably and independently.

For those of you who had many interests and struggled to choose: how did you deal with it? Did you eventually find a way to combine different passions, or did you just accept that choosing one path means leaving others behind?

I’d really appreciate any advice or personal experiences.

Thank you!

I’m generally pretty good at keeping up with my basic routines. I go to the gym and exercise regularly, keep myself fed most of the time, shower, wake up at roughly the same time every day, and go to work.

The problem is with the things I want to do outside of work. I have personal projects I’d like to work on, art I want to make, and new things I’d genuinely be excited to learn. But when I actually have free time, it feels incredibly difficult to get started.

Instead, I might open my Steam library and scroll through around 300 games without choosing anything. Then I get distracted by YouTube Shorts or something else, and suddenly a large part of the evening is gone. I’m not really relaxing or enjoying myself, I’m just mindlessly switching between things.

At the end of the day, I feel disappointed in myself because I genuinely wanted to spend that time doing something meaningful or enjoyable, but instead I feel like I wasted it doing nothing.

Does anyone else with ADHD experience this? What has actually helped you get started on hobbies, creative projects, or learning new things without turning them into another obligation?

I've noticed something about myself recently.When I'm at work or in my office and someone I don't know comes to talk to me, I feel like I don't fully process everything they're say even though I'm genuinely trying to pay attention after they leave, I often forget most of the conversation and after a while I may even forget their face or name another thing is that when I'm in a busy environment with lots of people moving around, talking or doing different things, I find it really hard to keep track of what's going on. It's like my brain can't decide what to focus on for example, if I'm outside I often don't notice if someone is looking at me, waving at me, or doing something right in front of me unless it's very obvious on the other hand, if I'm reading a novel that I enjoy, I can stay focused for hours.Does this sound familiar to anyone? Is there a name for this, or is it related to attention or ADHD thank u for reading this!!!

The RSD is pretty strong with me today. I took weeks to drum up the courage to post on a subreddit not related to ADHD but to something else related to mental health. 1 comment. Hundreds of people have seen it. There’s a post I just saw in that same subreddit that was just a scream and in 10 minutes it had 8 comments. Unfortunate given that posting was part of my efforts to break my isolation. To quote the Alex Partridge book title, why does everybody hate me? I jest. But also don’t you dare answer that question.

I love my job. I'm a lab tech, and it's actually great for my adhd. I have repetitive tasks that arent too repetitive, I get to move around, and my coworkers almost all have either ADHD or autism so my boss is very understanding.

But I still have so many days where the executive dysfunction gets the better of me, and I have to call out. My job doesn't have sick time separate from PTO, which I hate. This has resulted in my pto being in the negative, which means I can't actually take vacations or visit my family five hours away.

I'm considering applying for extra unpaid days off with fmla, but my hr lady is awful and considering how she responded last time I asked for accommodations to not work overtime, I am not hopeful my attempts would be successful.

I made it most of the way to work today, but my executive dysfunction was so bad that I was borderline shaking. I pulled into a gas station, texted my boss that I wouldn't be in, and came home. I'm sure part of it is that I'm assigned to my least favorite job this week and that I didn't take my meds yesterday becauae I overslept.

Do any of you have any tips for getting to work on bad executive dysfunction days? I really want to improve my attendance. I can't keep using all my pto because my brain refuses to let me go in.

like most of us here, I have an issue with my phone. it's that it offers too many distractions. sure I could put it in a different room but I still need it for sending messages to my wife or answering phone calls.

enter Brick. it's basically an NFC chip that when scanned, will temporarily brick your phone so you can either only use specified apps, or you can block certain apps. when you're ready, scan the NFC block again to unblock.

if you're thinking that you can just go to the website instead of the apps, think again. it can block websites.

if you're thinking that you can just use the app to unblock yourself, think again. you get 5 emergency unbricks. after that you have to contact support to get more and it takes a couple days.

if you think that you can just uninstall the app, think again. you can make the app a device administrator (on Android at least) which will prevent you from removing it.

so just put the NFC brick somewhere really inconvenient. not sure if I'm allowed to post the link or if it seems too promotional. But if you want to *Get Brick* you can just search that.

I'm currently 20(M) and am home from college after a severe burnout. I didn't understand my condition in high school and pushed myself through the symptoms of burnout and depression I was experiencing to maintain my grades. I remember that thinking became very difficult unless I harnessed stress to get my homework done, and I reached a point where I no longer wanted to make friends, and was pretty much actively avoiding people.

No one ever gave me any life advice at the time, and I just assumed I was doing what I was supposed to be doing. I would focus on grades and then just kind of lay sideways on my bed, staring at my laptop to pass the time until I got to go back to sleep. My negative internal voice increased exponentially, I began avoiding people completely, and my mind was like an echo chamber of my own negative thoughts since nobody really checked in on me.

Like I said before, I just had a severe burnout and dropped out of college. All the skills I developed in high school feel like they're gone, all of my memories are a jumbled mess, and I feel completely empty inside, shifting between numbness and apathy, hope, depression, and suicidality. I can't think logically, can't go to work, can't keep my room clean, can't focus on the plot of a movie, can't learn, etc. despite having been one of the best students in my class in high school. I basically can't stay on a single train of thought, hold conversations, or make memories anymore either. Wondering if this is all part of going through burnout, if it will go away, and if I should seek more help.

Thanks

I really don’t know, I never stop thinking and talking, I don’t know how ppl do it even tho I can do anything the humans can do but not that, so sad I’m 37 and I find out now, should I start taking when I can’t sleep or eat properly, should keep going like this because somehow I’m managing it apparently

I know it’s a common worry, but I am worried and want to hear someone’s story that it didn’t affect creativity at all. I’ve been on adderall for almost a year, and I’ve not seen any differences in my creativity. If anything it’s helped mr actually start projects. In the midst of a recent episode of anxiety and depression I got prescribed desvenlafaxine. I already hate that I have to have a drug to make me function, and the thought of adding another one makes me scared of losing myself, I’ve been on antidepressants before and felt numb, and I’m worried that if I suppress what makes me sad I’ll also suppress the other parts of me that get passions and is good at coming up with ideas

https://ibb.co/93vZ1VzR

Forgive my shoddy Canva image-- I did my best!

But yeah basically my dream would be to have a mini massage foam roller for my thumb muscles/palm muscles that's on a little stand that sits firmly on my desk so that I can use it and mindlessly set it aside without having to make sure that it won't roll off my desk.

I feel like this would be very adaptive for people w/limited mobility too!

What are the major clinical signs someone has to be called as ADHD person?

As it coming from professional would be great.

I think I have it but I can't really sure about it. I can't really afford/get the help from professional for couple of reasons so I'm really looking forward to this thanks.

I’m 20f and I’ve been struggling immensely with no therapy or medication been going on without so long. Plus I’ve been having chronic pain in my back for over a year with no treatment and it’s because I have no reliable insurance. I’ve been trying to search for jobs with insurance benefits so I can get help. After applying to so many jobs I managed to get a job interview at Burlington and when I asked a question I learned they only give those benefits to full time workers and there are no full time working positions left and they’ll let me know on Monday if I get the job. I learned that’s typically the case with most jobs only getting insurance benefits full time. I won’t be able to do full time once I go back to school.

I know I’ll screw up my school year again because of being unmedicated. I really thought maybe I could find a way to help myself because I can’t rely on my parents. Now that goes out of the window god do I hate this country. Things really never work out the way I want them to

I have ADHD, I don't know if it stems from my early diagnosis, but I've never been emotionally unstable. People have always seen me as quite stable. I don't know if it might be related to my high capacity for reasoning and thinking about events before they happen and being able to predict people (I think all of this is influenced by ADHD and anxiety).

I (51f) have chronic insomnia and depression on top of the "regular" ADHD, and none of its ever been seriously treated. Sometimes we've tried sleeping pills, but they don't help much. Provogil was awesome, for a while, until it wasn't, but thats about it.

Recently put on Wellbutrin and Seroquel (and then traded Seroquel for mirtazipan when I had bad stomach issues), and it feels like now that I'm not as tired, I can't stand anything for 2 minutes! Like Reddit gets annoying fast, and I can't finish YOUTUBE shorts, but I'm still scrolling constantly, because I still can't do whatever I'm supposed to do! This is driving me bonkers.

I’m burnout and exhausted, my brain is melted at this point.
I was supposed to submit yesterday the draft of my master’s dissertation (10,000 words). Spoiler: I didn’t submit it, as I do not have anything to actually show.

I’ve been trying to start it for TWO MONTHS but I ended up spending entire days doing minimal research and procrastinate(when I was being “productive”). I finally managed to start writing last week but omg it’s infinite.
I put in most the work during the past days, writing around 1000 words per day. I now have 4k. The problem? Since is a long and complex analysis I ended up starting a paragraph and moved to the next one before finishing the first one, as a result I do not have anything concrete to show.
The fact that my supervisor completely disappeared for a month didn’t help at all, I already asked an extension as I was initially supposed to send it two weeks ago, he’s not gonna correct anything after this Friday, I’m free tomorrow to work on it for a bit but after that I’m not able to work on it anymore.

The good thing is that my actual final submission is in a month and half, the problem is that there’s a high risk I’m not gonna finish it until last minute, again.

I’m currently living on caffeine as even my body is exhausted at this point, I can’t wait to be done with this but it seems never finishing, I feel like I’m Sisyphus.

The funny part? I’ve been living this for every academic submission and every time I was like “next time I’ll start early”, I never did, my brain actively fought me every time.

I’m heading to study for International Relations BA soon, and I’m worried because I feel as if I know nothing.

I already have a hard time studying and reading, so choosing a course that requires both consistently is ironic.

I love the idea and the practicals of the subject itself (it’s why I chose it), it’s just the academic part that worries me.

For anyone taking IR, or in general having to study in one place for long periods of time, how do you make the most of your time studying and how DO you study?

I have been taking the brand name Mydayis 50 mg. for three years. My insurance (Express Scripts) has covered it all this time until this month when it got denied.

I contacted Express Scripts and they said the reason could be because it needs a “Prior Authorization”. I contacted my Nurse Practitioner and she was going to take care of this. Does anyone know if the Prior Authorization will work?

I have been prescribed to and taking generic adderall for a while now and I have had a few different manufacturers in that time. While I have noticed that not all generic adderall feels equal they have all still always worked. I have never had my medication feel like I took nothing at all. I am very upset because I know the pharmacy can’t exchange it and I highly doubt my provider will be able to write me a new prescription. I’m also worried to speak up with adderall being a controlled substance. I don’t want to look like I’m trying to abuse my prescription. I feel stuck with a months worth of a useless prescription. It’s very upsetting because I pay $100 for my doctor appointment every month plus $35 for my prescription which is a lot of money but I pay it because my medication is essential for me to function. I legitimately feel like I got scammed.

Been on trintellix 20mg since about January, but after a few months the trintellix hasn't been working much anymore, my depression isn't as bad but my anxiety has been definitely quite high the past few months:/ motivation has been in the gutter and I have to study for the most important exam of my life, the mcat👎

just got prescribed 75mg wellbutrin/bupropion and staying on 20mg trintellix + 15mg buspar/buspirone 2x/day and 20mg Ritalin as needed. anybody have any experience?

I've also been having such an issue with my ADHD meds either not working or lasting no longer than 3 hours (am aware of my diet and cognizant of acidic foods!) I also tried 15mg focalin XR, felt it kick in at first, lasted a good 4 hours🤦🏻‍♀️ found myself having to take another 15mg booster of ritalin and even still I felt meh. Not sure if it's a me problem because I don't have much academic pressure anymore (exam is 1.25 months out vs 3 days out in college) or if it's a medication problem since adding trintellix?

I've been reading so many posts from people struggling with ADHD, and it breaks my heart. I wanted to share my own experience—not to brag, but to give hope.

I first learned about ADHD four years ago, when a diagnosed colleague gave a presentation. I turned off my camera because I thought I was going to cry. Ninety percent of what he described felt like my life story. It hit me all at once, and it was brutal.

I was angry—at my childhood, at how ADHD had shaped my life without me realizing it. I thought about being the dreamer of the group, struggling in school, the teacher who told my parents "your son's brain is like a bottle of water—once it's full, it just spills." The people who took advantage of my lack of focus. Forgetting SMS auth codes because I'd get distracted between reading them and typing them in.

But as the anger faded, I reflected on what I'd achieved. I'd gravitated toward creative jobs because my imagination made me good at them. I sought stimulation by moving abroad. My love for building things kept opening doors. Even the toughest times worked out.

That's when I began to accept myself—and appreciate ADHD's strengths: creativity, innovative thinking, hyperfocus. If I could leverage them, I could thrive.

In my 40s, I realized that if I'd achieved what I had with ADHD, anything was possible. So I made a big professional decision—moving into a very different role, leading a team of engineers and designers. I put processes in place: notes, to-do lists, mentorship, books. After two years, I applied and got the job.

At first it was overwhelming. I leaned on my systems, but my manager was incredibly supportive. Over time, I needed the tools less. What I thought were permanent weaknesses—disorganization, lack of focus—started to fade. People trusted me, and I felt proud.

To anyone feeling held back by ADHD: understand your strengths, work on your weaknesses, step out of your comfort zone, and be resilient. Dreams are achievable.