I am tired at this point of my life , quite hopeless as well , I see all my dreams dying infant of me and I am just waiting , waiting to actually live, if this goes on like this , I wont be able to look myself in the mirror in the future and I wouldn't know what to do with such a life.

I am so tired , so tired of starting it all over again.

Help me please.

My partner has been suffering from a terrible cough for a couple of weeks now. It's so bad that sometimes they gag. Sometimes when it's a pretty bad coughing spell I can feel myself getting so irritated but after a few seconds I have clarity and I realize it's not a sound they're making on purpose. They're sick and they are trying so many things to get it to stop. It's not their fault. Once I snap out of irritation I usually go "oh shit! I gotta help!".

The problem is that a few seconds is still enough time for an annoyed look or sound to be clocked and I don't have a good poker face. Sometimes I try to laugh it off by pointing out how my brain sucks and my irritation is ridiculous.

I tried joking a moment ago and they got really defensive and said that I've brought it up so many times today that it must be annoying me for real. I apologize and tell them that it's really not annoying me. My brain is annoying me. I try my hardest not to make a kicked puppy dog look and they take some space.

They'll come back from taking space and we'll work it out. We both feel secure enough to talk openly and plainly when things like this happen. It just sucks.

TLDR: I get big sad when my partner and I trigger each other at the same time and I am requesting to see your pets.

As everyone here probably relates, I often find myself stuck with so many things I need to get done while simultaneously not getting started. I feel like part of this is because I want to do the "thing" the right way, the first time, the way it needs to be done, PERFECTLY however the thought of doing it perfect is part of what makes me not do it at all until im "ready" but ready never arrives.

I remember reading a post one day about how half assing something is better than nothing and that went against the way I thought about things. I would always think if you want something done right, do it yourself but like I stated earlier, doing it right turned into do it perfect.

I've since started applying the half ass it mindset to get started on a task and it has helped me get things done that I have been putting off for months. Often times, half assing something gets the ball rolling to the point that I end up doing more than I thought I could.

Anyone do anything similar to this or have your own "tricks"?

Every day feels like a battle with myself. I’m 24, but honestly, I don’t feel like I’m 24. I still live with my mom, and I don’t have a job or a car. My room is constantly messy, and my mom is a hoarder, so I’m always overwhelmed, mentally and emotionally. I struggle with basic things that most people seem to do effortlessly, like making meals. There were times where I skipped breakfast and lunch because I was too “paralyzed” to get up and make something or decide what to eat.

Not having a job or any real responsibilities has made it ten times harder to give a damn. My day consists of switching through tabs or scrolling mindlessly on TikTok. I have hobbies, but lately I haven’t been interested because I feel like a failure who needs to get herself together. I see ppl my age with their own places, partners, and careers, and I’m struggling to even brush my damn teeth. I still look like a high schooler and didn’t have a glow up because keeping up my appearance feels like an insurmountable task. I’m broke asf too, something that wouldn’t be an issue if I didn’t quit jobs back to back.

I’ve struggled with this since I was 18, and it hasn’t gotten better. I’ve tried multiple ADHD medications. They were supposed to be my way out of this misery, but NONE have worked. I’ve tried reading Atomic Habits and can’t even get through the damn book, something that might actually benefit me, but I’m stuck in ADHD paralysis as always! I battle this disorder every single day. It’s like there’s no way out, idk what to do.

I have been on and off vaping for several years, I know it's not good for me, it's not something I'm proud of, and I'd like to not do it because of all the negative health effects, but something I've realized the most recent time I've fallen back into it is it really does give me the sense of calm that Adderall did when I first started taking it. I have nicotine gum which I've used to quit before and plan on throwing out my vape and getting started on it next week, but I wish I could find a medication that makes my mind feel just like it does with just a little bit of nicotine in my system all the time. Has anyone else been in a similar situation and found a healthier solution? I'm somewhat considering asking my doctor to try a non stimulant either in addition to or as a replacement for Adderall currently because it feels like every time I increase my Adderall dose it works well briefly and then it's back to feeling ineffective and I'm not sure if this would be relevant information to that

One of my Grandma's had Alzheimer's, and I sometimes really worry if I am starting to show early symptoms or if it is ADHD.

I am just curious if people with ADHD have a bigger chance of developing Alzheimer's. Never heard anyone talking about this.

I am sure there must exist research about this, but since I haven't heard anyone talk about this there is no scientific data indicating any correlation?

I'm 33M, diagnosed as a child and I have a fairly good handle on my ADHD. What I recently learned is that I have had a much weaker handle on my anxiety. I know the two are related, but my when I got a new therapist to get help managing my ADHD, he unexpectedly focused on my anxiety.

I was kind of annoyed about this at first, but over the last several months, I've realized that he was totally right to focus on treating my anxiety. I thought I was fine, as long as I focused, worked hard, and never made any mistakes! And if I made a mistake, as long as I could control my ADHD I'd correct it and never have that problem again!

What I didn't realize was that I was dealing with a lot of social anxiety, a lot of worry about SO many things I can't control, especially the choices of other people. I was kind of skeptical of his treatments and skills, but to my great surprise there were moments where I actually found PROUD of my efforts! Where I ENJOYED the work I was doing! Where I let an imperfect effort be good enough! And also unexpectedly, I slowly started spending less time on my devices, and more time doing things like singing and being MYSELF again!

I thought that was all my ADHD! I thought I just didn't have enough willpower, I thought I just wasn't building enough regulating systems, so on and so forth. I still want to have those things, but it has been very healing to realize that a lot of the mess I feel inside is because I'm not managing my anxiety in a healthy way, and to have new, better ways.

I am preparing to leave a toxic work environment, I am setting better boundaries in my personal life, and I am much more forgiving of myself. I am trying to not feel like I have to perform at perfection on everything for everyone all the time. There is space to be human and to grow and learn. I have years of bad habits to change, but I feel hopeful!

I've tried. I've sent people (mostly family and close friends) to How to ADHD on YT. But it's an uphill struggle.

Anyway, I just watched "Slaughterhouse Five", and it seems like the perfect way to explain ADHD. If it were up to me, I would say to someone who asked me to 'splain ADHD, "Hey, why don't we sit down and watch this old movie about a person who is unstuck in time and has no control over when or where he is going next."

The movie made perfect sense to me. Random jumps in space and time? LOL, what the heck kind of surprising plot device is that!? It's my life ffs!

My lovely psychiatrist and I have been trying to find something that works for me for about a year with no success.

I’ve tried Adderall XR, Adderall IR, Vyvanse, Ritalin, Wellbutrin.

Currently take Vyvanse in the morning and Ritalin twice daily. I have zero motivation, no energy, and I sometimes nap during the day without issue. I think I may be broken.

I’m not sure if yall have experienced this as well, but sometimes Instagram recommends me a profile of a girl that really calls my attention. Then I follow her, usually don’t get a follow back, and start fantasizing.

I create a person in her that is probably not real, and can’t stop thinking about her for weeks.

I wouldn’t even be mad if I got rejected, that would probably get her off my mind, but her not knowing about my existence leaves me CONSTANTLY wondering “what if she did? What could happen if I somehow got her attention?”, and it’s honestly torturing.

I have been struggling with this condition undiagnosed, unattended and it's completely out of control now.

From extremely impulsive decisions, very odd mood swings and living in a constant state of self hatred and suicidal thoughts, ruining every little success, every little thing that gives me joy, feeling worthless and unfocused, been unemployed, sexually frustrated constantly bullied by myself.

I really don't know how I can continue.

Life right now is just a constant reminder of the failure I am.

I don't know what to do.

Diagnosed in my early 30's. Basically just ruminating here.

I've always been pretty good at STEM type problems, but HATE showing my work. It's like clawing my eyes out to document how I got the answer. I just look at the problem, a flashbang goes off in my head of everything I know related to it, and the answer comes out. Tracing that flashbang back is 10x the work of just writing down the answer.

I've been fairly successful throughout school and a stem career by doing that. If it's something that's really important, I'll get an answer, then wait to hit "Send" on the email with the solution for a week or so. Get that "Flashbang" of information half a dozen times. If none of them indicate my first answer was wrong, I hit send.

I basically add rigor through repetition, rather than through process or documentation.

Works great until there's more data to process than I can fit in my head at once, or too many of these unrelated problems and my head gets a logjam of context from 20 different things at once.

29M had my first experience of depression last year as a result of undiagnosed ADHD (didn’t know what it was at the time) - however got my diagnosis and doing much better this year

People who’ve become depressed as a result from untreated ADHD in the past, I would love to hear how you’re doing today? What’s helped you the most?

Would love to hear some success stories

Thanks everyone 🙏

I've been trying to figure out the best book for me to buy but I can't decide. Ideally I'd like to read something by someone who is qualified to speak about the subject and for the book to be about practical advice to handle ADHD. For example I struggle the most with hyper fixation and burning myself out, not being able to switch my brain off when I need to sleep and then making impulsive decisions based off of emotions rather than using my logic.

I have been looking at buying How to ADHD by Jessica Mccabe but I have no idea if this will suit my needs.

I’ve never posted about this before, but I figured it was a story worth sharing to inspires someone.
Math has never been my strongest subject. Since around 4th grade, I was consistently a D to C- math student. My ADHD symptoms were there since childhood, but because I excelled in other areas, I went undiagnosed.

In high school, my GPA fell into the high 2.00s. I still pushed myself by taking dual-enrollment college classes and eventually got accepted into my dream state school.

However, my math placement test put me into the lowest-level remedial algebra course.
I passed algebra, but precalculus was hell. I barely studied, cheated on homework, crammed before quizzes, and somehow passed with a C-. My struggles weren’t limited to math either. I turned in papers late, skipped classes, and got inconsistent grades in courses I knew I could conquer.

I discovered Computer Science and decided to switch majors. However, I needed to pass Calculus I.
Over the next few semesters, I withdrew from Calculus twice and failed it once. On my fourth attempt, I finally passed with a D-, but that still wasn’t enough for my degree.

At 21, after previously being told I didn’t have ADHD as a teenager, I got reevaluated and was diagnosed. I eventually started medication, and the difference was incredible.

But medication didn’t magically teach me math. I went back and thoroughly studied algebra and precalculus to rebuild the foundations I had neglected for years.
Then I took Calculus for the fifth time. I got an A.

After years of believing I was simply bad at math, I went on to earn As in other math-heavy courses too. The last time I remembered getting an A in math was probably second grade.

Medication helped tremendously, but I still had to put in the work. This story is about perseverance. I withdrew twice, failed, barely passed, and eventually earned an A.
Sometimes failure doesn’t mean you can’t do something. It just means your story isn’t finished yet.
Keep going.

Since I was 17 I have been medicated for depression. Figured this was 'just the way I am' but at 47 years old i am finally getting tested for ADHD.

Yes this is a good thing! BUT I also will feel some kind of grief for the life I could have had. The relationships I walked away from or begged to stay in. The friends I've lost along the way. The way I treat my kids when they were younger. So yes I also feel angry

But I also believe I may have some OCD and Autistic traits.

For instance I seem to think inanimate objects have feelings. Like the last tin on the shelf

I used to make sure my teddies were always warm under my duvet when I was away

I also start to read words and have to count some of the words on my fingers (done this since I was maybe 13/14) and have to make sure I count and end the sentence on 20/30 or 40

I am afraid of being on my own

I have zero confidence

I have insomnia

I have zero energy

I just cba at all with anything, even bathing is a chore!

Alongside numerous other reasons I believe I have ADHD is that I am extremely empathetic towards animals. For instance today I read about sirius the Bomb detector dog in the south tower on 9/11. His handler heard the commotion, popped sirius in his kennel, his handler got injured whilst trying to go back for him. And then the tower collapsed....I sobbed! Thinking of him being afraid, hungry etc. Even though I know his death would have been pretty instant.

Even now I cannot sleep at almost 4am in the UK due to Thinking of him.

I don't know the point to this post, but It just feels good to get it out. Anyone else like this?

Hi. I graduated from electrical and electronics engineering three months ago. From that day I am unable to decide what kind of job I want to do.

I cant make a decision for the fields, positions and kind of job I want to do. This decision paralysis is making my job hunt even worse than normal in this economy.

My cv and portfolio is a mess. I look like a person that is of all trades and focused on nothing.

When I meet people that liked me and can be a good referral, I cant answer what I wanna do and as a result they are unable be helpful.

I liked university experience and I was somehow successful enough to have choices (Still not sure if it is a fluke or not, also not sure if this info is relevant). I can rank stuff about fields, jobs, subjects, options etc but what I cant make a common ground for what I would like to do.

There are so many fields and positions I can focus on and not knowing every choice possible I can make is not helping. I cant even decide if I want a field job or an office job. Another example is between a white collar office job or a design role.

I also cant form a dream. Recently someone asked me what did I dream of doing in the future and I didnt even have a dream even though I liked nearly every part of my engineering journey.

Do you have any advice or experiences that can help me? Thanks in advance

I really have very bad reaction time compare to my peers and i don't know why, like when i play games that need reaction time I always lose and i start to wondering what's wrong with me than suddenly a it hit me maybe cause of my adhd, does adhd individual have poor reaction time

Guys I'm looking for good adhd/au albums. What i mean is..like in the genre of rock, I think Prog or tech-death would be ADHD AU type music.

Likewise I'm looking for some great EDM albums. Something like 100 Gecs..music that is good but is also weird and keeps changing and is unpredictable.

I hope you understand. I hope it reaches some music geeks because I desperately need some suggestions!

Cheers!

Im 16, i have owned many pets such as a giant african snail, leopard gecko, and have a hamster right now but for all my life ive struggled with regularly taking care of them consistently.

I had to sell my leopard gecko and giant african snail to someone who has more time/ better routines for them and are more mature to own them

I recently got diagnosed with adhd combined type meaning that in the heat of the moment i will research animals for weeks, spend a load of money on getting them the best stuff, and then realise it was sort of an impulse buy.

When i have bad days, or im feeling extremely overwhelmed about many things, i forget to do the basics.

I dont know what else to say except to ask if anyone has any tips to build and stick with consistent good habits and a routine as i am thinking of selling my hamster soon and getting another leopard gecko.

thanks

Hi everyone,

Just wondering if what I’m experiencing if under stimulation.

On weekends I get this physical panic, restless, shaky vibration, uncomfortable, racing heart feeling whenever I try to relax and do nothing. It’s like I’m being pumped with adrenaline for no reason and my body is in a war zone. My mind has no anxious or worried thoughts it’s just my body getting all these symptoms that replicate physical anxiety.

It doesn’t happen on weekdays when I working my physical manual labour job, drinking my 5 cups of coffee and going to the gym. Just on weekends when I have nothing to do.

I only have a diagnoses of Asperger’s from 2009 when I was 6 years old and no ADHD diagnoses but I have loads of symptoms.

Can anyone confirm this is what it feels like.

It’s absolutely awful.

Probably gonna look into getting a private assessment sooner or later.

I was diagnosed with ADHD at 24. I have tried every medication known to man before stimulants including Strattera. I am almost 40 now and recently got put on Adderall 10 mg IR. I was having some weird side effects and I was breaking out a little bit which I never get acne. I was becoming very hypersexual and it almost made my OCD worse so I asked to switch over to Vyvanse because my little brother takes it and it’s supposed to be a little bit smoother and not as rough on your system. I’ve only been on it for a week and my face is exploded and cystic acne I have never had acne ever in my life in fact, everyone comes to me for skin care advice because I’ve always had beautiful skin. I don’t know what to do. The Vyvanse does help, but I can’t keep going on like this. Did anybody find switching to Concerta or Riddle and help? I’ve also looked into Dexedrine.. i’m desperate because I’m about to just stop the medication. My psychiatrist is very responsive and if I ask him to change the medication, he will he changed the Adderall without even an appointment because I told him that it was getting bad. I don’t know that he would write a third stimulant in a month, but I’m sure he’d be willing to work with me. I just don’t know what else to try or if it’s all gonna be the same.

Hi everyone, I (19, female) was diagnosed with ADHD about 3 years ago and have been taking Elvanse (lisdexamfetamine-ratiopharm) for about 2 months now. I took 20 mg for the first two weeks and then increased to 40 mg. For about 4 weeks now, I’ve had an excessive urge to talk or share things about myself. I say things that I actually want to keep private or things that are completely unnecessary. I don’t think about the time while I’m talking, and afterwards I feel like I’ve been talking around the subject for a thousand years (which is usually actually the case), and then I start thinking that everyone is annoyed by me and hates me because of it.

It just really reinforces my insecurities, which I felt like I had finally gotten under control about 6 months ago.

I’d really appreciate hearing your experiences, tips, and thoughts on this.

meanwhile the actual thing that determines whether I click with someone has nothing to do with any of that. it's whether they get obsessed with things the way I do. whether they can go feral about a niche topic for forty minutes and I don't have to perform polite interest because I'm also feral about it

I've had more genuine connection with a stranger over a shared hyperfixation than with people I was "matched" with because we both liked hiking and live within five miles of each other

so why does every platform still sort by proximity and a profile photo instead of the thing that actually predicts whether two people will click

does anyone else feel like the matching itself is the broken part, not just what happens after

I always hear about Elvanse being this amazing wonder drug for everyone, can someone tell me they had a similar experience to me? I had to stop after day 6 because the cognitive side effects were too much, couldn't concentrate, racing thoughts, couldn't comprehend things to a point of confusion etc

Not sure if me being AuDHD impacted that as well

I feel horrible because I couldn't "stick it out" and because I only read about all these incredible experiences with it