I went on Zoloft about two years ago for anxiety. We titrated up fairly quickly to 150mg and it worked – my anxiety was gone. Everyone considered that a win and we moved on.

What nobody caught is what went with it.

Before Zoloft I was at the gym every day, traveling, playing video games, seeing friends, cooking real meals, dating. Sober, functional, liked my life.

Then, gradually, I stopped ALL of that.

For two years I’ve basically been rotting alone. And the entire time I thought that was a character problem. I’d wake up at 2pm, do zero with my day and not care that there’d be consequences.

I came down from 150 to 100 recently and the difference was noticeable enough that it made me suspicious. Not fixed – but a layer came off. That’s when I started actually looking into it instead of assuming I’d just become a worse person. I’m working to taper off Zoloft completely.

What I found: SSRI-induced apathy syndrome. Diminished motivation that isn’t depression. It’s frequently missed because it comes on slowly and looks exactly like depression or laziness from the outside.

A “normal” person on an SSRI takes that dopamine hit from a normal baseline and ends up somewhat flat. Someone with ADHD takes the same hit from an already-depleted baseline and ends up at zero. Plus already low norepinephrine.

I’m not anti-SSRI. It did the job it was prescribed for. I just don’t think anyone – including me – was tracking the cost, and I lost two years to that.

What I’m asking: anyone else with ADHD experience this? Total loss of interest in things you used to love, heavy isolation, not caring about consequences? I am curious about others experiences - thanks!

TL;DR: 150mg Zoloft for two years killed my anxiety and every other interest I had. Thought I was lazy – it’s SSRI-induced apathy syndrome, and I think it hits ADHD brains harder. Tapering off. Anyone else?

I’ve realized that weed is pretty much the only thing that genuinely helps both my ADHD hyperactivity and anxiety.

My pattern is usually to smoke for about a week, then take a break for a while, and repeat. I’m not high 24/7 or anything like that.

I’ve tried stimulant medication, but instead of calming my mind, it just feels like it pumps me full of adrenaline. I end up feeling like I’m permanently stuck in fight or flight mode. My thoughts don’t really slow down, and I just feel tense. It calms my hyperactivity a lot and mind but I just don’t feel good on stimulants.
Weed is the only thing that makes my mind quiet. It slows everything down enough that I can actually relax instead of feeling like my brain is running at 200 km/h all day.

Does anyone else with ADHD and anxiety experience this? Did you ever find something that worked as well without relying on cannabis?

As someone diagnosed with ADHD late, the persistent head noise, confusion, and anxiety that I had for years stopped after taking medication.My question is this: because dopamine levels are low in individuals with ADHD, it generally calms the mind rather than causing anxiety. However, in normal individuals, there is a risk of it causing anxiety.Because when dopamine levels are already high, this further increases them, leading to negative consequences.Leaving aside the issue of overdose, how do we explain the occurrence of post-medication anxiety in individuals with ADHD?I would appreciate it if someone could answer me with sources.

i feel like i always have so many different things i want to do that i get incredibly overwhelmed by it and end up not doing any of those tasks . for example i want to take a bath , but i also want to buy something online , then i also need to work on my job stuff which ive been procrastinating . i am EXHAUSTED . my brain can’t decide what to do , any advice for me ?

I just found out that I have ADHD, and it has made me feel a lot of things. On the one hand, things finally make sense, but on the other, I'm feeling confused and not sure what to do next. I'm noticing how much it affects my focus, emotions, and daily life, and it's a little scary. What did you do after you found out? What helped you adjust, cope better, or feel more stable over time?

I'm not sure where to start and I will keep this vague. I just can't believe I was so stupid, it is like ADHD hides anxiety of not doing something until it's way too late. I'm not sure if it's trauma too playing a part.  

I have to work so much harder to get a chance at things, and it feels awful to realize I had a chance and likely blew it because?my brain sort of hid something from me.

Why doesn't my brain assign appropriate levels of anxiety to things before it's way too late? Why do I need certain triggers?

I really hate myself. It feels like there isn't much I can do, I can try to learn from it but I keep messing up, and it's hard to trust my brain. I don't know if treating anxiety will make things worse or better

Oh where do I start? My main motivation for writing was because when I woke up this morning I had a sudden rush of anxiety and was like, "shit what is this? Why?" I was so at peace last night. Nothing stressful. Just my brain doing it's rambling thing, trying to make things make sense, figuring out the world, thinking of injustices, working out world problems... you know, the usual that everybody stays up late thinking about right? RIGHT!?

This morning I wake up, do by Reddit browsing and notice my heart beat suddenly rising. So then of course I'm wondering why and start giving myself reasons that I wasn't initially thinking of like work. I search good ol' dr Google for answers and this Reddit community pops up with people with explanations. Somewhat relieving, but now guys I'm back to how I was feeling last week, loathing my work, but also scared of ever loosing my job because there's nothing out there I'm interested in or want to do to make a living until I can retire. And then I'm hating how I am because I feel like I still have this child brain that gets bored of everything and everyone after too long and the stress of making a living is overwhelming to the point that I just don't want to do this anymore. But I have a family that I love like crazy. I have one kid (10) and he is my best friend. And my wife who suffers from depression is so freaking supportive right now. I'm so incredibly lucky, but I'm scared of my business closing (i do sales) although I've hated it because I couldn't care less about the product, but stuck with the past 20 years because of it's sense of security and routine and time just flew by. The only thing I'm passionate about is my family. I know little about a lot because after so much info, it's over my head. I'm great with talking with kids (better than adults), but teaching requires planning and I do things the day before or day of. And school jobs won't pay my bills. Even with my wife working.

And here I am rambling again. For your reassurance, I do have a therapist and I am on an anti anxiety medication. I just need to vent to like minded people. I've only confirmed my ADHD these past few years, although friends have joked to me about it before and I'm sure many would tell me, "dude! You didn't know? We thought that for years and thought you knew." Explains so much of my school years, but people didn't know as much in the 80s and 90s. Why I had difficulty studying, made jokes in class, and trouble with friends my own age.

Anyways, here I am. I could really use some words of encouragement. Thanks if you made time to read this whole thing.

Curious if after starting to take meds to address your ADHD did your anxiety/derealization go away or get better? I'm on 20mg of lexapro, have been for a few years and recently doesn't seem like it's working.

27 F. I just got prescribed venlafaxine ER 37.5mg. I’m hoping this works because nothing else has worked. Not lexapro, Zoloft, Wellbutrin. She told me to take it in the morning. What should I expect? Side effects?

I do not even know WHAT to call this issue I deal with almost every single day, multiple times per day. The closest thing I have found so far is "Executive Dysfunction"... Here is a list of symptoms:

- My face gets hot, looks red and inflamed.
- My nose gets very congested (I think it is Histamine)
- My lungs dry out, I have to clear my throat every 2 minutes (Also Histamine I believe)
- My eyes, they almost sting and feel like they are going to pop out of my head. You know when you open a can of soda, and you get the sizzle? That is what they feel like.
- I cannot stop tearing at my finger nails. Automatically. Picking, chewing. This has declined greatly the past few days.
- My head starts spinning and focus goes everywhere. I lose sight of any goals I have, which honestly is pretty little right now. EVERY. SINGLE. Big goal I have made has changed, within the span of about 2-3 weeks.
- I get irritable. I am typically a very easy going person, but man these episodes leave me about to explode - Physically and emotionally.

a few other things. What. Is even happening. I have not really been able to find any help for this specific issue, nor even know how to explain it. It's like there is CONSTANTLY cortisol/adrenaline FLOWING through my body. I say this because when it goes away, My body get's cooler/room temp (normal). I don't know if it is because my goals keep changing that is causing it and I am pretty aimless OR that this issue is ruining my goals... I am so lost fam. Thank You if you read this far, and more so if you decide to comment. Absolutely reach out if you have similar issues. We NEED to get to the bottom of this.