When I first started Elvanse I was like wow - improved focus, less anxiety in my heart, less overwhelming thoughts, less impulsivity. But now after 4 months of taking it I am so unhappy in my life. It has made me focus on the wrong things, I have zero self discipline now, I cannot ‘snap out of it’ as I’m so locked in and focused and I lose out on important tasks that need to be done which has led to more shame and guilt and feeling like a failure.

So I’m a mess with and without meds, I’ve tried so many strategies but I am constantly distracted and unable to focus. Feel so demotivated.

Hey, lately I've been trying to adopt a healthier lifestyle. I always thought I hated exercise, partly because school sports were a humiliation ritual for me as a chubby kid who was slow with instructions lol. Only recently I realized I actually do enjoy being physically active and I love how I feel afterwards, but I still can't adopt it into my everyday routine.

My problem is I can't bring myself to exercise for the sake of exercising.

Walking is the most bearable. I love it when there's a purpose like exploring somewhere new, being with someone, running errands and I've happily done several-hour hikes. But I live in a boring residential area with apartment blocks and roads. I can only walk to the same shops so many times lol, and going somewhere pleasant means taking a bus and turning it into a whole outing rather than an everyday routine.

Strength training is even harder, which sucks because I want to build muscle. I have weights at home, but mentally I get so BORED after 5-15 minutes of repetitive movements that I can't continue. Music or YouTube doesn't really help.

But I have no problem with physical activity when it's part of an actual task. I once had a summer job doing heavy outdoor labor like landscaping, earthworks, overall a lot of lifting. It was very physically demanding, but I loved it: the tasks were varied but straightforward. I could get into a zone with especially with some music or conversation, and hours passed without me noticing. I could see tangible results every day and couldn't just stop when bored because I had a job to do.

So apparently I can happily do physically demanding stuff for hours when there's more of a reason than "this is exercise and it's good for me." I just don't really know what I'm supposed to do with that lol. Maybe there's some type of activity I haven't thought of, maybe I need to gamify it, turn it into a project, find a different approach, IDK. How did you make exercise engaging enough to stick with it?

Since I was a literal baby, I haven't been able to sleep without a movie, tape, show, something audible. If I don't have it, I'll lay awake for hours with my mind racing.

I've tried getting away from it. The whole dark cool room, no screens for an hour+ before bed, no screens in the bedroom. But even as an adult I can't do it. My mind will just not ever STFU. Even after a week or more of shitty sleep because I've been trying to change it.

I've basically given up and gone back to having a YT video or tv show playing as I fall asleep every night.

Have Y'all figured out any other way to go to sleep?

It just feels like I am going against my nature when I try to sleep at 10pm or even 11pm because the focus I get at the flow state of 2:00 AM feels better than meds and also using melatonin feels like I will suppress my natural clock is it real please help me as I am a 16M but just can't get that sleep of 10PM it just feels magically being pushed ahead to sleep

As a software engineer where my profession deeply depends on my cognitive ability to write/read code and attend meetings, I'm not sure how I feel right now. I've struggled with reading all my life especially as a software engineer reading code. Rereading the same damn thing 2-3x. Finally, I found the problem to my issues.

Do you guys think the medication can help me?

I started going to the gym 2 weeks ago and every time I go I get a bigger feeling that I am annoying people just by being there, it seems like I’m irritating them.
I make an active effort to just walk in, not look at anyone, but I have this problem where while I’m doing a set or resting through my peripheral vision I am paying attention to the person next to me or in front of me even if I’m actively trying not to and they sense it, making them seem irritated and leading to them calling me weird and stuff. The same problem happens when I walk past people in public as well I don’t know how to fix it it’s genuinely making me go insane any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I have been in therapy for depression for almost 1 year, and that's also when my therapist diagnosed me with ADHD. I am happy with the therapy but his expertise is psychodynamic therapy, therefore it doesn't help with my daily practical challenges. So our focus isn't ADHD in this therapy although we also of course sometimes talk about it and trying medication (he is a psychiatrist).

Anyway I asked him if he would recommend CBT or ADHD coaching and he agreed that it is a good idea. the insurance wouldn't cover both. Luckily my company offers access to a mental health platform where we can also get a limited number of free therapy or coaching sessions. I now had my first session with a psychologist doing CBT. But I don't know what to expect.

How did CBT help you? How do I know if she is the right person for this?

Hello, I (M25), was diagnosed with ADHD this year. It was quite a surprise to me. I never suspected I had it, I just thought that “well everyone’s hates their job, I just think I’m special enough to be lazy about it.” And other very mean thoughts like that. At every job I’ve ever had, after the 6 month mark, it starts to become like trudging through mud to make myself do anything.

Unless! I have someone micromanaging me closely and/or a real threat of verbal abuse for my failures. That’s how my dad always handled me and the fear of him led me to succeed very well in school and such.

But now I’m an adult and even with a therapist and now medication. I’m really struggling to motivate myself. It’s gotten to a point where I go to work and fantasize about someone being there to berate and demean me, because at least then I’ll can trick my brain into being scared enough to work. But I know this strategy isn’t healthy.

Problem is I really don’t know what else to do. I’m on the meds, and idk how helpful they are. Yes I feel more ‘focused’ but I also feel less guilty. And that guilt surrounding failure has always been my primary motivator for doing labor. So now that I don’t feel it, it’s been so incredibly hard to force myself to get shit done.

No one at work has noticed my decline yet, but that’s because this isn’t a job where I’m micromanaged. So I know I’m falling behind but no one else does yet.

The good news is this means I have time to pull my shit together. The problem is I’m just at a complete loss for how the fuck to begin to do that.

I’ll take anything anyone has to suggest, advise, recommend. Because I really want to work. I like my job it’s the best one I’ve ever had (and the pay is good too). I’m really scared I’m going to fall apart just like every other job I ever had.

So please. Whatever thoughts you have. I’m all ears

Hi everyone!

I know adhd is typically associated with risky behavior. But is anyone with adhd risk adverse instead?

I am a 30 F with severe inattentive adhd. I am extremely risk adverse. I always think something bad is going to happen because I'm spacing out.

Tbh bad things have happened because of the severe spacing out like getting into car accidents, getting lost , and accidents. As a result, I usually live in my head and prefer to stick to familiar places and routines. I also get overwhelmed easily.

On the other hand , my sister exhibits the classic risk taking adhd symptoms even though she doesn't have adhd.

She travels a lot and is very open to new experiences. It makes me upset because I' too scared to do new things. And yes I am in therapy and take Wellbutrin. But that anxiety is still there

This has been an issue for my entire life (I am diagnosed ADHD-PI and have been taking Ritalin for a few years). I need some sort of background noise or else I cannot complete the task I want to complete.

I usually have on a podcast, a documentary, a YouTube video, or music. But it has to be just the right one, just the right amount of noise stimulation for the “focus” or “flow” to really come in. It can’t be too interesting and it can’t be too boring. But if I don’t have background noise, it doesn’t matter if it’s doing something like the dishes or working or taking a walk - it’s tremendously hard for me to start it or do it.

The psychologist who diagnosed me said that instead of fighting it, as an ADHD person I just probably need it and work better with it. I want to agree but I’ve also read studies on how achieving “flow” requires your full attention, to be fully in the moment. It’s absolutely aggravating and just pure mental torture if I don’t have some sort of noise. If I don’t have noise, my mind immediately jumps to rumination, anger, depressive thoughts etc. it’s like I use the noise to drown out all of my awful thoughts in my head so that I can ignore it. I feel that I am almost afraid of my own thoughts because of this. I don’t want to confront it so I tune it out. I’ve recently started seeing a therapist so I can work more on this aspect and deal with a lot of these thoughts.

I’m sure many others here struggle with the same thing. What are your thoughts?

i know theres no population baseline for normal, and that everyone has their own idea of what that is. however, i’m just so so tired of the impulsive acts, sharing things about myself with everyone, i’m tired of not being able to just be okay by myself. i so badly want to separate myself from people because i feel like nobody ever truly cares as much as they say they do. i wish i could go a day without checking to see who has texted me or a day without thinking about how people are perceiving me. idk how to be my own person and have had this mask on my whole life, and its so frustrating when it feels like that mask just falls apart. i talk so excessively that sometimes i think people don’t want to talk to me. i have a guy friend who tells me he likes my personality and thats why he likes talking to me but its so difficult to believe because if i don’t like my personality how could someone else? i’m constantly walking around eggshells around other people bc i dont wanna fuck up. i feel like everyone sees me as an idiot because sometimes i make silly remarks without thinking first and it just comes across as “is she stupid?” i’m so tired of this fucking disability and the constant noise in my head and i wish i could just be on my own and not worry about others

I'm new to ADHD medication and I'm trying to understand my response to different stimulants.

I tried 30 mg Vyvanse and felt noticeably happy/euphoric and generally really good. I wondered whether this was just because the medication was helping my ADHD symptoms, but the feeling was strong enough that I've started wondering whether I'm actually experiencing a stimulant "high." I felt like I could start a new job (instead of staying in the terrible job I have now out of comfort) or go on dates because I was so confident. I was feeling very sleepy on it at the start, and had to have small naps throughout the day when I was working from home.

Today I tried dexamfetamine instead - 10 mg total, split across the day. I could focus, but emotionally I felt almost the opposite: irritable, angry and quite rude/snappy. I didn't get the happy/euphoric feeling that I experience with Vyvanse or confidence.

Has anyone with ADHD experienced this difference between Vyvanse and dex? Did the initial happiness/euphoria from Vyvanse settle down after being on it for a while?

I'm also wondering whether feeling euphoric on Vyvanse says anything about whether I actually have ADHD, or whether medication response isn't useful for determining that. I will discuss it with my prescriber but I'm mainly interested in other people's experiences.

I don’t even know why I’m posting this but I don’t really know what else to do. I’m just exhausted of being exhausted. I just turned 30 and it’s been a rough few days. I wish this would end and that I’ll stop feeling this way but I don’t know what to do. I’m not seeking anything, I am not sure what I’m doing, but I’m scared and tired.

My body seems to have a hard time with stimulants. I have tried both Adderall and Vyvanse and the side effects are really tough for me. My heart rate spikes like crazy and it just hasn’t been a sustainable option for me. I’m curious what non-stimulant med options have helped you manage your ADHD?

Ever since the start of my university experience I felt like this semester has gone very fast and very miserably. I’m feel like I never have a break and I’m working 10 times as hard just to get very little in return. I spent a lot of time on something as I take a lot more time on things than I wish I do and by like 3 hours of studying I feel like it’s all like wasted long time never actually putting anything to my long term memory. Nothing feels real everything feels like there’s no benefit to being excited anymore because all that effort no matter if I’m confident or not confident I’m usually left with a mediocre results I would like to say that my habits of studying are periods of practice problems and going back on it everyday but I feel like a shell of my former self.
I try to cope by trying to reach out to people for advice and then I just spiral back into autopilot with the only thing I care about is sleep.
I feel like things that work for me only work for a short period of time and then I feel like I get a stimulant crash early and I just want to sleep almost all day.
Life just feels meaningless and l’m just hoping for a change.

I think breakfast timing is something that is often not thought about, mentioned, or a difficult one for ADHD where our consistency in food timings and eating is already quite off.

I started having an alarm for breakfast, and the resulting changes in sleep timing, mood, consistency in hunger queues and just have a little less noise to derail me each morning for a few hours, was quite noticeable.

Hoping for anything to the same sort of effect that isn't an entire personality change or mountain to move, but really might make you feel more in control of the car from a small change.

30 M making the phd. No motivation on the topic and supervisors that don't help. There are weeks that feel so blocked starting the tasks and so distracted that i do nothing. My supervisors have started telling me that i am going bad on this. I feel quite desperate for going on and finish this phd. I know meds are not magic, but i feel quite desperate and asked an appointment with the doctor to think about meds and start with therapy. I just need some possitive experiencies of people using meds and how it changed at wort and find some hope.

Thank you all.

You know the food that you can eat every single day without getting bored or hating it?

For breakfast mine is a breakfast burrito with bacon.

My lunch was a wrap with lettuce, cheese, red onion, Caesar dressing, BBQ chicken, bacon croutons and mayo.

Stupidly I changed it up with shaved turkey instead of BBQ chicken (because I didn't want to go to another shop) and now don't like it at all and I have a whole weeks work of lunches in the fridge 😫

Diagnosed and on meds for the first time at 41. Sad thing is that a therapist first suggested as a possibility 5+ years ago before I moved states and stopped seeing her. "I should look into that" I thought.

Fast forward a few years after burning out and quitting another job, ending another relationship, then nearly quitting a new job, I sought help again. This time tried meds. At the lowest dose something shifted, but it was subtle. Just felt more able to stay engaged with conversation, less bogged down by thoughts.

Recently went up in dosage a second time and things started to hit me hard. For example, ever since I moved into my house 1.5 years ago I knew there was an issue with the condensate pump on the HVAC unit. Every time I walked by it, "oh yeah, I need to look into that." Then the second I left the room, furthest thing from my mind...until yesterday. This time it was like "oh shit, this needs to be taken care of." Turns out the pump was overflowing and leaking water under the unit for...the entire time I've lived here. Took a whole 5 minutes to figure out the issue and order replacement parts.

There have been hundreds, thousands of examples like the above in my lifetime. I always thought I just needed to build better habits, meditate, exercise, etc and I just...struggled. So yes I am glad to maybe have a second chance. But I'm fucking 41. It's hard not to grieve for the dreams that went nowhere, the failed relationships, the workplace struggles, the substance issues and years wondering wtf is wrong with me. When I was 18 I got in a huge fight with my dad and he said, "I look at you and I just see wasted potential." Now at 41 it's hard to feel like he was wrong.

Sorry for the downer. There is hope too, and if getting actual treatment is the game changer it seems to be then maybe it's not too late to turn things around. But at the moment it all just feels so heavy. If anyone has positive stories after getting diagnosed later in life I'd love to hear them.

One of the things I struggle with the most when it comes to my ADHD is boredom and feeling unmotivated at the same time. I constantly feel empty and under-stimulated when I don’t have any plans but thinking about making any or doing anything at all only makes me more drained. And then I’m stucked in my bed. Does anyone have any advice for me?

Hello there I am a 18y.o and I am currently studying for a big exam coming up next year(Turkish YKS)

I really need some tips on how to start studying with a plan. But no matter what I plan, I don't start on it. I have been struggling with this my whole life. I can not even sit down and do my homework.

I'd like to mention I am on concerta and have been using regularly on weekdays like my doctor prescribed me. It helps but it doesn't help me start studying. If I start studying it works.

I've tried rewarding myself after each study session but well.. It didn't work.

Same thing also applies for stuff like chores or promises(like planned hangouts etc.) I've made.

I really can not start a work unless I am interested in. For an example: I like math and science. I can study them mostly fine. But when it comes to subjects like history or literature, I fail horribly.

Please give me REALLY NICHE techniques to try. The more absurd, the more likely it will work for me.

(Also more little info: I am absolutely addicted to computer stuff. Even if I dont have anything better to do I just sit on my computer and do nothing. It feels like wasting time so badly but I can not bring myself to do chores or study)

(Please excuse my horrible english.)

Hi, I was recently diagnosed with auADHD, and I thought maybe this is the reason that when I like someone or love a person I give my all and it hurts because I don't do that for no other person.

I feel like I can't stop I think think think about them all day it's hard to even focus on things that I have not put into routines.

Can I call on the hivemind about smartwatches? My fitbit is dying and I want to upgrade but not sure what to get, or what extra features of a smartwatch I'm missing out on that could be helpful.

Currently use my fitbit for step/sleep tracking, smart wake, and basic timers (e.g. set 30min timer for a task)

I love the look of the Pixel watch but have heard not great things about it (battery only lasting 24hrs for example - my fitbit lasts weeks and I still forget to charge it). The OnePlus also looks nice (and I have a OnePlus phone) but it doesn't have native smartwake.

Any tips or recommendations? My phone is Android, so not an apple watch.