Mine I chili chesse hot dogs.

So I was always this very sensitive kid who was also very clumsy and had energy and mood for absolutely nothing and I couldn't focus for jack not even if you put a pistol to my head, since kindergarten exactly. I have flashbacks of the other kids laughing at me and the teachers there scolding me for not being capable of handwriting and drawing, it was bothering me a lot but I knew that at the end of the day I was about to just escape that place so I can go home and play on my laptop Need For Speed and sleep. Everyday. I was very quiet and didn't have any interest to talk to anybody, somedays teachers were calling my parents asking if I was at the kindergarten the respective day because they literally wouldn't notice I was in the same room with them lmao.

At school I was a mess, everyone thought I was dumb and lazy though I did excel at some study objects that were on the social part (literature and history), my math and chemistry teachers were suspecting my literature teacher was unfairly favorizing me because I had such good grades there lmao.

Anyway I knew there is something different at me in comparison to other people that seemed to just enjoy their life but I said to me eh, it's a developmental thing, as I grow I will be normal too and I will have energy and will be able to focus (boy was I wrong)

I had numerous heartbreaks, failed friendships, anti social behavior, anxiety, loss of energy, heavy mental fog, constantly thinking I am literally not made for this world. My only advantage was the fact that I had an incredible ability to mask giving me this ability to literally absorb the personality and energy of the person that is in front of me though it wouldn't last forever. This way I hanged with a wide variety of groups, from nerds to popular street kids to rich spoiled people etc. People liked to have me around for some reason, probably because they thought I was listening while they talk and they were thinking that I don't say a word because I was paying attention when in reality I was just having heavy brain fog and wanted to sleep (even if I was well rested the respective day).

My last straw was when I had an incredibly painful heartbreak with a girl I truly loved and made me feel normal for the first time in my life (I was focused, engaged and energetic like I've never been in my life while with her and I was productive the whole days but after the highs of the relationship wore off I came back to the "normal" me and I was again extremely emotional sensitive, not leaving the house, anti social, lacking energy and just wanting to stay indoors and you can guess how it ended). The breakup was followed by a long period of reflection, so I was thinking, "So I am not irreversibly dumb and lazy after all, I am capable of being normal like the others, but how did it exactly happen?" I thought it like this: relationships that make you happy give you dopamine right? So there must be something wrong with my dopamine levels

Went to a psychiatrist and after almost 2 full days of completing papers and responding to questions, I got the diagnosis: Predominantly Inattentive ADHD. I got prescribed Bupropion 150 mg and I'm gonna hop on Concerta soon.

But let me tell you the first week I was on this med I felt an energy and motivation like I've never felt before, first things first I went to clean the backyard of every weeds possible and stayed 4 hours in the sun without even noticing time went that fast.

And it just kept getting better, now I am able to follow conversations, to engage in groups, I have the mood and energy to go outside the house, I never thought this was possible, it's literally lifesaving! I was living life on hard mode the whole freaking time!!!

It's been some time now, I am going to move in a big city to start a Master's degree but a heavy grief has just started hitting me: I am 22 and I feel like I missed my entire life, every relationship opportunity, every occasion to be part of a social group, every hangout missed, this last relationship that was everything to me. I feel lonely, I feel like its game over, like I've just completed a game on insane difficulty and now I am just watching the credits roll and then a dark empty screen. How do you even cope with this?

I apologize if this breaks any rules I'm so sorry.

So my mom passed away late July, I'm 20 and God I am at my wits end.

I cutoff my sister after years of mental manipulation. My other nearby family just feels like nothing but call outs of everything I'm doing wrong and it's throwing me for a damn loop. Every single time I feel like I'm finally doing something working towards a job, taking my written driving test, trying my damndest to act or feel like well an adult somehow my decisions are echoed to everyone because someone calls me and throws everything I'm doing at my face and points out nothing but my mistakes and I just have to drown in it because I can't speak up and tell them to leave me alone because their right in all honesty. (sometimes)

My friend and I drove my mom's truck and I forgot the tags expired but fuck sake that day I never felt more normal and suddenly my cousin and her husband show up today and take the keys from me and look and judge me without even giving me a chance to speak up properly or explain myself and just give me a warning so I know and can hold onto at least something but no; what am I supposed to do like I'm trying so hard and nothing I do works, hell I failed my written test today for the second time.

What do I do anymore I have so many dreams and aspirations, my therapist talks and her words and advice are heavenly but I don't know how to put them into action like I don't understand what I'm supposed to do, wtf is a first step I can't even upload my first YouTube video because I keep second guessing myself. I have till next month because I'm getting low on money and everyone is gonna push me to move with my sister who's just a narcissist bitch who wants my money, I have one friend that I'm genuinely so close to that I feel like she's my only family left.

I understand I need criticism but fuck sake hearing it 24/7 from everyone doesn't help because I feel like I'm being dog piled on rather then given advice, I barley have money left but I can stay at my apartment another couple months especially with my friend moving in thank god.

I'm sorry for venting like this and i don't know if anyone will even say anything or know what to even say because I don't know either.

I’m 21M, work out regularly, but I’ve been struggling with this for a while now. Basically, I have this insane urge to masturbate, especially in the mornings and at night. Normally it wouldn’t be a huge deal, but I’ve got midterms coming up and I just can't seem to stop. It’s draining a ton of my energy.

I’ve had ADHD since I was a kid, and I see a lot of people with ADHD talking about hypersexuality. Honestly, I never really noticed if I had this issue before, but now I'm starting to wonder if it’s connected.

This isn’t just a recent thing either—it’s been going on for almost a year now and it’s getting really frustrating. I used to be able to suppress and mask it pretty easily, but lately, I feel like it's spiraling out of control.

It’s even gotten to the point where I'm hitting up girls just out of desperation. Since I don’t have a gf/partner rn, I don't really have anyone I can talk to or ask for advice. Do you guys think this is linked to my ADHD? Any advice on how to manage it?

For a little background I’ve always been a heavy runner. I did both track and cross country in school as well as many public running events. However, what this comic discusses hasn’t really been something I’ve experienced.

I actually enjoy running for the exact opposite reason described in this comic, because it’s a repetitive task that allows me to focus less on my real world surroundings and allow the daydreams to take over instead of trying so hard to focus on the real world. Of course that means if something is really bothering me running can sometimes make it worse since I can’t escape my thoughts. Maybe if I ran in a different place it would help, but I can’t just up and find a different location every time something is bothering me.

I also don’t run as much anymore because at one point I was thinking about something for so long that I ran so much it injured my knee and running hasn’t felt the same since. Does anyone else have this problem?

Also I tagged this post as a rant, because I couldn’t find a discussion tag, but I would really like to hear your thoughts!

Hello everyone,

I have ADHD (duh), and I have found myself during the year increasingly relying on caffeine to get things done and/or remember things. Because of the medication I'm on, I've found that caffeine triggers really bad migraines for me, and I always have to tread a very careful (sometimes unpredictable) balance between drinking caffeine and taking medication. Has anyone else had this problem/been able to cut down on caffeine? How did you do it?

One of the hardest for me about regulating my focus is not being able to be present with my kids. They want to play with me and my mind wanders and then all of the sudden I snap back and realize they have been trying to play and talk to me for the last several minutes. The absolute worse is when I start hyper focusing on a new project or consumed by anxiety and stress and it feels like I haven't been with my family for weeks when I have spent time with them everyday. When I snap out of it I realize I haven't really been there just my body. Anyone out there know good strategies to be more present with our kids like the deserve?

Hey ya'll so I’m 22M, diagnosed with ADHD at 8, and currently unmedicated.

Lately I’ve been putting myself out there a lot, meeting people mostly through school but also online. I’m making an effort to socialize, but I’m finding it really difficult to form and maintain lasting friendships or relationships.

I feel like I usually make a pretty good first impression, but after we hang out more, people seem to slowly drift out of my life. I don’t really know what’s causing it, so I’m grasping at straws here. I know some connections naturally fade, but it’s happened enough that I’m wondering whether there’s something about how I interact that I’m missing.

I tend to say really random or weird things, and I don’t have much of a filter, especially once I get comfortable around someone. At first I can monitor what I say and how I act, but keeping that up feels like masking. I want to be myself around people without constantly worrying that getting comfortable will put them off.

The uncertainty is frustrating because I end up replaying interactions and wondering whether I said something wrong. I’m not assuming ADHD explains all of this. I just want to understand whether other people have experienced something similar.

Does anyone else find that meeting people is easier than turning those connections into lasting friendships? How do you figure out what you might need to work on without overanalyzing everything? And if you’ve tried medication, therapy, or specific strategies, did any of those help with the social side of things?

Everytime i hear people objectively shame people who use ai they are always talking from a neurotypical perspective. Yes we all know Ai is bad for us and it is fair to assume that generally everyone who uses Ai feels atleast some smidge of guilt or shame for using it. But some neurodivergent people utilize ai as a lifeline to be able to keep up with tasks at hand even during the worse flare ups with adhd. Not because they don’t want to do whatever task they are asking ai to do, but because they are so behind and drowning in tasks with near due dates or due dates that have already passed.

However Ai companies definitely understand this to a certain degree and use it to their advantage. The way chatgpt now has little comments like“ lets tackle this task” above the text input box inflicts a feeling that someone is right there helping you and you all are completing these tasks “together”. A feeling that a lot of us yearn for due to feeling so overwhelmed 24/7 but also because alot of us feel like no one truly understands and people’s offering of support usually isn’t genuine. They usually offer it right after you complain about something, feeling guilt tripped instead of genuinely wanting to help. Idk i just hate that ai was created and i hate that we are one of ai companies target groups probably.

I have lost access to any stimulants/SSRIs because I had a negative interaction with THC and Adderall last year. I’m under Kaiser and they pretty much won’t prescribe me anything that is not a mood stabilizer. They don’t think I have ADHD.

Anyways on to the point, I have been unmedicated, struggling to start tasks, doing things last minute.

I started a GLP almost a week ago. It’s not activating like a stimulant at all. But that desire to “scratch that spot” in my brain by eating food, scrolling on TikTok, listening to music, etc. has softened.

It was my first day at work today since my GLP sleepiness side effects subsided and I did not scroll on social media once throughout my workday. I work from home and dopamine seeking activities happen so often for me. While it didn’t give me that kick/push that stimulants gave me to start a task, it was so much easier to start a task because my brain didn’t crave dopamine as much.

I just watched the latest Last Week Tonight and it got me thinking about an issue I've had with generic methylphenidate.

Every once in a while, my pharmacy will fill my scrip with a different-looking pill. The ones I'm used to look like a regular capsule (oval with a band). The odd ones are spheroid like a Skittle, but with a flat band around the equator.

The regular ones give me the little boost I'm used to, so subtle I only barely notice it. When I'm on the demented Skittles, I feel it kick in. My heart races, sometimes I get a little sweaty, then it fades and things are back to my medicated normal.

Has anyone else noticed a difference with the different formats?

First time posting here! I was wondering, does anyone else occasionally feel a sudden burst of happiness (with a clear source; not out of nowhere) that is so intense it feels overwhelming? In my case it's a specific piece of media where when I look at fanart of it etc, it actually makes me so happy that it almost "hurts". It gets to the point that I sometimes avoid the media or have to mentally prepare before watching videos about it. I know it sounds so silly but I'm genuinely curious if anyone else shares this experience, or if there's some explanation on why this happens. Any thoughts on this are appreciated!

Fellas with all respect im jobless,have zero money for a doctors appointment because my family thinks "ADHD" is a made up thing in my head. which my mind cannot comprehend....
To be honest i can relate to literally everything adhd people have.
i used to smoke a lot of marijuana when i was a kid to cope with the sad reality of my aunt having schitzophrenia and i had to move around alot changing schools-overall had to deal with things on the way---turned out with super messy handwriting and being anti social as f most of the time-till i grew up and became more social and overcame social anxiety with the help of friends.
to be honest im super afraid to go to the doctor's appoitment on my own and i really dont know if im overthinking at this point or i am really just adhd... i even have a friend which has adhd and im like almost 85% like her ;(

What I found from literature is not conclusive result so I do wonder from your experiences or from what you have known

Hi,
I’m a 38yo male who was diagnosed with depression and anxiety at around 16, and adhd at around 32.
I take brintellix and vyvanse, with the vyvanse dosage fluctuating between 40 and 20mg (currently 20)

When I started on the vyvanse, my depression disappeared completely, like no anti depressants have ever done. But it comes with its own side effects.

If the dosage is too high, I can’t switch off, and am a freight train through the day, too low and I don’t get things done and the depression leaks back in. I’ve struggled to find a happy medium.

Another major issue is that the higher the dosage, the more I crave alcohol to the point of being ravenous for it. As soon as I stop the vyvanse, these cravings are gone. This causes a lot of tension between my wife and I.

I’m feeling really defeated at the moment, because I feel like I’m at a cross road where I have to essentially choose between unmedicated with severe depression or medicated with alcoholism.

I have tried anti craving medication as well with minor success from Topamax, but it only lasts temporarily.

Has anyone else been through this, and did you find anything that helped?

Hello there! First time posting, this was a recent thing a out myself that I discovered and wanted to share with you just in case It helps someone!

I started Concerta on January after being diagnosed the year prior. Started on 18mg, a month after I changed to 36mg, but after months with it I went down to 27mg because a higher dose was giving me a lot of muscle tension and non-focus issues as well.

The thing is, I'm a person who always struggled with insomnia heavily. My doctor didn't want to recommend me any meds for anxiety to take daily and she though that lowering my Concerta dose to 18mg would help, but It didn't really. After trying to analyze what was going on with me and what caused my insomnia and anxiety at night so bad, I realized It was my ADHD symptoms going back at night like a full speed, causing me to overthink and activate really hard the moment I step into the bed.

I always take my Concerta really early in the morning, and 10-12h later the effects were 100% gone. So I took the chance, since I wasn't getting any sleep anyway, I tried taking 27mg in the morning, and 18mg before dinner (around 12h later of my first dose) and there It was: I could spend the rest of the night perfectly chill and sleep like a baby. I've been trying this for a few days now and I feel better than ever! I'm a AuDHD person so Concerta helps me a lot with my emotional regulation too, it has an amazing relaxing effect on me.

I know taking Concerta and similar meds at night is non recommended, but this method did wonders for me! Brain chemistry is such an amazing thing really.

I have ADHD and nights are the worst part of my day. The second I lie down my head starts going a million miles an hour: stuff I forgot to do, random ideas, replaying conversations from 3 days ago, planning things I’ll never do. Some nights it takes me 1-2 hours to fall asleep.

I’ve tried a bunch of stuff: white noise, sleep apps, writing things down before bed, breathing exercises, no phone. Some of it helps a little but I never stick with anything for more than a week or so.

So I’m curious, for those of you who deal with the same thing:

• What actually works for you, if anything?
• Do you use any apps for this, and why did you keep using them (or drop them)?
• Is it more about getting your thoughts out of your head, or more about calming down physically?

Would love to hear what’s worked, even if it’s something weird.

Hey,

I quit nicotine pouches containing 3 mg of nicotine per pouch over a year ago, but I still experience cravings. I've tried L-theanine, Alpha-GPC, choline, L-tyrosine, caffeine, ADHD medications, and other things, but nothing seems to provide the same buzz and improved focus that I used to get from nicotine pouches.

Are there any alternatives I haven't tried that might provide a similar effect, or other ways to achieve that same feeling of focus and stimulation without going back to nicotine?

I have been struggling to get myself to work on my next YouTube video lately. I posted a video essay and I really love my channel and want to work on videos for it more, but I've just been so distracted lately and haven't been able to get myself to do it. I have been worried about money because I wasn't getting enough pet sitting jobs, sorting out a gender crisis, reading a bunch of fanfictions for a show I really love, attempting to work on my next video.

Idk. I'm tired, but I also really enjoy it when I CAN get myself to work on my videos! Starting is the hard part. I put a lot of effort into starting this channel and I want to do it right. I haven't lost interest in it or anything, just struggling with the next video, also because I am having difficulty connecting different part of my script together. I'm thinking of just starting talking into the mic and hope something good comes out, because I seem to have my best ideas while talking, and especially by bouncing ideas and comments off of someone else and getting their input too.

I'm trying to not be disappointed in myself, I know why I'm struggling, but that doesn't change the fact that I'm struggling, and I don't know how to fix it. Anyone else struggling to do whatever task(s) you need to do lately? Anyone know what I can do to break down this wall?

i have been looking for my airpods all week. lately i have been so revitalized, really for the first time in almost three years, and so energized that my ADHD suffering self has taken on more tasks than i can keep up with. i don’t even feel like eating because i need to get down to business. i’m trying to do my best not to go overboard and try to nourish myself, especially as a T1D as well.

last night my partner and i got into an argument about this, when he was cranky as hell after work and decided to shame me for my doom piles, tendency to have three different bevs on rotation at any given moment, and sometimes not always finish the tasks i start and so on and so forth. sorry sometimes i get overambitious i don’t mean it :( better than how i was before, no energy, depressed at the state of the world and my future….. ( yes things are not going well between us lol i am moving to europe for my phd anyways so sayonara sammy ).

ANYWHO… yesterday as i was removing the laundry from the dryer, i found my airpods. no case, just the airpods. great!!!! will they work? where is the case? why wouldn’t it be in here? i looked and looked and found nothing. great… these are the airpods that my partner gave me too :))) this was also in the midst of me *finally* dyeing some of my stained clothes with Rit — an arduous (and honestly very water intensive / wasteful) task that i have been putting off anywhere from 6mon-3 years depending on the garment. i pray to whatever god will listen and hope my partner doesn’t ask me why im using his even OLDER airpods. i trust they will appear eventually when i stop fussing.

who finds my airpods case when they’re doing laundry today? my partner ! ◡̈ ◡̈ ◡̈ very neat. he hands me the case with a little smirk and goes to take a nap.

i put the airpods in my ear in anticipation…..

***……and i hear the sweet sound of that lil chime telling me i’ve connected to “CHOMSET #2”.*** how are they still alive?? certainly this has to be a fluke

for a moment i feel victorious. i am on top of the world and no one will bring me down.

but i digress. i don’t even know if my post will make the cut since it needs manual approval .in addition to going overboard with tasks i guess im going overboard with words

off to my doom piles and ordering more Rit as i sip on my 3 beverages of the night (currently earl grey, a protein drink, and some hibiscus water) xx

I'm undiagnosed, waiting for the referral place to call me back to schedule testing (so ya know, I'll be waiting forever no big deal)

I am 30 years old, just had my second kid, am 6 months post partum and in the middle of horrible burnout.

Today I tried to make a list. I kept getting distracted by this thought, or this thing, and suddenly remembering the list, looking at the one thing I had written down and just completely blanking. I was unable to concentrate enough to make my weekly Home To Do List that I do every Monday.

I've been horrifically avoidant to the point of relationship neglect. My friend has an online event they host every Monday at 9pm and I somehow always miss it the last 3 weeks. I know they're gonna message me soon and ask my opinion and I am gonna pretend I didn't see their message until I can come up with an excuse that isn't "I forgot". I literally couldn't listen to a voice note one of my best friends sent me because I couldn't pay attention long enough to listen to it and the sound if her voice suddenly sucked. Wtf?? I love this person! I love her voice! Wtfffff

And that's just the tip of the iceberg. There's so much more at home, at work, in my personal relationships, etc that are just falling apart because I can't concentrate, I can't get myself to do the things that need doing, and I keep forgetting things or my brain malfunctions and I can't comprehend simple things.

How do I combat this? My therapist says to put myself first but that hasn't been working because I keep forgetting to do that! I haven't been doing my physical therapy because I forget. Reminders that usually help become just another alarm to snooze and forget about. I get so distracted and frazzled. Every thought comes with like 3 additional thoughts and my brain is sometimes so loud I want to cry. It feels like there's an oscillating fan in my head. The racing thoughts at night are fucking horrible too.

I honestly have no idea how to get back to my semi-organized, coping mechanism expert self. I used to be able to redirect and backtrack and monolog myself into being good at things and now it feels like my brain couldn't spell my name most days.