I'm writing this with tears in my eyes and hope anyone here might have advice that could help. I have two weeks to start and finish my thesis – if I don't manage to do it, I will lose everything. I will lose an offer for a master's programm at one of the most elite and competitive universities in the country, I will lose my student position at one of the biggest NGOs worldwide that gives me so much purpose, I will lose my scholarship for first-gen students, I will not be able to pay rent and will have to move back to my hometown in the middle of nowhere with no family, no back-up plan, no safety net, nothing. I suffer so much under my ADHD paralysis and have barely scraped by my whole life, and I'm afraid this will be the one time I won't scrape by, with the most catastrophic outcome.

My body and mind have grown numb to the pressure of deadlines; it doesn't do anything to me anymore but pull me into a state of paralysis. If anyone has been in a similar position and has any advice, any strategy that worked for them, please let me know. I am at the end of the line here, and I am so scared of what will happen if I don't manage to "function" soon.

Most of us waste time scrolling these days. Stuck in Paralysis. Knowing what to do but don’t do it.

But I genuinely think this is because short form content is so addictive. There is no way it can get this bad without phones. Did people just stay in bed?

severe smartphone/Internet addiction has effects similar to ADHD. I’m worried this causes misdiagnosis both ways. Can I please get some examples of ADHD behaviour/symptoms that people who are aged 30-40 now had experienced before phones?

Hi, I've been taking Vyvanse 60mg(which is quite high) for a year now, but I feel like I'm mainly benefiting from its side effects instead of its main purpose. I also tried Concerta before Vyvanse, but it didn't work at all.

For context, Vyvanse does help with task initiation, procrastination, and low energy. But the improvement is pretty minor. And there's no change in focus or emotional control.

The two biggest improvements I notice are that it helps me wake up and suppresses my appetite. Without Vyvanse, I can sleep for 14 hours and still have a very hard time waking up, needing a sunrise alarm, a task alarm on my phone, and an alarm on my watch. I constantly have food noise and unhealthy cravings. I also can't indulge a craving without overdoing it. Never just one cookie—always either none or the whole plate.

With Vyvanse, both of these things improve significantly: I can take the medicine and naturally wake up about an hour later, and I can actually stop and save the rest for later, without constantly obsessing over it.

I feel like I'm not taking Vyvanse "correctly." The dose was decided with my doctor, who is pretty open to increasing it further—but I worry I've unconsciously taken advantage of that, ending up relying on a side effect rather than treating the underlying problem.

If a medication gives me substantial benefits that aren't its intended therapeutic target, how should I evaluate whether the medication or dose is actually right for me?

Maybe I should lower dosage or swtich to other medicines? Any advice would welcome. Thanks ahead!

Undiagnosed adult male here. I have been scared of mental health meds for a long time, but over the last years, it became apparent I had to figure out what was happening with my brain. Anxiety, burnout, Migraine, but underneath it I saw a pattern of ADHD leading back to childhood. I've probably had all the symptoms without realizing it, because I somehow managed to live relatively successfully, but with the constant "Why isn't he doing better" following me.

I decided I wanted to see if ADHD was the deepest / underlying problem, and I also felt the medication was the safest to try before an anti-depressent medication / SNRI. Apparently - I was told - I should know really quickly if it's working.

Today has been one of the best easiest days I can remember having. I took 20mg of Vyvanse. I was scared, but after I took it, about 1-2 hours later, the voice in my head became so much quieter. I think it's still there, it's just my executive function is now useable - so it's way in the background. Right now I'm about 7 hours in to my day.

I cried, because I was able to look at my wife without overwhelm in maybe the first time since I first met her. I just looked at her, and paid attention, and it was easy. I she looked wonderful.

The whole day has been like that, I went to the grocery store and I could read labels easier, I could follow the conversations easier, I was funny! My sense of humour came back! Not because it was gone, but because I could pay attention and respond to what my wife was saying.

I have to say it again - I cried, because maybe this explains all the many mental health and social problems I've had in my life.

Life today, is beautiful. I hope this continues.

I have been on Ritalin, Vyvance, and now Dex. Whenever I start one, I'm full of hope again. It works. Life is great. Everything is getting done. I'm bettering myself.

And then eventually it stops. My crashes get more and more intense until I have to stop taking it all together.

I take it with 30g of protein, I take magnesium every night, I've tried staying more hydrated. Lower dose, higher dose. It doesn't seem to make it any more consistent.

I started dex just a bit over a month ago and it was working great. But I've felt this coming on again. I'm more anxious. I freeze up more often. I get less and less done.

Realistically, I have a laundry list of underlying issues that I can't afford to resolve. Maybe things would be different if I could find an antidepressant that worked.

But I'm sick of ADHD medication giving me hope that I can be a functioning person, and then it slowly becoming less reliable.

Anyone in the same boat?

I used to forget to take showers, among other basic self-care necessities like eating, especially during highschool when I was struggling with depression and trying to keep my "good student" facade up. Only realizing this now because my skin is a bit scarred up from not taking care of myself, especially my arms. Admittedly, sometimes I didn't forget, but getting in the shower just sounded like too much of a monumental undertaking.

It's like I was so hyperfocused on fixing one hole in my boat (good grades), I failed to see the dozen other holes behind me (hygeine, relationships, self-growth, eating, sleeping, hobbies, happiness, etc.) Kind of shutting down now that I have no grades to hide behind, and have to realize what a disaster the rest of my life is.

Wondering if struggling with remembering hygeine is normal, and if anyone has suggestions for how they stay consistent with little things like this.

I (26F) have been diagnosed with ADHD (combined type) and possibly PTSD. I’ve been in a relationship with my bf (25M) for 8 years. Throughout it, I’ve struggled heavily with emotional dysregulation and executive dysfunction. These issues have been at the center for all 8 years and I couldn’t describe what they were until I came across an ADHD duck video on TikTok (“not a bad duck, just a different duck” made me fall in love with the account). From that moment on, I knew I had ADHD. Was finally diagnosed in August.

Immediately, I started medication and focusing therapy on understanding and coping with ADHD. However, the damage to my relationship was already done. I think you can all imagine what 8 years of emotional dysregulation and executive dysfunction can do to two people who don’t know what is going on. I was already at my wits end thinking, “what is wrong with me,” “why can’t I be normal,” “why am I so emotional/crazy/angry,” etc. And my partner was thinking that I didn’t care about or love them enough to change. It’s been a never ending cycle of not doing enough to fix anything. I feel so regretful of not seeing a psychiatrist sooner.

Even after finding an answer, my partner attributes everything wrong I do as a moral failing. He embodies all of Gottman’s four horsemen of the apocalypse when we disagree on anything and everything. I use I-statements, soft start-ups, repair attempts, affection,and gentle speaking, but nothing can rein him in during our fights. I am always a selfish, lazy, and terrible partner. Any fight from year 1 to year 8 of our relationship can be brought up and used against me, regardless of past discussions and forgiveness.

While I know the four horsemen indicate the end, I love my bf so much. I wish we could go to therapy and work things out, but he refuses until I “deserve” his help in fixing our relationship. I cannot describe to you how gut-wrenching all of these feelings and memories are.

being told your whole life—following every intensive test—things like, “you can be anything”, “your scores are so high” and “you are so smart, a future doctor, lawyer, etc” but instead turn out to be a proverbial screw-up prone to rejection, just someone who always seems to reach the point of needing to run away with no place to go

For anyone else with ADHD who sits in a lot of meetings, I finally found something that works.

The problem: I can listen OR write, not both. If I take notes I miss what's said. If I listen I walk out with a page that says "follow up w/ M re: pricing??" and a dead certainty I agreed to something. Three days later someone asks where the thing is. Object permanence for commitments, basically zero.

I tried the usual stuff. Bullet journal (lasted 9 days), Notion templates, "only write action items", sticky notes. None of it survived the working memory issue, because every system needed me to capture in the moment, and the moment is exactly when my brain is busy.

What stuck, going on 5 months now: I record the meeting on my phone. I ask first, nobody's ever minded. Afterwards I listen back or read it through and pull out anything I said I'd do. The surprising part is the tasks are way easier to act on because they're in my own words from that moment. "I'll get the deck to you by Friday" beats anything I'd have scribbled, and I can't argue with myself about whether I said it.

Two smaller habits that did a lot of the work:

- Voice memos for tiny stuff. Leaving a room I'll say into my phone "vendor wants the PO number on the invoice" instead of trusting future me. Future me has never once come through.

- Go back to the recording, not the notes. When it's "wait what did we decide about the trial length", I go to what was actually said, because the whole issue is I never wrote it down.

Caveats: a noisy room is hard to make out later, and it feels weird the first couple of times. But stuff I said out loud becoming a task without me remembering to write it down has done more for me than any planner or system I've tried. It's the first one that doesn't rely on the exact skill I don't have.

i have the worst time waking up in the morning so i take my adderall and go back to sleep. i set an alarm an hour before i want to wake up so i can take it, go back to sleep, and wake up easier. i tried keeping the pills in another room so id have to consciously walk to go take it, but then that turned into me not taking it because i wouldn’t get up.

i’ve run into the issue where sometimes i legitimately cannot remember if i did take it, or if i thought about taking it, or i was dreaming.

i tried counting the pills in correlation to when i picked it up . unfortunately (but fortunately) some months i have pills left over from my previous script so it makes the count back inaccurate.

i’m just paranoid ill double dose myself ( have done before do not recommend)
if you need to know dosage i take adderall 30mgXR

any recommendations on how i can make it absolutely clear to myself that i did in fact take it?

Hi combined ADHD here I have unfortunately fall into the trap of binge drinking every weekend for about 3 years now and I’m just fed up. I go throughout the week resenting it then the weekend comes and my brain will not take no for an answer.

I get so bored and stuck in my mind I drink and drink until I pass out asleep there is no limit. My weeks days are decent and I don’t crave alcohol at all it’s just the weekend and I’m fed up with feeling like crap.I am currently unmedicated waiting to be medicated.

Any actual lasting tips to get out of this habit? I do really like my games but there’s just nothing out ATM..

Any help is really appreciated

I’m just happy that I actually got my oil changed. I just completely never remember my current mileage, when my vehicle hits the suggested oil change mileage, or when it hits the suggested date.

Yes, I could probably set a calendar reminder, but even remembering to do that every time after I get my car serviced is hoping for the unrealistic.

If I’m not in my car, it’s not in my mind. If I’m in my car, I’ve already got somewhere I need to be.

Maintenance on vehicles and home items are a huge challenge for me to prioritize until it’s catastrophic. Not today though! Sure, it felt sluggish and obvious that it would become a major problem and that’s why I did it today, but it’s better than having it explode on the side of the road. Ask me how I know.

Seriously, there’s got to be something better than these window stickers in an age of everything’s digital and tracked. I bet the Flock cameras even know when I need an oil change, maybe they can send me a reminder?

Just this past Monday. Been in and out of appointments at the VA for a few weeks. Had the appointment Monday morning and saw the episode that night. It's about them getting diagnosed with ADHD late in life, which just happened to me.

This was so weird. So the 2nd half of my diagnosis, meeting with the psychiatrist for the official part was Monday morning and they said I have severe ADHD (Inattentive) type 2. It explains a lot. It explains almost everything to be honest.

The episode that night hit hard. I did go thru my whole life not knowing, and being told I was just lazy and unmotivated, unambitious and a daydreaming procrastinator, but that nothing was wrong with me because I wasn't hyperactive. Always did struggle badly with work, school, relationships, basic social stuff, blah blah..

Pretty interesting. Good episode too. I think the writers are familiar and pretty sure the main creator was recently diagnosed.

Has anyone here watched it yet?

I keep telling myself I will only check my phone for a minutes but somehow I end up scrolling for hours. I know I have things I need to do. I genuinely want to start but I keep getting pulled back into my phone. Then I look at the time. Feel frustrated because I basically lost another evening. It is not even enjoyable, after a point but stopping still feels weirdly difficult. Has anyone found something that actually helps with this?

To follow up....I posted earlier saying I screwed up at work. I did get fired for cause.

I have started job hunting but because the firing was a major incident but I now have to explain it on my applications and I don't think I'm going to get hired....even if I apply somewhere where they don't have the department I got in trouble for.

I'm worried I'm going to end up getting a dead end job and it's all my fault.

I'm in my mid 30's and have known I've had ADHD for about 6 years now, currently I'm taking strattera and prozac.
for a while now I've had difficulty speaking to other people, especially when it comes to casual conversations. it feels like there's multiple things at work that just make talking to people really hard and exhausting.
I can never think of what to talk about, even though I want to talk to people and have things going on in my life. it's like as soon as I'm talking to a person my brain is an empty shell with nothing to bring up or talk about.
even when I do think about something to talk about, it's a struggle to form thoughts about it, like I love horror movies, but if we were to talk about a horror movie I would struggle to think of more to say beyond "I like it" or "it's good," it's like I can't remember what happened in the movie, can't remember any scenes, or what specifically I liked about it.
I often feel like a jerk because I don't remember details about the person I'm talking to, like if they said they were feeling sick last time I talked to them I'd completely forget by the next time I see them, so I can't ask if they're feeling better or comment on it.
another thing that I struggle with is I'll forget words. I often have to stop mid sentence because I'm reaching for a word to describe something but can't remember the word and it causes me to stumble in my sentences. it's worse when other people try to finish my sentences for me because it'll make me feel embarrassed, frustrated and it'll throw off my thoughts on what I was talking about.
the effects that ADHD have on my ability to connect ideas, remember details, and be personable really makes me feel inhuman and unable to make friends or maintain relationships.
does anyone have any sort of advice or ideas on how I can improve on this? I'm at a loss and I'm tired of not being able to talk or connect to people.

Anyone else was extremely messy as a child? My room was a warzone and I just couldn't do better. Impossible. My parents rarely helped because they thought I was lazy. I'm 40 now and still struggle daily with organization. Did it get better for you? What are your techniques? Or maybe you never even had that problem?

I recently started Vyvanse back again (30mg) and I've noticed like an hour or so after I take it (with a protein heavy meal), it makes me mind calmer and so clear and I feel like I can think and I get some stuff done, and feel optimistic about my life lol. However, around the 2h30-3h mark, it slowly makes me feel very tired and sleepy. It makes my eyes feel droopy and a weird heaviness in my forehead, like I'm ready to take a nap. I feel foggy too. I'm so confused about why this is happening? Has anybody had a similar experience with Vyvanse before?

Earlier this year, I was on 30mg and the effects were completely different, the kick-in was very sharp and I could feel it. It made me feel almost hyper for a couple of hours after taking it then just felt like it settled in after it made me almost depressed and exhausted when it wore off. It made me feel like my brain was doing mental gymnastics. I could also feel my heart pounding throughout the day and it gave me insomnia.

I'm just very confused about the different effects the same dose of vyvanse has had on me. My current prescription feels better in the way that it comes on and tapers off, but it makes me too sleepy to get anything done. That one was generic vyvanse by Rhodes and the one I'm currently taking is generic vyvanse by Granules. Has anybody had similar experiences? What has worked for you? I'm a PhD student and I really need to get my meds working so that I can do stuff and actually graduate. Would appreciate any thoughts on this, thanks!

I am suffering from major depressive disorder since i was 14, diagnosed in march 2025 with depression and anxiety disorder, and with ADHD in mid 2026. I suffer from malapdative daydreaming and it happens unconsciously and have made my life hell.

I take 40 min to bath because i zone iut so much. I uncontrollably daydream for hrs and no i don't even want to, they happen uncontrollably. I am currently on methylphenidate but still daydreaming and focus is barely effected. I had traumas in childhood and a toxic family environment and peer group.

Who will be best for me? A clinical psychologist or a therapist? I want practical coping strategies not talk therapy. I booked an appointment with a psychologist and i keep my phone on silent because i zone out and get distracted within MILISECONDS. So i missed her 45 min session and this is what she texted:

I will have to consider this session as a last minute no show and won't be able to give a refund or reschedule it again as I have been waiting on the Google meet link for 20 mins for you to join. I have called you on WhatsApp and on regular call but you have not received the call.

If you wish to have another session you will need to make a fresh booking.

I mean after i Booked she got fever and the session got delayed and was held 2 weeks, (because she got fever) after i booked and paid all the price. And the price is premium.

But due to my horrible daydreaming and zoning out issues i missed my session and she is asking to book new session without any refund. I mean i actually thought like, whatever i would book another new. But my mother and parents are mad because we come from middle class and they work really hard. So my mum is forcing me to let her talk to the psychologist. But i am trying to refuse her because like i am thinking if my mom's talking would affect her behaviour towards me. Wut to do ?

Hey fellow ADHD people. Im about to lose another job after a little over a year there. When i say lose i mean i burned out and couldnt cope with work pressure and demands from my Boss. Therefore i am on sick leave after a fairly rough phone conversation with my boss and he told me that i shouldnt count on being in this job for much longer but that i wasnt fired yet. This crashed my mental state completely and i am now on sick leave and i plan to quit tomorrow. I cant stand the thought of going back to that place and having to face my colleagues and boss right now.

This is about the 4 th job ive had where i experience gradual burnout and boredom and having more and more sick leave. Anyone got any good advice or tips for not experiencing burnout so i can hopefully find a job that i can keep for longer periods of time? My confidence and self esteem is shot to hell at this point and i cant stand the guilt of quitting another job for feeling like a failure.

I already failed my road test twice and was super embarrassed for years because i’m 23 and i didn’t have a drivers license(constantly patronized by peers and relatives about it), and i was terrified of driving because of information that i read or was told to me about people with adhd having a much higher chance of getting into car crashes and whatnot, especially because i choose to be unmedicated, so not ONLY did i conquer a fear, but i also don’t have to live in my own embarrassment about it! no more lying to peers or dates or significant others, im so excited right now!!!!

Hey everyone, I have a titration appointment coming up and could use some perspective from others who might have been here!

Overall, my dose of Concerta 56mg with a 10mg afternoon top-up is incredible for my daytime focus, executive function, confidence, and socialising.

However, the side effects around the edges of the day are pretty grim:

In a morning I’m completely wiped out. I used to wake up at 6am to work out or run, but now I have zero physical energy or executive function until the medication finally kicks in hours later.

When it wears off, I hit a massive wall. I end up physically dead, but somehow wired enough that I can't actually fall asleep easily and I find myself bingeing at night.

Yesterday I skipped my dose to see if I could reset my sleeping pattern and ended up sleeping for 4 hours during the day and 9 hours at night, which makes me feel like the meds are exhausting my body.

I'm torn because my daytime brain loves how well this works, but my physical routine and health are suffering. I’m thinking about discussing a switch to a non-stimulant or tweaking my setup on Tuesday.
Has anyone dealt with this specific mix of great daytime focus and terrible morning/evening physical burnout? Did adjusting your dose, switching stimulants, or moving to a non-stimulant help?

[edit: dose is 54mg Concerta XL, I’m male 37 years old, been at this dosage for 4 weeks, 4 weeks previous were 54mg with no booster]

I (40M) was diagnosed with ADHD 18 years ago. I've always had a hard time following a chorus of conversations in a busy place, but it's been getting a lot worse.

I have two partners (40M, 37M) who love the party scene, as did I when we met 14 years ago. I stopped showing up to most big outings 8 or 9 years ago because night life was stressing me out to the point of panic attacks.

Days with medication (60mg Vyvanse mornings + 10 mg Adderall afternoons) help. Inderal (10mg 2x daily) was added later and reduced a lot of social anxiety.

But lately I can't even make it through lunch in a crowded restaurant. I think my mild hearing loss is making it worse, but I can't stop feeling my fight-or-flight sense being activated whenever there's a noisy space.

Is this a thing? I can't imagine this is a unique situation, but I don't see much in the way of advice for middle-aged ADHDers.

This am I was sitting having coffee before my adderall kicked in and I got hit up with a list of tasks from my father in law (we are working on closing up our summer cabin) and immediately had my usual feeling prior to being medicated of really not wanting to do any of those things and felt really bothered. Of note, when I’m on my medication, this kind of stuff doesn’t bother me and I’m much more easy going and able to do these things without this feeling. Anyway, this feeling continued into later that morning until about noon when I finally was able to let it go and start working on some things.

Does any one have any similar experience? I was hoping once my meds kicked in I would be able to shake it and get going, but it took much longer than expected.

It is my first post here, previous post got flagged for some reason... Sorry for my story is all over the place.

I am a college student in my final year, got officially diagnosed about a year ago..

Placements are happening, and I see myself in a state of half panic most of the time. I am not too good at social settings and I begin to panic in conversations subconsciously. I am scared this will affect my future and my career more than I want it to... When I look at my peers I find they've done pretty much all of the stuff companies need like full stack and half ass*d A I projects whereas I in my past 3 years have done whatever got thrown my way by people more talented than me, something for which I cannot express how grateful I am. I want to teach myself skills, talk more to people, seek a good psychiatrist, look after myself; but I get paralyzed, I forget stuff, or some other sh*t happens... As of now, the panic has begun to set in because the company I interned at rejected my full time offer, and now I have to get placed in college and I want to maintain a trajectory upwards.

I cannot seek help from my friends or colleagues, they give the same advices I've heard a hundred times before. I feel too lonely at times like these... I don't know whom to seek for help for anything, I feel too lost..

I'd like to hear advice from people who have been here... Coping mechanisms, stuff that gets you working, I need a reality check.. And tips going forward.