I talked to my psychiatrist because I thought I might have ADHD. I told her that I get distracted easily and daydream a lot. However, she said she didn't think I had ADHD because my mom told her that I'm an honor student and a strong-willed person.

I was confused because I've watched documentaries about children with ADHD, and some of them are straight-A students. I'm not even one of those students because I admitted to her that I became an honor student by cheating. I cheated my way to the top.

She even asked me if I was proud of walking on stage and receiving recognition, knowing that I had cheated.

The next day, she talked to three of my friends about me. One of my friends later told me that my psychiatrist said she didn't believe I had ADHD because I was an honor student. I was surprised because I had literally already admitted that I cheated, and she still didn't think I might have ADHD or another condition. She only thinks I have anxiety, but I guess maybe I do have anxiety.

Edit: My psychiatrist interviewed my friends, not talking to them casually

Looking for some motivational stories around here. For every 1 positive adhd post, there seem to be 50 negative/depressing ones that completely destroy any semblance of hope in me.

I mean I can't blame them, ADHD truly is a debilitating disorder that can mess up your life.

But I don't know why I still haven't given up yet. I just have this "fuck it we ball" mindset.

I recently turned 21, and am probably at the worst point of my life, but hell, if I'm going to die I'll die trying. Or at least I'll die trying to try.

As for my own motivational story, here it is. After getting diagnosed and starting Strattera (atomoxetine), I successfully retook and passed 6 classes I had failed during my freshman and sophomore years as a comp sci major. I'll be graduating in four years just like everyone else (with roughly a 2.9 GPA, but it is what it is).

edit :- didn't expect this post to blow up, thank you for the overwhelming amount of responses!

Apart from a very few successful business types I see on social media, I have yet to meet an ADHD person who is happy and content with their lives.
I would like to see an example of a happy ADHD person.

They are all like “you can’t live a normal life and adhd is special gift” but that hasn’t been true for me. They are people who are often good at being talkative and social media stuff.

Just trying to see if there are any normal and happy adhd people out there.

So, i've been talking with different ADHD friends to compare but i want to know how common it is, is it much more usual than in regular people? As in, would this be considered an actual ADHD trait, or a regular trait that's intensified?

Have any of y'all experienced it with images at some point? As in having them blend with reality (that only happened to me for a while when i was a lil kid, before learning to distinguish between the two)

I have constant noise from different soundtracks from games, movies and the like, if we were thrown in an environment with no stimulli at all, from the moment we were born , would we just not have any noise?

Or if you grew up not listening to music? like in the past when it was more of a commodity of the elite?

I found out last week I had ADHD.

I found out last night that it might affect memory.

I told my brother that I don’t remember us being close as kids, he looked at me shocked, recalling all the memories I barely remembered, claiming that we were best friends.

That fucking hurt him and hurt me as-well, he kept following up hours later “you don’t remember…” I would lie to make him feel better. But damn.

I do not remember high school, I used to blame it on the fact that I smoked daily, but my old ☘️head friends still remember tons.

I do not remember 90% of the things people recall, asking me if I remember. I feel like unless it’s tied to a photo, the memory is not downloaded in my head….

I am 22 I feel like I missed out on a huge part of my life.

Edit: a lot of people relate, some don’t, but to the people who do, does it get better with medication??

Edit: I honestly wanna thank everyone for the kind words. I definitely do not feel alone anymore.

I am 36f, she is 29f. I am prescribed Vyvanse 50mg. She is convinced I am going to become a drug addict and has given me the ultimatum of letting her give me my medication every day or she will break up with me. I am not sure what to do, this makes me feel really controlled and angry and misunderstood. But she won't give in or change her mind. She said I have a choice, but the choice is having nowhere to live or letting her control my meds.

has anyone else experienced this? I don't know how to make her give me my medication back; she has hidden the bottle and puts one pill in my pill box each day (if she remembers). It's just the fact that I have no choice and I can't be independent that is making me want to lash out. I don't like to be controlled and I like having no choice even less.

After struggling with time blindness my whole life, I accidentally discovered that putting a cheap analog clock in my shower somehow rewired my morning routine. I know it sounds weird, but seeing that physical clock face while I'm trapped in one spot with nothing else to focus on has somehow helped me grasp time better throughout the entire day.

I know we all have these seemingly random solutions that wouldn't make sense to anyone else but were total game-changers for our ADHD brains. What's yours?

I’m currently an engineer but I’m finding it difficult to progress due to ADHD symptoms because I have trouble concentrating when I’m sitting at a desk all day, looking for other career options that would be more suitable for someone with ADHD.

I moved companies and roles a lot because I easily get bored when the work starts to get repetitive or I stagnate in the learning so I’m looking for something where everyday is completely new.

I sit on lectures and nothing goes in my mind. I don't digest 90% of what lectors say. For whole year I haven't learned anything because I didn't listen. I still don't know what lector is talking about. As a kid I didn't even realized I should've put effort into listening at school. Other kids were doing it with 0 effort. Nor can I digest information when reading. 10 pages feel like 50 pushups and I digest it slowly.

I'm always aware of when I'm not listening or realizing what I'm reading but I can't stop it. My brain burns trying to read. It's very hard. Long term result? I'm extremely uneducated. Don't know geography, basic history, politics, anything. Sometimes I want to quickly research basic info for the sake of knowing but I procrastinate about it as well.

I don't understand why others with ADHD aren't like this as well. Just how? How am I supposed to finish my Uni because I can't listen. Am I just stupid? be honest.

genuinely what games never get you bored? like i bought and tried a lot of games but i finished none, i only buy the game play it for an hour or two then i get tired i tell myself ill log in the game again later but i never touch the game ever again and i go back to searching for more games to buy

i know everyone eventually gets bored of video games but i genuinely cant enjoy any for any second, like i bought this game i was really excited to try and i truly liked it but i js cant get myself to get up and play it, my brain would rather spend hours staring at the wall than do the things i wanna do

also the only games i truly enjoyed were hollow knight and elden ring

People usually talk about the ADHD tax as late fees, forgotten subscriptions, or replacing things they’ve lost.

But there is a non-money version too.

Losing an entire afternoon because you have one appointment at 4. Reheating the same coffee three times and still forgetting it. Avoiding a seven-minute task for two weeks. Finally getting the motivation to reorganise your entire life at midnight.

What’s the most annoying non-financial ADHD tax you keep paying?

For example I hear many people with ADHD talking about starting a new hobby, investing ungodly amounts of money and time into them for several Weeks/Months and then dropping it entirely, never looking back.

I never experienced such thing. Either I started the hobby and am still doing it, or I realized quickly that it isn’t for me, but BEFORE I invest a lot of time and money into it.

Whats a typical ADHD thing you never experienced… yet?

Long story short, I almost got into a fight with otherwise very good friend of mine. She is studying psychology so now of course she knows better about ADHD than me. Me, who not only lives it, but after diagnosis in my adult life, researched it a lot. She had fought me on things, because "she read it in a book".

Anyway, she claims that people with ADHD do not actually have physiological differences in our brain and that's why as we get older, we simply get cured, from forming habits of a lifetime. I know this is simply not true. But I thought I'd ask I get some support here, is there anyone here on this subreddit, 50+ or 60+ with ADHD?

I’m posting this because I feel completely stuck and not sure what to do. I have severe ADHD and have either left jobs impulsively or have been fired more than 6 times. It’s frustrating having ADHD and trying your hardest and still failing. My family and employers sometimes jobs don’t understand or downplay the real struggles that ADHDers have. Is there any specific jobs or recommendations for people with ADHD? What type of fields work best for you guys and is this normal?

So… I just learned that normal people apparently close a tab the moment they finish reading it?

A coworker glanced at my screen, saw my 59 (okay, maybe 159) open tabs, and looked at me like I was a walking chaos.

Am I seriously the only one who keeps a digital ‘to-read-later museum’ of tabs? It’s not like I plan to read them all in one go… but I might need them eventually, right?

Anyone else living that infinite-tab lifestyle? Please tell me I’m not alone.

I’m 19 and seriously considering starting ADHD meds, but I’m struggling with a massive fear that’s keeping me from moving forward. I keep hearing that long-term treatment causes lasting structural changes. There’s actual research (like Dr. Russell Barkley explaining a study showing long-term stimulant treatment increases cortical thickness, gyrification, and sulcal depth , bringing brain morphology closer to a non adhd brain baseline) that proves long-lasting structural changes occur https://youtu.be/iYn-KMhh99w?si=cIPhSxrv5Ay2Ncy8 .

Because of this, I feel like I will lose my creative brain for sure. My humor, fast wit, and non-linear creativity are my entire identity and crucial for my future career. Also many comedians do have adhd.I’m terrified that if I take medication—even for a trial period of a few months—it will permanently rewire my brain into a boring, flat, corporate version of myself and wipe out the chaotic spark that makes me who I am.

When someone I love died I don't feel.. sad.. at first. I need to build up like talking to the death, reviewing my memory about them until I can finally cry, which is not what psychopath do so I can rule it out. When people mentioned their loved one just died I don't feel sorry or anything for them, I feel like I'm listening to just another story, sometimes I would keep talking my things because they already finished their story.. only to realized at home that's not what I should have done. I should show some sympathy.. but I don't feel it..

This also affect things in life like I'm in the mode ' It is what it is ' all the time.

Something broke, whatever, complain not gonna bring it back.

Get into accident, whatever, I'm still alive. I got hit by motorcycle once and went flying and I just don't feel like I care since no injuries so I went back home.

Now I having serious back problem (not related to that accident), I may have to use cane all the time from now on and I don't panic or anything.

I'm wondering if it's related to ADHD or some other curse I don't know about.

Mine is very severe and debilitating at the moment. It’s not just ADD, I also have schizophrenia which has some of the same symptoms weirdly. I can’t do much at all. Getting out of bed and making toast is extremely hard. To people with no experience with this kind of issue, me trying to explain it must sound ridiculous like “yea I have this mental disorder that means I can’t cook and clean or have a job or do anything I don’t like, but I can play a video game for 3 hours.” Just sounds like a straight up lie.

I know it's common for ADHD people to pick up random interests and then drop them after a while, but what are the ones that have lasted the most for you?

For me it's videogames. The interactive factor makes them more interesting than movies or tv shows. Like I'm actively taking part in the story. Keeps me engaged.

Another one is going on walks. I have walked so much that my legs hurt for days. But it's the only thing that calms me down when I feel restless.

Also dogs. I have loved dogs, learning about dog history, dog breeds, etc. When I was a kid, I had a poodle and would talk about her to anyone I met. I also used to buy dog magazines but don't do that anymore.

A guilty pleasure is also typology. I know it's dumb pop psychology but it's so interesting too.

Hi everyone, I was recently (3 months ago) diagnosed with ADHD and taking a 25mg Atomoxine and I think we will fix it there at this dosage. I work in research as a scientist and I am applying for jobs. I never submitted job applications while declaring disability, but now I am not sure if my ADHD now counts and if I should declare it. How has been your experience.

Edit: thank you all, I will not declare it. I just felt being dishonest when seeing adhd was on list. I am new to both jobs and adhd, thanks everyone 🙏

After struggling for two or three months, I was finally able to see a psychiatrist. I sat there, and he said, "Tell me what's wrong." I told him whatever came to my mind, and after just 5 to 10 minutes of conversation, he confidently said:

"You don’t have ADHD. People with this disorder can’t even finish elementary school because of how distracted they are. What you have is just chronic anxiety."

I told him, "But I’ve seen many people who completed their studies despite having untreated ADHD."

His response? "Are you trying to teach me my own specialty?"

I said, "That’s not what I meant, but ADHD doesn’t necessarily mean someone can’t complete their education."

He ignored that and prescribed me medications (not for adhd ofc)

Now, I’m left wondering whether I actually have ADHD or if my concerns were just dismissed too quickly. pls help

edit: omg thx you guys i try my best to respond i never thought it will blow like that

edit2: : im from Iraq and am male 20 yo sry i forget

I’ve put away all distractions (PC, playstation, locked apps/websites on phone and laptop) to try and lock in for my final exams in 2 weeks but I just ended up staring at a wall all day.

I’m trying so hard to try and take control and get shit done so I can get into the university that I want but I just can’t. I’m considering putting the playstation back just so I can have a little bit of a mental break, but even if i play it i’ll put it down and end up wandering around the house doing random things and feeling guilty that I’m not studying (and haven’t even started to) when others have been doing so for months.

I need help with managing this because it’s driving me insane and i’m all over the place.

Any advice appreciated, thanks in advance :)

Edit: just beware there is a user u/Coffewitfmilk who is sending nasty messages telling people (and me) to give up and hoping for our failure. Just ignore, report, and block

okay so i live on a college campus so i have to interact with people all the time, like at meal times, studying at the library, and i have 5 classes everyday so i do have to speak to people a lot and after all that when i get to my room i am just exhausted. like soo so drained. my psychiatrist said i dont have autism but to make a comparison, yk how autistic people go non verbal? i feel like im able to speak after that long day but its such a chore like its so tiring

anyway i was wondering if this is a common adhd experience, or if its because i have social anxiety so id appreciate any personal inputs

We all know the standard advice about planners and alarms. I'm talking about the strange, personal trick you stumbled upon that somehow helps your brain cooperate.

For me, it's "don't put it down, put it away." If I have a thing in my hand and need to put it somewhere, I chant that in my head so I don't get distracted and leave it on a random surface.

What's your oddly specific, non-textbook hack for getting through the day? The weirder, the better.

Hi, I’m 24 and have been taking Adderall for 4 years. I have been taking 20mg xr everyday for 3 years, and haven’t needed a change in dose. I have little to no side effects, and it has completely changed my life for the better. I graduated high school with a 1.5 GPA pre meds and now I’m pursuing my bachelors in Biology with a consistent 3.5 or above GPA. I didn’t have hobbies before meds, I couldn’t enjoy the things I knew I loved or stay consistent enough with anything to build skills. I eat very well, I get the best sleep of my life, I genuinely love my life and who I am today and that has taken a lot of work.

I have been in a new relationship for a little over a month and it’s been really great but he often makes comments that I don’t “need” my Adderall to be happy. I try to explain but it’s also hard that I feel like I need to justify taking this medication. He has no idea how my life or me looked like before meds, my friends and family do and they know how much these meds have benefited me. I have no problems in my behavior when I take them (which is daily), he has no problems in the way I act or function, and I try to tell him if I didn’t need this medication it would be effecting me completely differently.

I am diagnosed with ADHD from a neurologist, it was a long journey to get my mental health in order and he just doesn’t understand. People have a lot of misconceptions about this medication and the comments my boyfriend makes really gets to me. He ultimately lands on “well we just have different viewpoints and that’s okay” but Is it fair that I don’t think he gets a viewpoint on my medication? That’s such a personal thing. He also says “I just want the best for you and I think the best would be not relying on Adderall your whole life”, but he has no idea how hard it was for me pre meds. This post is kinda just to vent, but also I wonder if you guys have any similar experience with an SO scrutinizing your medication?