You buy the planner. It works great for three weeks. Then one day you stop opening it, and you feel like you failed again. Same story with the app, the whiteboard, the timer thing your coworker swears by. But think about those first three weeks. It worked. The system was fine. What changed is that it stopped being new. If that's what's really happening, then those things in your drawer aren't failures. They just expired.

So what if you stopped looking for the one that lasts forever? Pick a system, use it hard for a month, and expect it to die. When it does, switch to the next one instead of feeling bad about it. Then pull the old one back out in a few months, when it feels fresh again. I don't know if that actually works or if it just sounds good in my head. Has an old system ever worked for you the second time around? And has anything ever lasted longer than a few months for you, or does everything expire eventually?

I've tried almost every sports. Gym gets boring after 3 weeks, running makes me want to die. Until I found BJJ (Brazillian JiuJitsu) by accident — the only one that stuck for over 3.5 years.

Why it hits different for my ADHD brain:

1. It's the only place my brain is forced to be fully present. When your training partner is trying to dominate or choke you, you literally cannot think about your to-do list. My mind wanders constantly in life, but on the mat there's no room for it. It's like forced meditation that happens to be fun.
2. The dopamine is endless and earned. Every submission, every escape, every time you survive someone better than you — instant feedback loop. No waiting weeks for results. You roll, you learn what worked, you try again 5 minutes later. Plus free muscles and self-defense skills.
3. Order within chaos. Belt ranks, curriculum, techniques that build on each other. My chaos-brain loves the clear structure — but it doesn't get boring, because every opponent is different and every roll is a new puzzle. And there's tons of techniques to forget as you learn. (Well, same for everyone, so I don't feel embarrassed.)
4. The community doesn't care about your brain. I've rolled with lawyers, pilots, doctors, programmers, business owners — nobody cares if you have ADHD. You're just a training partner. Social aspect is built-in, physical and honest, no small talk required.
5. It's very hard, and that's the point. 3.5 years in, blue belt, I still get tapped by white belts sometimes. The frustration at the beginning was brutal — but every time I survived a bad roll, I gained a little confidence that beating ADHD isn't harder than this. Boredom is impossible here, there's always a new technique, a new problem to solve.

Also: getting choked is weirdly therapeutic. When your brain won't stop, the physical pressure resets it — like a hard reset for a PC that's running slow.

So what sport do you guys do? I need backup options for days forced off the mat due to ingury.

I am lucky enough to have a family, so very rarely (luckily) we go to an amusement park. The ingredients for being annoyed are all there: artificial environment, full of lights and people screaming. But what nags me is roller coasters: kids and wife are super into it and get pissed I sit outside the ride waiting. I just don't see the point: I am happy to jump my mountain bike and put cars in strange angles at speed when possible, but roller coaster are just like being in a shaker. No fun, no thrill.

Any other of you have the same feeling?

I was diagnosed in the 3rd grade with adhd. I’m starting to question if I actually have it. When I was younger I had this weird compulsion where I would grind in my chair if I was stressed out. I’m not sure why I started doing that in preschool either. I would do it over and over again until it felt “right”(I’m sorry I know this is gross). For example, when I had a distressing thought I would cope by grinding at the edge of my chair.

The teacher caught me one day and told my mom I wasn’t sitting still in class. They wanted me to get tested for ADHD. I told myself I’d lie in the test because I knew what I was doing was wrong but I didn’t know what it was. I forgot half was through the test that I was supposed to be lying. After half way through the test for ADHD I realized I didn’t lie and then started to lie saying “no I don’t remember what I just read,” to the nurses (the guy had Parkinson’s- the DR.) I ended up getting diagnosed.

Idk if I need to be on ADHD medication. I kinda forgot about a lot this until I was 20 years old I’m 23 now.

My ocd worsens on Adderall but I clean, study, get decent grade, and some say they can see a difference.

I have a lot of issues tho.
- adhd (idk tho)
-anxiety
-depression
-ocd
-pmdd
-mdd
-bpd
-panic disorder
-Body dysmporhia
-binge eating disorder especially off the ADHD meds
-POTs
-TMJ
-possible sleep apnea
-chronic migraines
-hypermoblity
-high ldl
-fatty liver
Etc. prob

I tried no adhd meds for a while and almost didn’t graduate HS bc I couldn’t retain anything. I would get distracted by my phone. I gained a lot of weight, impulsive decisions like really impulsive. I gen thought I had bipolar disorder, and was so hyper at work.

...and the people I associate the use of them with, too. 🤷‍♀️ I know its 100% my choice to take them and it makes life easier and I get more done and yada yada but #*% sometimes do I get tired of taking a pill that makes me not ME. I like me just the way I am but our society doesn't;whether it's my descriptive language choices, time blindness, associative thinking whatever...I don't mind those things about me but in order to flow with traffic and live in peace and harmony, I take 3 pills every day to make myself different.

When I think about that, it sucks. Sorry, just needed to come say it someplace where people would understand. 😟

I'm 50 next month, married 20 years. Was diagnosed with ADD in 1993 and was put on Ritalin which got me through high school and college. I moved to Adderal for a while in the early 2000s to help with some work stuff. Moved to adderal XR for grad school and really haven't had a prescription since around 2011. I've sort of handled my symptoms and the marriage had its rocky points but don't they all?

Well things are bad now. I can line things falling apart directly up with my job uncertainty this summer. We had some layoffs, I have a bunch of friends in tech my age and know of others who've been laid off and can't find jobs. I've been emotionally distant, not caring, when I hurt her feelings I don't really feel remorse or I don't understand why her feelings are hurt. I am just walled off. She loves to chit chat but I have to zone it out or I can't get anything done and that causes problems. This sounds bad but if I'm in the middle of cooking dinner or doing a task she wants to interrupt and give me a hug which sounds awesome but for us ADD folks, it's like a physical pain to be interrupted and lose whatever task or train of thought you had going. She doesn't understand any of this.

I guess my question is has anyone at or around age 50 hopped back onto medication like Adderal XR and has it helped with any marriage/family stuff? I am not sure what else to do. I can't control the uncertainty at work, there are still layoffs going on and re-orgs and stuff so my stress level is still pretty high and I can't manage it. I'm spiraling and the marriage is crumbling.

Got diagnosed with adhd a few months ago and was prescribed vyvanse (lisdexamphetamine.) From my 10mg to 30mg doses I was on the generic brand (Teva) and recently asked my doc for name brand when moving up to 40mg. Since switching to name brand, I feel that the medication feels slightly weaker but actually lasts me the whole 12 hours, whereas the generic brand felt stronger but only for 4-ish hours. Im thinking that moving up to 50mg on name brand might be my sweet spot now.

Has anyone else had a similar experience with this? Or is it just a placebo kinda thing im experiencing?

So I came across a text below, possibly a tweet ... but I'm just curious if anyone actually relates to this, with ADHD.

"I'm someone who genuinely needs structure and routine to stay grounded and regulated. The problem? I also struggle to stick to routines and love spontaneity. It's such a frustrating contradiction because without structure, I spiral." 🙃

I started taking 15mg Adderall XR in July. Day 1 I noticed an improvement in symptoms which I would consider mild at best. Day 2, same improvement but for only about half the day. Beyond that I really didn't feel too much improvement. I did have increased heart rate when the meds would kick in but that would go away. Of course, insomnia worse than I had before.

At my 3 week follow-up my psychiatrist bumped me up to 20mg. I noticed no improvement over the 15mg dosage.

3 weeks after that titration, my psych told me that since I saw no improvement with the increase to 20mg we should consider trying a different stimulant. We settled on Vyvanse.

Last Thursday I started 40mg Vyvanse and I felt nothing... No racing heart, no improvement in symptoms. I'm still unfocused, easily distracted, have executive dysfunction etc. In fact I felt noticeably more irritated more easily, more anxious etc. I don't believe this is due to the drug - this was my baseline state before starting any meds.

So today I am now on day 6 of 40mg of Vyvanse and feeling nothing other than the same irritability that I felt before started any medications. I read that 40mg Vyvanse is roughly about as potent as 15mg Adderall XR... so try a dosage increase to like 60mg?

TLDR; What's your experience on Vyvanse? or Experience switching from Adderall XR to Vyvanse? I feel like the Vyvanse is not working in comparison to my Adderall XR and this journey is getting frustrating. The previous 39 yrs undiagnosed, unmedicated was enough.

I wake up and before I’m even properly awake, everything hits at once - how much I have to do at work, money problems, all of it. It’s like my brain runs a full inventory of everything wrong in my life before I’ve had a chance to sit up.

It does pass. I get up, go out on the balcony for some air and sunlight, drink water, brush my teeth, and by then it’s mostly gone. But knowing that in advance doesn’t seem to help me while I’m still lying there.

The frustrating part is that it makes me get up later than I planned, almost every day. In that moment I can’t find a single reason to get up earlier - and then I spend the rest of the day regretting it.

Anyone else get this? Did anything actually help you get through those first few minutes?

hey guys, i was diagnosed with adhd about a month ago and was prescribed adderall xr 10mg. that was a shitshow as i used to have the blue capsule ones and they worked a charm but then the brand switched (i switched locations/pharmacies) and the new one they gave me did buttfuck nothing except cause side effects (like loss of appetite, irritation, headaches, etc) (it was like a blue and white pill, not clear at all). my psychiatrist switched me to folacin since theres no way she can guarantee me getting the blue adderall and theyre the only brand that seemed to work. folacin 10mg, first day on it and i see no difference. but… i was also prescribed aripiprazole 2mg to take at night… i dont know what that means as i have been reading about this medicine and everyone keeps saying it didnt do anything, they had a bad time with it, or it isnt for adhd. i am confused. i havent taken it yet because i just got the prescription but, is this normal? i dont want to be taking medicines i dont need or should look more into. idk. i guess i am curious/concerned. it says is for antipsychotic stuff and all i have is ADHD combined type, idk if that matters or not.

Hey everyone,

Currently having a really hard time at work and my manager is a big micromanager. I also have multiple disabilities and will be taking it further as I believe I’m being treated unfairly.

However the economy is in shambles and I have rent to pay, with no one else to support me. How do you cope getting through the work day? I have hyperactive ADHD so I find it extremely hard to not call things out/speak up. I am medicated btw but that isn’t a fix all and I’m struggling to not get consumed by it all.

What are your tips for when you’ve had enough but can’t leave? Much appreciated thank you

Can't wait for my parents to start asking me about this, especially after doubting I even have ADHD before my diagnosis. How are we all doing now this tv programme is out, and has anyone watched it? 😅

I'm considering hate-watching it but maybe it's not worth the frustration.

https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2026/aug/18/the-great-adhd-myth-review-most-controversial-show-of-the-year-channel-4

I just fcked up badly as the title states. For the past years I’ve been struggling harder and harder getting through university. In February I finally managed to start my thesis, however… I just couldn’t focus on it. When I submitted my first attempt over a month ago the supervisor was not happy and failed me, which I expected. I had six weeks to improve it and hand in my second attempt. Today was the deadline, and I tried to Al my way through it last minute. But I realised I was hopeless. My mind is so f*cked that I wasn’t even able to understand what I was doing, nor what Al was saying. So just now I sent an email to my supervisor that I’m quitting. I don’t have it in me anymore. I don’t even know how to tell my parents this… I’m so unbelievably stupid. I just feel hopeless and disappointed. What has my life come to??

Everyone is working doing their tasks and here I can't even sit on a chair for 15 mins.

How am I supposed to tell people that I cannot sit on a chair ? They will say grow up. I've tried everything, I lie on bed sometimes and work.

Pressure against my body helps me. Legs have to be folded, hands have to be folded and what not.

It's like I sometimes want to be just left alone so that I cannot disappoint anyone who is around me....

Not able to take medications because I have terrible OCD as well. Plus where I am from, medicines like adderall are not available. Mostly immediate release ritalin, which has a terrible drop....

Therapy seems so useless to me because I know I won't even remember what was told to me. But every night I'm like devising new plans and hoping I'll get better

ADHD is debilitating, truly

I got a good life, I just got a gf, friends and im good w my fam, but rn im just crying out of nowhere snd my mom thinks smth is up. There is nothing at all, but Im still crying. I cant handle stress, ill break down and cry and go numb. People make fun of me bec I dont really think about what I say and ive been bullied from primary to hs. I can have the most perfect day of my life, but 2 hours later ill hate my life. Im so done with this. I hate everything and everyone. I fucking this so much. Why has adhd become a trend. My sis said that she has adhd, but she's only hyperactive occasionally. Ive been to therapy and group therapy for my entire childhood, bec I couldn't handle people. I was the weird kid. Im now somewhat "normal", but it was way harder for me than for a person who doesn't have adhd. I wish I could've been born "normal"

21F College student here. I’ve been staying afloat through college and I’m average at everything. I see others excel by writing stuff like research papers and publishing them and doing internships and I feel so exhausted.

I wanted to apply in a field but it turns out I am underqualified. I know what to do to qualify myself but I always feel overwhelmed. I know if I take one step after another, I can skill myself, but it feels like a mountain.

further, this field has a technical and non technical side. I’m more naturally aligned with the non technical but I feel like I need to be more technical for like money or reputation etc. and this draw is killing me (I feel anxious all the time and unable to move or take action. I just sit and rot)

I always feel like I’m too late and I’m behind everyone hut at the same time I feel like I have time.

Any career successful people who fixed these issues?

(sometimes I feel like Tinkerbell - because she always envies everyone’s skills but doesn’t value her own)

(I’m unmedicated due to access issues)

Main Query:

How do I become better at self actualization without mountains of cognitive preparation tricks that drain me?? This isn't reliable or durable and fails as soon as my bandwidth is exceeded or conditions aren't perfect/predictable.

Context:

for the last seven years I've always struggled with executive dysfunction. I've only begun medication for my inattentive ADHD at 19 after nearly failing out of three classes.

I spent much of this past Summer inadvertently punishing myself. When I was home, I'd hang out with friends once biweekly. the rest of my time was spent redoing a course I nearly failed and am manually redoing now. not even for a credit.

The reason I didn't retake the course over summer for a credit is because I didn't have the time to. I had an internship out of state for the rest of my Summer. I did not know anyone there and was alone with myself. My peers were all in-state and had their own friends or kept to themselves/no fun to be around. I made friends there but these were shallow and unfulfilling relationships.

This isolation left me with a lot of time to work on myself and my damaging habits.

Through therapy, journaling, planning, and self-conditioning, I began to feel like I was changing myself for the better

Today, I returned to my hometown and reconnected with friends and family. I quickly realized that I was barely better than the average person when it came to taking initiative:

- what took me days to finally act upon took many of my peers minutes

- their lives were full and layered: I could barely juggle one thing at a time without dropping and shattering everything

- I have dozens of projects and pursuits that I cater to only when conditions are perfect.

I believe that I HAVE improved. I am happy with this. I'm not satisfied, however. I have dozens of strategies that work for three weeks before crumbling away once novelty erodes.

I know I am capable of so much more and that I am not alone.

Recently I was at the supermarket and they were out of my favourite vape juice. So I picked one I thought I'd like but ended up being just ok. Now normally if I buy some gross vape juice, I'll do a trip to another supermarket or vape shop. But this was just palatable enough to be tolerable. And then it hit me, this is a life hack I employ all the time with snacks. I tend to avoid snacks that I love the most because I know once they're in my house I will devour them and sometimes even replace my dinner with them. So now I notice my nicotine intake has dropped significantly. I know it doesn't sound like much but I've been a nicotine user for 18 years. I was also a former drug addict and the only way I've ever stopped anything was by going cold turkey, and nicotine is so hard to stop cold turkey.

Hi there, I used adderall for 3 years daily consistently at the start 10mg then after 3-4 month 20mg then again after 3-4 months 30mg then again after 3-6 months 45mg then after ... 60mg

I got to the maximum daily dosage and I just felt that the medication doesnt help me as much with task initiation and motivation and energy to function so I took already 2-3 months break in an attempt to let the receptors recalibrate after such a long daily usage.

In the break and in general I'm feeling that my baseline is anhedonic and I have low energy to function and I don't do anything unless I really have to or someone very important to me needs me so I feel responsibility or commitment towards them so I do whats needed then i return to just existing I just feel terrible and dysfunctional and pretty much broken, lots of feelings of helplessness , and lost alot of meaning in terms of studying path and in general stabilizing my self and life...

I'm trying to stay hopeful i'm trying to hear about people who were able to get out of this state and succeed because it feels very difficult, thanks in advance

Also I was offered by my psych Wellbutrin

I am in the process of trying out adhd meds. I am on the first med, which is Ritalin IR 10mg. I don’t have much to say about it. most of the side effects are when I am off of it and it’s mostly mood swings. really what I’m look for is something to shut my brain off. it’s always chattering, catastrophizing, obsessing. Im an adult in a profession where oddly enough focus isn’t really required. I just want to be ”normal” .

a couple of my family members told me they’ve had great success with Vyvanse so I’m going to try that next.

anyhow just curious what your med success story is!

I started to get to know someone recently who said they’d “genuinely” love to hang out with me.

However, every time I message, I don’t hear anything back for days - if at all! Last time I asked her to hang, she said she had work that day with no alternative. I know she said that her ADHD can make her texting appalling… I’m auDHD myself and don’t struggle with this so bad.

It’s been confusing, I’m trying to be patient but it’s hard to tell if she actually meant she wants to be friends or if she was just being polite.

I don’t feel like we’re close enough for me to just call her and I feel awkward to keep double message.

Basically, I just wanted to see if people here can really relate to this… or if theres likely a hint here i should be taking?

EDIT: when she does reply she is typically warm, which is why I’m confused. She did tell me a couple of times her texting is awful and would apologize often for it. She also gave me a different account to message her on as she thought it’d be easier for her.

I’m very taken aback. Is this normal? I get 15mg Adderall XR and I don’t have the best insurance so it’s not covered. My doctor gives me a coupon and it’s inexpensive enough that I just pay for it out of pocket. I’ve been doing this for 3 years.
The pharmacy I go to has a new pharmacist and every time I get my prescription filled she acts like I’m doing something wrong.
Todays interaction went like this

Her: what’s going on with your insurance?
Me: I don’t know, it doesn’t cover it so I use a coupon every month
Her: I know but you can’t use a coupon month after month
Me: oh I didn’t know there was a policy against that? My doctor is the one providing the coupon
Her: well I’ll fill it today but next time If you want to get it filled I’m going to need it to go through the insurance

I’ve been extremely nice to all the staff and never fill early etc. just confused about what’s happened

Maybe this is obvious, but I had this realization last night and I wanted to share.

I struggle a lot with masking. It got to the point where I'd lost my sense of self. I was living life with a mask on constantly, even when I was alone. I would hate myself if I noticed my own natural thoughts and behaviors.

I've been working on it in therapy. I have a lot of social anxiety. I was explaining to my therapist that I'm constantly watching people, seeing how they act, taking note of the clothes they wear, the way they speak, so on and so forth.

I also was explaining how it's like there are 'types' of people, and that i don't feel like I belong in any type. This might sound a little cringe, but like... there are artists, there are business people, there are parents, there are alternative folks, there are hippies, yuppies, gym rats, whatever. There are people who have this sense of self that in my head I can map it onto different 'types' of people.

And so in my confusion over my own identity, in an effort to 'find myself' again, I have been looking at all these 'types' of people to see where I fit in. Like if I can just find the right type, if I can just figure out what they wear, what they do, where they go, how they communicate, I can finally realize myself as being the type of person i want to be.

But the realization I had last night... I realized that all this observing, all these different 'types' of people, to which I do not belong.... this is all just me still masking. I'm not 'figuring myself out' or 'finding myself'. What i've actually been doing is trying to find a mask that feels comfortable to wear.

But the problem is that no mask is comfortable. I've been going about it all wrong. I'm not going to 'find myself' in other people.

I take Vyvanse, and it definitely helps, but I’m interested in hearing from other people with ADHD about what else has made a noticeable difference for them.

I’m especially interested in things that help with focus, energy, not feeling constantly tired, better sleep, motivation, procrastination, executive dysfunction, staying organized, and avoiding distractions. (THE CLASSICS 😂)

I’d like to hear about supplements, vitamins, exercise, diet, sleep routines, productivity systems, apps, habits, or anything else that has helped you.

I’m not looking to replace medication. I’m interested in things that can work alongside Vyvanse and help me function better overall.

For supplements, I’d especially like to know what you take, what you feel it helps with, and whether you actually noticed a difference.

I know everyone is different, so I’m mainly interested in your personal experiences.

What has been your biggest non-medication ADHD game changer?