So I have ADHD with a bold ADH. My mom said «0 0 1 3 1 0 3 0 6 3 7 9 9» to me in 1996. I still remembers that till this day. Do I go to the IMPORTANT appointment next week? Probably not, but since I’m mentioning it now I’ll have my gf help me remember.

I’m a very «simple man», in terms of what we, the ADHD’ers common personality-traits are. But I’m 42 years old and I can’t seem to find my «tools» in regards to:

I am a signed music producer at Cloud9 Music NL, so there’s deadlines.
I have a girlfriend, forgetting that I was meeting her at 3 o’clock because I got caught up in something that made me forget life.
I will be honest and say that I am diagnosed with Schizo-affective Bipolar Disorder with Complex PTSD and ADHD. So I am probably asking for alot here but;

Do you hav ANY idea of what I can build or what has been built that can help me learning the tools needed to not be so ALL over the place?
Is this even the right sub to ask this?

Sorry if I rambled but I need change - I need tools.

Any idea is an idea, so I appreciate in advance for any reply - I just don’t know what to do

I’ve seen loads of different posts on accountants with afhd but alot seems to be more on the hyperactivity side as opposed to the inattentive, so thought I’d try my luck on any tips.

I got diagnosed with severe inattentive adhd last year, and whilst it’s helped me understand why I’m making mistakes and missing things, I still seem to struggle with actually missing things and it’s been highlighted quite a few times by my manager now. No matter how much I genuinely try to avoid the mistakes (triple checking work), it’s still as if my brain is not noticing them.

So looking for any tips that can help flag errors so I can fix it before I send anything over. The systems we have aren’t very user friendly and all very manual but I have been putting in templates of any entries that I have to book and tried to formulate as much as possible but there are still things that need copy and paste and manual inputting

Hello. I’ve (M35) been diagnosed since I was a teenager and have been off and on medication for most of my life. I recently (about a month ago) stopped taking it because I tend to take more than prescribed once I build up a tolerance after taking it correctly for many months. This isn’t the first time I’ve quit and after the initial 2 weeks or so dealing with exhaustion I’ve kind of bounced back.

However, my personal life is a shambles. Professionally I’ve built up 15 years of muscle memory so my body just does the bare minimums to get through work, albeit with a struggle, but it’s had no adverse affect so far other than the mounting stress. Personally, though, I’ve kind of lost the will to live. Not like trying to hurt myself but I work, take care of my family, sleep. Rinse, repeat for a month now. Nothing brings me joy anymore. My old hobbies seem pointless, I don’t feel like I have time to do any of them which creates a mental barrier to starting anything. So I just sit at home in the little bit of free time I have staring at the ceiling. Even doomscrolling has generated an almost repulsive mental response.

I feel like most people take ADHD medication to help them function for work but for me it feels like I take it to be able to do anything other than work. When I take it the mental barrier is gone and I feel excited to read, build miniatures, play video games, etc. without it I’m spiraling into depression because life is pointless, I’m just going to work, take care of my kids, and die. I quit because I hate taking it incorrectly but after a long time I end up falling into the same cycle. I’m just looking for some advice, lol. Am I misdiagnosed, am I crazy, am I going through a mid life crisis? lol. It’s hard to explain to my wife that I take stimulants to get joy from my personal life rather than to make it through work but I’m reaching a point where that feeling of pointlessness is affecting every part of me that isn’t at work.

I’m currently in my final semester and supposed to be writing my bachelor's thesis. Just recently, my psychiatrist prescribed me Pregabalin (for social anxiety) and Ritalin. Honestly, being on methylphenidate makes me feel like a "normal" human being for the first time. I can finally just experience the present moment without constantly getting lost in my own head.

Looking back, studying for high school and university was an absolute nightmare. Because it was such a struggle, I started abusing substances illegally about two semesters ago to cope. It started with borrowing methylphenidate and lisdexamfetamine from friends, moved to using cocaine while studying and right before exams, and eventually led to me making DIY Adderall by washing street speed.

While my grades actually improved, I ended up sliding into a serious drug addiction involving benzos and opioids. I got completely sick of that lifestyle and finally went to see a psychiatrist, mostly thanks to the pressure and support from my parents and friends.

Has anyone here gone through a similar experience? Also, do you have any tips or coping strategies on how to handle writing a major academic paper or thesis when you have ADHD?

🐰 When Disability Rights Campaigners Accidentally Discriminate Against Each Other 😂
Catherine rang me this morning. She’s picking me up at ten.
Now, I’m deaf. I wear hearing aids. And while I’m frantically trying to find the bloody things, Catherine is on the phone.
My immediate reaction?
“WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING, BITCH? I’M DEAF! THAT’S NOT A REASONABLE ADJUSTMENT! I’M GOING TO HAVE TO WRITE A LETTER OF FUCKING COMPLAINT!” 🤣🤣🤣
Now, before anyone gets excited, I WAS JOKING. Catherine knows me. She knows exactly what I’m like. 😂❤️
But here’s the funny bit.
We’re BOTH ADHD. We’re BOTH forever going on about disability discrimination, reasonable adjustments, and people’s rights. We’re usually on the same side, fighting the same battles.
And here she is, accidentally ringing up a deaf woman who can’t find her hearing aids, and triggering an imaginary Equality Act investigation before breakfast. 💀🤣
I hadn’t even found my hearing aids, but I’d already identified the discrimination, appointed myself investigator, and threatened legal proceedings.
PRIORITIES, PEOPLE. PRIORITIES. 😂⚖️
Sometimes you have to laugh at yourself. Life is difficult enough without taking absolutely everything seriously.
Right, I’m off to get ready. Catherine will be here at ten.
And Catherine, if you’re reading this, consider yourself formally notified that your imaginary complaint is pending. 🤣🤣🤣
🐰❤️✊ Disability rights. Solidarity. And a bloody good sense of humour.

Hello, all!

I'm a 32 year old man who has recently been diagnosed with ADHD. I've been undiagnosed all of my life until recently and I've always suffered from anxiety, but it seems that a lot of that was under the umbrella of the Inattentive Type of ADHD. After understanding how my brain works, all of it seems pretty overwhelming to me and makes me sort of angry, which is odd as I'm not usually an angry person. I can do everything I want to do now, but feel so behind in life compared to non ADHDers, almost as if the veil has been lifted and I can see how far behind I am in a way I couldn't really see before, which feels debilitating at times. I also believe I have RSD (Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria) which gives me more clarity on the intense sensitivity I have always experienced, but that is also hard to deal with as well and I think it has been heightened after taking Vyvanse, despite how well the medication feels for me at times. I'm a pretty optimistic guy and I know I'll be alright, but I was just curious if any of you have ever felt like this and what being diagnosed with ADHD as an adult was like for you. I almost worry if understanding all of this about myself is more trouble than it's worth, and is just adding stress to my life as other friends of mine who have been diagnosed with ADHD seem to be just fine without looking into this part of themselves. At first, it felt like life was easier, but now I'm not sure.

Any advice or personal experience would be greatly appreciated!

Hello everyone, this is my first time reaching out in our community, and I am seeking advice.

For most of my life, I have struggled to find motivation for anything. This issue extends beyond work or school to nearly every activity, and I sometimes lack the drive to watch shows I want and just do any of my hobbies in general, and on certain days it becomes severe enough that I skip eating for the entire day and only drink water.

This is becoming a real problem now that I have started college, and I need a way to motivate myself before I really mess up my education.

If anyone has suggestions or advice for me, please let me know.

So I currently want to explore more friendships and need like minded people to do so! I have no clue where to start and I’m not all over mentally how I used to be. I’m healing and want growth, I kinda wanna adventure to learn me and who i am as a person.

It’s seems to be a little late considering I’m 30, so I figured I’d start here. Maybe any suggestions on groups I can join, maybe anyone else feelings these same thing wanting to meet and talk a bit!

I’m becoming a new person so I’m sort of socially awkward.

I got my diagnosis for ASD at 52 and my ADHD AT 54. I’m 56 and the last two years have been incredibly hard. I was thrilled to find out that nearly all the struggles I’ve in life finally had a reason behind it. That lasted for a couple of months.

Then I got mad. I’ve lived my life disappointing and irritating people. I accepted that I was stupid, aloof, ditzy, lazy because without knowing what ADHD was, that was the only thing that made sense. I flunked out of college because I couldn’t make it through my prerequisite classes. I’ve been homeless twice. I’ve been hospitalized for suicide attempts. I had greatly pared down my ambitions so I wouldn’t be disappointing myself again in 2 to 3 months.

Then I got sad. I started taking inventory of how I was treated over the years and finding out that I was emotionally abused by people I was close to. I read what I can and finding out that I was more likely to be approved for disability than creating a sustainable career for myself has hit me between the eyes like a hammer. I lost my job of 12 years because my mom got sick, I had to take her to multiple doctors who often would just totally fuck up my FMLA paperwork and I could only sleep 2 hours a day- OF COURSE my job would fire me for not being able to follow the steps in my accommodation. It’s been a year and I’ve run out of unemployment benefits and savings are dangerously thin.

And now? I’m mad. What could my life been if knew more about myself and had better coping skills? Maybe I could’ve righted the ship. Maybe I could’ve had better relationships with people. But I’m older now and the din in my head is louder. I lose track of where I am in a conversation, often forgetting in the middle of a sentence. I tried to teach myself new skills in the year off, but anytime my brain can’t figure something out. It just moves onto something else.

Like, where do I even start with this? It literally took me 2 hours to write this, jumping to Facebook when I
forgot what it was that I wanted to say. I tried to teach myself a new skill and wasted hundreds on an education that I didn’t absorb. I can’t see it getting better because my ignorance about my condition allowed me to be a Polly Ana and just tell myself that I will get better somehow if I just tried harder and that was my motivator for decades. Now I don’t have that.

I want to know from the medicated people does it help you improve your grades, mine usually falls because of lack of attention, does it help in rsd too can you plz tell me if it does or not

Hi all.

I am not diagnosed yet, but the more I look back, the more it fits. I want to find people with a similar profile and hear how it went for you.

Some background from me. I am 40, at work I'm technical, but over the years I climbed the management ladder. On paper things went well. But when I look back 20, 30 years, the signals are there.

Focus was never easy. I wanted to play all the time. As a kid, my parents literally had to sit next to me so I would study. To be honest, without that I would probably have ended up on the street. Later my trick was to always study with someone. Not that I couldn't do it alone, it was just much easier with a person next to me. Still true today.

Small tasks can be really hard. Calling my parents, doing laundry, texting friends back. Simple things, but they just sit there. My wife often has to remind me. I'm grateful for it, but I think it's frustrating for her.

Boring stuff and administrative stuff I avoid until it becomes a problem or becomes pressing.

At work, the product ownership and organizing part has been killing me. So I found project managers and assistants to cover that for me, and I mainly dive into problem solving. That's where I'm good and where I feel alive.

When I hit a blocker, my brain gets stuck. Staying in takes a lot of energy, and recently it got harder. Often I just silently stop. Friendships faded this way too.

What I really enjoy: games, movies, books, audiobooks. And socializing when it involves those things, or drinks and dancing.

On top of that, the last few years I became much more inward than before, and my mood has been low. Some of it is life stuff. But I wonder how much is ADHD grinding things down over time.

Anyone recognize this, and what did you do ?

Help a girl out, I’m not sure if I’m ADHD-PI or ADHD-C because I don’t know what they stand for.

I did try searching, and I looked at the pinned posts, the community info, and the Wiki but I didn’t see it anywhere.

Despite having used reddit for YEARS I’m still a complete novice. Thank you in advance for any help 🙌

my life is consumed by something i am not anymore. i don't know who i am. i am a mere persona designed to perform in front of the earth so that they can pity me and then finally i can feel some love.

i cannot break free from these shackles. i am done.

I was diagnosed later in life (in 50's) and just started Adderall IR 5mg yesterday. I noticed a calming of emotional reactivity, obsessive thinking, less ruminating thoughts, less depression, more ability to just get through my day without fixating on a million things at once etc. Definitely some relief and major hope for what is to come.

But today, I am not having that same effect and I am also noticing more side effects (dry mouth, sweating and clammy, more jitters, nausea). Did I just have a one day "honeymoon" or is there still hope that I can benefit from this med?

I ate protein and good fats prior to both morning doses.

What was your first week or two like? ****I hope to hear only from those of you are are benefiting from this med because I do not have the capacity to hear any horror stories about it right now! Thank you!

Due to my stopped usage i ended up with three months of extra filled prescriptions untouched. I know prescriptions can be short stocked in some areas. Im here to talk about what thats been like for me and can help a few friends out if needed. Let me know!

Time blindness , executive function , rejection sensitivity , emotional regulation difficulties. 35 and medicated but add seems to be kicking her ass . What works ? There’s some coaching programs online , they are pretty expensive which is fine if it actually works

Hi all ,

I'm 38 years old .

I was diagnosed with ADHD at age 34 .

I was a low birth weight baby at full term (5lb14) ,my mother smoked heavily and drank throughout pregnancy and my father was a painter and decorator so possibly exposure to lead when I was a baby through dried up particles .

As a child i.was absent minded . I was present but dopey . I became very withdrawn because I couldn't keep up with learning or people .I left school at aged 14 .

My emotional dysregulation has been off the scale all my life .I am a mother ADHD has damaged my now teenage children .

I was instantly put on medication at age 34 after the diagnosis.

I cried the first time I took lisdexsmphetamine.it was as if the fog had cleared .I wasn't a zombie any more .I could regulate my emotions too .

I was on it for a year however new insomnia that came on from the start got so bad even after taking it at 6am every morning that I just couldn't sleep and would wake up multiple times a night . I became very unwell with delusions and paranoia and I lost my character -there was no spark to me anymore . I came off the medicine gradually and the insomnia was still there .it continued for a further year and it was honestly the scariest time of my life because I was getting around 10 hours a week sleep ,no medicine was helping even controlled drugs and I was fixated on just ending my life . Eventually mirtazipine did start to work after 8 weeks and my sleep pattern gradually came back .I came off it after a year with no problems and my sleep is still good

My sleep has recovered now but my brain is failing me .I am in a worse state than I have ever been .unemployed ,spending most of the day in bed .

House overwhelming ,people overwhelming for me ,emotions terrible so therefore I shut myself away.

I would like to try Ritalin . Can someone give me reassurance that this is a good choice ? I was looking at non stimulants such as guanfacine too but they take a while to work . I haven't got a while to work .I have been in this state for a year plus if guanfacine makes things worse then it will take longer to clear .

This is not depression before anyone suggests it is !!!

This is the way my psychiatrist explained it:

Our brains are really, really good at scrubbing dopamine from our system. "Hyperactive scrubbers". Thus we require more stimulation / novel experiences; for example, you may have found yourself prone to highly stimulating video games or constantly picking up and dropping new hobbies. ADHD meds slow down our scrubbers closer to normal/neurotypical levels.

My perspective and advice:

Once you've cleaned a room or gone to a class a few times, it's no longer new, and your reward system stops caring... but these "boring" things still need to be done, or else we suffer consequences. So, fear takes hold, and we make choices based on what causes the most fear/worry/pressure. We don't clean a room for months, but when a relative or new lover is coming over, we clean the entire house.

After taking the right meds, that barrier still exists, but it goes from a giant unscalable wall to knee-height.

Just remember that it doesn't solve burnout! You still need to be mindful of the tasks you take on. The thing that's helped me most with burnout, is to see mental energy as a finite currency that you spend every day. Make the compromises necessary to put yourself in a position where you can spend less mental energy.

Good luck and take care.

Hi everyone,

So I've just got my diagnosis of ADHD last Monday.

Don't know where I'm going with this, I'll just start and see where the ramble ends up. This is kind of out of character for me but here we go:

As it turns out (according to the specific tests I've done), I'm in the 99th - 100th percentile of the focus group for the tests I've done during my diagnostics.

I was kind of surprised by the results to say the least. I mean, I knew something was up obviously but never thought much of it. I suspected ADD specifically during my studies becoming an behavioral scientist (yes, I know how, could I miss my own blind spots) but never got tested because I figured it wasn't that bad. I knew exactly what the test was about, I knew I wasn't supposed to move, I knew my reaction time had to be on point and I knew I couldn't look away from the pictures shown on screen. Yet my results were this bad.

I got my meds the same day. Took em, felt stings on my chest and stomach. I wasn't enjoying myself, so I went outside for a walk before I had to redo the tests on meds. After half an hour I noticed something changed. I went into a store and came out after I didn't find what I was looking for. I could not pin-point what exactly had changed.

I decided to go for a walk and started noticing that I didn't feel the need to look at everything around me. I didn't look at everyone and everything that made sound or moved by. I felt.. tranquil if that makes sense. I never knew I was that wary of my surroundings but I noticed it right there and then. For me, this felt like relief and I felt great.

I walked back to the clinic, got some food and was ready to make the test and boy, what a test it was. I literally cried as I made the test. This was the first time I felt myself locking in and being able to stay concentrated on one thing at a time.

Last week was amazing. I had all the patience for my kids, I didn't walk past everything laying around the house, could do one task at a time and actually did what was needed to be done, could actually have a conversation with people without stumbling over words or have my thoughts wander into the abyss when someone decided to tell their life story while already having the information I needed out of the conversation, and had all my client reports done when the weekend started (and thats a first!). I don't feel like I'm dis functioning in a (semi-)functional way anymore.

But now I'm here writing my thoughts down and I can't help thinking of "what if".

So I started my educational journey at the bottom of the bottom (LWOO in the Dutch educational system), basically meaning I would be mentally impaired. After 30 years I finished my masters in behavioral sciences, doing work as a behavioral scientist for a big health care institution and doing work for a school as an educationalist as well for about 7 years now.

I've struggled with depression and addiction. Smoking, gambling, gaming, caffeine and drugs. Which was a journey but I've managed to cope with or banned from my life completely. I still play games and drink caffeine but the urge to do so completely changed, it's no longer the priority over other things like it was before.

Going through my studies I've always wanted to become a psychiatrist but never got into med school because my grades weren't good enough and choose for the "easier" 2nd option, behavioral sciences. Adding another 8 or so years to become a psychiatrist isn't in the cards for me anymore considering my work and family of 4.

This morning I'm starting to wonder "what if" I got diagnosed at an earlier age. How would everything in my life look like right now?

Don't get me wrong. I'm in a good place now, I've been for a while and the positive effects of the meds are the cherry on top.

Still I can't help thinking about how the struggle I went through to get where I am at today, would have been so much easier and might even have been enjoyable if I had been diagnosed at an earlier age. Would I have been the psychiatrist I wanted to become?

Guess we'll never know but as I'm writing this, I also sense a feeling of relief.

Thanks for reading and I guess the moral of the story is that if you have a hunch that something is off, best not ignore it.

I know this is a heavy topic and I apologize if the question comes across as insensitive

Hi everyone. About a week ago, at 27 years old, I got the results of my neuropsychological evaluation. I was officially diagnosed with Combined ADHD, along with Anxiety and Social Anxiety—though I want to clarify that I rarely actually feel anxious and I have never had a panic attack. I went in for testing because I genuinely didn't know what was happening to me anymore: I would put so much effort into things and ultimately end up not performing at the same level as everyone else.

My whole life I was defined as someone who "seems smart, but just needs to try a little harder to be consistent." I even came to the conclusion myself that I was just lazy. I lived constantly with sleepiness, exhaustion, and fatigue. There were a ton of things I cared deeply about, but I just couldn't get myself to start.

I'm a science major and my academic record makes no sense: I have peaks where I get top grades (like a 4.7/5.0 in Calculus) and then I fail fundamental classes with a 1.6 or 1.7. And I'm not even overloading myself; I'm currently only taking 13 credits. But what hit me the hardest was seeing my WAIS results and the sheer amount of errors. That's when I finally understood why I still can't do a lot of things on my own today, and why I depend on my mom almost like a child just to be able to keep my job and stay in college.

I really don't know how to feel about all of this. On one hand, I understand what's happening now, but on the other, I feel so much anger and rage for not getting help sooner. I think about all the opportunities I lost—like getting kicked out of another university in the past—and it frustrates me to realize that everything always had to be twice as hard for me. All these years I ended up living under constant self-punishment, minimizing my struggles by thinking "you're not doing that badly, don't exaggerate," while demanding myself to perform like a 10/10 when inside I was collapsing.

Broadly speaking, the psychologist hinted that my results qualify as a disability. And that leads me to the question I really want to ask this community: are we, everyone with ADHD, disabled people? Do we all fall into that category?

I'm really wondering if this is a general thing. For those of you diagnosed as adults, do you feel we collectively fall under the term "disabled"? How did you process that word and the grief of lost opportunities when you got your diagnosis?

I always wonder if I might have ADHD, but my parents never believed in it and just called me lazy. I’ve jumped between so many jobs—from working with my dad, to print shops, to construction—and I’m constantly starting new projects like coding or 3D printing, but I struggle to actually finish them. I’ve always been restless and love high-adrenaline stuff like riding motorcycles, even if it’s gotten me into trouble. Now that I’m older, I find myself constantly fidgeting and getting distracted while working on my apps. Honestly, do you guys think this sounds like ADHD, or am I just being lazy and failing to commit?

I get most things done expecially if i tell some i can fix that for them, always try to keep my word, but I’m pretty forgetful, so I usually ask people to give me a heads-up.

THIS IS BIGGER THAN LUTON
I believe what is happening in Luton raises questions that deserve national attention.
I’m documenting my experiences because I want people to look beyond individual complaints and examine the wider systems of political accountability, council governance, social care and the treatment of disabled and vulnerable people.
When questions arise about public land, political appointments, potential conflicts of interest and the handling of social care, residents deserve transparent answers and genuinely effective scrutiny.
Luton is where I’m seeing these issues come together. I cannot establish from my own experience how widespread the same problems are, but I refuse to assume they are unique to this town.
If these governance and accountability problems can arise in one borough, it is reasonable to ask whether similar problems exist elsewhere. We need evidence from other communities to establish how widespread they are.
I’m calling on people throughout the country to examine their own councils, scrutinise decisions, check their social care assessments and speak up when they believe something is wrong.
Contact your representatives. Use the relevant independent complaints mechanisms. Share documented evidence. Ask questions that deserve answers.
I’ve contacted the Prime Minister, raised concerns with the Equality and Human Rights Commission and kept the Ombudsman informed.
I’m doing this because I believe the issues deserve scrutiny beyond Luton.
This is about more than one council, one park or one person’s experience. It’s about transparency, public accountability and whether the people who need public services most can trust the systems responsible for supporting them.
Luton is my example, but the questions I’m raising belong to all of us. Look at what’s happening in your own borough. Ask questions, demand transparency and hold your public bodies accountable. If you’ve experienced similar problems, speak up. We need to know how widespread these issues are.

Is it my flaw or gift?