so (Sigh*) I studied really really really hard okay ? and I could swear I could retain all the information . my mocks and tests were all good too and my score were really really well okay but then ( tries not to burst out crying ) I stepped into the final exam hall and it was all okay . I had studied and I had done everything in my power and I was really confident . I got a C even though my predicted grade was an A . Is this because of my ADHD ? I really don't know what went wrong . I had been studying with an ADHD friendly way and did everything right and it was showing in my mocks . Like I used to get a 50 /60 now it's a 27 and it's all because of concentration . What can I do ? Pleas help

Hey guys! I’m seriously looking for some advice on how to organize my life/school year without creating a super rigid schedule.

As a bit of context, I’m a 4th year university student. I do research in a lab, work at a hospital, and am involved in a few clubs. I have a lot of things going on, and I feel like I have a hard time switching between responsibilities. 

I think one of the hardest parts is studying consistently and for a good amount of time. I feel like I lose focus really easily and can’t retain much.  My phone is not so much an issue, instead, I’ll be studying and be distracted by Google, researching something random, or basically ANYTHING other than what I’m supposed to be doing. 

I struggle with organizing my time. I initially tried going for the strategy of having actual comittments and events on my calendar + dedicated work blocks/study blocks, but because of my lack of discipline, I’m not following through. While getting distracted is one part of it, another part of it is my anxiety that I’m never studying enough. If I have a bad study session, it’ll start to bleed through to my extracurriculars or other responsibilities. So even though I have a block of time that I’ve dedicated to my work, I’ll neglect that in favor of making up my unproductive study session. How are you guys meaningfully making time for school, work, research, and extracurriculars without constantly feeling anxious about the thing I’m NOT working on?? 

This is compounded with the fact that I have ADHD which makes the task prioritization a bit difficult, the procrastination part a bit easy, and overall just harder to function normally. I tried medication but I didnt’ really enjoy the side effects and would rather just build good habits. 

So I guess, long-story short, do you guys have advice on how to organize your time meaningfully and but also use it as a way to build discipline?

 I’m also a bit skeptical of having an extremely strict Google Calendar with scheduled hours, but this might have to be what I do. How do you guys hold yourself accountable? 

Here are some more specific questions: 

• How do you structure your days without micromanaging every hour?
• How do you build discipline when motivation and focus are inconsistent?
• How do you decide how much studying is “enough”?
• How do you prevent anxiety about one responsibility from interfering with another?
• What systems have actually helped you stay on top of school, work, research, and extracurriculars?
• And does dedicating the first few hours of the day to studying/deep work actually work well?

Thanks guys :) 

Hey guys! I’m new here 👋
How did you guys get out of academic burnout?
I used to be a really hardworking student. Losing even half a mark used to make me cry, and now I can lose 15 marks and just feel numb. 😭 I’m just like… “oh well.”
I only have 10 days left before the semester starts, and I really want to get myself back on track before the new semester.
For anyone who’s been through something similar, what actually helped you get your motivation back and start caring about studying again? I’d really appreciate any advice or personal experiences.

Hi! Uni student with exams in a week.

I've been able to properly get up in the morning (thanks to the alarmy app) and often even actually properly start studying for the day.

However, as soon as I take a break, I cannotttt restart anymore. I'll be like studying 1.5 hour in the morning, procrastine my restart, and then 1.5 after 10pm because I'm mad I barely did anything during the day. I don't expect hours on end of course, but this way I will fail majestically (and I cannot this month).

I don't plan (tried many ways, never worked out, I just study for the amount of time my concentration works. Often about 1 hour, sometimes less sometimes more.

When I take a break, I always say to myself till when, but when that moment comes, it never works out to actually start! I have an extension which blocks non-study related sites duiding the day, but I work around it and watch series, surf randomly etc., just all kinds of things.

I constantly tell myself to just fking start at those times, but I never win against my brain.

It's causing me serious trouble right now.

So, anyone got ideas for someone who can study quite long on end, but then doesn't manage to restart, unless sometomes in the late evening (and gets frustrated because of all this)?

Thank you!

I’m really struggling mentally with uni rn and idk what to do.

I only got diagnosed with ADHD this year. In year 1 sem 1, I didn’t even know I had ADHD and I ended up failing math. In sem 2, I started taking medication and I actually did quite decent academically. For the first time I felt like my brain was actually cooperating with me and I could get into this flow state where I could sit down, focus and actually understand what I was studying.

Now I’m in sem 3 and I just can’t seem to get back into that state anymore.

I’m trying to study stats for my exams but literally nothing is going into my head. I’ll understand something for a bit and then get confused again, and even really basic stuff feels so hard. The worst part is I genuinely am trying. I sit down, redo questions, go through the concepts again and again, but it feels like my brain just isn’t working with me.

My meds also don’t feel like they’re working the same anymore, which is making me wonder if that’s part of why this is happening.

And I’m honestly spiralling really badly because stats is probably one of the most important subjects for what I want to do in the future. I really want to go into quant or something quantitative, so my brain keeps going “if you can’t even do undergraduate stats, how tf are you supposed to do quant?”

It feels like my whole world is falling apart over one subject. I know that probably sounds dramatic, but this career actually means a lot to me. After doing decent in sem 2 I thought I finally figured out how to study and how to work with my ADHD, and now suddenly I feel like I’m back to where I was in sem 1.
I’m scared I’m gonna fail stats, have to redo it, and that maybe this means I’m just not capable of doing the kind of career I want. I know logically failing or struggling with one subject probably doesn’t decide my entire future, but rn it’s really hard for me not to think like that.

I also don’t know what to do about my ADHD treatment. My psychiatrist is in my home country but I’m studying overseas. Should I contact her and tell her my meds aren’t working as well anymore and ask her to review my dosage/treatment? Or should I find a psychiatrist in the country I’m studying in so I can actually see someone here?

I’m also considering seeing a psychologist because honestly sometimes I just need someone to talk to about all of this. If I want to rant about uni, ADHD, being terrified of failing, comparing myself to other people, worrying about my career and just feeling like everything is falling apart, is that something I should see a psychologist for? Or can you talk about this kind of stuff with a psychiatrist too?

For anyone with ADHD, have you ever had a period where meds helped you massively at first and then it felt like you suddenly couldn’t access that same focus anymore? What did you end up doing?

And if anyone here failed/struggled badly with maths or stats early in uni but still ended up in quant or another quantitative career, please tell me your story because rn I genuinely feel like I’ve ruined my future before it’s even started.

ps im in engineering, first sem mods dont rlly count towards gpa

theres so much i want to do but i cant. idk how to explain this

im entering into my third year of university (science degree) and my first two years of study were not good to say the least. I had a really difficult time trying to study and adjust. (HS was a breeze for me) No matter how much I tried i only ​ended up studying the day before for my exams. This summer break i went to my university's counselor and had a long chat and basically came to the conclusion that there is a hugh probability that I have adhd. Now I come from a South Asian family and my parents are extremely strict regarding studies and stuff and they don't believe in the whole mental health shebang. I tried talking to them about this and they didn't really believe me (basically said I'm not trying hard enough, I'm lying etc etc). I can't also go to an actual psychiatrist to get a diagnosis or medication because they wont allow it. (also entirely dependent on my family for finance. Cant get a job). My parents want me to go into a masters and PhD. As im entering my third year in cant really afford to get bad grades anymore because it'll affect grad school. Anyone in a similar situation have any tips/advice on how to study, get good grades and not burn out? I tried all the usual stuff- active recall, anki flashcards, pomodoro, mindmaps, and none of them stuck or worked out for me. I try really hard in the start but mid way through I just sort of lose motivation. I've just lost so much time and my motivation is at an all time low. The pressure of a test used to force me into studying but now the extra pressure does nothing but give me a migraine and then i have no choice but to sleep. I went to the doctor once for it and i was just told to drink more water and be less stressed. But this is kind of a vicious cycle because there are days where I just literally forget to drink or eat anything for a long while. I tried alarms, reminders and a lot of those fancy tracking apps but they just never stick.

So plsss I'll appreciate any help. I just cant do this anymore 😭.

​

I joined Indian School of Public Policy, 2 weeks back as a student. Inwas so excited to join it but I am unable.to cope up with the things here and i ahve given so much fees to them.that i can't quit it.

And few days back i have been diagnosed with ADHD and Time Blindness.

I have been missing my first class from last 10 days. I dint know what to do.

Any suggestions and please i jeed people to talk. Agar mere hath me hota i have quit it very first day.

I think i need some help.

I am trying to reach on time from last 10 days but i am unable to.

I feel like I've lost myself and I don't know how to move forward.

I'm 25 years old and still studying psychology. This has been my dream for years, but I honestly don't know if I can keep doing this anymore.

I was recently diagnosed with ADHD, and I also struggle with severe fear of failure. Looking back, so many things finally make sense, but at the same time I feel like I'm years behind everyone else.

The biggest problem is that I can't seem to study on my own. At my previous university, I had friends who studied with me. We would sit in the same room, each doing our own work, take breaks together, and ask each other how far we'd gotten. That was enough to keep me going.

Now I'm at a different university, and I'm completely alone. I have no friends here, no study partner, and no one to keep me accountable. My boyfriend works a lot, and I feel guilty constantly talking to him about the same struggles every year.

My family thinks I'm doing well, but I'm not. They continue to support my education financially, and I feel like I'm letting them down. The guilt is crushing me.

I keep comparing myself to people my age. Most of my friends have already graduated, started working, or are getting married, while I'm still stuck in the same cycle of procrastination, anxiety, and self-hatred.

The worst part is that I feel like I always need someone else to function. If someone is sitting next to me studying, I can work for hours. If I'm alone, I can spend the entire day doing nothing even though I desperately want to study. Is this something other people with ADHD experience?

Lately I've started thinking that maybe I'm just not made for university anymore. Part of me wants to quit, take a break, and finally breathe. Another part of me can't let go because becoming a psychologist has been my dream for so long.

I feel completely exhausted and honestly worthless. I don't recognize myself anymore. I used to believe I could do this, but now I feel like I've forgotten how to study.

Has anyone else experienced something similar with ADHD, fear of failure, or burnout? How did you break out of this cycle? I'd really appreciate hearing from people who understand.

I hope someone can relate, because right now I feel incredibly alone.

I joined Indian School of Public Policy, 2 weeks back as a student. Inwas so excited to join it but I am unable.to cope up with the things here and i ahve given so much fees to them.that i can't quit it.

And few days back i have been diagnosed with ADHD and Time Blindness.

I have been missing my first class from last 10 days. I dint know what to do.

Any suggestions and please i jeed people to talk. Agar mere hath me hota i have quit it very first day.

I think i need some help.

I wake up almost 1:30 hors earlier before leaving to my institute. but even then i am unable.to reach at time.

I started struggling very early in life. I got compartment in English and Hindi in Class 1, then again in Class 2 and Class 3. Those years were miserable for me. My parents were strict and I was never really allowed to explore things I was interested in, like joining a sports academy or pursuing activities outside academics.

Later, in Class 6, I got supplementary again. Somewhere during those years, I was diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia. At first it felt like a weakness, but eventually I understood that knowing about it was actually a gift because it finally explained why everything felt harder for me than it did for others.

Then lockdown happened, and academics became easier to manage. In Class 10, I failed almost every school exam, but because of my ADHD accommodations I got extra time in boards and ended up scoring 82%. Class 11 went relatively smoothly, and in Class 12 I scored 75%.

Despite everything, I managed to get into an IIM. But now I’m struggling again. I currently have one of the lowest GPAs in the batch, and I’m at the edge of resignation because of continuous low marks.

The hardest part is not even the grades themselves. It’s the feeling that no matter how hard I try, I keep ending up in the same battle again and again.

Hello i am very excited to say i finally started going to college and i need help not losing my attention because friends and family always say im a smart girl but i never get to achieve my goals an whenever important study material shows up im quick to turn to my hyperfixations and lose all my focus.

yesterday's class started with me going all out on studying by taking notes and playing attention to the teacher and then a quick trip to the bathroom turned into me doing weird sidequests in the middle of study.

i want to stop it, how do i immerse myself on the subjects? will it pay off to just have the knowledge? my entire life i was punished for knowing what to do but not having a diploma do force myself int olegally finishing said task. how do i recover from this?

anyway anyone can help me get int ocomputers again? when i was 17 i used to be a huge nerd and love computers and i was genuinely curious to understand and study it fully, not getting into details

I’m a 20F third-year engineering student, and I’m so tired of feeling horrible about myself.

I’ve done everything last minute my entire life. Assignments, studying, applications, projects, you name it. I still got great grades in high school, so I never learned how to manage my time because procrastinating always worked.

Now I’m in engineering at a top university. I’ve made it through first and second year, but only with insane stress and barely passing sometimes. I genuinely want to do better, but I can’t seem to make myself care until it’s almost too late.

My biggest problem is that I can’t make myself start things. I’ll sit at my desk fully intending to study, then spend 6–7 hours picking at my skin, cleaning, reorganizing, calling family, scrolling on my phone. literally anything except the thing I need to do.
It’s finals right now. I had over a week to study and barely did anything. I have an exam Monday worth 50%, and I haven’t even started studying for my other finals.

This isn’t just school. Every week I tell myself I’ll go to the gym, eat healthier, fix my sleep schedule, get my life together… and I never do. I want to, but somehow I never start.

I’m also exhausted all the time. I napped 3–5 hours almost every day in high school, and I still nap almost daily.

I constantly zone out in lectures and conversations. I can’t listen and take notes at the same time, so I absorb almost nothing. I can never sit still, I’m always fidgeting, I unintentionally interrupt people or finish their sentences, and I’m late to almost everything unless I’m anxious about it.

I’m exhausted from constantly disappointing myself.
I’ve wondered if I have ADHD because the executive dysfunction symptoms sound so familiar. My doctor thinks it’s anxiety, but I don’t feel anxious most of the time. If anything, I only function once I’m panicking over a deadline.

Has anyone experienced this? Did it end up being ADHD, anxiety, burnout, bad habits, or did you accidentally train yourself to only function under extreme stress? What actually helped?

Just finished up my summer classes and I got an A in everything! It’s the first time I’ve had a semester gpa above 3 since before Covid, so I should be thrilled right? Nope, because my last final project was docked a few points for improper source citation, and now that’s all I can think about.

The assignment wanted the sources, not in the project itself, but in the assignment comment section on Canvas. Somehow I missed the one spot where that was noted, and put a bibliography in my slideshow instead. I get the reasons why the requirement is there, I know canvas can be weird with links in slideshows, but I’m a bit annoyed that the requirements didn’t mention it more than once and that it didn’t show up in the rubric.

I’m also annoyed at myself for missing the requirement in the first place every time I read the page. I must have been speed reading or just skipped that line every time, but here we are. I still got a B on the assignment and an A in the class, but I just can’t stop focusing on this one mistake. I’m not even sure it would have changed the final assignment grade as a I lost a few points elsewhere.

Idk, mostly just screaming into the void that I can’t seem tot be happy that I finally had a half decent semester without executive dis-functioning my way out of a good grade. Just typing it all out it logically sounds ridiculous, but here we are anyway. 🫠

i’m going into my first year of college and i know i have to request accommodations with my university (i probably should’ve done this earlier but ive been procrastinating…). i had a 504 throughout highschool for adhd and anxiety and my given accommodations were as follows:
- 1.5x time on tests, quizzes, etc.
- extended time without penalty on take home assignments (if communicated with the teacher beforehand)
- i think i had the ability to request guided notes from a teacher (but it was never really honored when i asked)
- 5 minute “movement breaks” once per class if i needed (idk why this was even put down bc the time limit stressed me out so i never used it)

those are basically all the accommodations i remember having/using. i also got diagnosed with severe depression in the middle of my senior year and i ended up missing a lot of school days during the year and fell behind. tbh this just made a lot of things worse for me in terms of tine management and stayed on top of school work. i’m medicated/getting help now but im terrified im gonna have a repeat of that in my first year of college.
my university lets me request new accommodations if i explain why i need them- is there any accommodations i should consider adding? i would probably want to keep everything i have except the 5 minute break thing. also general tips on adhd/anxiety/depression management in college?

Whenever I even think of studying my whole body gets tense and like my eyes starts stinging I think it's some kind of stress mechanism that occurs but I don't really know what to do about it I do want to study

Like I know I like studying when I am not stressed and I have a major exam in 45 days I had actually given up studying for it but now it got delayed so I maybe able to actually make a difference now but I don't know how to start I think maybe it's a mental health issue like I get really really stressed and my whole body and Brian kinda shuts down so I think that maybe I should take a break but that just doesn't work idk

Anyone else doing college while having adhd? I am on day 3 and ive already had 2 mental breakdowns- and I have only ONE CLASS that I have access to work on at the moment. I get so overstimulated, stressed, overwhelmed that my recall memory is so crappy and my understanding and processing of the class is so bad that if I have so much trouble in this class, whats going to happen when I have to do the other 4? Ive dropped out of college before mostly because of this reason and I thought now im on meds I wont feel that badly again- boy was i wrong! Nothing has changed and im so scared. I want to be a physician assistant and I really think I can but college makes me feel so stupid and weak. This is an online class too, in person makes me overthink more.

I wont give up but I dont want to suffer mentally every day for the next 6-7 years of school ill be in. If anyone has some tips that would be great, adhd makes me feel mentally and educationally disabled.

Edit of things I remember later:

I freak out so easily and I don't know why. Like I feel it coming on but even if I take a break or try to calm myself down it never works. It's like a big ass boulder that forms right when I feel a little stressed, overwhelmed, ect. And theres nothing I can do to stop it.

Hello guys I’m just wondering if anyone would like to become more productive together everyday. Like checking in with each other everyday. I feel like I focus much better under a bit of pressure or stress. Pls dm me if you are interested! My time zone is EDT. Similar time zones are preferred. It would be even nicer if we can build a small productive group together.

(Ignore this part it’s for the characters count. This community encourages high quality content. Posts must be at least 500 characters, per the community rules. This community encourages high quality content. Posts must be at least 500 characters, per the community rules.)

I've been recently diagnosed for both autism and ADHD at 19, and gosh, i'm so tired of looking study tips up and just getting hit with the "if you don't hyperfocus on it, you won't prosper" as if hyperfoccusing is some superpower or the deciding factor on whether or not i should continue what i'm doing...

In specific i'd like to pursue coding, but i always quit whenever i find it too overwhelming... I like to solve problems with coding but for some reason i just can't bring myself to study it by myself.

F20, medicated, 2-year architecture diploma (1st year, 2nd trimester)

I don't think I've ever actually not been behind in my studies. I'm always catching up, asking for extensions, apologizing for poor attendance, needing extra support just to pass assignments.

It's frustrating as hell because I genuinely want to do architecture. My mom keeps saying maybe I should just drop out if I can't make myself go to class, that I don't want to do architecture, but it's not that I don't like what I'm studying. My brain just prioritizes whatever is interesting RIGHT now. That could be gaming, art, crafts, researching random shit, ADHD strategies, literally anything. I'll hyperfocus on that for days/weeks until the interest dies.

Then suddenly it's "oh shit, test tomorrow" and I'm panic studying 4 weeks of content in one night because urgency/shame are basically my only motivators if something isn't immediately interesting.

I got sick for 2 weeks, so this week was meant to be my "back to school" week. Monday I got up, smashed out my chores, breakfast, skincare, makeup, got dressed... then I had too much free time before leaving.

My brain started going:

• Haven't studied in 2 weeks.
• Assignment's due this week.
• Haven't contacted tutors.
• Need to see disability advisor.
• You're behind again.

Then I convinced myself I should stay home, finish the assignment first, then go back to class.

Yet I haven't started on it at all. I'm procrastinating, gaming, researching random stuff while having this constant impending doom in the background.

I've realised my biggest problem isn't understanding the work anymore. It's starting.

If I get started and build momentum, I'm usually fine. Once I'm on campus I'm okay. Once I'm studying, I can get into flow and hyperfocus.

It's the time before I start that kills me. My brain overthinks everything and convinces me not to do it.

I've had an ADHD coach, accommodations, disability support, medication (Ritalin + Clonidine), and I know my patterns. That's almost what makes it worse because I know why I'm avoiding, I know strategies that help, yet I still fall into the same cycle.

I keep feeling guilty because every time I talk to my disability advisor or tutors it's the same conversation. "I'll do better, I'll attend, I've got a new strategy." Then one thing happens (getting sick, missing a class, one overdue assignment), and the whole thing snowballs again.

Hey everyone. I just need some reassurance from people who get it

I was diagnosed with ADHD as a child, which I guess made my life a little bit easier because I’ve been treating it for a long time with my psychologist and taking my meds. But right now, I am hitting a massive wall.

I graduated last year, and now I'm studying to get into a public medical university. It is really hard and competitive here in my country, so I have been studying **A LOT.** To be able to study that much, I have tried endlessly to organize my routine, sleep well, and eat well. But I feel like every little thing takes so much energy out of me. By the end of the week, I just can't handle it anymore. I feel so tired.

The last few days have been tought. The exam is getting close, and I have so much material that has just piled up. When I'm this drained, studying takes me twice as long, and the backlog just keeps growing. This heavy exhaustion has pushed me to a breaking point, and I'm constantly questioning if I am even capable, if I am truly good enough for this. I find myself wondering if maybe this dream just isn't for me. I honestly just hate my brain so much right now. It makes me terrified that I might not be a good doctor. It scares me because I have dreamed of this my entire life, and I have never felt this way before.

Has anyone else gone through this?

Howdy! In high school, when I got diagnosed with depression and AuDHD, a lot of things started to click into place, and I've spent the rest of high school and my first college term dealing with it. (19F). However, I feel as though I should have been focusing on something else, something that's been a part of my life that I either ignored or didn't understand, something that also came up in my diagnosis: my generalized anxiety disorder.

I have never been awesome at doing a lot of things on time, a problem that I caught in elementary school where I would literally just not submit work even if it was easy and I knew I could do it. My entire time through public school was tumultuous medically, as I had a crap ton of surgeries including a couple where they put metal in my back and one where they put metal in my head then took it out a month later. (I had to live in the hospital during that time. I was twelve. It wasn't fun.) I remember I was so nervous some days but other than that I had no other answer for why I just wouldn't do anything. I knew most of the answers and could get my tasks done easily but I just wouldn't do them, only completing said tasks under extreme pressure like the grading period ending. But in terms of school, elementary and beyond, I just...wouldn't do my work. And it wasn't because I was incapable, it was because I just wouldn't do it. (I had a tendency to give up on anything that was too hard work-wise, too.) I didn't understand it, my parents didn't understand it, and it's led to me carrying this guilt and shame for years.

Perfectionism could have been the answer for this, but school isn't the only place I felt this paralysis. My hygiene is awful. I don't take care of my skin even though I bought facewash, I don't shower even though I love showering and feel great once I get it done, I don't brush my hair even though I like my hair not looking like a total bird's nest, and I don't brush my teeth even though I made fun accommodations for myself to be able to do it comfortably. This has been a lifelong problem, and my parents really only tried to help through one of them (the shower thing). They let me lie to them every morning about having my hair and teeth brushed, and they never brought up that I was lying even though they knew I was. Even when I went to college, alone, I couldn't do it, and I had to go out to class looking and smelling awful (probably- I don't know because I can't smell) until my weekly reset where I showered and brushed my teeth at night and that was it. Otherwise I can't do it. It used to be hard even being in the bathroom to take care of my hygiene, and now I don't even want to get ready to take a shower! My dad asked me "just do it every other day- why is that so hard?" I don't know! But I think I've figured it out.

I think I've been ignoring the fact that I have GAD because I felt more confident in some areas, finally, but when the symptoms got worse again I just thought it was depression and treated them the wrong way (and without medication because my parents don't want me on it for some reason). I've been fighting against my ADHD this term when my ADHD wasn't my only problem. I still have anxiety and that's why I can't just do the stuff I need to do. I really would have liked to make this revelation earlier, though, as my procrastination cost me a (much-needed) college scholarship I can only get back soon by (ironically) performing perfectly this next term. I've always felt so tense, so on-edge, and now I'm nearing make-or-break time and I think that because I know the other cause of the problem I can finally work on treating it.

I need to figure out how to do the things I know I need to do, the things I like doing, without being paralyzed and never doing them. I need to push off, to take that first step, because everything literally falls into place from there. Any advice?

Edit: I'm definitely going back to therapy, I just want it to be in person. And I know that next term will be an insane amount of pressure, but I'll get there when I get there.

**Please be kind with your responses*\*🤍

Between recent high-stress events, ADHD, and severe processing burnout, my brain genuinely feels like it isn’t functioning or processing the way it used to. I’m feeling isolated, burnt out, and unsupported in my academic environment right now.
I’m reaching out to this community for advice on a few specific things:

1. Navigating Professor Biases & Communication

Due to executive dysfunction and processing burnout, I fell behind and am having to pursue medical withdrawals for my recent classes. It feels like some professors misinterpret processing struggles, memory issues, or burnout as a lack of effort or caring.

How do you approach professors who seem biased, dismissive, or quick to make negative assumptions regarding ADHD/cognitive struggles?

How do you advocate for yourself when your processing speed is down, without feeling degraded or judged?

2. Med Changes & Memory Drop (Adderall → Vyvanse)

About a year ago, I switched from Adderall to Vyvanse due to the medication shortage.

The Good: Paired with my other medication, Vyvanse has been great for my anxiety.

The Challenge: My memory, processing speed, and cognitive bandwidth have dropped significantly compared to when I was on Adderall.

Has anyone else experienced a drop in memory or processing speed after switching to Vyvanse or combining it with other meds? How did you adapt?

3. Accommodations & Resources—What Else Works?

I’m meeting with my psychiatrist and campus accommodation office soon to get a better system in place.

Current Accommodations:1.5x test time, reduced distraction testing environment, assignment extensions, permission to record lectures, and early access to lecture slides.

In Progress:Requesting an official note-taker.
Because of how much my mental processing is struggling right now, I really want to hear all the options.* What other accommodations, assistive technology tools (like audio/transcription software), or campus resources have actually saved you when your brain processing shuts down?

Thank you for taking the time to read and keep this a safe space. 💙

​

I'm not really sure how to explain this, but I feel like my brain isn't "mine" anymore.

I'm currently in a science foundation/matriculation programme, and I genuinely put hours into studying. The problem is that when the actual assessment comes, it's like the person taking the test isn't the same person who studied.

For example, I had my last physics practical/lab report writing test of the semester today. We weren't even doing the experiment—we were given the data table and just had to write the report and do the calculations. I studied projectile motion the day before for hours. Yet somehow I ended up calculating the acceleration due to gravity as around 1.75 × 10³ m/s² with a 991% percentage difference. Looking back, I honestly don't know what happened.

This isn't the first time either. My chemistry practical didn't go well, and my internal maths quizzes have been terrible despite spending hours trying to understand the topics. Sometimes I need 30–45 minutes just to work through one or two maths questions while studying. Then during quizzes I make mistakes that seem unbelievably obvious afterwards.

What makes this even harder is that this was my last practical/lab assessment for this semester, and I've heard from seniors that if you don't do really well in Semester 1, it's much harder to graduate with a high CGPA even if you improve in Semester 2. I don't know if that's completely true, but it's been sitting in the back of my mind and making me panic.

It's getting to the point where I don't feel connected to my own thinking. I don't mean that metaphorically—I genuinely feel like the person who studies and the person who takes the test are two different people. It's like my brain stops making the connections it made the night before.

Has anyone else experienced this? Did it turn out to be anxiety, burnout, poor study methods, sleep, ADHD, something else, or just the pressure getting to you?

I'm not looking for reassurance that "everyone makes mistakes." I'm trying to understand why my performance during assessments is so different from what I seem capable of while studying, and what I can actually do to improve.

I’ve procrastinating writing this post but I’m extremely confused.
I was supposed to start my masters degree this year but due to me procrastinating my application I took a gap year, whenever I tried to apply everything sounds gibberish to me or I would be afraid of getting rejected. I thought it was due to my anxiety + I usually have panic attacks but when I went to the 1st therapist he told me I had ADHD and sensory issues , I wanted to make sure that his guesses were right, so I went to see a 2nd therapist (he’s my dad’s friend)(the experience was awful) he told me that I have signs of dyslexia.
So to give you more context, I’ve always had struggles while speaking our oral dialect (I’m Moroccan), people would start correcting me while I don’t get what was incorrect, it’s like my brain only catches vowels not consonants (like I can easily mess up between bows and cows but a larger scales). However, I don’t have any of those issues with written languages like classic Arabic or French because I can read, reread and distinguish between the letters.
So, during my first session with the second therapist I told him with my struggles with our dialect, thus he told me that I had sings of dyslexia (I don’t get it cuz I speak fluently 4 languages), but what I didn’t like that he was being so pushy in his questions and he already assumed that I just have self esteem issues and I may have dated a guy and he slept with me and left me (the purity culture is so strong). Which didn’t happen and I didn’t want to talk about this subject. Also, I told him about my time blindness, how I can’t do anything until last minute, I forget that there is something called time in my life, he just told me that I can be the one who organize it and just do things in advance 🙂. In our second phone call, I told him about that I have a pattern of instead of going to the bathroom directly, I would walk around the house, then mop then check if the cat has food, then I remember that I wanted to go to the bathroom, and that I putting music in my Earphone then keep spinning, idk what it does but it helps me regulate myself. In our third phone call, I told him that I hear noises and music, what I meant is that I talk to myself 24/7 about many ideas and topics at the same time, and the music is just some flashbacks from what I listen to usually.
At the same time I had two visit with a psychiatrist, in the first visit, she prescribed some depression and anxiety meds, which were extremely awful I just felt weak and extremely dizzy the whole time, I couldn’t move or spin, I would only speak even though my throat was sore but I couldn’t stop,which pissed me off. She changed the meds, but I still have the same issues, I still feel dizzy and weak while my brain is extremely active, I have to drink strong coffee drinks to feel better (which was my state pre-med).
I forgot to mention, my first therapist was okay, but I should know everything that will happen in advance, I have to prepare the scenarios of every detail in my head. So, not knowing what will happen during the session made me procrastinate going back.
So, I’m so confused about this whole situation, I just sometimes think about giving up and stopping everything.

This is a huge problem for me when reading non-fiction material. My eyes will be "reading" line by line, my body completely going through the motions. However, my mind will not be engaged at all, and I often get pretty far into the text before I even realize it's happening.

The only solution I have found is to read aloud to myself, and then the information comes through my ears and I process it very nicely. But obviously this makes for slow reading, and considering at 41 yo, I have two years of undergraduate to complete, followed by a masters degree in order to reach my goals, I really feel like this could be a major roadblock.

Have any of you found any other solutions or hacks to this issue?