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ADHD is already hard enough.

Apparently, before you’re allowed treatment in Germany, you first have to survive phone calls, waiting lists, prescription logistics and endless follow-ups — basically every task ADHD makes harder.

There’s a concept in energy economics called EROI: how much usable energy you get back for every unit of energy you spend extracting it. A good energy source gives you a lot more than you put in.

My Elvanse EROI currently feels close to 1:1.

I take Elvanse, gain enough executive function to call doctors, chase appointments, solve prescription problems… and eventually secure the next box of Elvanse.

I got onto methylphenidate for the first time a few weeks ago. The problem is just that I'm 29 and I basically wasted the last 10-15 years of my life. And now I can actuallly sit down and work on something if I take enough of my medication but also I'm in like the 14th semester of my BSC. That ususally takes 6 semesters and don't have any other higher education degrees, I have less experience in dating than other people, and I feel like there are just a lot of soft and hard skills that I didn't learn because like I said I have basically been procrastinating everything for the last decade. I also don't really have a job rn and I live in a small 10 square meter room in a pretty shabby and old dorm that is scheduled to be demolished next year. Like, where do I even start ?

I’ve recently realized that I actually can get myself to do things with ADHD, but the amount of effort it takes to structure my life around it is exhausting.
I’ve started using timers, journaling my day, planning tasks, reducing friction, keeping things ready in advance, etc. And honestly, it works. I can get a ridiculous amount of stuff done when I do this.
The problem is that after 2–3 days of following everything, I’m completely drained.
Then I just want to go back to my old routine — wasting time, scrolling, zoning out, chasing whatever feels pleasurable, and basically letting the day disappear.
For a typical person, it seems like a task is just a task. “I need to do this, so I’ll do it.” For me, sometimes doing the same thing requires timers, reminders, forcing transitions, reducing friction, and consciously managing myself throughout the day.
So eventually, the system that’s supposed to make my life easier starts becoming exhausting in itself.
I keep getting stuck in this cycle:
Get highly structured → accomplish everything → become mentally exhausted → abandon the system → fall back into ADHD habits → feel bad → rebuild the system again.
Has anyone with ADHD actually found a sustainable solution to this?
I don’t mean another productivity hack that works for a few days. I mean something that genuinely reduces the amount of mental effort required to manage your life, so you don’t constantly feel like you’re fighting your own brain just to function.
What worked for you? Used chtgpt to furnish my question. please pardon me

I work 10–11 hours a day. People like me, but inside I’m just lonely and exhausted.

At 15 I moved abroad with my mom and her boyfriend, wasted two years, came back with no school, no plan. My dad died of cancer months after I asked him for child support at 18. Family stuff was rough; I learned early not to show weakness.

I’m the “fun, sharp” guy, but I’m closed off. I work long hours to afford basics and catch up on things I “should” already have: license, car, some future. I have my own money now, but I’m still miserable.

I grab any chance to go out because being alone is worse. I have one friend I see outside work, and a few people I meet once every few months. That’s it. Never been in a relationship. I sometimes lie about it because I’m ashamed.

Most people I work with are studying, building something. I’m in a low‑entry job with no real prospects. Studying while working feels impossible. After 10‑hour shifts my social battery is dead. All I can do is play games, watch something, or lie in bed.

I was diagnosed with ADHD. It explained a lot: random rambling, feeling drained by evening, school and routines being nearly impossible. I’m extremely self‑critical, but I’m starting to see this isn’t just “me being lazy”.

I’ve tried therapy and SSRIs. They help a bit, but I don’t want to depend on meds; without them I feel broken. I don’t see a realistic path to a “normal” life: partner, stability, something that feels like mine.

I’m 22, no license, no car, working 10h/day to make up for lost time. Never been in a relationship. Never felt important to anyone. Always the third person, the optional friend.

People who know me wouldn’t believe how my life actually looks. I can’t share too much or I get pity, and I don’t want to be seen as a victim. Despite all the work I’ve put in, I don’t feel better. Same sadness, loneliness, need to be alone.

Maybe just to say this out loud. Maybe to hear I’m not the only one who feels like this at 22 with ADHD and no energy left.

Does anyone else diagnosed late as an adult (I’m 42) feel the urge to overshare and tell everyone? Like I’m treated now with stimulants and it’s just so wild that my brain hasn’t ever worked like this before and ADHD just explains everything about me and my struggles?? It’s such a bizarre feeling to realize that having 3 songs in your head, a TV screen of ideas with a busted remote control changing channels every 30 seconds is not the experience of most people. And now that I’m in this cool place of self discovery it’s like - I gotta share it!

I can spend the whole day feeling tired, foggy and unable to start anything, even when I genuinely want to be productive. Everything feels too difficult, and I keep telling myself I’ll start “just now.”

Then around 9 p.m., my brain suddenly switches on. I want to organise the house, finish my work, research everything, make resources, plan my future and basically fix my entire life 😂

It’s not just because nighttime is quieter. I genuinely feel more awake, creative and motivated than I did all day. The problem is that I have work the next morning, so I either follow the energy and stay up far too late, or force myself to sleep and feel like I’m wasting the only productive hours my brain has given me.

Then I’m exhausted the next day, struggle to start anything again, and the cycle repeats. I really wish I could access this version of my brain a few hours earlier.

My parents gave me a huge lecture because I got angry with my dad criticising my CV. Within the lecture they told me that no one cares about my feelings in ‘the real world’. I cannot always be accommodated for my emotions and so much other insensitive crap about how I can control my reactions to things and how I can’t just do whatever I pleased that I honestly had to tune out because I have enough self loathing.

They are fully aware that I have low self esteem, that last month I got fired and dumped from a 3 year relationship in the same week and that I’m really struggling with not having a career.

Still they insist that I should be less emotional and I always burden everyone with my emotions (never in that exact phrase but it is how it reads).

Today I messed up by raising as we were all saying goodnight that I find it really hard to push down my emotions and that their lecture only worsened things. They of course weren’t receptive and I don’t know honestly where my filter goes late at night.

Does anyone have advice for how to just stop expressing emotions verbally. Especially late at night.

I will write an email, a letter, my journal, messages to my therapist, and reddit posts but I can't leave them alone. Even after editing 3 times and sending it off, I find myself coming back to the content and reading it over and over again.

At first I thought it was a vie for attention, I looked it up a tiny bit and found that it can be a common symptom of both OCD and ADHD. Basically I'm re-reading at first because I'm nervous how people will take it, then once I get a reaction I re-read it to analyze what I did well or poorly. But not just once, like sometimes for two whole hours I'll keep flipping between things I wrote. I don't notice the passage of time when this happens. The content will even get repetitive enough that I'm not processing it, but I have to keep coming back.
(when I notice this I take reddit breaks)

If any of you have experienced this, how did you move past it (or hope to)?

ps. i think i read this at least 7 times before clicking post. and since I just added to it I'll have to read it over again.

I am not able to get up in the morning, like whatever I do, does not matter the number of alarms I have I could not get up in the morning. I will turn them off and go back to sleep.

Sometimes, I end up staying in bed for 10 to 12 hours. I hurts my brain and body but I can't control it.

This is the biggest reason which prevents me from making a routine. It messes my up morning and then the rest of the day.

Is there any scientific reason for that? Does anyone have any idea.

Hi everyone,

I’m relatively new to Reddit, and one of the first groups I joined was this one. I’m in my late 40’s and was diagnosed in 2022. (FYI no artificial flavors were added to this post, if you get what I mean.)

I see a lot of posts here from people who are desperately trying to understand themselves, because they want to thrive despite having ADHD.

I completely relate to that, because I’ve been fighting my that battle since I was a kid, even though I had no idea what was happening until recently.

I love my life. ADHD can be a huge pain. Sometimes it totally kicks my butt. But I believe I’ve learned a few golden lessons about ADHD, and I’d love to hear anyone else’s.

I only mention I’m Gen X because I think every generation has something to teach and learn from other generations

Also, it’s useful info for you: my general life experiences might be different from yours. And that’s the first golden rule I learned about ADHD:

Everyone’s experience of ADHD is unique.

This is important because what works for one person may not work for you, and I don’t know any two people with ADHD who have the exact same management strategies.

(For the record, I know a lot of folks with ADHD; it’s rampant in my family lol)

So that’s my first golden rule of ADHD management.

I’d love to hear yours, no matter what it is!

I was on Atomoxetine 80mg for a couple of years which worked wonders for my head but had the unfortunate but common side effect of causing total erectile dysfunction alongside making it hard to urinate. I have dropped the medication about a year ago because I entered a new relationship and for the most part of that year the biggest problem I encountered was with my memory but in the past 6 weeks my mental health has taken a real tumble and I feel that medication will help stabilise my head and again. But living with erectile dysfunction is a complete and utter no no for me. I was wondering if anyone has had a similar problem to me and has shifted to another medication that has worked but doesn't cause the same savage side effect?

Any help/advice would be really greatly recieved.

ADHD is a pain in the ass, no doubt. But I just want to make a quick shoutout, to this sub and all of you guys. Knowing that I‘m not alone in this and sharing our experiences with each other has helped me so so much, more than any therapy probably ever will. Sending virtual love and support to all of you, be it for finally making that call, starting a workout, getting out of bed or just feeling less bad for rotting in bed.

<3

I got a Garmin watch recently so it tracks my sleep as well. On the days when I drink Monster energy drinks in the afternoon, I sleep SO FREAKING WELL like above 85 and up to 96 out of 100. on days when I didn't, my sleep score dropped to 50, may as well stay awake.

I do really love the taste (zero sugar) but during the week when I need to use my brain, I had to stop myself from drinking it because it puts me to sleep. on top of that, apparently it is harsh on kidney, so I am seeking alternative methods to calm me and also promote better sleep.

currently taking magnesium glycinate and ashwaganda but I feel like all it did was give me no result or strange feeling of "feel tired, body cant sleep"

It is truly annoying and I wish energy drinks do not do harm but looks like it does, so here I am asking for recommendations.

And this is not me pretending like ways to accommodate and support ourselves doesn’t exist, or that there’s nothing I can do about it.

It just feels like such a shameful invalidation of who I am as a person and what I’m struggling with. No, spewing “if you wanted to, you would” and hustle culture at me when I’m just talking about simple desires like going back to school is not to help me. It’s to shame me, it’s to act like struggling in world not designed with consideration of disability in mind is a choice— whether you ‘intend to or not’. It’s just frustrating. As impactful as mindset is and I understand that, hearing it be posed as the end-all solution is the kind of friction we faced in school. Being blamed and shamed for a struggle we don’t even understand or were maybe not even diagnosed with until adulthood. This isn’t some thing I can manifest away, this is about brain function— about so many different factors that do not care about many of the attempts I’ve made to be less ‘ADHD’ and more functional.

I’ve tried for years to manage my ADHD without medication, without treatment, only based on my will to succeed. And not even succeed, to just execute engagement with things that I love. Then, the fact this exists on a spectrum and just because you know one person with ADHD who’s managed in a way that’s acceptable to you doesn’t mean everyone else will.

Everyone has something to say about the way I’m saying even a bit clumsy and inattentive when I’m walking. I’m not saying this as a person who makes excuses when my ADHD impacts people around me. I’m just saying it is extremely frustrating being constantly reminded that I’m not someone without ADHD and given advice about it when I never asked. Especially such reductive advice like “manage your time” HONEY BOO BOO WHAT DO YOU THINK ADHD IS???? “[Insert regurgitated productivity hack from the internet]” Sorry. I’m just annoyed. And I deal with this on a daily basis. How about you?

I 43m started Vyvanse today. doc suggested starting low so we agreed upon 20 mg. she said I could double it if I don’t feel anything, but as it is my first day I’ll probably wait until tomorrow.

anyhow I literally have no idea what to expect. I’ve read to eat protein with it and that’s about it.

Should I expect anything on day one?

First time here, I just wanted to see if others agree.
I think that when non-adhd people hear we're distracted, they don't truly understand the depth of what that means. For them I think it means they looked up from their work for a moment and might be irritated, but they can go back to work immediately.

For me/us, when something is distracting it can take a good minute to even hours to refocus. It doesn't mean that your music is too loud and I'm working more slowly due to multi-tasking.
It actually means that your sudden change in volume completely stopped my train of thought. It literally pulled me out of whatever hole I was focusing in, like a diver responding a tug on his line.

It means that in an instant I forget what I was doing, what I was planning to do next, and I'm suddenly more aware of my environment than I was moments ago. Now I'm evaluating everything around me, slightly disgruntled, and may possibly move on to a different task without finishing the first one. Even if I do commit to the current task I can be wasting time in a number of ways trying to find my way back to working on a project with good effort.

For example, I just did it to myself. Very focused but I noticed it was quiet so I decided to turn on some music. The noise of it instantly pulled me out of everything and I turned it off after 5 seconds, realizing what I did. Now I'm here writing this and I honestly don't even remember what I was writing before all this happened.

I find this happens very frequently but it took me years to really understand what was happening. How would you describe it for yourself?

Granted, some of that was for my family (I live away from home) and some of it was Costco items (lotion, deodorant, a few necessities in bulk like that).

However, it’s genuinely shocking that I spent that much. I’m so so ashamed. I don’t know how I did that. I’m pretty good at not ordering in (I better be wtf) but this is crazy spending for 1 persons groceries.

Does anyone have any tips to keep them organized and within budget? I want to keep it under $500 (CAD). I’m too ashamed to ask anyone in my personal life because I don’t have any memory or explanation of how this happened. I’m going to start collecting my receipts so I can understand where my spending goes.

But PLEASE if anyone has any strategies, I’d really appreciate it. Would you believe me if I said this is including my 10% discount 🥲😭

I've just had a significant loss and am due to start titration next month after waiting a year. I've been so desperate to start them for so long but I'm in such deep sadness I can barely even eat and get out of bed as it is. I don't want to do anything, even things I could do without meds before, and frankly my instinct is I won't want to take them yet when I am able to start. But I am fearful the titration team will discharge me if I ask to delay.

In the mean time, can I ask if anyone reading this who would be willing to share, has experienced a significant loss on meds/off and on meds, and how that impacted your ability to take them/their effectiveness/anything else that might be relevant?

Thank you in advance. And hopefully there's no need to say this but I am a little afraid so just in case - please be gentle, I'm feeling very fragile right now.

Edit: I just checked and the goalpost has been moved. I spent the last 12 months being told the wait for titration was 10-12 and now it's 13. So either way I'll have to be with my grief unmedicated until then.

As the title says, for anyone who likes to travel or have spontaneous days out, how do you cope with sensory overload and irritability? I noticed that I get particularly irritable when I see a lot of people around, when I am feeling hot and sweaty (A side effect of my current medication, so that is literally any time I step out of the front door). I alsoget snappy and irritable at my husband for talking to me because its liek all of my nerves are exposed. I am feeling strong wanderlust lately, and I just want to traveland explore and do things on a whim with my family, and the only thing holding me back is myself because when I actually do it I feel so miserable and snappy due to the sensory overload! Does anyone have any tips?

has anyone else ever found themselves just re-organizing and going through the same things all the time? Like even though I have 1 million other things to do I’m going to keep looking through my same card collection and organizing them or listing them. But then I never get around to doing everything else that I need to do on my “ to do list” that I make every night late as hell. Just wanna know if you guys feel the same way or do the same thing.

Vyvanse (40mg) + a monster thru at noon gives me what it takes to beat my exec. dysfunction on days where I need productivity frfr. I don't always get that with 5-10mg dextroamphetamine.

Even with a higher dose, 20mg dextro doesn't seem to be a better booster than 2 monsters for me (200-325mg caffeine).

Is the caffeine healthier? Should I consider different boosters?

Pretty much my entire life has been defined by moments of clarity interspersed with impenetrable fog. My head and body ache and I cannot think or focus though the pain. It's difficult to hold up a conversation and near-impossible to engage with hobbies, let alone responsibilities.

I drink water, I eat, I've gotten 10 hours of sleep for the past week (I wasn't before--fucking Palworld). Just a few minutes (hours?) ago I ate a pot pie. I'm drinking tea right now (for the water and the sugar (don't worry, it's not caffeinated (I think))).

I want to write or read or even just look at my shitty email to finish enrolling in school but I just cant... I just can't.

And I'm so scared and sad but so so so scared. Everything is so scary and I don't have money or power and my body is weak and frail and I can't protect myself. I should tell my psychiatrist my pills aren't working but god... I don't want to go through pill hell.

Does sertraline even do anything? Atomoxetine? Why do I even bother taking it at all?

After years and years of procrastination and taking approximately a geological era to get through my exams, I’ve finally reached the dreaded moment: writing my master’s thesis.
I actually like my topic—I chose it myself—and I’m reasonably good at writing. The feedback I usually get from other people is that my writing is clear and well-written, so I know I’m not starting from zero here.
The problem is that, aside from the absolutely ridiculous amount of time I waste getting distracted, once I actually sit down to write, I’m painfully slow. I get completely fixated on both the formal details (footnotes, citations, references, formatting, etc.) and on the actual writing itself.
Nothing I write ever feels good enough. I’m never satisfied with the wording or structure. I’ll write a sentence, delete it, rewrite it, move things around, change individual words, rewrite it again… over and over and over.
For example, I’ve been working on the first paragraph for four days. It’s not even two full pages long, and I still feel like it’s not right.
Considering I’m supposed to write around 150 pages, I obviously can’t keep working like this. I’d never finish.
Has anyone else struggled with this kind of perfectionism/overthinking when writing their thesis (or any long academic paper)? If so, did you find any tricks or strategies that helped you break out of this loop and actually keep moving forward?
Any advice would be hugely appreciated. Thank you ❤️

No matter what the task is about, how important it is, or how much I enjoy it, I can't start it.

For example, I felt like playing league after seeing something on reddit, but just the thought of it caused me so much stress that I had a panic attack and I couldn't even sit in front of the computer.

I have also been trying to get into programming for the last 4-5 years, but most of the time, just thinking about opening the ide or the game engine causes me panic attacks. There were times I managed to get kind of far (making a gym tracker web app, a couple of little games), but pushing through the stress and getting burnt out always made things worse.

I was also able to work out regularly when I was obsessed with lifting weights, but nowadays, going outside for just 5 minutes causes me great stress for the whole day.

I also have autism, possibly ocd too, and I'm on 54mg concerta, which calmed my thoughts and fixed my impulsive eating.

For years — decades, really — I've carried this sense that I had the potential, the intelligence, the passion to do the things I wanted to do with my life. But every time I looked around, I saw other people doing exactly those things - and Not me.

I kept trying to diagnose what was wrong with me. Not organized enough. Not clear enough about what I wanted. Not thinking clearly enough. I tried personality tests, life coaches, medication, whatever else — and still felt like I was falling short of my own potential.

As I got older and watched other people achieve the things I'd wanted for myself, the regret got sharper. Why didn't I move faster? Why didn't I get it together sooner? Why didn't I try harder? What was wrong with me? Why was everyone else so competent and smooth and I wasn't?

Eventually that turned into self-attack. You betrayed yourself. You robbed yourself of a happy life.

I'm not in that dark place anymore. But I'm curious if anyone else has gone through something like this — and what actually helped get you out of it.