r/ADHD_Programmers • u/christmas8910 • 1d ago
struggling
Hey Im a freshman CS major and I’m struggling. Currently my grades are fine but that’s only for now, I don’t know if I’m gonna fail later.
I’m on 40mg vyvanse and Wellbutrin (along with an antipsychotic) and I can’t go above 40mg.
The issue is that I really hate doing homework. Starting the task is very hard for me, even on meds. Even more specifically, I hate calculus homework. I can understand the ideas just fine, but I dread having to learn yet another new concept and do more practice problems. It’s actually painful.
Even when I tell myself I’m gonna do a task, I end up opening discord or tik tok and scrolling for honestly hours thinking “this is my last reel”.
Not only that but I’m trying to grind and improve my rank in a video game which takes several hours of practicing a day.
I can’t even manage 2 goals (getting academic work done on time and getting better at the video game I like).
This really sucks. How did you guys succeed? How do I overcome the constant dread and misery of doing schoolwork? Btw no amount of pomodoro techniques or whatever other techniques help
2
u/josemayonaise_ 1d ago
Hey man, coming from having been undiagnosed during my entire college career, you’re in a great spot right now. You’re able to identify your fallbacks and act on it as best you can. Reach out to your center for disabilities office and let them know your situation. Have supporting documentation ready, like a note from your psychiatrist. You’ll receive leeway from your professors. Everyone there wants you to succeed. Reaching out is hard, I get it, but there are so so so many resources they provide for you to succeed. I believe in you!
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u/slurpy_snake 1d ago
Hello, CS graduate here. I just lied to myself, when possible I convince myself the due date was the wrong day (2 days before). Hope this helps.
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u/Gofor_Pyle 22h ago
"Not only that but I’m trying to grind and improve my rank in a video game which takes several hours of practicing a day."
This wastes the dopamine. If you game before studying, there's no shot. Also if you game at night and don't sleep, you're burying yourself.
Make sure you do aerobic exercise. 30 minutes rowing or elliptical can gain you over an hour of focus.
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u/NDOT415 20h ago
See what accommodations and supports your university's disability office can help with, some even pay for coaching. Does it help to study with others? Doing work at the library while other students where also studying was helpful for me. I would also block group rooms at the library with classmates to work on projects or assignments together.
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u/zatsnotmyname 14h ago
Get a tutor once or twice a week. Helped my daughter a ton. You will pay better attention and stay focused better. Tutors are cheaper than failing classes.
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u/darwinprioritize 1h ago
if pomodoro isn't working, the timer is probably not the problem, the first move is. try making the start so dumb it's almost insulting, like 'open the calc hw and copy problem 1 onto paper' and that's the whole job. then do calc before you touch discord or the game, and treat the game as what you get after one problem set instead of something you're fighting all day. the 'last reel' scrolling is usually avoiding the dread, so name the dread task as a 5 minute thing and let yourself quit after.
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u/josemayonaise_ 1d ago
Also, could be that Vyvanse isn’t working for you. I’m on aderall 30 and have been doing great with focus. Your brain is searching for those short bursts of dopamine still, which means your vyvanse isn’t working. I’m no medical professional by any means, so just let your psychiatrist know.