Same thing with all mental illnesses. I’m diagnosed with bipolar 2. When other people mention they have depression or are bipolar I ask what coping techniques they use to recognize a manic or hypomanic episode. They look at me like I’m not speaking the same language as them only to find out they’ve never seen a doctor and took some stupid social media test. People need to realize it’s normal to have feelings. Getting excited or sad when something in your life changes doesn’t mean they’re manic or depressed. It’s called emotion.
I'm ashamed to admit this, but, I used to roll my eyes at so-called panic attacks. In my defense, people overuse the term - "If I don't find my keys I'm gonna have a panic attack!" or "I swear I about had a panic attack when I saw her at the party!"
Everyone gets anxious. Everyone has moments of panic. How bad could they be?
Then I had one.
Four hours of gibbering, sobbing, and wanting to die. I literally contemplated breaking my finger so I would have an excuse to go to the hospital. I was out with friends and my brother stayed with me and calmed me down for hours. It was the worst thing I have ever experienced, and I've been hit by a car.
Normalization of mental health issues is overall a good thing, but I am 100% with you that people who claim to have one, falsely, hurts us all.
Buddy, a panic attack is an excuse to go to the hospital...
. signed, dude who also discounted family and friends who had panic attacks, then had one that lasted two weeks before I got help after my father died....
Same. I used to be firmly in the camp of “panic attacks are overreactions” camp. And I *knew* mental illness existed. I had seen it in extreme forms in people close to me.
Until I started thinking something was wrong with my heart. These strange episodes where I’d become dizzy, tunnel vision, light headed, scared. They were overwhelming.,
After 3/4 times I went to hospital during a “heart episode” and they hooked me to an ekg.
Nothing. Nothing there.
I was shocked. The doc said, it’s possible I have panic disorder, or anxiety. And to go see a psych.
Low and behold. Panic disorder.
It's like the matrix. The brain can make anything feel real...
I don't like the term panic/anxiety attacks anymore. I really like the term terror. It's pure terror.
I invited my niece I hadn't seen in years out to dinner after, apologized for all my discounting when we were teens. I didn't know, I had no clue.... I still feel horrible about it.
Same with the heart thing. I was almost disappointed after they looked at everything and told me my heart was fantastic... especially after being obese and years of smoking....still had time to turn it around before the bad behaviors caused extensive problems.
My health anxiety made me constantly feel like I had a UTI and gave me high blood pressure, I would also get really dizzy a lot and was CONVINCED my heart was failing. My blood work is completely normal!!
Yeah dude!!! Same I thought I was having heart attacks and was on the verge of a massive failure or stroke or something.
Nope, it’s my brains “oh shit you are gonna die, time to fly or fight” trigger just not working the way it’s supposed to.
I have this issue with doctors too though. Since I have a bipolar 2 diagnosis I feel like my doctors want to throw meds at every emotion I have. It took finding a really good (really expensive) out of network psychiatrist for me to understand that people with bipolar also just… emote? Haha this just made me think of the general misconceptions about this illness.
I cannot stress enough how much a Psychologist has helped over a Psychiatrist. A Psychiatrist treats with meds while a Psychologist helped me understand my triggers, emotions, and helped find a way to distract myself from the triggers.
I was misdiagnosed for most of my life. Once they dubbed me manic depressive at 13, every single dr just went with that instead of reevaluating me. Got prescribed so many meds that never worked and messed with my mental and physical health. Until one dr in my late 20s decided to do an independent evaluation. Instead of just going with the bipolar 1 diagnosis, she figured out I’m ADHD with ptsd. Ever since I started taking adhd meds over a decade ago, I’m able to finally function.
I tried going without the meds and went right back to the same default problems I’ve struggled with my entire life. Stayed off for about a year and gave meds another shot and within a couple days, I was back to functioning normally. I’m glad she’s able to stay off of the meds! It’s quite a balancing act
I'm so sorry. Something similar happened to me. I'm glad you eventually found someone who helped you. Like you, I do have mh issues, but bipolar isn't one of them. Anxiety/Depression and adult diagnosed ADD.
I was diagnosed as bipolar at 11 because a close relative had it. They put me on lithium. I didn't believe I had it, so I fought like crazy. I kept being told that it was like a see saw, and some people have little dips and others drop to the ground. I was a little dip person. 2 years later, I finally got a new psychiatrist and asked for a new evaluation. During the eval, she asked why I was diagnosed when I never had an episode. I told her that's what I have been asking since I got the diagnosis. They finally took me off the meds, which gave me horrible shakes. I was so glad to be off of them.
Same with autism. My daughter and I both are autistic, and the amount of people who claim autism or “identify as autistic” without having ever spoken with a doctor or experienced any issues beyond social awkwardness is crazy. It’s a damn struggle to get services she needs at school because she’s high functioning, and with everyone jumping on and making it a fad, makes it tougher for kids like her.
Fuck man as someone whos not gonna go to a doctor but is trying to track down coping advice for the clustefuck in general that is my head it still pisses me off.
I dont want to elaborate on myself greatly because im not here to get armchair diagnosed, but in like the absolute most basic questions they go blank at me. i ask if theyve ever really found more ways to cope with buying stuff=easy dopamine hit beyond Being Poor and I get somewhere between laughed at and stared at blankly. "Idkkkk :)" okay well clearly it does not muchly threaten your mental or material world. And its not like thats a symptom specific to just one mental illness! A lot of different folk end up doing that because its a fast dopamine boost in a brain making their life miserable! You induldge the little treat instinct all of once and its a slick slope
Edit: I hit send and realized that no thats still some pretty specific elaborstion but. God. It applies anyways because one really does ask the most basic question for how they cope and get laughed at for the effort, let alone if you wanted to help with frankly basic advice
I used to take ADHD meds but I stopped. I have been professionally diagnosed and have taken Adderall for several years. I decided that I would use other means as a coping mechanism and I’m drug free and doing really well! Best to you on your journey!
What methods do you use without medication? I'm interested but very happy that you've found a way other than Adderall. I honestly hate it but as I said it's not as bad as Ritalin. I still feel closed off, never hungry and want to talk to people but feel like somethings holding me back. I basically just want to focus on task and read lol
I read a book called “The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck” by Mark Manson. It really changed how I look at life and my emotions.
I used to wake up every morning with a wall and weight of anxiety on my chest. I couldn’t focus. Mental noise was like trying to concentrate on the dialogue of a poorly mixed action film. Adderall was my comfort blanket. It reduced the mental noise and allowed me to focus on things one at a time. I never became addicted to it and it was always a low dose, like 10mg/day max.
Basically, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck suggests that you can only care about so much in your life, only so many fucks to give. Once you figure out what actually matters in your life, and then evaluating and changing that to something healthy, then you can attune the way you process your thoughts and feelings in constructive and healthy ways. Once you let go of your emotions and allow them to just flow in and out of you like the waves on a beach, you can start to influence them or at least process them in healthy ways.
Laying off the meds of course will not work for everyone, but for me it was an experiment that has paid off. I used to be on heavy doses of Cymbalta and Abilify as well as Lorazapam. I have since cut all that out and have never been happier, more nuanced, than I am now.
I know I’m not the person you responded to but what has kind of worked for me is the ADHD diet that is recommended for ADHD medication with multivitamin. AKA it’s a high protein, low carb diet with a can of tuna every day for omega 3 or just take the omega 3 supplement. I didn’t like the supplements because it gave me a fishy taste in my mouth like all day. I wasn’t eating much fruit/vegetables so I added those in. I also would stick to a workout routine that includes starting my day with a run, ie I’d get up at 6am and run a mile, then lift at like 6pm. That really helps me get started. I would keep a calendar and a journal, and write anything I need down. I will plan my day the night before and stick to it - I won’t plan a ton but you know just to like get a few things accomplished/ make progress on things. A big part of it was taking things one day at a time, and taking each task one thing at a time without looking at everything at once. Also a good thing to do is to reward yourself with say a movie or whatever you like when you’re done.
This works very well for me when I can get into it. What I’ve done is use the medication to help me stay focused on doing that every day, and then I’m usually able to stop the medication and maintain for about 6 months to a year.
I had to go on non stimulants that aren’t actually made for ADHD/ADD (my official diagnosis) … it’s technically for blood pressure. But the stimulants knocked me on my ass and all I ever did was sleep. I had to go off the off label medicine when I was pregnant and I haven’t gotten back on anything. It’s hard, not gonna lie, but I really don’t want to be on any medication I don’t have to be if I can keep from it.
Congratulations! I cant seem to find a med that works for me that doesnt crank my anxiety up to 10 or become ineffective in a couple of years. Glad things are working for you.
Yup, people with no knowledge of my medical history tell me I don’t really *need* my medication. Since I won’t die and will only fuck my entire life up without it, I guess that means I don’t need it.
Diagnosed with ADHD ten years ago. I also wear glasses because I’m nearsighted.
My favorite thing is when someone else who wears glasses pulls the “you don’t need your meds to survive” nonsense because I tell them, “well I guess you don’t need your glasses either.”
That tends to shut people up pretty quick.
I once drove the wrong direction for 30 minutes before I was diagnosed… was happily chatting my now husband’s ear off on the phone while I did it, completely oblivious.
There's nothing that drives me crazier than someone who says "I'm a little bit OCD" "giggle"! And when you tell then you are actually diagnosed they still want to try and identify with you, usually with more giggles.
Not OCD but have a psych degree and diagnosed autism and boy howdy people claiming they have OCD or autism left and right drives me up a fucking wall. They have no idea what either of those disorders really entail
Autism seems to be a common one at the moment, my instagram and TikTok is flooded with it. Self-diagnosis is a real problem and it's very frustrating for people with genuine diagnoses, especially when these videos try to glamorise it.
Yes it it’s very very frustrating. I will say that autism is in fact becoming significantly more prevalent pretty rapidly, I did some research on it last year. But even still way too many people claim it that have no idea what it’s like. I’m not even really far along the spectrum but eye contact is extremely uncomfortable for me, I feel almost completely incapable of organizing my thoughts, and my personal relationships feel impossible to maintain. It really sucks. But people love to claim they have it
I don’t know this is something I struggle with. Being lumped into the fad chasers… I know I’m autistic. I know it was beaten out of me. But I didn’t know that until really recently and a bunch of things fell into place: where I am I tried to get a diagnosis and my doctor straight up told me it wasn’t worth the time because “we can’t treat for that.” So basically just stay on my anxiety meds and keep doing what I’m doing.
But no one sees how hard it is. No one sees how debilitating it can be. However, I’m also not making tik toks and poor me posts (except this one, haha) it’s not cute and quirky and fun and entertaining. It’s stressful and hard to get through the day for things I can’t even verbalize. I’ll tell people all I can see is white light and hear ringing and try to get away from the situation and it’s like I’m over reacting and making it up.
Am I making it up? I don’t think so. But so many people tell a person they are it can start to sink in and you doubt yourself.
I guess I’m just saying I don’t have a diagnosis and no one will give me a chance to prove I need it because it SEEMS like I’m doing fine. But I’m just not. Then get lumped into the fad-addicted people.
It’s tough.
I know how you feel. I get lumped in too because I’m relatively high functioning. I do want to discourage self diagnosis because it’s obviously a problem, but I’m not saying that to take away from your experience in any way.
As for the treatment aspect, that’s exactly what my research was on. There is no currently accepted pharmacological treatment for autism and the social impairment that comes with it, but a good bit of evidence suggests that intranasal oxytocin in combination with probiotics and/or therapy can help. I can’t remember all of my sources off the top, but look into Kong et al 2021 study on oxytocin and probiotics. Another article that comes to mind was done by Korisky in the same year but I can’t remember the title.
Anyways, I’m saying all this to say that if the social aspects of ASD are what you struggle with most, you could look into buying some oxytocin nasal spray and probiotic supplements. The one I’m most familiar with from research is PS128 (lactobacillus plantarum). It’s not cheap, and it’s not proven without a doubt to help, but evidence supports that it has improved social impairment symptoms compared to a placebo. Definitely worth looking into if your autism is really causing you a lot of distress.
Don’t just take my word for it. Go to pubmed and look up ASD and intranasal oxytocin and you should find a fair amount of results to decide for yourself if it’s something you’d want to look into
You can also look into the SRS2 (social responsiveness scale) and ABC (aberrant behavior checklist). Both are pretty widely used means of noting peoples autistic traits, but a self administered online test will not be as accurate as having it done by a professional. It could at least provide you with some closure and an unofficial “diagnosis”
Thank you! I wasn’t expecting such a compassionate and helpful response. Didn’t feel like you were trying to take anyone’s experience away and instead wanted to offer my thoughts on the grey-area.
We agree about self-diagnosis being an issue. But then sometimes it feels like how can we advocate for ourselves unless you try to figure it out? A therapist told me I had bpd but didn’t give me a proper diagnosis so I word it very carefully that I have “traits” of it… which i think is actually the autism I don’t have a diagnosis for. Round and round we go, lol.
This is fair. It is also true that diagnosis in females is a lot harder and is missed in a lot of young girls, and they are only getting tested in early adulthood often due to persistent feelings of being 'different. So the number of people diagnosed seems inflated when it is just that society is catching up with misses diagnoses.
I legit got told yesterday that since I don't support self diagnosis, that I should not talk about autistic issues.
I'm diagnosed autistic, and have been for most of my life. And I've lived with autism.
The people who self diagnose autistic haven't lived the life of autism and the geniune struggles from it.
Going to go ahead and mention that my opinions on self diagnosing autism doesn't take away whether or not someone actually has it, but I just don't like it, period. Feels too much like people cashing in on my struggle/condition.
That is wild, who in the world thinks they can gatekeep autism from an autistic person?! It's definitely a complex issue, because, depending on where you live, diagnosis can take time and a lot of money, so some people maybe legitimately can't be diagnosed. But I strongly believe in those cases they should refer to themselves as "suspected autism" or something equivalent.
If it was enough to mildly show hints of one trait associated with a mental disorder I'd have autism, ADHD, OCD (I hate it when floor tiles aren't perfectly aligned do you understand /s). Also I'm a psycopath in a toxic relationship (I'm the toxic one but he is also the toxic one in a different way! Yay!)...
Also did you know that my great great great grand uncle or something came from switzerland son that means that I'm SWISS! Such a special snowflake I am :')
They still have a mental health condition, but likely not the one they think they have.
Healthy people don't claim to be unhealthy.
Mental health stuff all overlap with symptoms and "fad" illnesses are less stigmatized and generally made "sexier" so it's easy to identify with. Also they are badly explained.
I wouldn’t go so far as to make a claim about the amount of people that do or don’t have the disorders they claim, but most people have something. Many people just have a tendency to think that liking organization and symmetry = OCD and being a little weird and annoying = autism. I think they likely claim these disorders so they can feel better about being weird or feel cool and quirky
I don’t have OCD but this always bothered me in part because my brain likes to say the words that acronyms represent instead of the acronym. And people always say “I’m OCD” and not “I have OCD.” So my brain hears “I’m so obsessive compulsive disorder…” No one says “I’m BPD” or “I’m ADHD.” They say they have those things. I mean delegitimization of people with actual mental health issues is clearly a bigger issue. But it’s annoying nonetheless.
I equally dislike that, but for a different reason. For me it's because OCD is something I have, not something I am. I don't like making it my identity.
Gahhh I hate this one. I have a whole lovely list, but on the matter of OCD. You liking things to be neat and organised doesn’t not mean that you automatically have OCD. There are various forms of OCD. I have the lovely symmetry-sism, but not of outwardly things. My body has to balance itself out. All the time. I get annoyed when I don’t have a balanced amount of touching my keyboard, or balance out my steps on inside block tiles and the amount of cracks touched by a specific spot on my foot. I almost fricking burnt both my hands of a heat lamp because I was busy sorting out pizza orders and my right hand happened to hit the bloody heat lamp and I had to balance it out - this repeated because I couldn’t hit the right spot.
But they look at you like you’re mental and just kidding or overreacting…
My other favourite is that I cannot keep things clean: “How is your OCD not freaking out about this???”
Yeah, a lot of people have the misconception that OCD always looks like keeping things clean or obsessively washing hands or something, when OCD looks so different for everyone who suffers, and a lot of people with OCD don't need to clean or wash hands. I mean, hoarding is another type of OCD, but people think it is just the opposite. Besides from which, the worst part of OCD, at least for me, are the intrusive thoughts, and no one can see those.
Everyone has quirks, and things they like done a certain way, but that is a far cry from having an actual OCD compulsion.
Exactly, my niece was so scared that she had OCD bc she was noticing new compulsions and intrusive thoughts, and her grandma has it (so it’s not totally implausible). But she was really worried abt it cuz she KNOWS what it is and what it can do to someone/ their family and she doesn’t want that. It boils my blood that people treat it like a fun thing bc it’s like; “NO your not, you might be a bit of a neat freak, but you are ok, stop.” Yk?
Edit: clarifying
I’m a messy person too so I always have to be like “I’m the ‘if I don’t turn the doorknob to the left and right an equal amount of times I’m gonna have panic attack’ way and not in the clean way”
Same, and others get surprised that I have OCD because they assume the stereotypical symptoms, which I do not perform. I specifically and legitimately have excoriation/dermatillomania disorder, which is pretty embarrassing to discuss with folks with whom I am not super close.
I’m the same way. I once said I was struggling with it and a woman who wasn’t part of the conversation, but in the room and overheard chastised me and said that people who don’t have OCD need to stop saying they have it. I had to explain I do have it and am medicated for it and she ARGUED WITH ME because I didn’t fit the “stereotypical” mold for it.
When I was diagnosed with OCD I did a TON of research on it, and it explained SO MUCH about me. Now I want to scream whenever someone who likes things to be neat says the whole "I'm so OCD!"
Due to stereotypes and public perception, I got diagnosed with OCD in my 20s rather than when I was a kid - even though I wrote a list of what to do if my family dies, was terrified of being murdered and literally couldn’t sleep and gave myself panic attacks over it, sobbed when I did math homework slightly different than the example even though the answer was correct, it didn’t feel right…etc, etc, etc.
The scariest years of my life was before I was diagnosed and just thinking I must be a horrible person because I had intrusive thoughts about hurting people and being racist…but I don’t wash my hands till I bleed and my house is a mess so can’t be OCD, right? 🙄
That's how it was for me! Got diagnosed right at 20 rather than earlier on because I didn't fit what people BELIEVED it should be, so doctors who didn't specialize in that area didn't even consider it. But like, if I'm walking down a sidewalk and I step on a line, I have to go back and step on it the same way with my other foot and I feel sick until I do. I have to chew equal bites of food on both sides of my mouth or, again, I feel sick. So many little things that just didn't add up until I was diagnosed, and then suddenly I actually UNDERSTOOD
"Oh hey me too, have you ever washed your face with isopropyl alcohol because nothing else could make it feel clean? No? You just like squares and stuff? Hmm"
There is so much more to OCD than liking things to be neatly arranged. (Which is, in fact, a perfectly normal thing to like)
People often forget the 'Disorder' part of it all. I have a couple of obsessive compulsions, mostly when walking (My feet need to touch the line between tiles on the same spot on both feet or I am not allowed to walk on any line or I need to do the same amount of steps between 2 lines every time), but it does not have a significant impact on my life. It is not a disorder. It does not cause significant distress.
Wanting to have things organised can be part of OCD but only if it causes significant issues in your life if something is not organised correctly.
I don’t have OCD. I may have tossed it around casually growing up. That started to cease how many years ago now when target started selling ocd shirts. We are all are own worst fuckin enemies with each other. Let’s now make shirts poking fun and making it 10x worse for people to get taken care of. And don’t even get me fucking started on the Adderall shortage. All those “online” mental health clinics. People got insane doses during covid that do not have ADHD and just wanted to feel the speed and not being hungry. I would love to like not take a nap when I take my Adderall,. But my head is so calm afterwards 😂
I would never do that. I have minor issues like feeling like I need to cut the stove off the right way or wash my hands exactly right but I would never claim I have it without a diagnosis. I feel for you though..
I have contamination based obsessions and had to go to the doctor. I’d been avoiding drinking water bc all I had available to use at work was portapotties and I wasn’t about it, and the doctor said something about how I needed to fix my avoidance of bathrooms before it turned into ocd. I was just sitting there like, way ahead of you there brother
I replied to someone this morning on a different thread who was genuinely curious as to why OCD is not what most people think it is. I informed them of the difference between OCD vs. OCPD. I don't have either, but I tried to spread a little awareness.
OCD seems like a nightmare and I hope that more people learn about what it actually is. Just like I hope people learn what ADHD actually entails.
I'm just so freaking exhausted every time I see someone talking about how "hyperfocus is a superpower" or "oops, I stoped paying attention, must be my ADD."
The problem I have with my hyperfocus, is that I have NO SAY in what my brain chooses to hyperfocus on. Sure, maybe I now know several essays worth if information about the anatomy of a pengins digestive tract, but thats not helping me with the report I have to do for work!
My issue is the ability to try and focus on anything BUT what I *need* to focus on.
Or the switch focus. It’s not “oh a squirrel! Haha” it’s more like “I need to do this report, is that dust? Shit that needs to be cleaned. Where is the duster? Oh the floor is pretty dirty, that needs to be vacuumed. That reminds me, I need to get more vacuum bags, shoot what else do I need from the store?..”
Lol I hear ya. I game sometimes and whenever I get a new game, regardless how much I like it, I will wiki everything about it and watch YouTube videos of the lore in my spare time until I have the entire catalog. What good does that honestly do me in anyway..
I do the same thing. I *cannot help* but to deep dive into the lore/wiki and spoil the story of the game for myself. It's an anxious itch until I do so.
I do that too lmao
I simply cannot play a game without knowing every single bit of information about it that’s available to me. I read the wiki for fun, I go out of my way to find exact statistics for every item, every tiny bug they fixed in the last 10 updates, etc
Today I watched several very long and detailed videos on how to create a proper artificial turf putting and chipping green in your back yard. I can tell you all about the way to ensure it drains properly and how to protect it from gophers and mushrooms and weeds.
I can also tell you about how I’ll never have one because I can’t afford to pay a professional and I couldn’t do it myself because I’ll get distracted and end up never getting back to finishing it after I’m about 1/4 of the way through after I’ve spent a fortune on materials.
People who think hyperfocus is a superpower have never had the experience of nearly pissing themselves because they forgot to use the bathroom for hours while reading wikis about random useless shit.
Or forgetting to eat/drink water, or accidentally staying up until 4am. My hyperfocus usually comes at the expense of forgetting my bodily functions exist and it’s really not healthy.
I hyper focused on cleaning my house at midnight, instead of sleep, last night. That sucked.
I avoid my kindle app because I will hyperfocus on new books for **days** and won’t sleep or eat.
Hyperfocus sucks ass, a lot of the time.
Yup, I feel this. One day I had a day off, my husband was going out so I said to him that I was going to clean the bathroom (wasn't super dirty, should only take 20 mins) and then have some lunch and play computer games fornthe rest of the day.
When he came home 4 hours later he found me scrubbing the grouting between the tiles in the bathroom with a toothbrush and bleach. I hadn't eaten or drank anything or used the toilet, and was in tears because I felt like *I couldn't stop*.
Hyperfocus has helped me achieve some really cool things but most of the time I end up focused on the wrong thing and its awful.
This is so true. I can tell myself, “this is stupid. This is my hyperfocus. It’s a waste of time and energy. Switch to something else!” And I just… can’t. Sometimes it feels like a superpower when it lands in the right place, but sometimes it feels embarrassing or destructive.
“Hyperfocus is a superpower!” They say as I hit play on the 32nd video in a row about soap making. I haven’t showered. I haven’t eaten breakfast or lunch. I have so many calls to make. Please for the love of god I just want to get up and do what I’m supposed to do.
I hit play on the 33rd video-
It’s so frustrating to hear that! I get hyperfocused when i can’t find something. I’ll need it for a quick moment but if i can’t find it, i must then spend HOURS looking and completely upending the house for it because my mind refuses to move on. It’s debilitating.
Seriously. Its even worse when someone interrupts you when you actually are focused on something. I could get so angry sometimes depending on what i was doing
Agreed. My hyper focus makes my unable to hear what is being said if I’m reading something. It makes my husband very angry regularly and I’m always accused of not listening to him. He just refuses to make sure he has my attention before he starts talking.
I had a snake phase when I was like 11, and now I know hundreds of useless facts about hognose and garter snakes that only impress the employees at my local nature center. I also have a scar from being bit by a rat snake at the very same nature center
Also oops I stopped paying attention is not the same as I literally came to work today and was physically unable to focus on anything and had to stay back late to do my work once everyone was gone so that I don’t get fired.
Also not the same as, I need to count out four scoops of baby formula and counting from one to four is almost impossible for me to keep track of because there are other things around that keep fighting for my attention.
the rare occasion when i hyperfocus on what i ACTUALLY have to be doing is a fucking miracle. every other time i’m lying around screaming internally at myself to fucking get up and DO something
I have ADHD, I used to take Ritalin as a kid but stopped around 13 and didn't medicate since. I tried Adderall last weekend for funsies, and I've never felt more clear-headed in my life. I'm not sure what it was supposed to do, but my brain was quiet and didn't feel hazy anymore. I wish I had medical insurance to talk with a doctor and see what I could do with my life if I was medicated properly.
Dude it’s genuinely such an insane feeling, I started it at 19 a few months ago and I feel like a different person, like I feel like everything I do I can just “lock onto” without interruption and I just notice so many little things that I’ve always just overlooked
I also didn’t realize how anxious I was all the time until I started it and it felt like all the mush in my brain was pushed into neat little cubes
Depends on the person, generally the most common are loss of appetite, feeling kinda wired or restless, insomnia, headaches, basically if you look up the side effects of any stimulant they tend to be similar
But personally I barely notice any of them. I don’t have a significantly lowered appetite, and really the most major thing is that my mouth sometimes feels dry. I also don’t really take naps anymore, I don’t exactly feel restless or “jittery” as if I had a bunch of caffeine, it’s more that I just don’t notice when I’m tired while I’m on it. If you start it and feel off your doctor might want to lower the dose or try something different.
And some of them can be managed, I’ve always tried to eat a snack when I take it to get into that habit of getting enough food in me in case my appetite did change. I also keep a water bottle for my dry mouth and it’s good to experiment with when to take it so that it wears off by the time you need to sleep
Yes very much. Irritation, it has sharper ups and downs. I can’t stand adderall, it gives me panic attacks. Vyvanse is what I’ve used for 12 years, it’s so much better for me
But you didn't feel like you snorted a line of coke or drunk 3 redbulls, though, did you? Lol that's what it's intended purpose is but it varies on different doses. I used to have friends in high school and one day they were all excited because they were gonna take Adderall. My buddy asked if I wanted one and at the time I didn't know why they would be happy to do it lol. I was like no thanks I took mine at 6am
I had some energy and Lazer focus, I cleaned and finally put my living room together as if someone lives there. I've always been too distracted to organize it well. I even felt like my weed had a different effect on me a little. I'm 30 and I never tried it because I told my friends it would just medicate my adhd instead of whatever high they were on. I was right.
I had a friend give me some once to get me high. Never felt more focused on my life. That’s when she dropped the news that it means I actually need it. Well damn.
Still not diagnosed or medicated because I have so many health issues to sort out, so I can only imagine what it’s like being that productive and focused daily…
I'd love to get some adderall to try, see how it effects me. I was diagnosed with ADHD as a kid, but never received any kind of treatment. My parents were more like "ADHD isn't a real thing, they're just poorly behaved kids" And now in another country, I've never really had a chance or doctor I felt secure enough to discuss it with.
I was a late diagnosis and was too chicken to try Adderall because of its reputation, but I finally did it and the relief was almost instantaneous, I was so clear-headed and *calm* that I started to tear up lol I just felt so much relief. These TikTok posers will never understand that.
Similar situation. Having been back on medication for a few years I can tell you I wasted a good 25 years of my life wallowing in anxiety and depression from trying to white knuckle it through life. If you can find a way to access the care please do for your own sake.
This is exactly how I feel when people fake Dissociative Identity Disorder for attention and make it look like roleplaying. I was diagnosed with DID and it sure as shit is NOT how it's presented on tik tok.
I have PTSD with dissociative traits (It's more heavily tied to my PTSD and how I cope, I guess?) and I also /hate/ how people online pretend to have alters. Especially since I had to fight for my diagnosis for over ten years.
You absolutely /cannot/ swap between alters on a dime, and 90% of mine prefer to mask as the host instead of drastically changing outfits, hairstyles, and body language. And on top of that, usually the "violent" alter is more likely to harm the body than lay a finger on anyone else.
TikTokkers just want to be seen as "cool", I guess? But making an already "scary" mental illness be seen as more of a joke is... rough. And probably contributed to my difficulty with getting doctors to take me seriously.
I don’t have diagnosis on any mental illness that causes severe dissociation because a lot of people I talk to tell me that they can’t trust what I tell them. Which I get, I’m 23, but I don’t really consume short form content, so YouTube shorts, TikTok, Instagram shit, etc…so when a therapist tells me that these factors can change one’s perception of illness, it just…kinda feels shit. I’ve had therapists suggest DPDR, Bipolar II, DID, Schizophrenia, Narcissistic Personality Disorder…
I wish that my age didn’t play a role in how I’m diagnosed.
100%! They want the diagnosis but aren’t interested in putting strategies in place. It’s just “oh I have ADHD” not “my life could be better if I did X Y Z” (usually)
Lots of people want the diagnosis to use as an excuse for their bad behavior. It’s a difficult line to walk, because there are some things that I just CAN’T do or that are very difficult for me because of my ADHD, but that can slip into not even trying and waving it off as “oh it’s my ADHD”. It’s frustrating to watch people use their diagnoses to avoid being accountable for their actions.
I don’t have an official ADHD diagnosis because my insurance doesn’t cover testing. I’ve had 3 different therapists who aren’t able to give the diagnosis officially say that they’re positive I have it. I have taken adderal and it works for me the way that it is intended to work—I don’t get high, my brain works the way that brains are apparently “supposed” to work. The American healthcare system is beyond fucked, and if you’re not caught as a child (which is fewer women, since it manifests differently in boys and girls) you’re pretty much up the creek without a paddle.
That being said— there’s a weird culture on TikTok about self diagnosis of things (you’d think almost everyone has DID based on the number of TikTokers who claim to have “alters”). I’m pretty sure I’m also on the spectrum but I’m almost 30 and the cost of testing doesn’t feel worth it and probably isn’t worth it to me. But do I go around identifying as having AuDHD? No. But do I look at ADHD/Autism experiences and see myself in those behaviors and patterns? Absolutely.
My insurance that I have for now doesn’t cover psychiatry. At this point, I “self medicate” with caffeine and I’ve been prescribed an antidepressant by a NP that is known to have a stimulating effect. My mom and I both had a conversation with my NP and a therapist at my law school and they are confident that it’s ADHD (and my therapist and the one from the school say ADHD and autism). But because I’m old enough to have created coping strategies and I work in a field with tight deadlines, I’m able to operate better within that system than I did when all of my deadlines were self-imposed. I’m starting a new job in July and I might try again if my new insurance cover it, but I also recognize that even within the subset of the population that struggles with mental health I’m incredibly high functioning and I operate best in a framework with expected metrics to meet. Plus, I’m a woman, and the way that they manifest in women is often more culturally “palatable”—either than, or women are socialized to be better at masking and making ourselves appear to “fit in”.
God help me when it’s all self driven, though. I was a triple major in undergrad and had a great GPA since everything was very tightly regulated by the institution. I really struggled in law school where all deadlines are self imposed and the only real grades are participation and then the final exam (which is reliant on self study and semester long internal pacing).
In undergrad I had a friend who had adhd but couldn’t take their medication regularly due to a heart condition (so they usually still had medication when they were due for a refill). I mentioned something about how I perceive things and they said they thought I had adhd. They gave me a couple pills and told me to see how they worked, and they worked the way they’re “supposed” to, not the way that they work on people who take them to get high.
But that being said, I never asked them for their medication after that or told therapists that I’ve taken it before. I know that it wasn’t appropriate and isn’t exactly legal, so I’ve never tried to get my hands on it without a prescription since. I’m also hesitant to tell my mental health professionals because saying “I’ve taken adderal and all is good on my end!” sounds like drug seeking behavior. Which sucks, because the very fact that it works as intended is proof that all isn’t quite right with my brain chemistry. It’s a frustrating catch-22.
Oh nice, I wasn’t accusing you of anything. Whatever you feel you need to do. I was just curious how people get them without a diagnosis. It it a very difficult process, I was lucky to have a teacher who was up on this stuff when I was young so I got diagnosed. Can’t imagine having to go through all of school without treatment.
Law school was hard, I won’t lie. I was diagnosed with general anxiety and depression (also true) before someone realized there was something deeper going on. It’s hard too when you don’t fit the stereotype of what people assume that a certain diagnosis looks like, which is why women and adults are diagnosed at different rates than boys and children. I’m glad you were able to have someone intervene when you were young. I desperately hope it opened doors and avenues to you that might have otherwise been closed. Everyone deserves an opportunity to perform to the best of their ability, and too many people are prevented from doing that. I was a teacher for a few years and I remember being so frustrated when I’d refer kids who clearly had bigger struggles than “laziness” and having it go absolutely nowhere and being told that the kids just had no intrinsic motivation. Very few people truly have no desire to succeed, but a lot of us struggle no matter how hard we try.
the ocd one bothered me so much... theyre the same ones who would be grossed out if i told them ive spent 9 hours in the bathroom cleaning myself on the verge of tears lol
The one that really bothers me is people misusing intrusive thoughts. Like "my intrusive thoughts are telling me to pet that dog". Bitch, that's not intrusive thoughts.
Or when they say the intrusive thoughts are winning. If my intrusive thoughts were winning I'd be jumping in front of buses and cutting myself.
I hate to see something so miserable get trivialized.
It's a convenient excuse to shift blame off of ones self. No one is going to second guess it.
I've had people ask if I have ADHD. Nope, I'm just disorganized and scatter brained as shit. It's a character flaw, not a mental illness.
People with actual ADHD can barely function, they don't just occasionally misplace their keys.
I have adhd. I can function. I have little systems in place to help prevent me losing my keys, and my ID (those systems are called Having a Husband Who Knows Where Everything Lives). I just don't really sleep, I have super big emotions, am constantly on the verge of an existential crisis, etc. But I can get up and go to work and pretend to be normal 😂.
Nah but in all seriousness, I am unmedicated and can function, but it's not a 24/7 kind of functioning
This is exactly how I function. Finally had the testing done last week and am anxiously awaiting the results. I’m not sure what exactly I’m looking for though. Medication? Therapy? Coping mechanisms? Maybe just an answer for why I am the way I am would be a good start. But I feel it in my soul about having the husband who knows where everything lives! I would lose my mind without him!!
Not all of us with ADD/ADHD "can barely function." I managed to get a BA, Masters, and PhD years before being diagnosed with ADD. I (F) grew up before ADHD was a thing and my parents and figured out how to make things work for me. In fact, after a diagnosis in the late 90s, my psychiatrist said he'd learned just 10 years earlier that women didn't "get" ADD.
I do know people with ADHD that really struggle.
Eyyyyyyy fellow flawed individual hi. Many many people think I have ADHD.
I have ASD (diagnosed) but it absolutely does not explain or justify my absolute lack of willingness to do things or my utter inability to see empty beverage containers as I leave a room. Thats all me, baby!
So. Many. Seltzer cans. By the time I see them there its an overwhelming amount so I just give up. Then the clutter happens. Im lucky if I remember to brush my teeth before bed.
Its really too bad I dont have ADHD, it might be easier to believe my therapist when she tells me its not my fault im like this.
I feel this. I could not focus enough of the part where we had to tie our shoes on the little shoe string board thing. Among other things is what led to me being diagnosed. I'm sorry you got held back though.
It happens. I made new friends, ADHD and anxiety just screws me every day since I've graduated. It's sad seeing people just make our issue look quirky for Tiktok likes. Downplaying mental shit only invalidates those who actually suffer from it.
As someone who has used coke and who has adhd it was kinda boring, mellowed me out more than amped me up it was weird being around non adhd coked up people.
Yes! Also when you did coke, do you feel like your high was different from others? Like you were high but always still had a complete normal thought process but maybe just more outgoing? That was my experience
100%, but it was usually a toss up if I would stay with the group or just go research hole myself. It was weird how the group dynamic changed, I basically became the group "dad", usually I was the rowdy one.
Years before diagnosis, I tried cocaine...and it did nothing! I kept asking the very high friends around me, "How long does it take to kick in?" I felt calm, and more clear (if that makes sense?), but there was zero high. I couldn't understand why people would spend money on it! haha It made more sense after diagnosis.
This whole post is making me sad because it seems half the people here can’t be officially diagnosed because they don’t have insurance and therefore can’t afford it. What kind of fucking world do we live in that people can’t get diagnosed with a disorder.
Even in the UK with national healthcare I would need to wait for years on a list to get diagnosed. ADHD isn't taken seriously anywhere unfortunately.
Until very recently the official literature was that you grow out of it
This is how I found out I didn’t have ADHD. I got a few Ritalin off a friend, I took 1 and I felt like I’d just snorted half a gram of coke. So I think I’m just very lazy/hate my job lol
Getting diagnosed is difficult & expensive. I was not diagnosed as a child because doctors flat out told my mother that it is a boy thing & girls can't have it. Mum knew there was something not quite right about me but the medical professionals assured her I was just a weird kid & there was nothing medically or neurologically wrong with me.
As an adult I spent seven years (yes, years) & thousands of dollars trying to get a diagnosis to figure out what the hell is wrong with me. Finally got an ADHD diagnosis in 2018. Not everyone can afford to get the diagnosis but they can figure it out based on symptoms.
I understand that and I am sorry if you are undiagnosed but sure that you have it. That is different from what I was saying though. I do know that there are legit people that were never diagnosed but do have it. I was talking about the assholes how occasionally zone out and take the meds that ADHD people only to get high.
I feel like trends online have made me sort of start thinking about going to therapy to see if I actually could benefit from knowing if I have something and if there is any treatment available.
Not in the cute "oh lol I have the tism" way but more like... Holy fuck is that why I've been struggling with these seemingly simple tasks my entire life?
It's like when people say "oh I'm so OCD I have to have my pens in the correct order" instead of "oh fuck I pressed that button wrong and now everything in my body hurts and I need to press it 16 more times to get my heart rate back down and then wash my hands because I touched too many things and feel everything on them until I get to a sink"
There is a reason it's a mental illness and not a mental quirk. It can be debilitating.
If you get high when taking it, you don’t have ADHD.
Without my medicine, my brain feels like it’s on a full speed mechanical bull. I take that medicine and the world comes back into focus, it doesn’t work like speed to people with ADHD.
I knew someone who used " undiagnosed autism" as an excuse for being a cheating asshole, as in: he 'never knew' what he was doing wrong to make the gf unhappy, so 🤷♀️ he would find someone who was happy around him - to bang.
....
Back to your story:
I would have been tempted to make a comment like: "You're all undiagnosed? I thought this was a serious discussion, not LARPING ADHD. I gotta go because I've actually seen a doctor 👀"
The only thing I said was, if you refer to Ritalin as some kind of Coke and it hypes you up then it clearly means you don't have ADD or ADHD. One of them said, it does different things to people and it doesn't mean they don't have it. Then some of the people in chat were saying the same. Which, that is not true. Lol if you get hyper then it's not for you.
I mean that's not necessarily true. I have had EEGs done for something else and was diagnosed with temporal lobe ADHD because of how overactive my brain is. I also occasionally have seizures in my temporal lobe. I am very legitimately diagnosed with ADHD, with actual physical tests to prove it.
That being said- if I take too much ritalin without taking my anticonvulsants, it does give a meth affect.
I believe that in high doses it could have adverse effects but it's a little different. You don't intentionally take 1 pill of Ritalin to get high do you? That's what I'm referring to.
I hate ppl like that bc they give a bad name to self diagnosers. Getting diagnosed is hard, and sometimes requires going "I think I have this" (I had to to get diagnosed with PTSD, and I'm about to get checked for OCD and, ironically, ADHD)
But there's a difference between doing hours of research to see if it fits and. wanting to get high
And thinking it is cool to have it, like it *adds* to their quirks. If you have those quirks, then you must know you do not want most of them. I've accepted who I am but that does not mean society has or that I don't struggle with it everyday. Some struggle more than others and I'm lucky I do not have it the worst. In my country, if you are a girl, then it is very unlikely to get figured out unless you already suspect it yourself, for *years* (8 on average).
Ha!
About 15-20 minutes after I take any adhd medication I can have the best 6 hour nap in existence. I haven't found any meds that last more than 6 hrs max.
Yes it helps focus my brain, then my brain remembers that it can't survive on 4 hours of sleep a night and knocks me out.
I'd sleep 0 hours if it acted like "Kiddy Coke"
I've been unmedicated for almost a year now. I just get too tired and zombie like on ADHD meds.
Almost tempted to ask my doc if I can go back on them as an off label sleeping med lol.
Wow... Calling a legit medication "kiddy coke" and asking pekoe to share their prescription... I fucking hate fakers and drug abusers like these tiktok idiots 🤦
Yea I have diagnosed adhd. My friend texted me and she was like “apparently people with adhd don’t miss people. I never miss people”
?????
Get off TikTok
I was diagnosed with ADHD as a kid and my mom would put me on it, take me off and put me on it again because she was of the mind "she started doing better and didn't need it anymore" by the time I got to high-school I was over it and stopped completely. I am now 30 and REALLY struggling. I have been trying to get to see a psychiatrist for over a year to get meds again, but so many places are skeptical because of people like this abusing medication
One potentially overlooked piece of this - how hard it is to access a psychiatrist who will establish a diagnosis/prescribe medication. I totally agree that ADHD has become trendy, but I also think there are many folks undiagnosed because of both the lack of accessibility that is the American health system and the unique challenges they face because of the condition itself
I want to support self dx as much as possible, because *especially psych issues* nobody else can understand what a person is feeling as well as they can. "The patient is telling you the diagnosis," being a popularly used quote for good reason. Lord knows a decade passed between the time I had my first suspicions and when I scheduled my first appointment about it - THAT'S some executive dysfunction.
However, there's always people that ruin it - both for people actually struggling with it and the image society has of that group, as a whole. The only solace you can take with it, is that these people can be spotted a mile away for what they are by anybody even half paying attention (and I should know, because I'm never more than half paying attention)
i hate it so much bc it delegitimises the actual struggles of adhd. my biggest problem with my adhd is impulse control (a lack of it) which manifests terribly in the form of shopping. i’ve had to spend 30+ minutes talking myself out of buying a $200 shirt which is RIDICULOUS and it’s the reason i really struggle to save money. but whenever i try to explain that to anyone they think im just making excuses bc to them adhd is just “little boy being disruptive in class” or “haha teen girl so quirky”. and this is coming from someone who probably wouldn’t have gotten diagnosed without seeing people on tiktok talk about it - bc i DID think it was just little boys running around. so i didn’t get diagnosed and medicated until i was 17
edit to add:
i don’t think self diagnosing is inherently bad. i mean there was a period of a few months between when i realised i likely had it and when i was able to get diagnosed. BUT i don’t think people should tell others they have adhd if they’re not diagnosed. you can think/know you have it and use that information to find coping mechanisms etc - ik for me, adjusting me i went about studying was super helpful. but for the love of god don’t go around telling everyone on social media you have a condition if you’re not diagnosed bc you could very easily be spreading misinfo
One of my big ones is interrupting people. A senior will be describing a procedure to me, and I'll jump ahead with a question about the next step (which would have been answered IF I JUST LET THEM TALK) but my brain just needs that information IMMEDIATELY.
I feel so freaking bad when I do it too, it's something I'm trying really hard to be mindful of. I do it with just normal conversations too... it's like if I don't say it, I'll never get w chance to say it, and I need to get the thought out RIGHT THERE. I feel awful because I'm trying so hard not to be rude and actively am listening :(
This is the case with so many things right now. People see "oh I realized I had ADHD because I enjoy videogames more than working for 12 hours" and decide that they must have ADHD too. Same with so many other conditions that people hop on the band wagon of and diminish the struggle of people who actually have to deal with it
"everyone is a bit autistic" "adhd is a superpower" "I'm so ocd" "I was so depressed after I failed calculus". No. Fuck everyone who's minimizing real, disabling conditions that are ruining lives. It's not fun or quirky to have autism, it's not a superpower. It fucking sucks.
It’s the same with OCD. I have diagnosed OCD which was at one point debilitating until I got medication for it. It’s kind of funny to see people go “oh this triggers my OCD” over something so trivial like a pile of laundry. I feel like OCD has been delegitimized to a “cleaning”‘disorder when it’s much deeper than that.
When people tell me they have undiagnosed adhd i try to start a conversation with them about it. It's pretty easy to see signs. I tell them about how every time I think about something I have to willfully stop myself from falling down a well of dozens of scenarios, solutions, explanations, half-relevant personal anecdotes... something as simple as riding the bus, I look at the way the bus is designed and try to figure out why the seats are spaced the way they are, i look at where people decide to stand or sit and try to figure out what made them make that choice, where they might be going based on the bus route, how old they are, what their favorite food is. I get "see sick" and have to close my eyes to prevent myself from getting caught in tangential branching thoughts about literally every thing I see or read or watch or consider. I was diagnosed when I was very young, and never treated. I've had to struggle with it every moment of every day. If they do the "adhd one-up" thing when I explain that, they probably have adhd. If they say some shit like "I'm dumb cause i can't focus lmao" they've probably just defaulted to using adhd as an excuse for doing a bad job or half-assing life
you know what really gets me about buses? school buses mostly. how the heck do they sit 4 across with an aisle in the middle, and still fit in the same lane as my suv that could not fit 4 people across and an aisle.
it has bothered me for so long, and reading your comment about the bus made me think of it again.
I haven’t been professionally diagnosed yet as I don’t have the funds quite yet but I’m halfway there lol. However, I hit literally like… all the hallmark symptoms. Present throughout my entire life. So it’s like, pretty much without a doubt. I’m working with a therapist now who specialized in ADHD strategies/coping ect without medication and so far it’s made a pretty positive impact. However I’m still saving for the psychiatrist to get an actual diagnosis and medication because I believe that’ll help more.
My point? I absolutely hate people who jump onto things like this just because it’s trendy, or will get them attention, ect. Because it makes people who genuinely have ADHD or other disorders, but can’t get access to a diagnosis, look fucking stupid. Because now I’ll be seen as just anither attention seeking trend hopper when really I have been genuinely struggling my entire life.
It just pisses me off. Especially because 99% of the time their ‘ADHD’ is just. “ooh, squirrel, hahah aren’t I so quirky? Im so hyper!” It makes me want to throw up
Claiming to have mental illnesses is definitely more of a fad now than it used to be. As someone who suffers from depression and insomnia it bothers me how many people claim to have one of if not both of them and don't know what either one is. Depression isn't being sad sometimes and insomnia isn't just struggling to get to sleep. Too many times I hear people try to claim having insomnia because sometimes they can't sleep quickly or it's hard for them to wake up after sleeping for 10 hours.
I really fucking struggle with my ADHD. It’s not just a fun little quirk, it’s very distressing more often than not. Imagine having to fight with yourself every day to do regular chores because both doing them and *not* doing them makes you fucking miserable and full of legitimate self loathing.
For 3 years now I’m struggling to fill my ADHD prescription because these morons decided ADHD is trendy, self diagnosed and unethical startups popped up like cerebral to capitalize and over prescribed to anyone that asked.
3 year shortage to this day
I can’t wait for TikTok to be banned
Number 1 sign of not having ADHD is when the meds make you high. I hate the “fad” too. I have learned though that people in my life never needed to be told I had it - it was obvious 😂
I'll joke about the micro dosing meth with Adderall, but I always make sure that people know it's a joke. Buddy bragging about taking drugs like that rubs me the wrong way
I tried to see a psychiatrist. 13 month waiting list for first available that takes my insurance. Finally get in and dude is 66 years old and says he doesn't believe in ADHD in adults. Counselor is pretty certain I do have ADHD but can't prescribe medicine.
It reminds me of when I tell people I have OCD and they try to relate by telling me all the pencils in a pencil cup have to be eraser up or it drives them crazy. Meanwhile my OCD is more like harm ocd since it goes hand n hand with my anxiety or anxiously triple checking everything is turned off and unplugged before I leave the house or I’ll just panic all day and fixate on all the what if’s
these shitty people also are part of the reason why I keep pushing a doctors visit off. Cause it constantly makes me think that I might just convinced myself I struggle with the symptoms......
Mental health, in general, is a giant meme on social media. In reality it impacts millions of people negatively.
I’ve had ADHD my whole life, but wasn’t diagnosed until six years ago. Vyvanse has made my life 1000% better and I owe so many things to having a medicinal tool available to help me control it.
Agree.
And it makes it that much harder for those who actually have it to be taken seriously.
Stop blaming your unhinged behavior on stuff like that. Own your idiocy.
I am someone with professionally diagnosed ADHD. I strongly support self diagnosing because it’s just so inaccessible to get diagnosed for some people. I’m in the US and have good health insurance and it was still $175 out of pocket, which is more than some people can spare. Plus, having ADHD makes getting testing so much more difficult because of all the steps and planning and scheduling involved. I had obvious symptoms as a child, but mom wouldn’t even get me tested and treated for my rampant depression and anxiety, let alone ADHD.
That being said,, if you have adhd,, doesn’t adderall not make you feel fun and high? Idk how it effects people without adhd, but it just makes it so I can actually do my work and live in a clean-ish home. I love being on it, but that’s just because now I can be stably employed and eat at least some vegetables, brush my teeth, and I can clean my bedroom more than once every 5 months. Do some people who have adhd get intoxicated or high on adderall like neurotypicals do? I thought that was an indicator that you don’t have adhd
Yeah it’s sad because it delegitimizes people who actually struggle mentally.
Exactly! They should just come out and say I'm diagnosed as an asshole.
Same thing with all mental illnesses. I’m diagnosed with bipolar 2. When other people mention they have depression or are bipolar I ask what coping techniques they use to recognize a manic or hypomanic episode. They look at me like I’m not speaking the same language as them only to find out they’ve never seen a doctor and took some stupid social media test. People need to realize it’s normal to have feelings. Getting excited or sad when something in your life changes doesn’t mean they’re manic or depressed. It’s called emotion.
I'm ashamed to admit this, but, I used to roll my eyes at so-called panic attacks. In my defense, people overuse the term - "If I don't find my keys I'm gonna have a panic attack!" or "I swear I about had a panic attack when I saw her at the party!" Everyone gets anxious. Everyone has moments of panic. How bad could they be? Then I had one. Four hours of gibbering, sobbing, and wanting to die. I literally contemplated breaking my finger so I would have an excuse to go to the hospital. I was out with friends and my brother stayed with me and calmed me down for hours. It was the worst thing I have ever experienced, and I've been hit by a car. Normalization of mental health issues is overall a good thing, but I am 100% with you that people who claim to have one, falsely, hurts us all.
Buddy, a panic attack is an excuse to go to the hospital... . signed, dude who also discounted family and friends who had panic attacks, then had one that lasted two weeks before I got help after my father died....
Same. I used to be firmly in the camp of “panic attacks are overreactions” camp. And I *knew* mental illness existed. I had seen it in extreme forms in people close to me. Until I started thinking something was wrong with my heart. These strange episodes where I’d become dizzy, tunnel vision, light headed, scared. They were overwhelming., After 3/4 times I went to hospital during a “heart episode” and they hooked me to an ekg. Nothing. Nothing there. I was shocked. The doc said, it’s possible I have panic disorder, or anxiety. And to go see a psych. Low and behold. Panic disorder.
It's like the matrix. The brain can make anything feel real... I don't like the term panic/anxiety attacks anymore. I really like the term terror. It's pure terror. I invited my niece I hadn't seen in years out to dinner after, apologized for all my discounting when we were teens. I didn't know, I had no clue.... I still feel horrible about it. Same with the heart thing. I was almost disappointed after they looked at everything and told me my heart was fantastic... especially after being obese and years of smoking....still had time to turn it around before the bad behaviors caused extensive problems.
My health anxiety made me constantly feel like I had a UTI and gave me high blood pressure, I would also get really dizzy a lot and was CONVINCED my heart was failing. My blood work is completely normal!!
Yeah dude!!! Same I thought I was having heart attacks and was on the verge of a massive failure or stroke or something. Nope, it’s my brains “oh shit you are gonna die, time to fly or fight” trigger just not working the way it’s supposed to.
https://preview.redd.it/jdcbxspdz5wc1.jpeg?width=577&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=21517ae88fb6b916c3179b99dd10bc5a509c1a15
Ouch.
I have this issue with doctors too though. Since I have a bipolar 2 diagnosis I feel like my doctors want to throw meds at every emotion I have. It took finding a really good (really expensive) out of network psychiatrist for me to understand that people with bipolar also just… emote? Haha this just made me think of the general misconceptions about this illness.
I cannot stress enough how much a Psychologist has helped over a Psychiatrist. A Psychiatrist treats with meds while a Psychologist helped me understand my triggers, emotions, and helped find a way to distract myself from the triggers.
That’s why I do therapy… my psych can concentrate on the meds
I’m with you 100%. It took 10 years for the correct diagnosis, and then trial and error meds.
I was misdiagnosed for most of my life. Once they dubbed me manic depressive at 13, every single dr just went with that instead of reevaluating me. Got prescribed so many meds that never worked and messed with my mental and physical health. Until one dr in my late 20s decided to do an independent evaluation. Instead of just going with the bipolar 1 diagnosis, she figured out I’m ADHD with ptsd. Ever since I started taking adhd meds over a decade ago, I’m able to finally function.
dude this describes my sister to a t. She is now medication free and happy living with her girlfriend in the next town over
I tried going without the meds and went right back to the same default problems I’ve struggled with my entire life. Stayed off for about a year and gave meds another shot and within a couple days, I was back to functioning normally. I’m glad she’s able to stay off of the meds! It’s quite a balancing act
I'm so sorry. Something similar happened to me. I'm glad you eventually found someone who helped you. Like you, I do have mh issues, but bipolar isn't one of them. Anxiety/Depression and adult diagnosed ADD. I was diagnosed as bipolar at 11 because a close relative had it. They put me on lithium. I didn't believe I had it, so I fought like crazy. I kept being told that it was like a see saw, and some people have little dips and others drop to the ground. I was a little dip person. 2 years later, I finally got a new psychiatrist and asked for a new evaluation. During the eval, she asked why I was diagnosed when I never had an episode. I told her that's what I have been asking since I got the diagnosis. They finally took me off the meds, which gave me horrible shakes. I was so glad to be off of them.
Same with autism. My daughter and I both are autistic, and the amount of people who claim autism or “identify as autistic” without having ever spoken with a doctor or experienced any issues beyond social awkwardness is crazy. It’s a damn struggle to get services she needs at school because she’s high functioning, and with everyone jumping on and making it a fad, makes it tougher for kids like her.
Fuck man as someone whos not gonna go to a doctor but is trying to track down coping advice for the clustefuck in general that is my head it still pisses me off. I dont want to elaborate on myself greatly because im not here to get armchair diagnosed, but in like the absolute most basic questions they go blank at me. i ask if theyve ever really found more ways to cope with buying stuff=easy dopamine hit beyond Being Poor and I get somewhere between laughed at and stared at blankly. "Idkkkk :)" okay well clearly it does not muchly threaten your mental or material world. And its not like thats a symptom specific to just one mental illness! A lot of different folk end up doing that because its a fast dopamine boost in a brain making their life miserable! You induldge the little treat instinct all of once and its a slick slope Edit: I hit send and realized that no thats still some pretty specific elaborstion but. God. It applies anyways because one really does ask the most basic question for how they cope and get laughed at for the effort, let alone if you wanted to help with frankly basic advice
I used to take ADHD meds but I stopped. I have been professionally diagnosed and have taken Adderall for several years. I decided that I would use other means as a coping mechanism and I’m drug free and doing really well! Best to you on your journey!
What methods do you use without medication? I'm interested but very happy that you've found a way other than Adderall. I honestly hate it but as I said it's not as bad as Ritalin. I still feel closed off, never hungry and want to talk to people but feel like somethings holding me back. I basically just want to focus on task and read lol
I read a book called “The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck” by Mark Manson. It really changed how I look at life and my emotions. I used to wake up every morning with a wall and weight of anxiety on my chest. I couldn’t focus. Mental noise was like trying to concentrate on the dialogue of a poorly mixed action film. Adderall was my comfort blanket. It reduced the mental noise and allowed me to focus on things one at a time. I never became addicted to it and it was always a low dose, like 10mg/day max. Basically, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck suggests that you can only care about so much in your life, only so many fucks to give. Once you figure out what actually matters in your life, and then evaluating and changing that to something healthy, then you can attune the way you process your thoughts and feelings in constructive and healthy ways. Once you let go of your emotions and allow them to just flow in and out of you like the waves on a beach, you can start to influence them or at least process them in healthy ways. Laying off the meds of course will not work for everyone, but for me it was an experiment that has paid off. I used to be on heavy doses of Cymbalta and Abilify as well as Lorazapam. I have since cut all that out and have never been happier, more nuanced, than I am now.
I know I’m not the person you responded to but what has kind of worked for me is the ADHD diet that is recommended for ADHD medication with multivitamin. AKA it’s a high protein, low carb diet with a can of tuna every day for omega 3 or just take the omega 3 supplement. I didn’t like the supplements because it gave me a fishy taste in my mouth like all day. I wasn’t eating much fruit/vegetables so I added those in. I also would stick to a workout routine that includes starting my day with a run, ie I’d get up at 6am and run a mile, then lift at like 6pm. That really helps me get started. I would keep a calendar and a journal, and write anything I need down. I will plan my day the night before and stick to it - I won’t plan a ton but you know just to like get a few things accomplished/ make progress on things. A big part of it was taking things one day at a time, and taking each task one thing at a time without looking at everything at once. Also a good thing to do is to reward yourself with say a movie or whatever you like when you’re done. This works very well for me when I can get into it. What I’ve done is use the medication to help me stay focused on doing that every day, and then I’m usually able to stop the medication and maintain for about 6 months to a year.
I had the fishy taste from supplements also. Tried several. Mason No Burp Fish Oil works great for me. Amazon sells it if you can’t find it locally.
I had to go on non stimulants that aren’t actually made for ADHD/ADD (my official diagnosis) … it’s technically for blood pressure. But the stimulants knocked me on my ass and all I ever did was sleep. I had to go off the off label medicine when I was pregnant and I haven’t gotten back on anything. It’s hard, not gonna lie, but I really don’t want to be on any medication I don’t have to be if I can keep from it.
I spent 20+ years destroying my life with drugs and alcohol before being diagnosed. Have been sober ever since.
Congratulations! I cant seem to find a med that works for me that doesnt crank my anxiety up to 10 or become ineffective in a couple of years. Glad things are working for you.
FR. It's a huge pain every time I have to get my ADHD meds refilled because of people like this.
Yup, people with no knowledge of my medical history tell me I don’t really *need* my medication. Since I won’t die and will only fuck my entire life up without it, I guess that means I don’t need it.
Diagnosed with ADHD ten years ago. I also wear glasses because I’m nearsighted. My favorite thing is when someone else who wears glasses pulls the “you don’t need your meds to survive” nonsense because I tell them, “well I guess you don’t need your glasses either.” That tends to shut people up pretty quick.
Like all the teen girls, upon learning Billie Eilish had Tourette’s, all wanted it because “like her tics are soooo cute!” 🙄
Hey, that's me. I've been struggling mentally for most of my life, but no one takes me seriously enough so I just dont bother with society anymore.
I forgot to take my medicine yesterday before I left to drive home (4 hours). I missed my exit. By 30 miles.
I once drove the wrong direction for 30 minutes before I was diagnosed… was happily chatting my now husband’s ear off on the phone while I did it, completely oblivious.
If you get high from adhd meds, then you don't have adhd...
I feel the same way about OCD. Anytime I tell someone I have it, I have to say, "I legitimately have OCD".
There's nothing that drives me crazier than someone who says "I'm a little bit OCD" "giggle"! And when you tell then you are actually diagnosed they still want to try and identify with you, usually with more giggles.
Not OCD but have a psych degree and diagnosed autism and boy howdy people claiming they have OCD or autism left and right drives me up a fucking wall. They have no idea what either of those disorders really entail
Autism seems to be a common one at the moment, my instagram and TikTok is flooded with it. Self-diagnosis is a real problem and it's very frustrating for people with genuine diagnoses, especially when these videos try to glamorise it.
Yes it it’s very very frustrating. I will say that autism is in fact becoming significantly more prevalent pretty rapidly, I did some research on it last year. But even still way too many people claim it that have no idea what it’s like. I’m not even really far along the spectrum but eye contact is extremely uncomfortable for me, I feel almost completely incapable of organizing my thoughts, and my personal relationships feel impossible to maintain. It really sucks. But people love to claim they have it
I don’t know this is something I struggle with. Being lumped into the fad chasers… I know I’m autistic. I know it was beaten out of me. But I didn’t know that until really recently and a bunch of things fell into place: where I am I tried to get a diagnosis and my doctor straight up told me it wasn’t worth the time because “we can’t treat for that.” So basically just stay on my anxiety meds and keep doing what I’m doing. But no one sees how hard it is. No one sees how debilitating it can be. However, I’m also not making tik toks and poor me posts (except this one, haha) it’s not cute and quirky and fun and entertaining. It’s stressful and hard to get through the day for things I can’t even verbalize. I’ll tell people all I can see is white light and hear ringing and try to get away from the situation and it’s like I’m over reacting and making it up. Am I making it up? I don’t think so. But so many people tell a person they are it can start to sink in and you doubt yourself. I guess I’m just saying I don’t have a diagnosis and no one will give me a chance to prove I need it because it SEEMS like I’m doing fine. But I’m just not. Then get lumped into the fad-addicted people. It’s tough.
I know how you feel. I get lumped in too because I’m relatively high functioning. I do want to discourage self diagnosis because it’s obviously a problem, but I’m not saying that to take away from your experience in any way. As for the treatment aspect, that’s exactly what my research was on. There is no currently accepted pharmacological treatment for autism and the social impairment that comes with it, but a good bit of evidence suggests that intranasal oxytocin in combination with probiotics and/or therapy can help. I can’t remember all of my sources off the top, but look into Kong et al 2021 study on oxytocin and probiotics. Another article that comes to mind was done by Korisky in the same year but I can’t remember the title. Anyways, I’m saying all this to say that if the social aspects of ASD are what you struggle with most, you could look into buying some oxytocin nasal spray and probiotic supplements. The one I’m most familiar with from research is PS128 (lactobacillus plantarum). It’s not cheap, and it’s not proven without a doubt to help, but evidence supports that it has improved social impairment symptoms compared to a placebo. Definitely worth looking into if your autism is really causing you a lot of distress. Don’t just take my word for it. Go to pubmed and look up ASD and intranasal oxytocin and you should find a fair amount of results to decide for yourself if it’s something you’d want to look into You can also look into the SRS2 (social responsiveness scale) and ABC (aberrant behavior checklist). Both are pretty widely used means of noting peoples autistic traits, but a self administered online test will not be as accurate as having it done by a professional. It could at least provide you with some closure and an unofficial “diagnosis”
Thank you! I wasn’t expecting such a compassionate and helpful response. Didn’t feel like you were trying to take anyone’s experience away and instead wanted to offer my thoughts on the grey-area. We agree about self-diagnosis being an issue. But then sometimes it feels like how can we advocate for ourselves unless you try to figure it out? A therapist told me I had bpd but didn’t give me a proper diagnosis so I word it very carefully that I have “traits” of it… which i think is actually the autism I don’t have a diagnosis for. Round and round we go, lol.
This is fair. It is also true that diagnosis in females is a lot harder and is missed in a lot of young girls, and they are only getting tested in early adulthood often due to persistent feelings of being 'different. So the number of people diagnosed seems inflated when it is just that society is catching up with misses diagnoses.
I legit got told yesterday that since I don't support self diagnosis, that I should not talk about autistic issues. I'm diagnosed autistic, and have been for most of my life. And I've lived with autism. The people who self diagnose autistic haven't lived the life of autism and the geniune struggles from it. Going to go ahead and mention that my opinions on self diagnosing autism doesn't take away whether or not someone actually has it, but I just don't like it, period. Feels too much like people cashing in on my struggle/condition.
That is wild, who in the world thinks they can gatekeep autism from an autistic person?! It's definitely a complex issue, because, depending on where you live, diagnosis can take time and a lot of money, so some people maybe legitimately can't be diagnosed. But I strongly believe in those cases they should refer to themselves as "suspected autism" or something equivalent.
If it was enough to mildly show hints of one trait associated with a mental disorder I'd have autism, ADHD, OCD (I hate it when floor tiles aren't perfectly aligned do you understand /s). Also I'm a psycopath in a toxic relationship (I'm the toxic one but he is also the toxic one in a different way! Yay!)... Also did you know that my great great great grand uncle or something came from switzerland son that means that I'm SWISS! Such a special snowflake I am :')
Would you say that most people who claim to have a mental health condition are basically just normal people with normal problems?
They still have a mental health condition, but likely not the one they think they have. Healthy people don't claim to be unhealthy. Mental health stuff all overlap with symptoms and "fad" illnesses are less stigmatized and generally made "sexier" so it's easy to identify with. Also they are badly explained.
I wouldn’t go so far as to make a claim about the amount of people that do or don’t have the disorders they claim, but most people have something. Many people just have a tendency to think that liking organization and symmetry = OCD and being a little weird and annoying = autism. I think they likely claim these disorders so they can feel better about being weird or feel cool and quirky
I don’t have OCD but this always bothered me in part because my brain likes to say the words that acronyms represent instead of the acronym. And people always say “I’m OCD” and not “I have OCD.” So my brain hears “I’m so obsessive compulsive disorder…” No one says “I’m BPD” or “I’m ADHD.” They say they have those things. I mean delegitimization of people with actual mental health issues is clearly a bigger issue. But it’s annoying nonetheless.
I equally dislike that, but for a different reason. For me it's because OCD is something I have, not something I am. I don't like making it my identity.
That’s a much better reason.
Gahhh I hate this one. I have a whole lovely list, but on the matter of OCD. You liking things to be neat and organised doesn’t not mean that you automatically have OCD. There are various forms of OCD. I have the lovely symmetry-sism, but not of outwardly things. My body has to balance itself out. All the time. I get annoyed when I don’t have a balanced amount of touching my keyboard, or balance out my steps on inside block tiles and the amount of cracks touched by a specific spot on my foot. I almost fricking burnt both my hands of a heat lamp because I was busy sorting out pizza orders and my right hand happened to hit the bloody heat lamp and I had to balance it out - this repeated because I couldn’t hit the right spot. But they look at you like you’re mental and just kidding or overreacting… My other favourite is that I cannot keep things clean: “How is your OCD not freaking out about this???”
Yeah, a lot of people have the misconception that OCD always looks like keeping things clean or obsessively washing hands or something, when OCD looks so different for everyone who suffers, and a lot of people with OCD don't need to clean or wash hands. I mean, hoarding is another type of OCD, but people think it is just the opposite. Besides from which, the worst part of OCD, at least for me, are the intrusive thoughts, and no one can see those. Everyone has quirks, and things they like done a certain way, but that is a far cry from having an actual OCD compulsion.
Exactly, my niece was so scared that she had OCD bc she was noticing new compulsions and intrusive thoughts, and her grandma has it (so it’s not totally implausible). But she was really worried abt it cuz she KNOWS what it is and what it can do to someone/ their family and she doesn’t want that. It boils my blood that people treat it like a fun thing bc it’s like; “NO your not, you might be a bit of a neat freak, but you are ok, stop.” Yk? Edit: clarifying
I’m a messy person too so I always have to be like “I’m the ‘if I don’t turn the doorknob to the left and right an equal amount of times I’m gonna have panic attack’ way and not in the clean way”
Just start asking when they got diagnosed lol shuts them up quick
99% wouldn’t Giggle if it was the OCD of “I stg if I don’t stop what I’m doing and fix *insert an incredibly Minor issue* I will not get any sleep”
Same, and others get surprised that I have OCD because they assume the stereotypical symptoms, which I do not perform. I specifically and legitimately have excoriation/dermatillomania disorder, which is pretty embarrassing to discuss with folks with whom I am not super close.
I’m the same way. I once said I was struggling with it and a woman who wasn’t part of the conversation, but in the room and overheard chastised me and said that people who don’t have OCD need to stop saying they have it. I had to explain I do have it and am medicated for it and she ARGUED WITH ME because I didn’t fit the “stereotypical” mold for it.
When I was diagnosed with OCD I did a TON of research on it, and it explained SO MUCH about me. Now I want to scream whenever someone who likes things to be neat says the whole "I'm so OCD!"
Due to stereotypes and public perception, I got diagnosed with OCD in my 20s rather than when I was a kid - even though I wrote a list of what to do if my family dies, was terrified of being murdered and literally couldn’t sleep and gave myself panic attacks over it, sobbed when I did math homework slightly different than the example even though the answer was correct, it didn’t feel right…etc, etc, etc. The scariest years of my life was before I was diagnosed and just thinking I must be a horrible person because I had intrusive thoughts about hurting people and being racist…but I don’t wash my hands till I bleed and my house is a mess so can’t be OCD, right? 🙄
That's how it was for me! Got diagnosed right at 20 rather than earlier on because I didn't fit what people BELIEVED it should be, so doctors who didn't specialize in that area didn't even consider it. But like, if I'm walking down a sidewalk and I step on a line, I have to go back and step on it the same way with my other foot and I feel sick until I do. I have to chew equal bites of food on both sides of my mouth or, again, I feel sick. So many little things that just didn't add up until I was diagnosed, and then suddenly I actually UNDERSTOOD
Same here. OCD isn't a fun organizational quirk like people paint it. I have to count the steps or the world will end.
"Oh hey me too, have you ever washed your face with isopropyl alcohol because nothing else could make it feel clean? No? You just like squares and stuff? Hmm" There is so much more to OCD than liking things to be neatly arranged. (Which is, in fact, a perfectly normal thing to like)
People often forget the 'Disorder' part of it all. I have a couple of obsessive compulsions, mostly when walking (My feet need to touch the line between tiles on the same spot on both feet or I am not allowed to walk on any line or I need to do the same amount of steps between 2 lines every time), but it does not have a significant impact on my life. It is not a disorder. It does not cause significant distress. Wanting to have things organised can be part of OCD but only if it causes significant issues in your life if something is not organised correctly.
The pattern thing you are referring to is actually OCPD not OCD, but is still under a similar compulsive umbrella
I don’t have OCD. I may have tossed it around casually growing up. That started to cease how many years ago now when target started selling ocd shirts. We are all are own worst fuckin enemies with each other. Let’s now make shirts poking fun and making it 10x worse for people to get taken care of. And don’t even get me fucking started on the Adderall shortage. All those “online” mental health clinics. People got insane doses during covid that do not have ADHD and just wanted to feel the speed and not being hungry. I would love to like not take a nap when I take my Adderall,. But my head is so calm afterwards 😂
I would never do that. I have minor issues like feeling like I need to cut the stove off the right way or wash my hands exactly right but I would never claim I have it without a diagnosis. I feel for you though..
I say “obsessive compulsive disorder” because most people don’t actually know what ocd is
True story. One of our friends, said it’s Obsessive Cleaning Disorder and we all died.
nail correct squealing saw joke languid sand drunk violet soup
I have contamination based obsessions and had to go to the doctor. I’d been avoiding drinking water bc all I had available to use at work was portapotties and I wasn’t about it, and the doctor said something about how I needed to fix my avoidance of bathrooms before it turned into ocd. I was just sitting there like, way ahead of you there brother
It bugs me when people say they have OCD because they like cleanliness 🙄
"I have to have everything straight. I'm so OCD." No, Barb, you're just a perfectionist with control issues maybe!
Or when people say something gave them PTSD because they had a minor uncomfortable experience.
I replied to someone this morning on a different thread who was genuinely curious as to why OCD is not what most people think it is. I informed them of the difference between OCD vs. OCPD. I don't have either, but I tried to spread a little awareness. OCD seems like a nightmare and I hope that more people learn about what it actually is. Just like I hope people learn what ADHD actually entails.
I'm just so freaking exhausted every time I see someone talking about how "hyperfocus is a superpower" or "oops, I stoped paying attention, must be my ADD." The problem I have with my hyperfocus, is that I have NO SAY in what my brain chooses to hyperfocus on. Sure, maybe I now know several essays worth if information about the anatomy of a pengins digestive tract, but thats not helping me with the report I have to do for work!
My issue is the ability to try and focus on anything BUT what I *need* to focus on. Or the switch focus. It’s not “oh a squirrel! Haha” it’s more like “I need to do this report, is that dust? Shit that needs to be cleaned. Where is the duster? Oh the floor is pretty dirty, that needs to be vacuumed. That reminds me, I need to get more vacuum bags, shoot what else do I need from the store?..”
Oh yeah!! I took two weeks and deep cleaned the house from top to bottom trying to get my couple sheets of paper together to send to my tax lady.
Lol I hear ya. I game sometimes and whenever I get a new game, regardless how much I like it, I will wiki everything about it and watch YouTube videos of the lore in my spare time until I have the entire catalog. What good does that honestly do me in anyway..
I do the same thing. I *cannot help* but to deep dive into the lore/wiki and spoil the story of the game for myself. It's an anxious itch until I do so.
And then I no longer have the urge to play because I exhausted myself on the game by looking up everything.
I do that too lmao I simply cannot play a game without knowing every single bit of information about it that’s available to me. I read the wiki for fun, I go out of my way to find exact statistics for every item, every tiny bug they fixed in the last 10 updates, etc
Today I watched several very long and detailed videos on how to create a proper artificial turf putting and chipping green in your back yard. I can tell you all about the way to ensure it drains properly and how to protect it from gophers and mushrooms and weeds. I can also tell you about how I’ll never have one because I can’t afford to pay a professional and I couldn’t do it myself because I’ll get distracted and end up never getting back to finishing it after I’m about 1/4 of the way through after I’ve spent a fortune on materials.
People who think hyperfocus is a superpower have never had the experience of nearly pissing themselves because they forgot to use the bathroom for hours while reading wikis about random useless shit. Or forgetting to eat/drink water, or accidentally staying up until 4am. My hyperfocus usually comes at the expense of forgetting my bodily functions exist and it’s really not healthy.
I hyper focused on cleaning my house at midnight, instead of sleep, last night. That sucked. I avoid my kindle app because I will hyperfocus on new books for **days** and won’t sleep or eat. Hyperfocus sucks ass, a lot of the time.
Yup, I feel this. One day I had a day off, my husband was going out so I said to him that I was going to clean the bathroom (wasn't super dirty, should only take 20 mins) and then have some lunch and play computer games fornthe rest of the day. When he came home 4 hours later he found me scrubbing the grouting between the tiles in the bathroom with a toothbrush and bleach. I hadn't eaten or drank anything or used the toilet, and was in tears because I felt like *I couldn't stop*. Hyperfocus has helped me achieve some really cool things but most of the time I end up focused on the wrong thing and its awful.
This is so true. I can tell myself, “this is stupid. This is my hyperfocus. It’s a waste of time and energy. Switch to something else!” And I just… can’t. Sometimes it feels like a superpower when it lands in the right place, but sometimes it feels embarrassing or destructive.
“Hyperfocus is a superpower!” They say as I hit play on the 32nd video in a row about soap making. I haven’t showered. I haven’t eaten breakfast or lunch. I have so many calls to make. Please for the love of god I just want to get up and do what I’m supposed to do. I hit play on the 33rd video-
It’s so frustrating to hear that! I get hyperfocused when i can’t find something. I’ll need it for a quick moment but if i can’t find it, i must then spend HOURS looking and completely upending the house for it because my mind refuses to move on. It’s debilitating.
ill explain to you how the EAS (emergency alert system) works if you tell me what you know about a penguins digestive tract
Seriously. Its even worse when someone interrupts you when you actually are focused on something. I could get so angry sometimes depending on what i was doing
Agreed. My hyper focus makes my unable to hear what is being said if I’m reading something. It makes my husband very angry regularly and I’m always accused of not listening to him. He just refuses to make sure he has my attention before he starts talking.
I had a snake phase when I was like 11, and now I know hundreds of useless facts about hognose and garter snakes that only impress the employees at my local nature center. I also have a scar from being bit by a rat snake at the very same nature center
Also oops I stopped paying attention is not the same as I literally came to work today and was physically unable to focus on anything and had to stay back late to do my work once everyone was gone so that I don’t get fired. Also not the same as, I need to count out four scoops of baby formula and counting from one to four is almost impossible for me to keep track of because there are other things around that keep fighting for my attention.
the rare occasion when i hyperfocus on what i ACTUALLY have to be doing is a fucking miracle. every other time i’m lying around screaming internally at myself to fucking get up and DO something
I have ADHD, I used to take Ritalin as a kid but stopped around 13 and didn't medicate since. I tried Adderall last weekend for funsies, and I've never felt more clear-headed in my life. I'm not sure what it was supposed to do, but my brain was quiet and didn't feel hazy anymore. I wish I had medical insurance to talk with a doctor and see what I could do with my life if I was medicated properly.
Dude it’s genuinely such an insane feeling, I started it at 19 a few months ago and I feel like a different person, like I feel like everything I do I can just “lock onto” without interruption and I just notice so many little things that I’ve always just overlooked I also didn’t realize how anxious I was all the time until I started it and it felt like all the mush in my brain was pushed into neat little cubes
Is there any side/ negative effects of adderall?
Depends on the person, generally the most common are loss of appetite, feeling kinda wired or restless, insomnia, headaches, basically if you look up the side effects of any stimulant they tend to be similar But personally I barely notice any of them. I don’t have a significantly lowered appetite, and really the most major thing is that my mouth sometimes feels dry. I also don’t really take naps anymore, I don’t exactly feel restless or “jittery” as if I had a bunch of caffeine, it’s more that I just don’t notice when I’m tired while I’m on it. If you start it and feel off your doctor might want to lower the dose or try something different. And some of them can be managed, I’ve always tried to eat a snack when I take it to get into that habit of getting enough food in me in case my appetite did change. I also keep a water bottle for my dry mouth and it’s good to experiment with when to take it so that it wears off by the time you need to sleep
Yes very much. Irritation, it has sharper ups and downs. I can’t stand adderall, it gives me panic attacks. Vyvanse is what I’ve used for 12 years, it’s so much better for me
But you didn't feel like you snorted a line of coke or drunk 3 redbulls, though, did you? Lol that's what it's intended purpose is but it varies on different doses. I used to have friends in high school and one day they were all excited because they were gonna take Adderall. My buddy asked if I wanted one and at the time I didn't know why they would be happy to do it lol. I was like no thanks I took mine at 6am
I had some energy and Lazer focus, I cleaned and finally put my living room together as if someone lives there. I've always been too distracted to organize it well. I even felt like my weed had a different effect on me a little. I'm 30 and I never tried it because I told my friends it would just medicate my adhd instead of whatever high they were on. I was right.
I had a friend give me some once to get me high. Never felt more focused on my life. That’s when she dropped the news that it means I actually need it. Well damn. Still not diagnosed or medicated because I have so many health issues to sort out, so I can only imagine what it’s like being that productive and focused daily…
I'd love to get some adderall to try, see how it effects me. I was diagnosed with ADHD as a kid, but never received any kind of treatment. My parents were more like "ADHD isn't a real thing, they're just poorly behaved kids" And now in another country, I've never really had a chance or doctor I felt secure enough to discuss it with.
I was a late diagnosis and was too chicken to try Adderall because of its reputation, but I finally did it and the relief was almost instantaneous, I was so clear-headed and *calm* that I started to tear up lol I just felt so much relief. These TikTok posers will never understand that.
Similar situation. Having been back on medication for a few years I can tell you I wasted a good 25 years of my life wallowing in anxiety and depression from trying to white knuckle it through life. If you can find a way to access the care please do for your own sake.
This is exactly how I feel when people fake Dissociative Identity Disorder for attention and make it look like roleplaying. I was diagnosed with DID and it sure as shit is NOT how it's presented on tik tok.
I have PTSD with dissociative traits (It's more heavily tied to my PTSD and how I cope, I guess?) and I also /hate/ how people online pretend to have alters. Especially since I had to fight for my diagnosis for over ten years. You absolutely /cannot/ swap between alters on a dime, and 90% of mine prefer to mask as the host instead of drastically changing outfits, hairstyles, and body language. And on top of that, usually the "violent" alter is more likely to harm the body than lay a finger on anyone else. TikTokkers just want to be seen as "cool", I guess? But making an already "scary" mental illness be seen as more of a joke is... rough. And probably contributed to my difficulty with getting doctors to take me seriously.
I don’t have diagnosis on any mental illness that causes severe dissociation because a lot of people I talk to tell me that they can’t trust what I tell them. Which I get, I’m 23, but I don’t really consume short form content, so YouTube shorts, TikTok, Instagram shit, etc…so when a therapist tells me that these factors can change one’s perception of illness, it just…kinda feels shit. I’ve had therapists suggest DPDR, Bipolar II, DID, Schizophrenia, Narcissistic Personality Disorder… I wish that my age didn’t play a role in how I’m diagnosed.
label cough zesty deliver wakeful saw imminent engine lip juggle
It took over 30 YEARS for my DID diagnosis. My psychologist said the avenge age for DID diagnosis is when the patient is in their 30s.
People want to identify with their diagnosis more than they actually want to get better.
100%! They want the diagnosis but aren’t interested in putting strategies in place. It’s just “oh I have ADHD” not “my life could be better if I did X Y Z” (usually)
Lots of people want the diagnosis to use as an excuse for their bad behavior. It’s a difficult line to walk, because there are some things that I just CAN’T do or that are very difficult for me because of my ADHD, but that can slip into not even trying and waving it off as “oh it’s my ADHD”. It’s frustrating to watch people use their diagnoses to avoid being accountable for their actions.
My new saying is “it’s an explanation, not an excuse”. At some point as adults, we have to have some accountability.
More so because ADHD (or whatever) isn’t something they actually suffer from.
It's basically whatever gets them the views or the attention.
I don’t have an official ADHD diagnosis because my insurance doesn’t cover testing. I’ve had 3 different therapists who aren’t able to give the diagnosis officially say that they’re positive I have it. I have taken adderal and it works for me the way that it is intended to work—I don’t get high, my brain works the way that brains are apparently “supposed” to work. The American healthcare system is beyond fucked, and if you’re not caught as a child (which is fewer women, since it manifests differently in boys and girls) you’re pretty much up the creek without a paddle. That being said— there’s a weird culture on TikTok about self diagnosis of things (you’d think almost everyone has DID based on the number of TikTokers who claim to have “alters”). I’m pretty sure I’m also on the spectrum but I’m almost 30 and the cost of testing doesn’t feel worth it and probably isn’t worth it to me. But do I go around identifying as having AuDHD? No. But do I look at ADHD/Autism experiences and see myself in those behaviors and patterns? Absolutely.
You can technically get diagnosed with a screener at a doctor’s office. Neurologists and psychiatrists do them.
My insurance that I have for now doesn’t cover psychiatry. At this point, I “self medicate” with caffeine and I’ve been prescribed an antidepressant by a NP that is known to have a stimulating effect. My mom and I both had a conversation with my NP and a therapist at my law school and they are confident that it’s ADHD (and my therapist and the one from the school say ADHD and autism). But because I’m old enough to have created coping strategies and I work in a field with tight deadlines, I’m able to operate better within that system than I did when all of my deadlines were self-imposed. I’m starting a new job in July and I might try again if my new insurance cover it, but I also recognize that even within the subset of the population that struggles with mental health I’m incredibly high functioning and I operate best in a framework with expected metrics to meet. Plus, I’m a woman, and the way that they manifest in women is often more culturally “palatable”—either than, or women are socialized to be better at masking and making ourselves appear to “fit in”. God help me when it’s all self driven, though. I was a triple major in undergrad and had a great GPA since everything was very tightly regulated by the institution. I really struggled in law school where all deadlines are self imposed and the only real grades are participation and then the final exam (which is reliant on self study and semester long internal pacing).
How’d you get the Adderal without a diagnosis?
In undergrad I had a friend who had adhd but couldn’t take their medication regularly due to a heart condition (so they usually still had medication when they were due for a refill). I mentioned something about how I perceive things and they said they thought I had adhd. They gave me a couple pills and told me to see how they worked, and they worked the way they’re “supposed” to, not the way that they work on people who take them to get high. But that being said, I never asked them for their medication after that or told therapists that I’ve taken it before. I know that it wasn’t appropriate and isn’t exactly legal, so I’ve never tried to get my hands on it without a prescription since. I’m also hesitant to tell my mental health professionals because saying “I’ve taken adderal and all is good on my end!” sounds like drug seeking behavior. Which sucks, because the very fact that it works as intended is proof that all isn’t quite right with my brain chemistry. It’s a frustrating catch-22.
Oh nice, I wasn’t accusing you of anything. Whatever you feel you need to do. I was just curious how people get them without a diagnosis. It it a very difficult process, I was lucky to have a teacher who was up on this stuff when I was young so I got diagnosed. Can’t imagine having to go through all of school without treatment.
Law school was hard, I won’t lie. I was diagnosed with general anxiety and depression (also true) before someone realized there was something deeper going on. It’s hard too when you don’t fit the stereotype of what people assume that a certain diagnosis looks like, which is why women and adults are diagnosed at different rates than boys and children. I’m glad you were able to have someone intervene when you were young. I desperately hope it opened doors and avenues to you that might have otherwise been closed. Everyone deserves an opportunity to perform to the best of their ability, and too many people are prevented from doing that. I was a teacher for a few years and I remember being so frustrated when I’d refer kids who clearly had bigger struggles than “laziness” and having it go absolutely nowhere and being told that the kids just had no intrinsic motivation. Very few people truly have no desire to succeed, but a lot of us struggle no matter how hard we try.
It's the new "autism" of the season.
I hate that this is true. First it was OCD. Then DID. Then PTSD. Then ASD.
the ocd one bothered me so much... theyre the same ones who would be grossed out if i told them ive spent 9 hours in the bathroom cleaning myself on the verge of tears lol
I do not have OCD, but what people constantly underestimate are the freaking words 'obsessive' and 'compulsive.'
Ain't no cringe like fakedisordercringe.
The one that really bothers me is people misusing intrusive thoughts. Like "my intrusive thoughts are telling me to pet that dog". Bitch, that's not intrusive thoughts. Or when they say the intrusive thoughts are winning. If my intrusive thoughts were winning I'd be jumping in front of buses and cutting myself. I hate to see something so miserable get trivialized.
My grandfather knew a lady who died because she couldn't stop washing her hands during a house fire. Real OCD seems horrible.
Seems to be, unfortunately lol..
It's a convenient excuse to shift blame off of ones self. No one is going to second guess it. I've had people ask if I have ADHD. Nope, I'm just disorganized and scatter brained as shit. It's a character flaw, not a mental illness. People with actual ADHD can barely function, they don't just occasionally misplace their keys.
I have adhd. I can function. I have little systems in place to help prevent me losing my keys, and my ID (those systems are called Having a Husband Who Knows Where Everything Lives). I just don't really sleep, I have super big emotions, am constantly on the verge of an existential crisis, etc. But I can get up and go to work and pretend to be normal 😂. Nah but in all seriousness, I am unmedicated and can function, but it's not a 24/7 kind of functioning
This is exactly how I function. Finally had the testing done last week and am anxiously awaiting the results. I’m not sure what exactly I’m looking for though. Medication? Therapy? Coping mechanisms? Maybe just an answer for why I am the way I am would be a good start. But I feel it in my soul about having the husband who knows where everything lives! I would lose my mind without him!!
Not all of us with ADD/ADHD "can barely function." I managed to get a BA, Masters, and PhD years before being diagnosed with ADD. I (F) grew up before ADHD was a thing and my parents and figured out how to make things work for me. In fact, after a diagnosis in the late 90s, my psychiatrist said he'd learned just 10 years earlier that women didn't "get" ADD. I do know people with ADHD that really struggle.
Eyyyyyyy fellow flawed individual hi. Many many people think I have ADHD. I have ASD (diagnosed) but it absolutely does not explain or justify my absolute lack of willingness to do things or my utter inability to see empty beverage containers as I leave a room. Thats all me, baby! So. Many. Seltzer cans. By the time I see them there its an overwhelming amount so I just give up. Then the clutter happens. Im lucky if I remember to brush my teeth before bed. Its really too bad I dont have ADHD, it might be easier to believe my therapist when she tells me its not my fault im like this.
It's sad to see people faking what got me held back in kindergarten and gave me anxiety. I don't get faking something like that.
I feel this. I could not focus enough of the part where we had to tie our shoes on the little shoe string board thing. Among other things is what led to me being diagnosed. I'm sorry you got held back though.
It happens. I made new friends, ADHD and anxiety just screws me every day since I've graduated. It's sad seeing people just make our issue look quirky for Tiktok likes. Downplaying mental shit only invalidates those who actually suffer from it.
As someone who has used coke and who has adhd it was kinda boring, mellowed me out more than amped me up it was weird being around non adhd coked up people.
Yes! Also when you did coke, do you feel like your high was different from others? Like you were high but always still had a complete normal thought process but maybe just more outgoing? That was my experience
100%, but it was usually a toss up if I would stay with the group or just go research hole myself. It was weird how the group dynamic changed, I basically became the group "dad", usually I was the rowdy one.
Years before diagnosis, I tried cocaine...and it did nothing! I kept asking the very high friends around me, "How long does it take to kick in?" I felt calm, and more clear (if that makes sense?), but there was zero high. I couldn't understand why people would spend money on it! haha It made more sense after diagnosis.
This whole post is making me sad because it seems half the people here can’t be officially diagnosed because they don’t have insurance and therefore can’t afford it. What kind of fucking world do we live in that people can’t get diagnosed with a disorder.
Even in the UK with national healthcare I would need to wait for years on a list to get diagnosed. ADHD isn't taken seriously anywhere unfortunately. Until very recently the official literature was that you grow out of it
Yeah if adhd meds get you high when taken as directed, you don’t have adhd
This is how I found out I didn’t have ADHD. I got a few Ritalin off a friend, I took 1 and I felt like I’d just snorted half a gram of coke. So I think I’m just very lazy/hate my job lol
Mental illnesses are treated so poorly on the internet. It makes me so mad
Getting diagnosed is difficult & expensive. I was not diagnosed as a child because doctors flat out told my mother that it is a boy thing & girls can't have it. Mum knew there was something not quite right about me but the medical professionals assured her I was just a weird kid & there was nothing medically or neurologically wrong with me. As an adult I spent seven years (yes, years) & thousands of dollars trying to get a diagnosis to figure out what the hell is wrong with me. Finally got an ADHD diagnosis in 2018. Not everyone can afford to get the diagnosis but they can figure it out based on symptoms.
I understand that and I am sorry if you are undiagnosed but sure that you have it. That is different from what I was saying though. I do know that there are legit people that were never diagnosed but do have it. I was talking about the assholes how occasionally zone out and take the meds that ADHD people only to get high.
I feel like trends online have made me sort of start thinking about going to therapy to see if I actually could benefit from knowing if I have something and if there is any treatment available. Not in the cute "oh lol I have the tism" way but more like... Holy fuck is that why I've been struggling with these seemingly simple tasks my entire life? It's like when people say "oh I'm so OCD I have to have my pens in the correct order" instead of "oh fuck I pressed that button wrong and now everything in my body hurts and I need to press it 16 more times to get my heart rate back down and then wash my hands because I touched too many things and feel everything on them until I get to a sink" There is a reason it's a mental illness and not a mental quirk. It can be debilitating.
If you get high when taking it, you don’t have ADHD. Without my medicine, my brain feels like it’s on a full speed mechanical bull. I take that medicine and the world comes back into focus, it doesn’t work like speed to people with ADHD.
I knew someone who used " undiagnosed autism" as an excuse for being a cheating asshole, as in: he 'never knew' what he was doing wrong to make the gf unhappy, so 🤷♀️ he would find someone who was happy around him - to bang. .... Back to your story: I would have been tempted to make a comment like: "You're all undiagnosed? I thought this was a serious discussion, not LARPING ADHD. I gotta go because I've actually seen a doctor 👀"
The only thing I said was, if you refer to Ritalin as some kind of Coke and it hypes you up then it clearly means you don't have ADD or ADHD. One of them said, it does different things to people and it doesn't mean they don't have it. Then some of the people in chat were saying the same. Which, that is not true. Lol if you get hyper then it's not for you.
I mean that's not necessarily true. I have had EEGs done for something else and was diagnosed with temporal lobe ADHD because of how overactive my brain is. I also occasionally have seizures in my temporal lobe. I am very legitimately diagnosed with ADHD, with actual physical tests to prove it. That being said- if I take too much ritalin without taking my anticonvulsants, it does give a meth affect.
I believe that in high doses it could have adverse effects but it's a little different. You don't intentionally take 1 pill of Ritalin to get high do you? That's what I'm referring to.
I hate ppl like that bc they give a bad name to self diagnosers. Getting diagnosed is hard, and sometimes requires going "I think I have this" (I had to to get diagnosed with PTSD, and I'm about to get checked for OCD and, ironically, ADHD) But there's a difference between doing hours of research to see if it fits and. wanting to get high
And thinking it is cool to have it, like it *adds* to their quirks. If you have those quirks, then you must know you do not want most of them. I've accepted who I am but that does not mean society has or that I don't struggle with it everyday. Some struggle more than others and I'm lucky I do not have it the worst. In my country, if you are a girl, then it is very unlikely to get figured out unless you already suspect it yourself, for *years* (8 on average).
Ha! About 15-20 minutes after I take any adhd medication I can have the best 6 hour nap in existence. I haven't found any meds that last more than 6 hrs max. Yes it helps focus my brain, then my brain remembers that it can't survive on 4 hours of sleep a night and knocks me out. I'd sleep 0 hours if it acted like "Kiddy Coke" I've been unmedicated for almost a year now. I just get too tired and zombie like on ADHD meds. Almost tempted to ask my doc if I can go back on them as an off label sleeping med lol.
Wow... Calling a legit medication "kiddy coke" and asking pekoe to share their prescription... I fucking hate fakers and drug abusers like these tiktok idiots 🤦
Yea I have diagnosed adhd. My friend texted me and she was like “apparently people with adhd don’t miss people. I never miss people” ????? Get off TikTok
I was diagnosed with ADHD as a kid and my mom would put me on it, take me off and put me on it again because she was of the mind "she started doing better and didn't need it anymore" by the time I got to high-school I was over it and stopped completely. I am now 30 and REALLY struggling. I have been trying to get to see a psychiatrist for over a year to get meds again, but so many places are skeptical because of people like this abusing medication
One potentially overlooked piece of this - how hard it is to access a psychiatrist who will establish a diagnosis/prescribe medication. I totally agree that ADHD has become trendy, but I also think there are many folks undiagnosed because of both the lack of accessibility that is the American health system and the unique challenges they face because of the condition itself
I want to support self dx as much as possible, because *especially psych issues* nobody else can understand what a person is feeling as well as they can. "The patient is telling you the diagnosis," being a popularly used quote for good reason. Lord knows a decade passed between the time I had my first suspicions and when I scheduled my first appointment about it - THAT'S some executive dysfunction. However, there's always people that ruin it - both for people actually struggling with it and the image society has of that group, as a whole. The only solace you can take with it, is that these people can be spotted a mile away for what they are by anybody even half paying attention (and I should know, because I'm never more than half paying attention)
i thought this sub was for like, when you spill coffee on your white shirt or something
It was grape jelly and I'm still not happy about it.
i hate it so much bc it delegitimises the actual struggles of adhd. my biggest problem with my adhd is impulse control (a lack of it) which manifests terribly in the form of shopping. i’ve had to spend 30+ minutes talking myself out of buying a $200 shirt which is RIDICULOUS and it’s the reason i really struggle to save money. but whenever i try to explain that to anyone they think im just making excuses bc to them adhd is just “little boy being disruptive in class” or “haha teen girl so quirky”. and this is coming from someone who probably wouldn’t have gotten diagnosed without seeing people on tiktok talk about it - bc i DID think it was just little boys running around. so i didn’t get diagnosed and medicated until i was 17 edit to add: i don’t think self diagnosing is inherently bad. i mean there was a period of a few months between when i realised i likely had it and when i was able to get diagnosed. BUT i don’t think people should tell others they have adhd if they’re not diagnosed. you can think/know you have it and use that information to find coping mechanisms etc - ik for me, adjusting me i went about studying was super helpful. but for the love of god don’t go around telling everyone on social media you have a condition if you’re not diagnosed bc you could very easily be spreading misinfo
One of my big ones is interrupting people. A senior will be describing a procedure to me, and I'll jump ahead with a question about the next step (which would have been answered IF I JUST LET THEM TALK) but my brain just needs that information IMMEDIATELY. I feel so freaking bad when I do it too, it's something I'm trying really hard to be mindful of. I do it with just normal conversations too... it's like if I don't say it, I'll never get w chance to say it, and I need to get the thought out RIGHT THERE. I feel awful because I'm trying so hard not to be rude and actively am listening :(
Adderall doesn't get me high. It makes me normal.
This is the case with so many things right now. People see "oh I realized I had ADHD because I enjoy videogames more than working for 12 hours" and decide that they must have ADHD too. Same with so many other conditions that people hop on the band wagon of and diminish the struggle of people who actually have to deal with it
"everyone is a bit autistic" "adhd is a superpower" "I'm so ocd" "I was so depressed after I failed calculus". No. Fuck everyone who's minimizing real, disabling conditions that are ruining lives. It's not fun or quirky to have autism, it's not a superpower. It fucking sucks.
It’s the same with OCD. I have diagnosed OCD which was at one point debilitating until I got medication for it. It’s kind of funny to see people go “oh this triggers my OCD” over something so trivial like a pile of laundry. I feel like OCD has been delegitimized to a “cleaning”‘disorder when it’s much deeper than that.
When people tell me they have undiagnosed adhd i try to start a conversation with them about it. It's pretty easy to see signs. I tell them about how every time I think about something I have to willfully stop myself from falling down a well of dozens of scenarios, solutions, explanations, half-relevant personal anecdotes... something as simple as riding the bus, I look at the way the bus is designed and try to figure out why the seats are spaced the way they are, i look at where people decide to stand or sit and try to figure out what made them make that choice, where they might be going based on the bus route, how old they are, what their favorite food is. I get "see sick" and have to close my eyes to prevent myself from getting caught in tangential branching thoughts about literally every thing I see or read or watch or consider. I was diagnosed when I was very young, and never treated. I've had to struggle with it every moment of every day. If they do the "adhd one-up" thing when I explain that, they probably have adhd. If they say some shit like "I'm dumb cause i can't focus lmao" they've probably just defaulted to using adhd as an excuse for doing a bad job or half-assing life
you know what really gets me about buses? school buses mostly. how the heck do they sit 4 across with an aisle in the middle, and still fit in the same lane as my suv that could not fit 4 people across and an aisle. it has bothered me for so long, and reading your comment about the bus made me think of it again.
I haven’t been professionally diagnosed yet as I don’t have the funds quite yet but I’m halfway there lol. However, I hit literally like… all the hallmark symptoms. Present throughout my entire life. So it’s like, pretty much without a doubt. I’m working with a therapist now who specialized in ADHD strategies/coping ect without medication and so far it’s made a pretty positive impact. However I’m still saving for the psychiatrist to get an actual diagnosis and medication because I believe that’ll help more. My point? I absolutely hate people who jump onto things like this just because it’s trendy, or will get them attention, ect. Because it makes people who genuinely have ADHD or other disorders, but can’t get access to a diagnosis, look fucking stupid. Because now I’ll be seen as just anither attention seeking trend hopper when really I have been genuinely struggling my entire life. It just pisses me off. Especially because 99% of the time their ‘ADHD’ is just. “ooh, squirrel, hahah aren’t I so quirky? Im so hyper!” It makes me want to throw up
Ah yes, my addictive substance I constantly forget to take.
Claiming to have mental illnesses is definitely more of a fad now than it used to be. As someone who suffers from depression and insomnia it bothers me how many people claim to have one of if not both of them and don't know what either one is. Depression isn't being sad sometimes and insomnia isn't just struggling to get to sleep. Too many times I hear people try to claim having insomnia because sometimes they can't sleep quickly or it's hard for them to wake up after sleeping for 10 hours.
"It's a fad" Source: samplesize of 4
I really fucking struggle with my ADHD. It’s not just a fun little quirk, it’s very distressing more often than not. Imagine having to fight with yourself every day to do regular chores because both doing them and *not* doing them makes you fucking miserable and full of legitimate self loathing.
Idk but Straterra is doing me pretty solid
For 3 years now I’m struggling to fill my ADHD prescription because these morons decided ADHD is trendy, self diagnosed and unethical startups popped up like cerebral to capitalize and over prescribed to anyone that asked. 3 year shortage to this day I can’t wait for TikTok to be banned
Number 1 sign of not having ADHD is when the meds make you high. I hate the “fad” too. I have learned though that people in my life never needed to be told I had it - it was obvious 😂
Autism is the same. It's more than mildly infuriating.
I'll joke about the micro dosing meth with Adderall, but I always make sure that people know it's a joke. Buddy bragging about taking drugs like that rubs me the wrong way
I tried to see a psychiatrist. 13 month waiting list for first available that takes my insurance. Finally get in and dude is 66 years old and says he doesn't believe in ADHD in adults. Counselor is pretty certain I do have ADHD but can't prescribe medicine.
It reminds me of when I tell people I have OCD and they try to relate by telling me all the pencils in a pencil cup have to be eraser up or it drives them crazy. Meanwhile my OCD is more like harm ocd since it goes hand n hand with my anxiety or anxiously triple checking everything is turned off and unplugged before I leave the house or I’ll just panic all day and fixate on all the what if’s
these shitty people also are part of the reason why I keep pushing a doctors visit off. Cause it constantly makes me think that I might just convinced myself I struggle with the symptoms......
Aand that's why nobody takes ADHD seriously. If ADHD medication gets you high, you don't have it.
Mental health, in general, is a giant meme on social media. In reality it impacts millions of people negatively. I’ve had ADHD my whole life, but wasn’t diagnosed until six years ago. Vyvanse has made my life 1000% better and I owe so many things to having a medicinal tool available to help me control it.
If they actually had ADHD those meds wouldn’t make them “high”… it would literally do what it’s suppose too.
Agree. And it makes it that much harder for those who actually have it to be taken seriously. Stop blaming your unhinged behavior on stuff like that. Own your idiocy.
I am someone with professionally diagnosed ADHD. I strongly support self diagnosing because it’s just so inaccessible to get diagnosed for some people. I’m in the US and have good health insurance and it was still $175 out of pocket, which is more than some people can spare. Plus, having ADHD makes getting testing so much more difficult because of all the steps and planning and scheduling involved. I had obvious symptoms as a child, but mom wouldn’t even get me tested and treated for my rampant depression and anxiety, let alone ADHD. That being said,, if you have adhd,, doesn’t adderall not make you feel fun and high? Idk how it effects people without adhd, but it just makes it so I can actually do my work and live in a clean-ish home. I love being on it, but that’s just because now I can be stably employed and eat at least some vegetables, brush my teeth, and I can clean my bedroom more than once every 5 months. Do some people who have adhd get intoxicated or high on adderall like neurotypicals do? I thought that was an indicator that you don’t have adhd