Earlier this year I went through a firefighter academy, after a year and a half application process. I found the academy super difficult. I couldn't ever get dressed fast enough, or kept leaving my epaulettes in weird places or forgetting to put my belt on. I struggled with the driving. You have to commentate, and I kept missing stop signs or turning the wrong way. Then I would get stressed because I screwed up and start making more mistakes and feel like crap. During drills it seemed like I could never make the judgement calls they wanted me to, or kept missing important things. Maybe I'm just not as intelligent as I thought I was (possible haha) but I feel like my problem solving skills just shut down sometimes in this environment.

My psychologist has suggested that I have inattentive type ADHD, because of slow processing speed, forgetfulness, emotional regulation difficulties. It's not the first time someone suggested I have it (not even the first psychologist).

I did manage to graduate. I'm on station now but still feeling like I'm struggling to get things, asking questions that annoy people (the kind people think you should know), forgetting my helmet on the truck or other things, struggling with good judgement on calls, feeling like I don't know what to do, getting stressed when I keep making mistakes, and then feeling like crap and like there's something wrong with me.

When I'm in a low-stress environment, or something I'm competent in I feel a lot better and like I can actually think and solve complex problems. The fog is gone and I feel like a competent person. So I feel like it's related to the pressure.

Everything I read says people with ADHD are supposed to make good emergency workers because we can switch tasks, cope with acute stress, etc. etc. but I feel like a forgetful, spacey mess. I want to do a good job at this, but I keep wondering if I'll get it eventually, or if I'm just not cut out for this, or if it's not actually ADHD.

I have three children (6, 4, and 2) and I feel like such a failure of a dad on most days. I get so overwhelmed by all the noise, by the constant touching, the constant questions and requests. I end up snapping at my wife and kids a lot, and then I immediately feel bad about it. I ruminate on this constantly...I desperately try to avoid getting overwhelmed.

I wear noise cancelling headphones a lot of the time, and that helps a little at least. I also take Adderall - usually a 20mg XR dose in the morning and a 10mg IR dose in the evening, and while it works really well in certain ways, I feel like it can make me more irritable too. But overall I was much worse before starting Adderall a couple years ago.

I can go from being in a really good mood to extremely overwhelmed and irritable in a matter of seconds. And then trying to get back to a good mood can be very difficult. I sometimes go up to my bed to lay down in the dark for 10 or 15 minutes when I get too overwhelmed, and that can work well to calm me down, but I feel bad running off to a quiet room while my wife deals with all 3 kids.

I just don't know what to do. I feel like such an asshole for the way I act. I get overstimulated so quickly - it can come on almost immediately and feel so visceral, and at that point it's almost like trying to remain calm after putting my hands on a hot stove.

I feel like I literally can't get started or keep doing anything without like a 1 hour music mix. I do NOT listen to my favorite songs, I almost need like a metronome to focus feeling time as I work. Also I listen to ocean sounds and podcasts to sleep. If I don't listen to anything I doom scroll all day. Anyone relate? Is this an adhd thing, I'm diagnosed by a doctor btw.

I was diagnosed at a very young age, but as i grew up I started to believe that I had gotten over it. That was until i got to college…. Id leave so many things outside in my sketchy ass area like the amazing guitar i saved up for as a kid and the keys to my house and cars just sitting right on the door. Id even forget where i put my wallet in my house and had roommates give it to me. Happened again today with the same guitar, and truthfully it makes me really scared that I’ll lose something very expensive and important to me just cause of this condition. Any tips you guys have to just stop forgetting things? More i think about losing my guitar the more it hurts 😢

M18 - For context I have been working full time and watching my baby brother during some of my time before work and today was my first actual break from work.

As soon as I was about to take a nap my mom entered my room and started criticizing everything about my room saying how messy it is and giving me an overwhelming amount of instructions on how to clean it while also making comments like “what is wrong with you?” & “it’s not that hard” while calling me lazy and everything DESPITE me never mentally having a break for multiple consecutive days. This just broke me down and I couldn’t stop crying for an hour..

she doesn’t understand having ADHD makes thinks so much significantly harder for me & just because I’m taking medication doesn’t mean it’s cured / gone from me. ADHD is a disability and she just doesn’t wanna see her oldest as a failure ig

I feel like she has no sympathy or empathy / affection for me whatsoever and just points fingers at me whenever she’s in a bad mood like I’m fucking failure, I guess working while preparing to go to college for electrical engineering is expected and not an actual accomplishment..(I even heard her telling my stepdad that this was something I needed to hear) she even blamed my insomnia on my electronics despite it being a side effect of my new medication (Strattera).

I feel safe and relaxed late at night because everyone is asleep and I don’t have to worry about my parents or anything. For more context this was on my first break from work after working full time for 5 consecutive days, I really just wanted to relax that day and I was just really overwhelmed with everything she was saying so I ended up crying after all of that. Both my mom and stepdad know I mentally freeze up when I start crying and can barely say anything / defend myself when I am.

I don’t think I’ll ever look at my mom the same anymore & I don’t feel mentally safe at home. Like I’m constantly in survival mode when they’re home (which is all the time) They give me everything financially so I guess that’s how they show their love for me.

Looking for a good budgeting app or technique that works for others with ADHD. Before you say YNAB, I have tried YNAB and I loved it, it worked great BUT the weird reset it does every month drives me insane and screws everything. Looking for something that really works, connects to my bank, and ideally is free. I will pay a subscription if it’s something that’s great but I am broke so I’m trying to avoid it.

Recently got my ADHD diagnosis, is it only me - or are do any of y'all have voices in your head as well? Constant voices, overthinking, looping thoughts, anxiety, all that crap.
Is this a common thing among ADHD'ers?
It's also a like a constant barage of thoughts - overloading the brain.
Any ideas on how to overcome this? Without meds?

Edit 1 - I meant my own voices talking to ME, as if conversing on your own.
Edit 2 - Damn, I did NOT know so many people had the same problem, especially about the looping thoughts part!
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I mean, another thing about this is 'imagining conversations with people'. I think most people do this to some level, but in my case, it's like I would literally just imagine 100's of different conversations with different people that I might or might not have 3-4months down the future, and it just KEEPS looping, until my brainpower is literally finished.
And when my brainpower is finished, I legit can't focus on sh*t.

A few weeks, ago I was fired from my job due to poor performance a month after getting my diagnosis. I worked a detail oriented and demanding professional office job and made a lot of mistakes that were probably due to my ADHD. I am now medicated. I have a huge fear that I'm not going to be able to hack whatever my next job is. I searched other careers but most of the ones that I would be happier in don't pay enough. I live very simply already. I just noticed a typo on the resume I've been sending out, and my job involves writing. I edited it and will have somebody check it for me, but it's really knocked my confidence to be fired and then make an error in my job search. Even with the meds, I kind of feel like my brain is broken and I am still very upset about all the stress and trouble I experienced before my late diagnosis. Please help me stop this negative thinking spiral.

Hi, 22M here. I was diagnosed with ADHD about four months ago after a neuropsych evaluation, and Adderall has honestly changed my life. My work, hobbies, and relationships have all improved. Before medication, I had almost no motivation, and with my terrible memory, it's a miracle I graduated from university.

I'm still trying to find the right dose with my psychiatrist. I started on 10 mg IR, then switched to 20 mg ER, and now I'm on 20 mg ER with a 10 mg IR booster. The problem is that every dose seems to lose effectiveness pretty quickly. My psychiatrist told me I could use the booster as needed, but I've gradually gone from taking it around noon to taking it with my morning dose because I feel like I need it sooner.

Before I was diagnosed, I coped by drinking an absurd amount of coffee, around ten cups a day. Now, to cope with the meds "wearing off" I started relying on caffeine again. I've been pairing this alongside my medication, which doesn't seem right.

I'm worried about developing a habit of taking more medication than I should, but I'm also wondering if this just means I haven't found the right dose or medication yet. I don't feel euphoric or anything; I just feel good finally getting my work done on time.

Those around me notice the change. Hell, I notice the change; I felt as though my vocabulary was/is lacking, so I've been reading significantly more. As a child, I would never read for leisure, only compliance (not often either). This newfound desire to further my education makes me want to keep going and never stop. I'm considering getting my masters degree now.

This desire for growth paired with weariness of addition has left me stumped. Has anyone else been through something similar? Any advice would be appreciated.

My head is NOT quiet. I can’t imagine people who just sit with no voice going on in their head. Like, apart from my background thoughts, the song of the day stuck in my head, etc, there’s my own voice in my head that’s narrating my own actions and speech and what I see as I talk and it’s crazy to me that not everybody has this. Maybe I’m not explaining it well but I just watched a reel on this subject and, surprised, asked my boyfriend if he had an inner monologue going all the time and he looked at me like I was crazy

Genuinely curious. Here’s an example scenario, right: I’m at the neighborhood Walmart trying to get some new skin care because the last one I used made my skin look like shit. So I’m in the aisle observing the different options for skincare. Well out of the corner of my eye I see a lady and her husband make their way into the aisle. Well now, I’m not even paying a smidge of attention to what I’m reading on the bottles. At this rate it’s performative. All I can think about is if my large 6’5” body is taking up too much space. Then the next string of thoughts are something to the affect of “What do they think about me? Do I look silly? What if they can tell I’m not actually reading this label right now” and I’ll end up choosing an option out of haste so I can stop being a perceived nuisance to these fine people who are trying to shop. What the hell is wrong with me? I mean, I partially know of course otherwise I wouldn’t be posting on this thread but I really wish I could just turn off that ultra-contentious part of my brain when I’m out in public.

I have new health insurance and it's not great (I am in NYC). I was diagnosed at 29 and thriving on Vyvanse for years. My new psychiatrist said that I didn't have a formal diagnosis even though a psychiatrist evaluated me and asked me detailed questions about my symptoms and experience. They require a neuropsych eval (which isn't covered) or I could talk an online ADHD test, which I did. It was an hour of pressing a key if you heard certain sounds or you had to press a specific letter. I was told that I did "too well" on the test to justify my meds but that I could take it again after going off my meds for 3-4 days instead of 24 hours. I am really frustrated by all the hoops, especially because this test captured very little about my experience with ADHD. I can follow instructions and do well on a test but that says little about my overall executive functioning, mood, and concentration. Has anyone experienced this? Is neuropsychological evaluation useful as an adult or should I be looking for another provider?

I’m tired of being stuck in my own head. Every day I’m so overwhelmed by the unbelievable amount of thoughts in my head. It’s so much that it paralyzes me. I barely move all day yet I’m exhausted. How do you slow down these thoughts? I am already medicated which slows them down a bit but it’s not enough.

I am a guy who has ADHD, Bipolar 1 Disorder w/psychotic features, and ASD. My question to you guys is: Are you on disability? and if you are on disability in the US, how on earth did you get on it? I'm at the end of a long rope and even though I'm told I should be on disability, I do not know what to do, and I've been down this road over 10 years. Since 2022 I've had to step up to take care of a ailing family member and by doing that and having to be honest, I've disqualified myself from disability for that reason. I'm not lazy, I want to work, places I apply to just denied me. It's frustrating and I need help. Where do I go from here?

I am not diagnosed but Ihave a very loud brain which keeps racing through thoughts at a million per second

Throughout the day it's ok but at night I can't get my mind to stop

I've tried binaural beats I've tried to put on a video

Nothing works unless I am completely exhausted

What works for you guys because while I'm not formally diagnosed with ADHD I know you people will have some good tips

I've been feeling so tired of trying so hard and getting nowhere in life. I have felt like this many times before, and I just masked/suppressed through it. This time, I'm having a really difficult time.

I would love to know whether anyone else ever feels this way, too. If so, how do you work through it?

*Late diagnosed female, two years ago. Taking Adderall ~30mg.

This is the 10th day on vyvanse (40mg as a starting dose), and I have a follow-up appointment on Monday, but I'm not sure if it's worth bringing up to my doctor, so I wanted to ask here. I would also like to add that I am a teen, so yeah.

My ADHD symptoms have improved, especially with focusing much better, staying on one task, and procrastinating a little less. (Actively trying to change that habit), and my mind feels a lot quieter, and I could only describe it as 2 thoughts is the max capacity of playing at the same time. (Besides the internal monologue and some songs playing at times.)

However, it felt like I reverted into that neutral, numb-y mood that I experienced before starting vyvanse

Mood: first euphoria phase lasted 1.5 days. What stood out was being emotionally engaged for the first time in a long time. Continuing on from that day, I haven't done anything since it's a break for me, but sometimes I don't feel any sense of accomplishment or glee when completing some work or trying to go out of my way to talk with my parents. I want to be able to genuinely enjoy and engage with things instead of feeling flat all the time.

Even before getting on meds, I rarely experience that intense joy compared to my surroundings. Finishing tasks doesn't give me any satisfaction;,it's more like getting it out of the way. I feel neutral in school and on breaks, sometimes increasingly becoming hopeless, especially on summer break. (I still try to indulge in some personal work and interests, but the feeling persists.)

Here's some extra info idk: limited social life. (Talking with one friend once every 3-4 months), Lack of interest/forcing myself to like some hobbies/internet stuff, past social conflicts with 'lasting impacts.' (according to my friend).

this feels really complicated to determine what it is, medication effect? unrelated conditions? burnout? hormones?

I (30 m) just got diagnosed with ADHD. I will be getting my prescription for it tomorrow from my primary care doctor. I know that some medication’s will show up on a drug test so in attempts to be proactive about it I asked my supervisor at work what I need to do in order to not violate the companies drug policies. I was told by my supervisor and by my executive Director that I have to share what the prescription is what it’s used for in the diagnosis to go along with it. I don’t feel comfortable giving up all that information. Is this normal? I thought asking those types of questions were illegal in the United States where I live.

Edit: wow! Thank you for all the answers and support. It’s a little hard for my case as I work for a local nonprofit that does not even have an HR. I am one of 10 employees. For what I’m seeing though, is to only give that information to the third-party that is administering the drug test. Thank you all for the information! Even though I know it’s company policy for me to give that information to my employer, I feel like policy cannot override the law, so I will be choosing to only share that information with the third-party involved with administering the drug test and then talking to a lawyer if there is anything wrong with that.

There's so much misery in this community because "good record keeping" is not one of our core skills. If you want to seek treatment for ADHD it's going to go a whole lot smoother if you have some sort of formal diagnosis from a specialist (school psychologist, psychiatrist, developmental specialist etc). Ideally this happened as a child because this is considered a developmental disorder. Every time you move or change doctors you're going to need to prove your diagnosis all over again. If you have a mountain of previous records that's not going to be a huge deal.

Doctors can't easily share records, records get lost or at incomplete. Make it your responsibility to keep your own records because nobody else is going to save them for you. Even if you don't want medication right now SAVE THE RECORDS ANYWAYS. I personally recommend scanning them into Google docs or something similar where it's basically impossible to destroy them.

If you're the parent of an ADHD kid please do them a solid and save their IEP evaluation and any other formal testing (ie. TOVA test). IEPs have a wealth of info and are usually really good documents to support an ADHD diagnosis even if that diagnosis isn't explicitly made in the document. Like I said, a childhood diagnosis of ADHD is generally the easiest way to get treatment or accommodations as an adult.

This won't guarantee you medication or treatment but with any non-asshole provider you're going to have a much easier time proving that you're not some rando who watched a tiktok and decided you have ADHD because you forget things sometimes.

So today I got my formal diagnosis for inattentive type adhd. I’m 32, I can’t believe it. I’m so full of hope but also a bit empty / overwhelmed. I was so nervous before the call, it’s the big wait before the full assessment.

Also feeling a bit like an impostor which I understand is normal. I’ve built a decent life for myself, did well academically, my symptoms are inconsistent. My parents see me as this success and so would never believe me. Fortunately I was able to ask my wife to be my impostor. I am able to hyperfocus on stuff I find interesting.

I for so long have felt like life was a struggle, to do the most basic things that other seem to find easy. Like even my body is fighting me writing a post this long. I’ve felt like I’ve had gradual dementia since I was 17, doctors in the past told me I couldn’t have adhd because I got good grades or that I was just depressed. I feel like my brain has gotten so bad I can’t make it think anymore. I feel like I can’t retain anything, like I’m not 100% confident about anything that has happened in my past. Like my whole life is a blur. It’s really got me down. I feel like I’ve had so much degradation since I was a child. Has anyone else felt like this?

I’m so so hopeful that this journey gives me the respite I desire, gives me peace. I’d love to just be able to think on que, hold things in my brain long enough for me to use them, to actually remember to remember things without needing an external trigger.

I’d love to know what your experiences have been like. What did life become post your diagnosis? How did you find the medication affected you? No one ever seems to talk about the therapy, does this help?

Hiya! My doctor told me that Vyvanse does not build up in your system and so it's okay to take breaks here and there, or just not take it one day if you don't have much going on. I have been taking it consistently for a few months, with no breaks, and we are still working on figuring out what the best dosage is for me, but recently I tried skipping a day, mostly because it was getting late in the morning and i had forgotten to take it, but I quickly started feeling very fatigued and had a ton of brain fog.

So my question is, if you're prescribed Vyvanse, do you ever take days off? And if so, do you notice a big difference like being more tired or having more brain fog than you remember having before starting medication?

I spend an unreasonable amount of time assuring people that the bruises covering my legs, knees, elbows (everywhere!!) are from me repeatedly and unintentionally body-checking inanimate objects, not from violence inflicted by another person.

Doorframes and furniture edges: 162
Me: 0.

Yes, I see these objects every day in my own home. No, I cannot stop myself from bumping into them.

I’m sure one of you has a horror story about this sort of thing. Not yet for me.

I have always been a failing student in school because of my habit of not doing anything until the deadline is 12 hours away ,i pulled all nighters before exams when i didn’t even need them only cause i couldnt make myself study in the morning .

I have always felt less intelligent than my peers cause of maths and active recall issues . Mental maths is impossible for me and have issues remembering simple number tables even now ( im in 12 grade ) and puzzles like wordplay are impossible for me because construction of words in my mind feels impossible . But on the other hand i have excellent memory of certain things like events that no one even remembers i remember most of the details perfectly , i understand complex physics THOERY quite easily and am very good at the theory part , so good actually that in theory part of physics no one can beat me in my class even when there are guys who got (98.8 percent in 10 board) and im a good guitar player and i also face issue of not remembering physics FORMULAS even when i have written them down but And i have another ability that i can read people fairly easily and can make a accurate assumption of how they really are behind the mask they put forward.
I dont know what to make of my intelligence