I’ve been prescribed some form of stimulant for the majority of my life at this point — initially Ritalin, then Concerta and most recently Vyvanse. Can I funct

I’ve been prescribed some form of stimulant for the majority of my life at this point — initially Ritalin, then Concerta and most recently Vyvanse. Can I function without it? Absolutely —- I have purposefully gone without it for periods of several weeks and months in the past. My opinion is obviously biased, but I really don’t think that I ever would have found a way to be successful in school or professionally without being medicated. Yes, there are many strategies that can be effective at managing ADHD outside of prescription drugs, but ultimately they never really fundamentally solved the things I was struggling with the way medication did. It’s hard for me to put into words exactly how stimulants change the way my brain works, but I think it basically boils down to giving me some semblance of control over where I direct my energy and focus throughout the day. My ADHD is still there, but more often than not I’m able to channel my focus (and periods of hyper focus) into meaningful work, wether that’s something for my job or a personal project. If you think you have ADHD, I encourage you to get tested and work with your doctor to try out several medications. Trying different medications is a really critical step that I think many people (and even many doctors) overlook. Everyone is different, but Adderall in particular never really worked well for me and tended to give me pretty severe anxiety issues.