4 ms·

I don't have ADHD - stimulants make me a lot more productive until tolerance kicks in. It's easier to focus on boring tasks, and I'm high so work that normally

I don't have ADHD - stimulants make me a lot more productive until tolerance kicks in. It's easier to focus on boring tasks, and I'm high so work that normally isn't fun becomes fun. Once the tolerance kicks in (1-2 weeks of use) the high becomes mild / nonexistant and it no longer boosts my productivity

adastra22 2y ago
Interesting. OK. I have ADHD and I don't feel anything resembling a "high." If anything, I feel normal and relaxed on stimulants. But it also makes me able to focus and work hard, and I wouldn't have been able to accomplish what I have professionally or personally without it. Not just my job, but my marriage too was falling apart prior to getting on medication. What you wrote in the original post could have been written by an ADHD person, in which case I would recommend staying on medication. Idk, it's complicated. I think a lot of the moral handwringing about stimulant use is misguided and it shouldn't be stigmatized. But I'm somewhat biased in that stimulants literally saved my life, after I had been avoiding medication for years prior based on the stigma. I for sure have ADHD though. Have you talked to a psychiatrist? You may have a serious mental condition that needs treatment, even if it isn't ADHD treated by amphetamine salts. Modafinil, maybe.
- gperkins978 2y ago
  I think the easiest distinction is the high part. I assume you have never crushed up Ritalin and/or Adderall to snort (I have). The guys taking it non-medicinally get a clear high, and tolerance demands higher doses. The best/worst one is desoxyn. That stuff is heavenly, but so addictive. After scoring a bottle of it I decided that I was never going to take any amphetamine ever again. From what I understand, ADHD folks do not get the high part, so the addiction risk is not there.
  - adastra22 2y ago
    I don’t think there is any chemical dependency difference. I could quit stimulants if I want to (and I have, unintentionally during the shortage when I was forced to go without). But why would I want to? I’m addicted to not being a total failure in life. But I am very curious about how people like you describe the effect of these drugs, as it is so foreign to me. What do you even mean by “heavenly”? Some people can retreat to a mind palace in their head. I have a mind bouncy castle. It’s like confetti in a wind tunnel. Stimulants calm the storm and give me control over my inner thoughts, and mastering oneself is the first step to having any agency in the world. That’s all they are to me. But a “high”? Never experienced that, other than the psychological high that comes with being high agency.
- ativzzz 2y ago
  > You may have a serious mental condition that needs treatment Maybe, but I wouldn't say serious. Just standard life malaise. I have talked to a psych - he gave me a concerta prescription after talking for 20 minutes lol. That's the stimulant I'm talking about. It's basically super coffee that lasts all day, and like I said, the high is by far the best part.
  - adastra22 2y ago
    Malaise can be due to an underlying condition causing a biochemical imbalance. Stimulants are often prescribed as a first line defense for good reasons, but you can go back and let them know why it isn’t working.
- uncomplexity_ 2y ago
  adhd is real (i got adhd-pi myself) but its wild to suggest these things without asking the person: - if he's exercising consistently - if he's eating properly without junk food - if he's hydrating properly instead of other beverages - if his overall physical activity has a good baseline - if he's in a line of work where his interest, competence, and the challenge of the work is a good match. most people's inability to focus comes down to lack of self-discipline and self-care, or just being in a wrong place, wrong time, or wrong environment.
jbjbjbjb 2y ago
For my most boring tasks what I do is I write my to do list and break the work down into a stupid level of detail including all the practical steps too. Like: open word document, review section 1, save document, email link to x. This makes getting started easy enough and hopefully I pick up momentum and engagement as I go.

adastra22 2y ago

Interesting. OK. I have ADHD and I don't feel anything resembling a "high." If anything, I feel normal and relaxed on stimulants. But it also makes me able to focus and work hard, and I wouldn't have been able to accomplish what I have professionally or personally without it. Not just my job, but my marriage too was falling apart prior to getting on medication. What you wrote in the original post could have been written by an ADHD person, in which case I would recommend staying on medication. Idk, it's complicated. I think a lot of the moral handwringing about stimulant use is misguided and it shouldn't be stigmatized. But I'm somewhat biased in that stimulants literally saved my life, after I had been avoiding medication for years prior based on the stigma. I for sure have ADHD though. Have you talked to a psychiatrist? You may have a serious mental condition that needs treatment, even if it isn't ADHD treated by amphetamine salts. Modafinil, maybe.

gperkins978 2y ago
I think the easiest distinction is the high part. I assume you have never crushed up Ritalin and/or Adderall to snort (I have). The guys taking it non-medicinally get a clear high, and tolerance demands higher doses. The best/worst one is desoxyn. That stuff is heavenly, but so addictive. After scoring a bottle of it I decided that I was never going to take any amphetamine ever again. From what I understand, ADHD folks do not get the high part, so the addiction risk is not there.
- adastra22 2y ago
  I don’t think there is any chemical dependency difference. I could quit stimulants if I want to (and I have, unintentionally during the shortage when I was forced to go without). But why would I want to? I’m addicted to not being a total failure in life. But I am very curious about how people like you describe the effect of these drugs, as it is so foreign to me. What do you even mean by “heavenly”? Some people can retreat to a mind palace in their head. I have a mind bouncy castle. It’s like confetti in a wind tunnel. Stimulants calm the storm and give me control over my inner thoughts, and mastering oneself is the first step to having any agency in the world. That’s all they are to me. But a “high”? Never experienced that, other than the psychological high that comes with being high agency.
ativzzz 2y ago
> You may have a serious mental condition that needs treatment Maybe, but I wouldn't say serious. Just standard life malaise. I have talked to a psych - he gave me a concerta prescription after talking for 20 minutes lol. That's the stimulant I'm talking about. It's basically super coffee that lasts all day, and like I said, the high is by far the best part.
- adastra22 2y ago
  Malaise can be due to an underlying condition causing a biochemical imbalance. Stimulants are often prescribed as a first line defense for good reasons, but you can go back and let them know why it isn’t working.
uncomplexity_ 2y ago
adhd is real (i got adhd-pi myself) but its wild to suggest these things without asking the person: - if he's exercising consistently - if he's eating properly without junk food - if he's hydrating properly instead of other beverages - if his overall physical activity has a good baseline - if he's in a line of work where his interest, competence, and the challenge of the work is a good match. most people's inability to focus comes down to lack of self-discipline and self-care, or just being in a wrong place, wrong time, or wrong environment.

jbjbjbjb 2y ago

For my most boring tasks what I do is I write my to do list and break the work down into a stupid level of detail including all the practical steps too. Like: open word document, review section 1, save document, email link to x. This makes getting started easy enough and hopefully I pick up momentum and engagement as I go.