Help Any tips for managing ADHD? And managing ADHD medication symptoms. Looking 4 ppl who relate to my situation not "You just have to get up and do it"

[RandomUsername1]

Info: I take methylphenidate. 30 mg at 10:15am everyday. I have just gotten back on my medication after a few months of not taking it. So far I have taken it like 4 days in a row. I don't eat before I take the meds which Ik I should but I wake up to take them then go back to sleep I don't feel hungry when I first wake up. I stopped taking my medication consistently starting January. Last year I was very consistent with medication, I was much smarter. And could control myself much more. However, I developed anorexic because I wasn't hungry which made it so easy to starve myself. And I liked controlling my diet. Plus I wanted to be bone thin. I stopped taking my pills consistently around the beginning of this year idk why I stopped. But Everytime I try to get back on my pills I feel like actual shit. I feel weak from not eating, I lose my appetite entirely even when I'm not on my pills. And the medication itself makes my heart race and it feels like the worst anxiety of my life. I can't stand up to do tasks because I'm so weak. So Everytime I take my meds I just lay in bed all day feeling even worse. I feel like my ADHD medicine makes me feel more depressed and think about my trauma much more but it helps me feel more "locked in/smart".

Hello, I am unsure about pursuing recovery or not. But so far I think the main issue in my life is my ADHD making it impossible to live normally. All I do is lay in bed and scroll on tiktok. I'm also depressed so nothing interests me anymore. I don't even want to watch tiktok it's just the only thing that keeps me busy. When my friends get home I talk to them online but that's the most eventful part of my day. I've only just now started to hangout with friends more mostly because I feel like shit and like if I don't distract myself I'm going to kill myself. How do I get better? Pls note my main issue is not being able to actually get outta bed. When I do manage to get out of bed I only do a little bit, get distracted and lay back down and feel bad about myself. Telling me to "Just get up and don't let yourself sit down till it's done" will not help.

Goals:
I have been wanting to clean my room for a year now. I always start it then hit a roadblock and quit then start back at square one.

I want to get out of bed, but it feels like I can't unless I have a reason to. I have work three times a week which has been burning me out.

I want to go to the gym again.

I want to take care of myself, brush my teeth, shave, dress up nicely.
(So far I'm going to start small my main goal is brushing my teeth at least once a day I go a week without brushing my teeth and then next week I brush it like once or twice I have a big fear of all my teeth falling out yet that's not enough motivation to brush my teeth for some reason)
I want to feel good about myself again.
I want to be happy without relying on other people/distractions to make me happy.

I wish ADHD had more awareness as to how it can ruin someone's life :( everyone glamorizes it and thinks "oh I just get distracted and ADHD makes you more fun to be around." It is terrible. It's just as bad as any mental disorder. It will ruin your life at least people understand depression more than ADHD. Everytime I bring up my ADHD it feels like people don't take me seriously. My family rolls their eyes and calls me lazy when I say it's bc of my ADHD. (I am not one of those people that use ADHD as an excuse, I rarely say my ADHD is making it hard to live because I don't people to think I'm making up excuses)

I hope this thread also helps other ppl with ADHD. It's so misunderstood by people and we need to bring more awareness to it. People with ADHD aren't lazy, they need extra help.

 

[moonmoon]

Hey, sorry everything feels like shit rn. I struggle really hard too. Have you tried non-stimulant ADHD meds like Strattera? You should eat something b4 u take ur meds. I think ADHD traps us in an all or nothing mentality, but little things tend to help.

If you're too burnt out to get breakfast, put a little snack next to your meds. Like a granola bar, chips, something quick and easy to get down. Eating a little will definitely boost ur mood (speaking as a mostly recovered anorexic).

Not being able to hit your goals sounds like a huge executive function block. I recommend breaking down your tasks into bite sized pieces. Keep simplifying until you can start somewhere. Got an example from my life: need to open up new vacuum before I vacuum. Knew I couldn't do it all at once... knew I couldn't take out all the pieces at once, so I just gave myself a really simple task to start: open the box. All I did one day was open the box. Then from there, I can take out a part or two the next day, etc.

To clean your room I recommend starting really small. Something like only bringing a trash bag to your room one day. Then plan to throw x item away, food items, a category the next day. You want to do one tiny step to start moving in the right direction. Getting momentum is really difficult with ADHD, so taking small steps over a long course of time helps you feel like you're making progress, which makes you feel more energized.

You have a lot of goals. Start on one only and take tiny steps. The moment you go into overdrive and try to do more than your mind/body can handle: you'll burnout and be stuck at the start again. Small steps (maybe Strattera or something as well) and you'll be making progress buddy :)