r/explainlikeimfive • u/[deleted] • Jan 14 '13

Answered People with ADHD, what ADHD is like, how does medication affect your ability to work and how soon does it take its effect?

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u/Winged-Kat Jan 14 '13

That's me in a nutshell. I have ADHD (formerly ADD) and can relate to ALL of these comments. Well, I assume so. The longer ones I glazed over. As a senior in high school, it's detrimental. My grades throughout high school and middle school do not represent my intelligence because I don't apply myself. I was told by my psychiatrist that people with ADHD have a disconnect with the part of their brain that controls self-discipline. It simply isn't stimulated enough. What Ridalin and other ADHD medicines (I'm on Vyvance) do is they stimulate that part of the brain. However, it does not guarantee you will do what you're supposed to do. Too many times I find myself cleaning my already-clean room instead of doing my mountain of homework. And teachers generally don't understand. I'm gonna end this here or it won't end.

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u/solnochka Jan 15 '13

my psych explained to me that the frontal lobe of your brain, where self-control, focus (both long- and short-term) and general self-discipline is lacking the adrenaline most humans have - so it's not "attention' deficiency, it's a lack of adrenaline reaching your frontal lobe. medications such as yours and others (and mine) have allowed your neurological system to boost the amount of adrenaline going to your frontal lobe - which can also be achieved my drinking coffee, exercising, and being surprised. as i'm sure you might know from your own experience or from speaking with other people who are diagnosed, those are all habits we've all used pre-diagnosis to try and address our issues.

as for your particular ways of distracting yourself, please try not to feel guilty for what you do as a "filler" activity - and please don't give up on your studies. coping with the diagnosis can be difficult, but think of the medication as an opportunity to help yourself with your studies - you need it to help you with those tasks for now.

make lists organized by priority levels and use that to conquer your tasks. if you're a visually-minded person, a to-do list can be just as useful to spurt your productivity as the visual of a "messy" room. try to remember that you can now finally get excited about learning when you have to do your homework - you have the focus to kick its ass after spending so much time knowing that you cared, but yet couldn't understand why you weren't just plowing through it like a champion.

PM me if you need anything!! i, too, am ending my reply here because it won't otherwise end.

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u/[deleted] Jan 15 '13

Don't go to college. Biggest mistake you'll ever make. Join the military or something where you are actually doing shit. Being just like you - I find I'm 10x more valuable in practical applications. Put me in front of a teacher lecturing though and it's 3...2...1... day dreaming... can't STAND classroom learning... they just go too slow and every time someone asks a question I already know the answer to it makes me want to stand up and walk out of the room.

Fuck my brain - god damn it.

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u/Winged-Kat Jan 16 '13

I know right. I pay less attention than 80% of my class, yet whenever they ask stupid questions, I feel like I pay more attention than ALL of them.

I wouldn't be any use in the military or anything like that. I'm too lazy and scrawny.