Personality and ADHD medication?

[Vynce]

After about all my life coping with adhd in all sorts of half-functional ways, I’m now in the process of medicating it professionally with a doctor and Ritalin. Still two months till it starts. 
 

But I wonder if my personality might shift to much in all sorts of ways. 
For example I fear that I would settle in life for some boring dry version of my life purpose just because there is more dopamine in my system. Eventually regretting the therapy after I might end it sometime. 

I’m curious who on here has done medicated adhd therapy, and how your psyche changed along that. 

[vibv]

Me. I didnt't like Methylphenidate (Ritalin) because I had the feeling it made me extremely anti-social (I was extremely awkward around other humans).
But some report the exact opposite.

I take Bupropion right now (but try to wean off of it), because it has the least effect on my personality compared to amphetamines and dopamine-reuptake-inhibitors like Ritalin or say coke.

[Vynce]

45 minutes ago, vibv said:

Me. I didnt't like Methylphenidate (Ritalin) because I had the feeling it made me extremely anti-social (I was extremely awkward around other humans).
But some report the exact opposite.

I take Bupropion right now (but try to wean off of it), because it has the least effect on my personality compared to amphetamines and dopamine-reuptake-inhibitors like Ritalin or say coke.

Super interesting.

Because naturally I hate to be around others. 99% of people seem extremely boring to me after a while. 

Thats why I'm hoping methylphenidate can help me here a little. At least make some normal friendships possible.

Edited February 13 by Vynce

[max duewel]

Im taking Vyvanse since 3 months. I have the same fear. I fear repressing a part of me that is supposed to cry out. However, the benefits are significant. I can focus better, have more energy, less overthinking, more confidence in social situations and I am in general much more emotional stable. Also I have a bigger window of 'choice'. meaning when the medication is working i am better at regulating my impulses. For example, blurting out an inappropriate comment or clicking on a YouTube video instead of studying.

[Shodburrito]

@Vynce

We're all so caught up worrying about "losing ourselves" that we forget how we're always changing anyway. It's like we think our current self is somehow more real than any future version could be, but when you really think about it, that doesn't make much sense. We're basically judging a future we can't even see yet based on how we feel right now, which is kind of wild when you think about it.

The thing is, this whole journey isn't really about becoming a different person - it's more like getting a new pair of glasses that lets you see things differently. Maybe what seems boring to you now might actually feel amazing once your brain isn't constantly chasing after every shiny object that catches its attention. And really, who's to say that the "you" on medication would be any less authentic than the "you" right now? Your consciousness, your core self, or whatever you want to call it, stays the same - it's just experiencing life through a slightly different lens.

[Vynce]

@max duewel @Shodburrito Thank you!

[Jannes]

I did have the same fear and have the same fear going forward. I did take medikinet and it did change my personality quite a lot. Now that I didnt take it for quite a while my old personality came back quite a lot. But not completely. It helped me to work through experiences which were very emotionally charged in that I was just able to regulate the emotions that were connected to the experiences and then let these experiences go. It felt pretty unlovely though, it all happened unconsciously. I  would have rather worked through that consciously. Like I feel changed without an experience that caused the change. In general I feel a little healthier and more practical but it's the way I got here that doesnt sit right with me. 

Have you tried therapy? At least in Germany medication are usually only described after "natural" healing methods are tried out. 

[Vynce]

51 minutes ago, Jannes said:

I did have the same fear and have the same fear going forward. I did take medikinet and it did change my personality quite a lot. Now that I didnt take it for quite a while my old personality came back quite a lot. But not completely. It helped me to work through experiences which were very emotionally charged in that I was just able to regulate the emotions that were connected to the experiences and then let these experiences go. It felt pretty unlovely though, it all happened unconsciously. I  would have rather worked through that consciously. Like I feel changed without an experience that caused the change. In general I feel a little healthier and more practical but it's the way I got here that doesnt sit right with me. 

Have you tried therapy? At least in Germany medication are usually only described after "natural" healing methods are tried out. 

Yes, natural therapy is recommended but not mandatory.

But I’m not sure what a normal therapy for adhd would look like. 
After all it’s a serious disbalance in one’s neurochemistry. Some things you can’t talk or shake out. 

[Jannes]

41 minutes ago, Vynce said:

Yes, natural therapy is recommended but not mandatory.

But I’m not sure what a normal therapy for adhd would look like. 
After all it’s a serious disbalance in one’s neurochemistry. Some things you can’t talk or shake out. 

I haven't done therapy either. But I know there are just some things that help and where therapist might help you with: If you have people who put you at ease for example or a body double who helps with studying or even finding your LP so you develop a hyper focus on that and get shit done. 

[Jannes]

22 hours ago, Vynce said:

For example I fear that I would settle in life for some boring dry version of my life purpose just because there is more dopamine in my system.

Damn I didnt read the thread concentrated. I can relate to this so much.

On the other hand it could be a helpful phase to get your material meets met IF you can get out of it and find yourself afterwards. 

[LifeEnjoyer]

Hi, I'm not ADHD diagnosed, but my brother is. He's around your age, seemingly, he took medication and ended up quitting it. He pointed out the same things you were afraid of, feeling like a robot was his biggest problem. He doesn't take them anymore and self medicates with weed which kinda works for him, definitely not optimal though. So that's his story.

1 hour ago, Jannes said:

body double

How have I never heard of this before? Seems good

[Jannes]

13 minutes ago, LifeEnjoyer said:

Hi, I'm not ADHD diagnosed, but my brother is. He's around your age, seemingly, he took medication and ended up quitting it. He pointed out the same things you were afraid of, feeling like a robot was his biggest problem. He doesn't take them anymore and self medicates with weed which kinda works for him, definitely not optimal though. So that's his story.

Oh interesting, what was his medication before quitting?

13 minutes ago, LifeEnjoyer said:

How have I never heard of this before? Seems good

Yes people with inattentive adhd can mirror the energy of the other person, which makes them more calm. 

[Ulax]

@Vynce I went on vyvanse for adhd for a while.

I ended up stopping because of some insomnia side effects.

I’d say it definitely changed my personality because a lot of my social issues went away. And I found myself being much less in survival mode.

But I also had a tonne of anger come up as well about what I went through when undiagnosed.

In terms of motivation, I’d say it helped me have much more motivation. Because if it works you’ll find you can just do things a lot more easily. And so you can commit to long term projects and they aren’t really so arduous. 
But at same time, like I said. I had a lot of anger still at humanity for what I went through. So I had a sense of not wanting to help humanity because of feeling failed by society.

But id say just see how it feels. Because when I started taking my adhd meds, it provided me a way of being completely different to anything I had experienced before. So I think it can be hard to guess how it will be before you take the meds.

But this is just my experience and my reaction to a certain adhd drugs. So maybe your experience maybe different.

All best pal ❤️

Edited Friday at 06:10 PM by Ulax

[Vynce]

4 hours ago, Jannes said:

I haven't done therapy either. But I know there are just some things that help and where therapist might help you with: If you have people who put you at ease for example or a body double who helps with studying or even finding your LP so you develop a hyper focus on that and get shit done. 

Yes, true all that. But even the best LP contains a lot of work that just needs to be done (like reading through contracts before you make business related decisions ect.). Which, in my case, is close to impossible in most cases.

[Vynce]

1 hour ago, Ulax said:

@Vynce I went on vyvanse for adhd for a while.

I ended up stopping because of some insomnia side effects.

I’d say it definitely changed my personality because a lot of my social issues went away. And I found myself being much less in survival mode.

But I also had a tonne of anger come up as well about what I went through when undiagnosed.

In terms of motivation, I’d say it helped me have much more motivation. Because if it works you’ll find you can just do things a lot more easily. And so you can commit to long term projects and they aren’t really so arduous. 
But at same time, like I said. I had a lot of anger still at humanity for what I went through. So I had a sense of not wanting to help humanity because of feeling failed by society.

But id say just see how it feels. Because when I started taking my adhd meds, it provided me a way of being completely different to anything I had experienced before. So I think it can be hard to guess how it will be before you take the meds.

But this is just my experience and my reaction to a certain adhd drugs. So maybe your experience maybe different.

All best pal ❤️

Thanks for the insights.

[Jannes]

1 hour ago, Ulax said:

But at same time, like I said. I had a lot of anger still at humanity for what I went through. So I had a sense of not wanting to help humanity because of feeling failed by society.

Can relate. On meds I also had less problems socializing but all the social shit I went through I processed made me angry as well and I got colder, not hugging much any more and so forth. 

I also realized that I didn't make bad social decisions they were all good, I just lacked a little self-righteousness. 

[LifeEnjoyer]

8 hours ago, Jannes said:

Oh interesting, what was his medication before quitting?

Vyvanse 15mg

[Rafael Thundercat]

 

One of RFK Jr.’s first orders after being sworn in was going after SSRI medications. 

RFK Jr. has said he wants to send folks who are taking antidepressants and ADHD medications to "wellness farms" in rural America. 

 

[Rafael Thundercat]

Check this one and share with anyone that may be affected by Robert Kennedy actions

https://theintegrativecounselor.substack.com/p/complex-issues-are-never-solved-with?r=1mqaed

 

[Vynce]

1 hour ago, Rafael Thundercat said:

Check this one and share with anyone that may be affected by Robert Kennedy actions

https://theintegrativecounselor.substack.com/p/complex-issues-are-never-solved-with?r=1mqaed

 

Interesting. I just let AI sum it up for me.

Living on the land, close to nature, with fresh air, fresh water, natural sounds and physical labor does indeed lessen my adhd symptoms a lot. But even then I was not really much happier. Because yes, the adhd symptoms were less, but my excitements in civil environments were not met. For example building up a company, which involves a lot of cognitive work did not really go well with all the physical to-do's on a farm let's say. And my life purpose spins a lot around new, authentic, self-actualized people, which is also hard to get in a rural environment. 

But respectively I'm seeing myself living closer to nature than right now.