A thing they don’t tell you when you start amphetamine for ADHD, but they SHOULD, is that what they do is NOT make you function like a neurotypical.

What they actually do is turn you into a person with ADHD with greater capacity.

Sometimes MUCH greater capacity.

And there can be a honeymoon phase when you’re all like, “OMG! I’m saved! I can do all the things now!”

And the risk is that you will use the extra capacity to mask harder and engage in more of the same stuff that was causing burnout.

And then 3-6 months later you find yourself in the same place you started but with an amphetamine habit. Also you can sit still.

I see a LOT of people online who hit the point a few months in where they conclude they have stopped working and start desperately doing meds breaks, long supplement recipes, etc to get back the “functionality”.

And these people, more often than not, also seem to have massive internalised ableism. They never accept their own disability, instead thinking it’s their “duty” to use any means possible to “not inflict my shame on anyone else”.

And using up that extra capacity from amphetamine to do that is a nasty trap because you can’t go back. Ever.

You HAVE to accept what you are.

@goatsarah

i've recently started taking stimulants for AuDHD and experienced an initial swell of productivity. that has since subsided dramtically. i now feel mentally 'stable,' and am grateful for that condition and hope it persists. but, i often crave the empowering sense of energy and enthusiasm i first experienced on the meds.

i have expressed this to my provider, but was clear that i don't want to modify anything at the moment, because, while i believe that i 'function better' in a higher state of arousal, i don't want to risk upsetting the sense of 'stability' i'm now enjoying.

your comments about masking and burnout were eye-opening. i have felt some external pressure to contiue to be as motivated and productive as when i first began treatment. i will monitor myself to ensure i am not over-masking or risking burnout. thank you.

@saltywizard yeah. My experience after a year is that the mental stability effects remain.

The initial drive? That’s a one and only deal I think. Kinda like a special into promo.

Then you get used to it and realise that even neurotypical people can find mundane things boring.

They just don’t mean what we do when we say “boring”.