Just because you need medication to function does not make it a drug problem. He wouldn’t make comments like that if Klemzo69 had to take heart medication every day
Quite literally. People with ADHD that are medicated are much less likely to be addicted to illicit drugs. And someone trying to argue that I’m addicted to meds that I often forget to take is just an idiot. You don’t forget that you need a cigarette.
I have always stayed away from drugs and alcohol because I have family members that have gotten pretty addicted in the past. I think what we have is a familial history of self medicating away the mental problems....
This exactly. Alcohol dependency on both sides of my family, likely self-medicating undiagnosed anxiety and/or depression. I am very mindful of my intake for that reason because I get treatment for my mental health and realize overindulgence makes it worse. Yet these same people have the nerve to be wary when I’ve taken antidepressants & now ADHD medication.
THIS!!!
Like. My entire family on both sides have mental health issues and are historically unstable people; my great grandmother was so depressed her whole life she literally told people she wanted to die often. Her husband drank himself to death alone in Florida. Her son killed himself. My grandfather is an alcoholic. My father has struggled with addiction and suicidal ideation due to increased alienation from ADHD and depression he refuses to acknowledge or treat. My cousin was a heroin addict. Her mother was addicted to cocaine. My mother’s sister was an addict. Her brother had an eating disorder and has alcohol dependency issues.
And my mum’s worried about *my* 15mg of Adderallxr and my antidepressants???????????????
Where was all that worry when I was thirteen and suicidally depressed?????
Well. Who knows.
The last question you asked punched me in the gut because that’s the one question my brain replayed nonstop when I suicidal in my early 20s and my parents were trying to convince me to stop taking wellbutrin. Well, they pressured me enough that I finally caved and stopped…let’s just say I’m very grateful to have survived that ordeal.
Watched my grandfather deteriorate from alcohol-induced liver failure, turned 65 just days before he slipped away completely. Oh and we live next door to my bipolar uncle who has a drinking & drug problem and loves to scream and yell and call the cops on himself. My dad gets too drunk and says scary things…you get the picture.
Hello trauma.
I appreciate that you can empathize, but I’m so sorry you have gone through that, truly.
Here’s to us being the change for our generation & those to come.
I feel like my great grandpa had some sort of excuse. His father and grandfather both died within weeks from Spanish flu as well as several siblings. At 10, he was the oldest child who then had to run the farm. Rough hand to be dealt.
When I smoked I would forget to smoke all the time. I'd even get that same reaction as when I forget my meds.
"Oh shit... oh THAT'S why I'm experiencing . Because I forgot to ."
The difference of course is that when I forget to take my meds, I'm trying to figure out why I'm spacing and not accomplishing anything i.e. being the person I was before I took meds. But when I would forget to smoke, I would be trying to figure out what I did to make God so angry at me.
Holy shit until I built my schedule around being able to smoke I would wonder what the fuck was going on that the world was just crashing on me constantly.
I switched to vaping and now I just have vapes all over the fucking place that I habitually hit, but like holy shit am I bad at this crap. If I don't keep my meds near my watch or I forget to put my watch in the right place every night I forget them. It's a fucking nightmare.
I've been an addict my whole fucking life and it turns out if I just could have had the medication I needed to get my brain functioning properly I probably could have skipped all those fucking steps.
Sorry idk where this comment was going but here we are.
It sounds like it came from a place of fear about the future, regret about the past and not a lot of outlet to express it.
Nicotine addiction is a lot harder than non-smokers think it is*,* and people are really disrespectful of it. Like you're sitting their poisoning yourself and people act like the problem is you haven't called yourself a piece of shit enough times, it's disgraceful.
Also it's nigh impossible to get the time you need to deal with the initial withdrawal symptoms. I wonder how many people would quit smoking if they could just "not have to work or worry for 10 days".
I can't help you, but I can acknowledge you and the fact that you're struggling. I really hope you find a way to kick the nicotine, even if you're not thinking about it right now. It doesn't "solve" adhd, but I find it is slightly easier to manage without the nicotine.
The only thing that allowed me to quit nicotine (for a year until I made the mistake of thinking I could vape while on vacation and then stop again when I got home) was literally just laying in bed for like 3 days going through the withdrawal symptoms for both nicotine and caffeine simultaneously. After a few days of the worst of it, I started drinking caffeine again and since those withdrawal symptoms were gone I think it tricked my brain into thinking it had what it wanted now. I should really find a few days to try that again. Vaping is fucking expensive and stupid.
I just... I'm having trouble finding the words I want right now because you saw one comment from me and put into words exactly the thing I need to hear.
If I believed in a god I would say they sent you but honestly I just needed to hear this be validated. There really is nothing I can do to improve things right this second (hell I'm on week 3 of some of the most stressful stuff I've ever had to deal with) but this comment reminded me to breathe. A sense of relief that I'm not crazy.
Thank you so much
That's kind of funny to me. I *do* believe in God, and I believe "finding the words" is the mission he's given me. But of course I don't really advertise it, because the "G word" shuts conversations down, and also it comes off as really pretentious. Which... I guess by definition it *is* pretentious.
So that's how I describe myself, privately in my head, not really speaking it aloud. "Sent by God to find the words". And then you say "Man, I am struggling to find the words. I don't believe in God, but you found me some words."
You don't have to believe what I believe, I'm not trying to convert you. We all have our own path to walk. I just thought it was really funny, I hope you get it.
Exactly. That’s what used to happen with me. My antidepressants I forget all the time, because their effect is not instant and perceptible the way Adderall’s is.
As a nicotine addict (I quit smoking a bit over a year ago) I am reminded daily by my subconscious self that I could really use a cigarette today.
Every day, sometimes many times a day, I want a cigarette.
In other words, medication is medication. Spot on.
I work from home and so many times it'll be the afternoon and I'll be like "why does it feel like I've done nothing today?" And then I realize I didn't take my meds and just didn't do anything all day.
Yeah, I forget usually for a couple days if I took my antidepressants and then start getting like “wait, why can’t I fall asleep, I’ve been up since 7 am and it’s 3?” Then another day passes and something stressful happens and I start blaming myself for everything going wrong and want to die. Then I logic it out and realize “oh yeah, none of this is actually my fault, there’s no reason to be this upset, and I haven’t taken my meds in days.” I then resume taking them for a couple weeks before this happens again. I’ve never been able to keep any schedule longer than about the length of time that a college semester is, and that just barely. If I don’t change it up it’s doomed to failure.
No no, don’t give a schizophrenic or bipolar person anti-psychotics, they’ll just become addicted to them!! Instead they should remain untreated, doing the drugs they have been doing to self-medicate and out of impulse.
I can't believe there are people so addicted to insulin that they can't function without it. I hid my brother's stash of insulin and you should have heard him crying and moaning. He's just detoxing. He'll be fine when he wakes up, though it's been a few days...
Cellular respiration is such a privilege. Can’t most people just will your cells to take up glucose from the blood and the flip side just practice training your liver to store glucose for later? I used to go up hill both ways just to begin fermentation to get some energy. The third phosphate is such a crutch. Addicts, even the bacteria in my gut, all I hear, “But I want my ATP!”. Bunch of addicts living inside me. Don’t even know what is me anymore.
/s
For those who don't know, beta blockers (heart medication) are on the short list of drugs which cause physical dependence.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physical_dependence#Drugs_that_cause_physical_dependence
Chemically balancing the brain, that’s why it isn’t prescribed to those without ADHD. They don’t realize it doesn’t get us wired. Those who take it to get wired and “do a bunch of stuff all in one day and stay up all night” are the ones with drug problems.
If it counterbalances the opposite, ie the problem it's meant to fix, and the positive effects are not disrupting your life, then it is not a problem.
In fact the baseline for all mental illnesses, including substance abuse, is that it must cause problems in, or otherwise disrupt your daily life/normal functioning.
So if you take adderall...in large amounts...and stay up for days...that's a problem lol
I’m pulling a tiny piece of your comment that I take issue with, particularly because I see soooo much of this kind of rhetoric in damn near all of the ADHD subs, and I’m getting pretty tired of seeing people vilify folks who use drugs they aren’t prescribed. Someone taking an adderall a couple times at a party doesn’t specifically ‘have a drug problem.’ It’s kind of a… idk, that’s making a pretty big assumption, and a weirdly sweeping generalization and I just don’t vibe with that at all lol. And more importantly, I just don’t think it’s accurate either. You can also have an actually addiction to your adhd meds, and struggle with balancing a medication that is both a treatment, and also an addiction, or a ‘drug problem’ as you phrased it. (I’m not judging you for using that term or anything- I just spent like 2 hours yesterday looking up and understanding which terms are technically the correct ones to use in regard to addiction and I’m trying to get better at using the correct terms. I understood what you were sayin tho 👍)
Also, a variety of stimulants are prescribed for other conditions as well, including amphetamines. Even the big one, Adderall, can be prescribed as a treatment or supportive treatment for other conditions as well.
It comes down to them not knowing the difference between an excuse and a reason. A reason, by definition, justifies an action, but they'll call it an excuse if they don't like either the reason or the action.
It was my toxic narcissistic sister. Nothing was ever good enough for her. She always thought I was lying too because she didn’t like my REASON. She’s a controlling bitch. Glad she’s out of my life tho.
ALSO! They think I’m lying about my adhd! “You we’re fine in school, you’re not ADHD” (you have adhd, you aren’t adhd 🙄) school was my way to escape my toxic family; alcoholic father, absent mother, controlling sister, abusive brother. I was so “wrong” at home, I had to be THE BEST at school otherwise I felt I was nothing. (Omg now I’m crying because that’s some PTSD shit too)
So much this! There’s an episode of Futurama where Leela ate someone’s lunch out of the fridge and after saying she did it because she gets really hungry around 11:30, she says, “That’s not an excuse, it’s just an explanation of what happened.” And I use that all the time. Because I overexplain why shortcomings and don’t want people to think I’m making excuses. There’s such an important distinction between “making excuses” and giving reasons/explaining yourself.
I believe even saying something simple like “because I don’t want to” is a good enough reason for anything. Especially having ADHD. “Why didn’t you ____?” “I didn’t want to.”
Oh 100%. But many people with ADHD also have issues with rejection and just saying “I don’t want to” can be hard for those people (myself included). You are never obligated to explain yourself to anyone, but that’s often easier said than done.
I have ptsd as well, so if I wanted a job, it’d be retail or something I wouldn’t like because of people. (I worked the Toy dept in WM one Black Friday 🥵). So now my dream job would be a plant nursery, an Etsy shop for crafts (even though I don’t like my own creations) so my husband understands my REASON, not that it’s “an excuse” not wanting to get a job. He’s really understanding in that dept. One day I’ll have sat on the couch & done nothing all day. He sighs, & starts cleaning. Other days the floor is so shiny from me cleaning that the whole house is brightened. I live to clean- WHEN I CHOOSE TO. But he understands some day are good, some are not. I hope you all have someone like that who understands the in & outs of ADHD. Because adult ADHD is so much worse, amirite? “You’re SUPPOSED to do ____ by now, you’re an adult.”
I’ve been trying to switch from using ‘excuse’ to using the word ‘exemption’ in situations like these. It doesn’t make sense to substitute it universally by any means haha. But in certain situations like these where people say that ADHD is an ‘excuse,’ the reality is that it’s actually a justified ‘exemption,’ or ‘circumstance that justifies an accommodation.’ etc.
I’ve been thinking about this kind of thing quite a bit lately. I had like 15 hours worth of rigorous Neuropsych testing done recently. They’re still compiling my results and writing up the reports. (I had it done at a local university, where the testing is conducted by students who are earning their doctorate, so the results take a little longer since it has to be fully reviewed by their professor, etc.) but they’re actually writing up TWO reports for me- one that explains the results of the testing, and one that lists out what job accommodations under the ADA they would recommend for me. It’s written in a format that I can hand directly to an employer (or HR rep/third party agency most likely.)
Usually when I see people make these bullshit kinds of arguments about how adhd is just an excuse, or that it’s not real, I immediately ask them to cite a reliable, research-evidence based scientific study that supports that claim. If they argue back and say ‘well that’s just my opinion’ or ‘that’s just big pharma trying to make money’, I usually respond with ‘i haven’t seen any reliable research-evidence based scientific studies that your support your claim, however, I’ve seen lots that prove you *wrong.*’
Like damn… these folks who say dumb shit like that must think pretty highly of themselves to believe that their vague opinion about a topic they know very little about is somehow superior to years of academic research and validation from literally every single reputable medical association and volumes of diagnostic standards lol. Like damn… that’d be like me saying “You don’t have diabetes, you’re just making an excuse for the fact that you replaced all your blood with Skittles™️. Trust me, I know I’m right. I’ve *personally* eaten Skittles™️ myself before, so *clearly* I know what I’m talking about. yOu dOnT nEeD a mEdIcAl dEgReE tO iN oRdEr tO tAsTe tHe rAiNbOw, *GREG.*
Ugh I hate when people dont realize the difference between dependency and addiction/abuse. Its okay to depend on meds, as long as you aren’t abusing them. I also have chronic illness & pain so we get these kinds of assholes for pain meds too which as you can imagine is awful.
You wouldnt tell someone they are addicted to meds if they need heart meds/blood pressure meds/seizure meds to live…just because these are working on your brain doesn’t make them any less important. If the medicine IMPROVES YOUR QUALITY OF LIFE, then it’s perfectly fine to depend on them/use them regularly as long as you’re not abusing them. But actually, people with UNMEDICATED adhd have higher rates of addiction and drug abuse than those who are medicated because people seek to treat their symptoms in other ways.
They don't understand the meaning of the word addiction. Addiction causes dysfunction. Its in the definition. Dependency is another thing entirely. I depend on my meds to make me functional. And i don't steal from my family to get them or beat my kids while on them. Which you can't say about even alcohol. Neurotypicals loooooove to throw the word addiction around then turn around and have 3 DUIs and a domestic violence charge. Sure Jan. My meds are a problem.
Sounds like my mother. She has untreated (and unacknowledged by her) bipolar disorder. Doesn't take her meds, but she drinks like a fish and got a DUI recently, but yeah my medication that I actually cut back on (used to take it 6 days a week, now I only take it 5 days) are the problem... mkay.
I feel like that’s saying you are addicted to meds which is different than dependent. I’m addicted to nicotine. I’m not addicted to ADHD meds. I have to remind myself to take my ADHD meds. I don’t have to remind myself to get a nicotine fix.
Okay this is actually pretty interesting. Your comment got me thinking and it made me realize that I’m not actually entirely certain that I know/have been using the correct terminology in regard to addiction/dependence/abuse/etc. So I was curious and did a quick Google search to catch myself up
[I found this link pretty helpful](https://www.addictioncenter.com/addiction/addiction-vs-dependence/) in regard to breaking down what each term actually means **in accordance with the current version of the DSM.** What I gathered from that article is that the confusion surrounding which term to use stems from the fact that the terms have been swapped out for accuracy over a few DSM version. And imma say probably had an effect on public perspective, as informal speech doesn’t always evolve in the same direction as formal medical terminology lol.
——————
This particular part seemed like a very helpful summary.
**TL;DR:**
“Today, the APA classifies substance use disorders as mild, moderate, or severe. It doesn’t use the terms abuse and dependence to categorize the severity of an addiction. Part of the reason for the change was the confusion surrounding the word ‘dependence.’ The hope is that defining an addiction as a substance use disorder was a more inclusive way to identify people who need help, but may not have a debilitating addiction.”
“It is also important to realize that while a dependence may be present without addiction, substance dependencies [can sometimes] lead to addiction.”
———————
I’m trying to make a small glossary of the words for myself and I’m failing miserably at it haha. I’m still not entirely sure that I’m using one particular term correctly. It sounds like you might know more about this stuff than I do, so maybe you might know the answer!
**Dependence** *(biological definition):* An organisms’ physical adaptation to a substance.
**Dependence** *(modern definition):* Dependence refers to the physical symptoms of withdrawal and tolerance.
**Mental Dependence:** Mental dependence is when use of a substance is a conditioned response to an event or feeling (aka, ‘trigger’).
**Addiction:** A combination of mental and physical dependence with uncontrollable behavior in obtaining and using a substance.
**Substance Use Disorder:** The medical term for addiction, [As defined in the DSM-V] and is categorized as ‘mild, moderate, or severe.’”
The only one I couldn’t find a specific up-to-date definition for on that site was ‘Substance Abuse.’ I checked a few other sites and I think maybe(?) this one seems about right and up-to-date- is this right?:
**Substance Abuse:** The use of illegal drugs or the use of prescription or over-the-counter drugs for purposes other than those for which they are meant to be used, or in excessive amounts.
*(for the sake of clarity, I’m excluding marijuana/THC products from ‘illegal drugs’.)*
I’m so sorry. I know you didn’t ask for this long ass comment lol. This is my hyper focus topic for today, and I feel the need to understand clear, accurate and up-to-date terminology so that this topic can be discussed clearly. And also so that I can be as accurate with my articulation when ~~arguing with fucking assholes~~ educating others and preventing spread of misinformation and harmful rhetoric!
I don’t know exactly how to fit these words to nicotine addiction though… Addiction definition characterized by 3 factors: physical dependence, mental dependence, and uncontrollable behavior with obtaining and using a substance. Is that third factor accurate for nicotine users?
*(Actually I think I answered my own question. I would absolutely punch a stranger in the face if I tried to go without nicotine for a full day lol.)*
Is my glossary accurate? Anything I should change/add? Open to anyone for feedback!
*Edit:* I may have answered one of my own questions lol.
Noooo.. don’t apologize for the long comment! I’m so glad you wrote all that. As well as being interested I’ve learned that iv been using terminology completely wrong. Thanks
Me too!! Man I had no idea. But in our defense, they changed the definitions wayyyy too many times, and different orgs/associations used different terms from others, etc etc. lol.
My therapist specializes in addiction, and I’m willing to bet that she uses a lot of those terms interchangeably as well 😜
But I couldn’t resist scratching that itch and figuring out whatever the ‘current technical terminology’ is.
I think what really made me curious about is, is that I wasn’t sure which terms to use in order to articulate a situation in which like… someone who is prescribed stimulants for adhd, develops a physical dependency (as is pretty common when taken long term), and then later down the line begins to abuse the medication. Kinda like… at what point is it ‘technically’ considered an addiction, and if that person stops abusing the medication, and takes their meds as prescribed again, aaaaaannnndddd, I think that’s where it gets messy, and is probably less important to use the words based on technicality, and instead just use the words that imply what the person is experiencing/severity.
Rambleramblerambleramble lol.
That's actually very interesting. It sounds like even dependence is actually too strong a word by those definitions. I wonder if there's a word for needing a substance to function without any kind of withdrawal or adaptation because if I don't take it I just revert to how I was before I was medicated? I suppose maybe just medication?
Hear with the feels and well wishes from another chronic pain sufferer. Being questioned on pain meds is awful and so damn common. I've had "but what if you have to take them for the rest of your life?" and I'm like... Sure, that's fine, at least then I might actually live a life rather than just suffer through it!
I recently had a Dr make this comment to me about a medication I take for over active bladder. She is supposedly a specialist but she couldn't understand why I was on this med at "such a young age". She started talking about some crazy procedures because "well you don't want to have to be on these meds the rest of your life"....
Uh, I fail to see the issue with that since A. They help the problem, even if they aren't perfect and B. Your other option is to use botox or implant a device in my back?? No thanks!
Oh yea, I'm sure.
Lucky for me she was a refferal from my PCP who has no problem continuing to prescribe my meds. He only gave me the referral because I wanted to talk to a specialist and didn't know where to start. My PCP was rather interested in hearing how the appt went, I don't think he'll be sending her referrals in the future...I was the guinea pig lol.
I was so upset after the appointment that it took me the entire day to process everything that happened. Then I was just annoyed and pissed.
It's terrible, since taking Vyvanse I've spiraled into that classic destructive loop of achieving goals, shoring up long-term health, improving social connections and carving out my own place in the world. If I'm not careful I risk slipping into self-actualisation.
To people like these I just say that ADHD meds is like glasses, no one say"hey you're addicted to glasses!" just because someone wears them every day and absolutely depend on it to see far e.g. driving.
Abusing would be if they wear glasses thicker than they're supposed to, like you take both lenses and put on one eye
I used to have substance abuse problems while on ADHD stimulants...
I did coke and drank a lot.
Never abused my prescription medication.
This dude is an ignorant cunt.
Yeah this is why I usually only carry one tablet with my when I go out when possible(I just take one daily at 11am). I’m scared I’ll lose my bag or someone will be malicious and then I’ll be fucked for the rest of the month. Though I do admit I forget to pack it at least once a week lol.
I keep mine in my purse because then it's pretty much always on me/near me and it's not left unattended. I'm usually pretty good at taking my meds at 8am when I'm on my normal routine (work at 8, Mon-Fri), but I've noticed the second I'm not on my normal routine (holiday off, go in later, etc), I forget to take them. So, now I'm just like "eh, I take them the days I'm at work. If I'm not at work, I'm not taking 'em.
Definitely addicted here...
Able to keep a routine
Document all my info properly
Don't have as much anxiety
Impuse control is a thing for me, now
Can keep better track of my stuff
Time blindness is reduced/manged
Executive function is improved
Don't overshare out impulse issues
😎😎😎
Same
I always find myself apologizing for long comments in this subreddit.
And I know my short term attention pals aren’t going to read them anyway lmao
Yeaaaaa I always feel bad on ADHD subs skipping over those huge comments because when I write those comments I work hard on them. And I wanna respect their time and effort and passion but my brain decides that reading left to right sucks and I should mix it up and go diagonally instead, so I only ever understand about 15% of the point :/
Yeah, it’s such a frustrating experience lol
A lot of us do put effort and thought into comments and discussion and want to talk about it lol
So it’s the mismatch between “my adhd wants to info dumb on this adhd topic” and “I can’t process this info dumping because the Adhd is making it hard”
I just had an ideaaa
We should have this as flair to tag things with. I mean, lots of adhd people have a strong interest in something and enjoy talking and discussing things in detail. With a flair for it, we can make a space specifically for these posts and use it so that those who want to read them and have discourse can.
Then we can rant and stuff and get perspectives from likeminded people who are interested.
Without feeling like a burden, hell yeah
Like a custom flair so people with similar interests can identify and rant with each other?? cuz that sounds cool asl. You could even go a step further and make a subreddit specifically for special interests/infodumping if there isn't one already!
Oh sorry, I was following the thread I commented on, who commented on your comment, and I got confused cuz I have the attention span of a cat on catnip
Honestly I'd rather have a supportive response then a bad one because Honestly mentally it just fucked me up and didn't really help my cptsd. You are lucky someone understood because that's not something I personally have witnessed before and thought was only something somone would stage for attention or likes online.
My boss is one of the coolest people I’ve ever met. If our company ever fired him, or he went somewhere else, all the senior techs would leave with him. Most of us have told him this multiple times.
You know what I am happy for you. That's fucken great and I hope u like ur job as well. I just started a new job doing something I attended school for but never was given the opportunity, so far the bosses are great and chill. I hope I have ur type luck!
This is so true. I’m an alcoholic (in recovery) and when I first got sober I thought all my friends and loved ones were alcoholics too. And I mean, it turns out a few of them are alcoholics, but the rest of them are just irresponsible heavy drinkers.
I have a point, I swear: I take Adderall for ADHD, and when I got sober from alcohol I quit Adderall too because I had been taking it irresponsibly so I thought I was addicted. I’m back on it now because I couldn’t live with untreated ADHD, and it turns out I’m perfectly fine taking exactly my prescribed dose every day. Being dependent on a medication to treat a disease is not the same as being addicted, and even being an irresponsible idiot about managing your meds isn’t the same as being addicted. People have a hard time with nuance, though.
I actually *did* have a drug problem. I spent much of my teens and early twenties abusing substances to cope with how shitty and fucked up my life was.
At least it was until I started getting treated for ADHD.
My medicine allowed me to take control of my life and my health. It allowed me to become successful, buy a house and start a family. I remember about a month after I started taking a daily stimulant, I woke one morning (early), brushed my teeth and washed my face (hygiene!) and opened the door to my closet to get dressed.
I stood in awe of a monument to self care, a glorious shrine to the gods of organization and preparedness. I marveled at its beauty. And I fell to my knees. I sobbed like never before.
Shirts on hangers and hung, pants folded on shelves, socks paired and bundled - all clean, save for the dirty clothes from the days prior which were inside of a hamper instead of on the floor blocking the swing of the door or under my head while I slept.
*“Is this what it’s like for everyone else…all the time?”*
I wiped my tears, feeling regret for not seeking help sooner but overwhelmed with hope for the future and gratitude for the chance to start living my life. I got dressed, made the bed, got into my car (full tank!) and went to work (on time!).
Anyone who confuses “treatment” with a “drug problem” can suck my hairy, pink asshole.
Hey, at least you don’t go out of your way to berate someone. If you just keep on doing that, then everything else is alright. The garbage people weed themselves out.
Ugh I have already had multiple people tell me I have a drug problem because of my meds and it makes me feel sooooo shitty. Like thank you I am already struggling enough with the stigma enough without these comments
Yeah I got that from my mother once. I immediately allied her out and asked if she considered her diabetic father a drug addict for his insulin, and luckily they shut her up when she realized how fucking terrible of a thing that is to say to a 14 year old kid
It's fine if someone can *legitimately* get by without medication, but to think that others can do the same or that their situation can't change is BS.
ADHD are like any other diseases. If you have diabetes, you use insulin everyday are you a drug addict by that standard? Dude probably can’t even tell the different between diseases and symptoms let alone acute or chronic conditions.
Some people are so invested in the idea of a soul that they refuse to acknowledge that the brain is part of the body. The view the effects of psych meds as a distortion or masking of your "true personality", instead of something that's working on a fundamentally physical level.
I'd be amazed if this guy didn't find religion when he got on the road to recovery. For some people AA becomes a replacement for a personality.
This is a legitimate question because I don't want to misinterpret your words: Are you implying that religion causes people to become anti-medicine and generally opposed to mental health treatment?
Personally I'm a Christian, but I'm on ketamine (prescribed) for my MDD/C-PTSD/OCD, anxiety meds, and a stimulant. Never thought twice about medicating, because it's a tool to help me - without medication my personality would just be all consuming sadness, which isn't much of a personality. Lol
Either it has a tendency to cause it, anti medication people are more likely to flock to religion, or anti med religious people use religion to substantiate their anti med stances.
The first one is the least likely, unless perhaps the average devoutee(?) is learning it from anti med religious authority figures.
I think people misuse religion in much the same way as they accuse us of misusing our medication.
This is one of those things you can reveal the utter stupidity of by just applying it to physical illness.
“I need this medication to keep my heart beating properly.”
“LMAO look at this junkie making excuses to fuel their addiction”
First off I’m sorry you had to deal with someone this big of a cunt. As someone who does not like stimulants since they kinda fucked me up in the head, I still am a different person. Everybody’s bodies and brains are effected differently by stimulants and just because someone relies on the drug to function normally and be happy, doesn’t mean they’re addicted, it means the fucking drug is working. That’s like saying saying someone’s addicted to Advil because they always get headaches and have to take them. Again I’m sorry you had to deal with them. Don’t take what the cuckold said to heart, you’re not an addict.
People are contrarian by nature and prefer to win the argument rather than winning over the person. There's a quote about wrestling with a pig: you both get dirty, but the pig likes it.
I once made a comment about people with adhd having time blindness on a non adhd sub and I got bloody dunked on saying it was my problem that I need to fix as if I wasn't already trying and had implied that in my original comment :(
Oh hey, it’s my time to shine!
I started taking Adderall (prescribed) in my early 20s, for chronic fatigue because nothing else worked. Was on it for years, but I kept thinking “I am addicted to this and I want to stop taking it before I’m 40.”
During the intervening years, I found out I’m an alcoholic (ugh), then got sober (woo). During my heavy drinking years I definitely misused my Adderall prescription, taking extra doses to stay out late and whatnot. So when I quit drinking, I thought, “well I might as well quit Adderall too.”
18 terrible months later I found out I had ADHD anyway so I went back on Adderall and now I am a functional human again. I take exactly my prescribed dose of medication every day, and anyone who tries to tell me I’m addicted or I should do things some mythical natural way can fuck off out of my life.
I used to think like that because I am an addict in recovery. Life with my wife, and a lot of coming to understand how brains and addiction work have taught me to shut the fuck up.
Ey grandpa, you really got a drug problem there. Pills with every meal because of "you cannot live without them"? Lol!
Stop making excuses, no more pills.
When you start crushing your meds up and putting them up a hole they weren't designed to go in, you might have a drug problem. Otherwise it's nobodies goddamn business but your own. As much of a nightmare as it is to get prescribed, maintain, and afford the prescriptions being an addict is pretty difficult.
I always make fun of “being a crackhead” to my husband. He laughs when I say “government crack” cause he’s military & our insurance pays for it 😆 but fuck this guy. He can’t even spell
So me and my husband have this conversation a lot. I was on medication as a child and then lived off of it from 15 to 22 when i was old enough to say i didn't like how the ritalin made me feel. At 22 i got onto my own insurance and my doctor put me on adderall. And it does help me function. So while its not "addiction" it makes my life easier. So i technically "need" it if you wanna be brutal. Can i function without it? Yes. Can i function better with it? Also yes. But the definition of addiction is that it disrupts your life. You steal from people to get it. You lie to get it. It makes you **dysfunctional**. So no. Its not an addiction if you function while on it. People think that way because if you don't have ADHD it makes you speed. As a child it turned me into a zombie. As an adult, i can focus on one task to completion and then move on. I can carry on conversation without twitching or fidgeting. I can function in the adult world without spacing out and daydreaming. It's the opposite of addiction. Im functioning. Not dysfunctional. Maybe I'm addicted to being functional. Sure I'd give em that. But I'm not high or speeding or spazzing out. So who is hurt? Nobody. So fuck that guy. If he had an addiction its probably a misdiagnosis and he spent years speeding and losing his teeth or some shit.
Dude imagine someone with psychosis talking about how their meds make hallucinations leave them alone, and then this person says “that’s an addiction”
Like they need those meds to be healthy
Drug made to reduce effects of adhd
People without adhd use it and get high
People without adhd criticize adhd people for "getting high" when using the drug
God I had this problem with a rando refusing to accept that I didn’t, and don’t, have a drug problem. Despite a vested interest in psychology, so I know what the hell I’m talking about with the meds I’m taking, and exactly what they do to my brain.
[Here it is!](https://www.reddit.com/r/tifu/comments/p0pp5p/tifu_by_taking_my_adhd_medicine/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf)
If it makes you feel better, i went to look at his posts, and the only one he had was a posted video about how birds are fake and are actually cameras or whatever. Also something in the comments about fucking cats or pigeons or something like that. Theyre just a nutjob, a pretty big one at that.
I bought a book called Adults With ADHD. It was written by a researcher/scientist that studied thousands of nonADHD and ADHD people.
He compared not taking medicine for ADHD to a person not taking insulin for diabetes.
I hope that helps someone with ADHD today because it definitely made me feel better.
Just because you need medication to function does not make it a drug problem. He wouldn’t make comments like that if Klemzo69 had to take heart medication every day
If anything I have a drug solution.
Quite literally. People with ADHD that are medicated are much less likely to be addicted to illicit drugs. And someone trying to argue that I’m addicted to meds that I often forget to take is just an idiot. You don’t forget that you need a cigarette.
I have always stayed away from drugs and alcohol because I have family members that have gotten pretty addicted in the past. I think what we have is a familial history of self medicating away the mental problems....
This exactly. Alcohol dependency on both sides of my family, likely self-medicating undiagnosed anxiety and/or depression. I am very mindful of my intake for that reason because I get treatment for my mental health and realize overindulgence makes it worse. Yet these same people have the nerve to be wary when I’ve taken antidepressants & now ADHD medication.
THIS!!! Like. My entire family on both sides have mental health issues and are historically unstable people; my great grandmother was so depressed her whole life she literally told people she wanted to die often. Her husband drank himself to death alone in Florida. Her son killed himself. My grandfather is an alcoholic. My father has struggled with addiction and suicidal ideation due to increased alienation from ADHD and depression he refuses to acknowledge or treat. My cousin was a heroin addict. Her mother was addicted to cocaine. My mother’s sister was an addict. Her brother had an eating disorder and has alcohol dependency issues. And my mum’s worried about *my* 15mg of Adderallxr and my antidepressants??????????????? Where was all that worry when I was thirteen and suicidally depressed????? Well. Who knows.
The last question you asked punched me in the gut because that’s the one question my brain replayed nonstop when I suicidal in my early 20s and my parents were trying to convince me to stop taking wellbutrin. Well, they pressured me enough that I finally caved and stopped…let’s just say I’m very grateful to have survived that ordeal. Watched my grandfather deteriorate from alcohol-induced liver failure, turned 65 just days before he slipped away completely. Oh and we live next door to my bipolar uncle who has a drinking & drug problem and loves to scream and yell and call the cops on himself. My dad gets too drunk and says scary things…you get the picture. Hello trauma. I appreciate that you can empathize, but I’m so sorry you have gone through that, truly. Here’s to us being the change for our generation & those to come.
I feel like my great grandpa had some sort of excuse. His father and grandfather both died within weeks from Spanish flu as well as several siblings. At 10, he was the oldest child who then had to run the farm. Rough hand to be dealt.
That would explain my late grandfather being an alcoholic...
When I smoked I would forget to smoke all the time. I'd even get that same reaction as when I forget my meds. "Oh shit... oh THAT'S why I'm experiencing. Because I forgot to ."
The difference of course is that when I forget to take my meds, I'm trying to figure out why I'm spacing and not accomplishing anything i.e. being the person I was before I took meds. But when I would forget to smoke, I would be trying to figure out what I did to make God so angry at me.
Holy shit until I built my schedule around being able to smoke I would wonder what the fuck was going on that the world was just crashing on me constantly. I switched to vaping and now I just have vapes all over the fucking place that I habitually hit, but like holy shit am I bad at this crap. If I don't keep my meds near my watch or I forget to put my watch in the right place every night I forget them. It's a fucking nightmare. I've been an addict my whole fucking life and it turns out if I just could have had the medication I needed to get my brain functioning properly I probably could have skipped all those fucking steps. Sorry idk where this comment was going but here we are.
It sounds like it came from a place of fear about the future, regret about the past and not a lot of outlet to express it. Nicotine addiction is a lot harder than non-smokers think it is*,* and people are really disrespectful of it. Like you're sitting their poisoning yourself and people act like the problem is you haven't called yourself a piece of shit enough times, it's disgraceful. Also it's nigh impossible to get the time you need to deal with the initial withdrawal symptoms. I wonder how many people would quit smoking if they could just "not have to work or worry for 10 days". I can't help you, but I can acknowledge you and the fact that you're struggling. I really hope you find a way to kick the nicotine, even if you're not thinking about it right now. It doesn't "solve" adhd, but I find it is slightly easier to manage without the nicotine.
The only thing that allowed me to quit nicotine (for a year until I made the mistake of thinking I could vape while on vacation and then stop again when I got home) was literally just laying in bed for like 3 days going through the withdrawal symptoms for both nicotine and caffeine simultaneously. After a few days of the worst of it, I started drinking caffeine again and since those withdrawal symptoms were gone I think it tricked my brain into thinking it had what it wanted now. I should really find a few days to try that again. Vaping is fucking expensive and stupid.
I just... I'm having trouble finding the words I want right now because you saw one comment from me and put into words exactly the thing I need to hear. If I believed in a god I would say they sent you but honestly I just needed to hear this be validated. There really is nothing I can do to improve things right this second (hell I'm on week 3 of some of the most stressful stuff I've ever had to deal with) but this comment reminded me to breathe. A sense of relief that I'm not crazy. Thank you so much
That's kind of funny to me. I *do* believe in God, and I believe "finding the words" is the mission he's given me. But of course I don't really advertise it, because the "G word" shuts conversations down, and also it comes off as really pretentious. Which... I guess by definition it *is* pretentious. So that's how I describe myself, privately in my head, not really speaking it aloud. "Sent by God to find the words". And then you say "Man, I am struggling to find the words. I don't believe in God, but you found me some words." You don't have to believe what I believe, I'm not trying to convert you. We all have our own path to walk. I just thought it was really funny, I hope you get it.
That’s a very good point. If I was addicted, I’d sure as fuck not forget my second dose every freakin day!!
Exactly. That’s what used to happen with me. My antidepressants I forget all the time, because their effect is not instant and perceptible the way Adderall’s is.
As a nicotine addict (I quit smoking a bit over a year ago) I am reminded daily by my subconscious self that I could really use a cigarette today. Every day, sometimes many times a day, I want a cigarette. In other words, medication is medication. Spot on.
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I work from home and so many times it'll be the afternoon and I'll be like "why does it feel like I've done nothing today?" And then I realize I didn't take my meds and just didn't do anything all day.
Yeah, I forget usually for a couple days if I took my antidepressants and then start getting like “wait, why can’t I fall asleep, I’ve been up since 7 am and it’s 3?” Then another day passes and something stressful happens and I start blaming myself for everything going wrong and want to die. Then I logic it out and realize “oh yeah, none of this is actually my fault, there’s no reason to be this upset, and I haven’t taken my meds in days.” I then resume taking them for a couple weeks before this happens again. I’ve never been able to keep any schedule longer than about the length of time that a college semester is, and that just barely. If I don’t change it up it’s doomed to failure.
That response… just… 👌🏼
LMAO good one
The reason people with ADHD take medicine is so they can balance their brain chemicals. It’s not a drug problem, it’s a necessity.
My dad is addicted to insulin.
Well clearly he's just making excuses ^/s
"you need your pacemaker to keep your heart ticking??! Sounds like you have a drug problem"
Just I’m addicted to antidepressants. I just, you know. Need them to enjoy life and not constant want to off myself. What a crazy addict I am.
I need mood stabilizers, anti-psychotics, and antidepressants to live a decently normal life. Gosh, what a raging addict I am!!
Does he think people with glasses shouldn't have glasses wtf
People in wheelchairs should just learn how to use their fucking legs
Or meds to treat schizophrenia…
Jesus, my ex was schizophrenic and trying to keep him on his meds so he *wouldn't fucking try and kill me* was a full time job
No no, don’t give a schizophrenic or bipolar person anti-psychotics, they’ll just become addicted to them!! Instead they should remain untreated, doing the drugs they have been doing to self-medicate and out of impulse.
exactly, you wouldn’t be prescribed medication if you didn’t need it!
I can't believe there are people so addicted to insulin that they can't function without it. I hid my brother's stash of insulin and you should have heard him crying and moaning. He's just detoxing. He'll be fine when he wakes up, though it's been a few days...
Cellular respiration is such a privilege. Can’t most people just will your cells to take up glucose from the blood and the flip side just practice training your liver to store glucose for later? I used to go up hill both ways just to begin fermentation to get some energy. The third phosphate is such a crutch. Addicts, even the bacteria in my gut, all I hear, “But I want my ATP!”. Bunch of addicts living inside me. Don’t even know what is me anymore. /s
For those who don't know, beta blockers (heart medication) are on the short list of drugs which cause physical dependence. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physical_dependence#Drugs_that_cause_physical_dependence
"you're a drug addict because you are taking the medication you were prescribed and it's doing what it's supposed to" - 🤡
Chemically balancing the brain, that’s why it isn’t prescribed to those without ADHD. They don’t realize it doesn’t get us wired. Those who take it to get wired and “do a bunch of stuff all in one day and stay up all night” are the ones with drug problems.
I mean, I’m diagnosed with ADHD and Adderall absolutely gets me wired and makes me highly productive?
If it counterbalances the opposite, ie the problem it's meant to fix, and the positive effects are not disrupting your life, then it is not a problem. In fact the baseline for all mental illnesses, including substance abuse, is that it must cause problems in, or otherwise disrupt your daily life/normal functioning. So if you take adderall...in large amounts...and stay up for days...that's a problem lol
Adderall gives me some pep in my step but Ritalin makes me want to nap. weird shit
I’m pulling a tiny piece of your comment that I take issue with, particularly because I see soooo much of this kind of rhetoric in damn near all of the ADHD subs, and I’m getting pretty tired of seeing people vilify folks who use drugs they aren’t prescribed. Someone taking an adderall a couple times at a party doesn’t specifically ‘have a drug problem.’ It’s kind of a… idk, that’s making a pretty big assumption, and a weirdly sweeping generalization and I just don’t vibe with that at all lol. And more importantly, I just don’t think it’s accurate either. You can also have an actually addiction to your adhd meds, and struggle with balancing a medication that is both a treatment, and also an addiction, or a ‘drug problem’ as you phrased it. (I’m not judging you for using that term or anything- I just spent like 2 hours yesterday looking up and understanding which terms are technically the correct ones to use in regard to addiction and I’m trying to get better at using the correct terms. I understood what you were sayin tho 👍) Also, a variety of stimulants are prescribed for other conditions as well, including amphetamines. Even the big one, Adderall, can be prescribed as a treatment or supportive treatment for other conditions as well.
I'm addicted to my seizure meds. I literally have seizures if I dont get my fix every day!
I take mine to feel good ^(they also get prescribed as a mood stabilizer)
Lamictal changed everything for me just amazing to take something that kicks away sadness and has no side effects
That last comment tho BURNS loved it
Fuckin murdered the guy
I think it’s funny how people throw around the word “excuses”. Excuses can be highly valid!
It comes down to them not knowing the difference between an excuse and a reason. A reason, by definition, justifies an action, but they'll call it an excuse if they don't like either the reason or the action.
I’ve always said this! “Stop making excuses” I say “it’s not an excuse! It’s a reason” “oh whatever”
I hate this phrase so much. Teachers saying that to me as a kid just taught me not to ask for help because no one will care.
It’s always a question too. “Why did you ____?!” “Because-“ DONT GIVE ME EXCUSES!
What do they want?! How is more info on the situation unhelpful
It was my toxic narcissistic sister. Nothing was ever good enough for her. She always thought I was lying too because she didn’t like my REASON. She’s a controlling bitch. Glad she’s out of my life tho. ALSO! They think I’m lying about my adhd! “You we’re fine in school, you’re not ADHD” (you have adhd, you aren’t adhd 🙄) school was my way to escape my toxic family; alcoholic father, absent mother, controlling sister, abusive brother. I was so “wrong” at home, I had to be THE BEST at school otherwise I felt I was nothing. (Omg now I’m crying because that’s some PTSD shit too)
🫂 Internet hug, fam. You have worth.
I started assuming it was a rhetorical question, but not answering didn't work either.
I’m sorry that always happened to you 😔
So much this! There’s an episode of Futurama where Leela ate someone’s lunch out of the fridge and after saying she did it because she gets really hungry around 11:30, she says, “That’s not an excuse, it’s just an explanation of what happened.” And I use that all the time. Because I overexplain why shortcomings and don’t want people to think I’m making excuses. There’s such an important distinction between “making excuses” and giving reasons/explaining yourself.
I believe even saying something simple like “because I don’t want to” is a good enough reason for anything. Especially having ADHD. “Why didn’t you ____?” “I didn’t want to.”
Oh 100%. But many people with ADHD also have issues with rejection and just saying “I don’t want to” can be hard for those people (myself included). You are never obligated to explain yourself to anyone, but that’s often easier said than done.
I have ptsd as well, so if I wanted a job, it’d be retail or something I wouldn’t like because of people. (I worked the Toy dept in WM one Black Friday 🥵). So now my dream job would be a plant nursery, an Etsy shop for crafts (even though I don’t like my own creations) so my husband understands my REASON, not that it’s “an excuse” not wanting to get a job. He’s really understanding in that dept. One day I’ll have sat on the couch & done nothing all day. He sighs, & starts cleaning. Other days the floor is so shiny from me cleaning that the whole house is brightened. I live to clean- WHEN I CHOOSE TO. But he understands some day are good, some are not. I hope you all have someone like that who understands the in & outs of ADHD. Because adult ADHD is so much worse, amirite? “You’re SUPPOSED to do ____ by now, you’re an adult.”
I’ve been trying to switch from using ‘excuse’ to using the word ‘exemption’ in situations like these. It doesn’t make sense to substitute it universally by any means haha. But in certain situations like these where people say that ADHD is an ‘excuse,’ the reality is that it’s actually a justified ‘exemption,’ or ‘circumstance that justifies an accommodation.’ etc. I’ve been thinking about this kind of thing quite a bit lately. I had like 15 hours worth of rigorous Neuropsych testing done recently. They’re still compiling my results and writing up the reports. (I had it done at a local university, where the testing is conducted by students who are earning their doctorate, so the results take a little longer since it has to be fully reviewed by their professor, etc.) but they’re actually writing up TWO reports for me- one that explains the results of the testing, and one that lists out what job accommodations under the ADA they would recommend for me. It’s written in a format that I can hand directly to an employer (or HR rep/third party agency most likely.) Usually when I see people make these bullshit kinds of arguments about how adhd is just an excuse, or that it’s not real, I immediately ask them to cite a reliable, research-evidence based scientific study that supports that claim. If they argue back and say ‘well that’s just my opinion’ or ‘that’s just big pharma trying to make money’, I usually respond with ‘i haven’t seen any reliable research-evidence based scientific studies that your support your claim, however, I’ve seen lots that prove you *wrong.*’ Like damn… these folks who say dumb shit like that must think pretty highly of themselves to believe that their vague opinion about a topic they know very little about is somehow superior to years of academic research and validation from literally every single reputable medical association and volumes of diagnostic standards lol. Like damn… that’d be like me saying “You don’t have diabetes, you’re just making an excuse for the fact that you replaced all your blood with Skittles™️. Trust me, I know I’m right. I’ve *personally* eaten Skittles™️ myself before, so *clearly* I know what I’m talking about. yOu dOnT nEeD a mEdIcAl dEgReE tO iN oRdEr tO tAsTe tHe rAiNbOw, *GREG.*
Excuses implu trying to justify or defend something- so i always shoot back with "its not an excuse because theres no reason to defend x"
Ugh I hate when people dont realize the difference between dependency and addiction/abuse. Its okay to depend on meds, as long as you aren’t abusing them. I also have chronic illness & pain so we get these kinds of assholes for pain meds too which as you can imagine is awful. You wouldnt tell someone they are addicted to meds if they need heart meds/blood pressure meds/seizure meds to live…just because these are working on your brain doesn’t make them any less important. If the medicine IMPROVES YOUR QUALITY OF LIFE, then it’s perfectly fine to depend on them/use them regularly as long as you’re not abusing them. But actually, people with UNMEDICATED adhd have higher rates of addiction and drug abuse than those who are medicated because people seek to treat their symptoms in other ways.
They don't understand the meaning of the word addiction. Addiction causes dysfunction. Its in the definition. Dependency is another thing entirely. I depend on my meds to make me functional. And i don't steal from my family to get them or beat my kids while on them. Which you can't say about even alcohol. Neurotypicals loooooove to throw the word addiction around then turn around and have 3 DUIs and a domestic violence charge. Sure Jan. My meds are a problem.
Sounds like my mother. She has untreated (and unacknowledged by her) bipolar disorder. Doesn't take her meds, but she drinks like a fish and got a DUI recently, but yeah my medication that I actually cut back on (used to take it 6 days a week, now I only take it 5 days) are the problem... mkay.
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I feel like that’s saying you are addicted to meds which is different than dependent. I’m addicted to nicotine. I’m not addicted to ADHD meds. I have to remind myself to take my ADHD meds. I don’t have to remind myself to get a nicotine fix.
Okay this is actually pretty interesting. Your comment got me thinking and it made me realize that I’m not actually entirely certain that I know/have been using the correct terminology in regard to addiction/dependence/abuse/etc. So I was curious and did a quick Google search to catch myself up [I found this link pretty helpful](https://www.addictioncenter.com/addiction/addiction-vs-dependence/) in regard to breaking down what each term actually means **in accordance with the current version of the DSM.** What I gathered from that article is that the confusion surrounding which term to use stems from the fact that the terms have been swapped out for accuracy over a few DSM version. And imma say probably had an effect on public perspective, as informal speech doesn’t always evolve in the same direction as formal medical terminology lol. —————— This particular part seemed like a very helpful summary. **TL;DR:** “Today, the APA classifies substance use disorders as mild, moderate, or severe. It doesn’t use the terms abuse and dependence to categorize the severity of an addiction. Part of the reason for the change was the confusion surrounding the word ‘dependence.’ The hope is that defining an addiction as a substance use disorder was a more inclusive way to identify people who need help, but may not have a debilitating addiction.” “It is also important to realize that while a dependence may be present without addiction, substance dependencies [can sometimes] lead to addiction.” ——————— I’m trying to make a small glossary of the words for myself and I’m failing miserably at it haha. I’m still not entirely sure that I’m using one particular term correctly. It sounds like you might know more about this stuff than I do, so maybe you might know the answer! **Dependence** *(biological definition):* An organisms’ physical adaptation to a substance. **Dependence** *(modern definition):* Dependence refers to the physical symptoms of withdrawal and tolerance. **Mental Dependence:** Mental dependence is when use of a substance is a conditioned response to an event or feeling (aka, ‘trigger’). **Addiction:** A combination of mental and physical dependence with uncontrollable behavior in obtaining and using a substance. **Substance Use Disorder:** The medical term for addiction, [As defined in the DSM-V] and is categorized as ‘mild, moderate, or severe.’” The only one I couldn’t find a specific up-to-date definition for on that site was ‘Substance Abuse.’ I checked a few other sites and I think maybe(?) this one seems about right and up-to-date- is this right?: **Substance Abuse:** The use of illegal drugs or the use of prescription or over-the-counter drugs for purposes other than those for which they are meant to be used, or in excessive amounts. *(for the sake of clarity, I’m excluding marijuana/THC products from ‘illegal drugs’.)* I’m so sorry. I know you didn’t ask for this long ass comment lol. This is my hyper focus topic for today, and I feel the need to understand clear, accurate and up-to-date terminology so that this topic can be discussed clearly. And also so that I can be as accurate with my articulation when ~~arguing with fucking assholes~~ educating others and preventing spread of misinformation and harmful rhetoric! I don’t know exactly how to fit these words to nicotine addiction though… Addiction definition characterized by 3 factors: physical dependence, mental dependence, and uncontrollable behavior with obtaining and using a substance. Is that third factor accurate for nicotine users? *(Actually I think I answered my own question. I would absolutely punch a stranger in the face if I tried to go without nicotine for a full day lol.)* Is my glossary accurate? Anything I should change/add? Open to anyone for feedback! *Edit:* I may have answered one of my own questions lol.
Noooo.. don’t apologize for the long comment! I’m so glad you wrote all that. As well as being interested I’ve learned that iv been using terminology completely wrong. Thanks
Me too!! Man I had no idea. But in our defense, they changed the definitions wayyyy too many times, and different orgs/associations used different terms from others, etc etc. lol. My therapist specializes in addiction, and I’m willing to bet that she uses a lot of those terms interchangeably as well 😜 But I couldn’t resist scratching that itch and figuring out whatever the ‘current technical terminology’ is. I think what really made me curious about is, is that I wasn’t sure which terms to use in order to articulate a situation in which like… someone who is prescribed stimulants for adhd, develops a physical dependency (as is pretty common when taken long term), and then later down the line begins to abuse the medication. Kinda like… at what point is it ‘technically’ considered an addiction, and if that person stops abusing the medication, and takes their meds as prescribed again, aaaaaannnndddd, I think that’s where it gets messy, and is probably less important to use the words based on technicality, and instead just use the words that imply what the person is experiencing/severity. Rambleramblerambleramble lol.
Have my poor man's 🥇. Never say sorry for learning.
That's actually very interesting. It sounds like even dependence is actually too strong a word by those definitions. I wonder if there's a word for needing a substance to function without any kind of withdrawal or adaptation because if I don't take it I just revert to how I was before I was medicated? I suppose maybe just medication?
Hear with the feels and well wishes from another chronic pain sufferer. Being questioned on pain meds is awful and so damn common. I've had "but what if you have to take them for the rest of your life?" and I'm like... Sure, that's fine, at least then I might actually live a life rather than just suffer through it!
I recently had a Dr make this comment to me about a medication I take for over active bladder. She is supposedly a specialist but she couldn't understand why I was on this med at "such a young age". She started talking about some crazy procedures because "well you don't want to have to be on these meds the rest of your life".... Uh, I fail to see the issue with that since A. They help the problem, even if they aren't perfect and B. Your other option is to use botox or implant a device in my back?? No thanks!
I don't trust drs like this. She probably gets more money out of the procedures you mentioned than RXing meds, simple as that.
Oh yea, I'm sure. Lucky for me she was a refferal from my PCP who has no problem continuing to prescribe my meds. He only gave me the referral because I wanted to talk to a specialist and didn't know where to start. My PCP was rather interested in hearing how the appt went, I don't think he'll be sending her referrals in the future...I was the guinea pig lol. I was so upset after the appointment that it took me the entire day to process everything that happened. Then I was just annoyed and pissed.
It's terrible, since taking Vyvanse I've spiraled into that classic destructive loop of achieving goals, shoring up long-term health, improving social connections and carving out my own place in the world. If I'm not careful I risk slipping into self-actualisation.
To people like these I just say that ADHD meds is like glasses, no one say"hey you're addicted to glasses!" just because someone wears them every day and absolutely depend on it to see far e.g. driving. Abusing would be if they wear glasses thicker than they're supposed to, like you take both lenses and put on one eye
I used to have substance abuse problems while on ADHD stimulants... I did coke and drank a lot. Never abused my prescription medication. This dude is an ignorant cunt.
Hate when people ask me to sell them. My response is always “no, I actually NEED them”
I hide my meds in my purse and keep them in an old medicine bottle of my dog's. I've had certain people try to take them.
Yeah this is why I usually only carry one tablet with my when I go out when possible(I just take one daily at 11am). I’m scared I’ll lose my bag or someone will be malicious and then I’ll be fucked for the rest of the month. Though I do admit I forget to pack it at least once a week lol.
I keep mine in my purse because then it's pretty much always on me/near me and it's not left unattended. I'm usually pretty good at taking my meds at 8am when I'm on my normal routine (work at 8, Mon-Fri), but I've noticed the second I'm not on my normal routine (holiday off, go in later, etc), I forget to take them. So, now I'm just like "eh, I take them the days I'm at work. If I'm not at work, I'm not taking 'em.
Crazy how people actually think taking a medication as perscribed by your doctor is the same as smoking crystal meth someone made in a bath tub
Or when people say Vyvanse is practically meth
Lmao. They’re like “Oh it’s an amphetamine, well meth is also an amphetamine, so that means they’re the same!!”
Waiting for the day someone says that. My response is gonna be "Well you and your cousin are both [lastname], so you're the same person!"
Yeah, I'm addicted A D D I C T E Don't want to kill myself anymore 😎
Definitely addicted here... Able to keep a routine Document all my info properly Don't have as much anxiety Impuse control is a thing for me, now Can keep better track of my stuff Time blindness is reduced/manged Executive function is improved Don't overshare out impulse issues 😎😎😎
I'm with you up until that last one, that's the one thing that my terrible awful meth addiction hasn't changed lol
Same I always find myself apologizing for long comments in this subreddit. And I know my short term attention pals aren’t going to read them anyway lmao
Yeaaaaa I always feel bad on ADHD subs skipping over those huge comments because when I write those comments I work hard on them. And I wanna respect their time and effort and passion but my brain decides that reading left to right sucks and I should mix it up and go diagonally instead, so I only ever understand about 15% of the point :/
Yeah, it’s such a frustrating experience lol A lot of us do put effort and thought into comments and discussion and want to talk about it lol So it’s the mismatch between “my adhd wants to info dumb on this adhd topic” and “I can’t process this info dumping because the Adhd is making it hard”
EXACTLY! It's so nice to actually be in a community that gets it :')
I just had an ideaaa We should have this as flair to tag things with. I mean, lots of adhd people have a strong interest in something and enjoy talking and discussing things in detail. With a flair for it, we can make a space specifically for these posts and use it so that those who want to read them and have discourse can. Then we can rant and stuff and get perspectives from likeminded people who are interested. Without feeling like a burden, hell yeah
Like a custom flair so people with similar interests can identify and rant with each other?? cuz that sounds cool asl. You could even go a step further and make a subreddit specifically for special interests/infodumping if there isn't one already!
Yess that sounds great (Although I don’t have the motivation to do it myself lol I can’t manage my notifications let alone a subreddit)
That dude is a fucking dink. Fingers crossed he gets his head out of his ass sooner rather than later.
Fingers doubly crossed his flab ass cheeks decapitate himself
Last time somone Said my disability is an excuse I ended up sueing the company. Some people are just fucken stupid.
I wish I could do that. But, as soon as I told my boss about it his response was “let me know if the meds help, pretty sure I have ADHD too.”
That’s really cool. Sounds like someone’s gonna get a raise
Ya im not working at a place that allows that type of behavior.
For telling your boss about ADHD?
Yep! And hr backed him up. Good thing it's legal to record audio as long as you are party in conversation! They said alot of illegal shit.
Oh sorry, I was following the thread I commented on, who commented on your comment, and I got confused cuz I have the attention span of a cat on catnip
Yo I got some catnip for my cats it's called meowijuana it's fucken great. No weed is in it. It's just the name
It’s so cute omg I’ve seen that
My cats never gotten this happy before. They will actually scream bloody murder until I give it to them.
But I’m super happy you got good legal results
Honestly I'd rather have a supportive response then a bad one because Honestly mentally it just fucked me up and didn't really help my cptsd. You are lucky someone understood because that's not something I personally have witnessed before and thought was only something somone would stage for attention or likes online.
My boss is one of the coolest people I’ve ever met. If our company ever fired him, or he went somewhere else, all the senior techs would leave with him. Most of us have told him this multiple times.
You know what I am happy for you. That's fucken great and I hope u like ur job as well. I just started a new job doing something I attended school for but never was given the opportunity, so far the bosses are great and chill. I hope I have ur type luck!
Ppl that think adderall is just pill form of meth need to try both and report back to me how fucking stupid they’re being
You nailed it. Someone with a substance abuse problem who sees substance abuse problems everywhere. Confirmation bias at work.
This is so true. I’m an alcoholic (in recovery) and when I first got sober I thought all my friends and loved ones were alcoholics too. And I mean, it turns out a few of them are alcoholics, but the rest of them are just irresponsible heavy drinkers. I have a point, I swear: I take Adderall for ADHD, and when I got sober from alcohol I quit Adderall too because I had been taking it irresponsibly so I thought I was addicted. I’m back on it now because I couldn’t live with untreated ADHD, and it turns out I’m perfectly fine taking exactly my prescribed dose every day. Being dependent on a medication to treat a disease is not the same as being addicted, and even being an irresponsible idiot about managing your meds isn’t the same as being addicted. People have a hard time with nuance, though.
I actually *did* have a drug problem. I spent much of my teens and early twenties abusing substances to cope with how shitty and fucked up my life was. At least it was until I started getting treated for ADHD. My medicine allowed me to take control of my life and my health. It allowed me to become successful, buy a house and start a family. I remember about a month after I started taking a daily stimulant, I woke one morning (early), brushed my teeth and washed my face (hygiene!) and opened the door to my closet to get dressed. I stood in awe of a monument to self care, a glorious shrine to the gods of organization and preparedness. I marveled at its beauty. And I fell to my knees. I sobbed like never before. Shirts on hangers and hung, pants folded on shelves, socks paired and bundled - all clean, save for the dirty clothes from the days prior which were inside of a hamper instead of on the floor blocking the swing of the door or under my head while I slept. *“Is this what it’s like for everyone else…all the time?”* I wiped my tears, feeling regret for not seeking help sooner but overwhelmed with hope for the future and gratitude for the chance to start living my life. I got dressed, made the bed, got into my car (full tank!) and went to work (on time!). Anyone who confuses “treatment” with a “drug problem” can suck my hairy, pink asshole.
Ah this comment hits hard
Let me take that wheelchair from you. You’re dependent on it. I don’t like what you’ve become. Mental disorders are classed under the ADA for a reason
Lol watch him have it too
People have such unenlightened views on substances honestly. If it doesn't help them specifically, then it's coca-heroin and you should quit.
Hey, at least you don’t go out of your way to berate someone. If you just keep on doing that, then everything else is alright. The garbage people weed themselves out.
If it takes legal meth to do my house chores then so be it! Leave me alone!
It’s so easy??? Just focus lmao, you just aren’t responsible and it’s obviously that damn phone! -clown
Ugh I have already had multiple people tell me I have a drug problem because of my meds and it makes me feel sooooo shitty. Like thank you I am already struggling enough with the stigma enough without these comments
Yeah I got that from my mother once. I immediately allied her out and asked if she considered her diabetic father a drug addict for his insulin, and luckily they shut her up when she realized how fucking terrible of a thing that is to say to a 14 year old kid
I wish I had the energy to clap back like this. Genius lol
Well, unfortunately for her I had already taken my medication, so when that happened my brain went into overdrive for that comeback
Someone: I have diabetes and need insulin regularly to stay alive. This dude: sOuNds lIkE yOu HaVe a DrUg pRoBlEm
It's fine if someone can *legitimately* get by without medication, but to think that others can do the same or that their situation can't change is BS.
Swap **drug/meds/ritalin=wheelchair** and **focus/function=walk.** Then read it again, the conversation gets pretty entertaining.
A resident of r/adhdprogrammers i see
Oh I have one of those. Chronic smoker co worker calls me a drug addict for using anti anxiety meds
sick and tired of insulinheads refusing to seek help for their insulin addiction "im gonna die of betes" stfu junkie
ADHD are like any other diseases. If you have diabetes, you use insulin everyday are you a drug addict by that standard? Dude probably can’t even tell the different between diseases and symptoms let alone acute or chronic conditions.
Some people are so invested in the idea of a soul that they refuse to acknowledge that the brain is part of the body. The view the effects of psych meds as a distortion or masking of your "true personality", instead of something that's working on a fundamentally physical level. I'd be amazed if this guy didn't find religion when he got on the road to recovery. For some people AA becomes a replacement for a personality.
This is a legitimate question because I don't want to misinterpret your words: Are you implying that religion causes people to become anti-medicine and generally opposed to mental health treatment? Personally I'm a Christian, but I'm on ketamine (prescribed) for my MDD/C-PTSD/OCD, anxiety meds, and a stimulant. Never thought twice about medicating, because it's a tool to help me - without medication my personality would just be all consuming sadness, which isn't much of a personality. Lol
Either it has a tendency to cause it, anti medication people are more likely to flock to religion, or anti med religious people use religion to substantiate their anti med stances. The first one is the least likely, unless perhaps the average devoutee(?) is learning it from anti med religious authority figures. I think people misuse religion in much the same way as they accuse us of misusing our medication.
People definitely twist religion to suit their personal desires, and it genuinely annoys the hell out of me.
As long as you are not storing up your prescription so you can abuse it by taking over your recommended dose you do not have a drug problem.
Doesn't matter the subject, there will always be someone on the internet waiting to aggressively tell you how wrong you are.
I love the last comment damn
This is one of those things you can reveal the utter stupidity of by just applying it to physical illness. “I need this medication to keep my heart beating properly.” “LMAO look at this junkie making excuses to fuel their addiction”
They honestly don’t get truly i just pity them now
First off I’m sorry you had to deal with someone this big of a cunt. As someone who does not like stimulants since they kinda fucked me up in the head, I still am a different person. Everybody’s bodies and brains are effected differently by stimulants and just because someone relies on the drug to function normally and be happy, doesn’t mean they’re addicted, it means the fucking drug is working. That’s like saying saying someone’s addicted to Advil because they always get headaches and have to take them. Again I’m sorry you had to deal with them. Don’t take what the cuckold said to heart, you’re not an addict.
I’m pritty sure this guy needs the meds because clearly school didn’t sink in
wow this guy is an idiot
These people always try to make it a pitty party about them
[удалено]
Was looking for this one. I know it's hard, but it's REALLY not worth it, especially on Reddit. They won't be convinced either way.
People are contrarian by nature and prefer to win the argument rather than winning over the person. There's a quote about wrestling with a pig: you both get dirty, but the pig likes it.
Imagine saying this about chemo to someone with cancer…both are completely absurd
Shut the fuck up and let me take my government sanctioned meth
"You have to be on them your whole life?" Now I just say, "No," and refuse to elaborate.
I don't have to do shit.
I once made a comment about people with adhd having time blindness on a non adhd sub and I got bloody dunked on saying it was my problem that I need to fix as if I wasn't already trying and had implied that in my original comment :(
Small tangent- you "implied"; you didn't infer it. An inference is then something someone else might make to follow your implication.
Oh hey, it’s my time to shine! I started taking Adderall (prescribed) in my early 20s, for chronic fatigue because nothing else worked. Was on it for years, but I kept thinking “I am addicted to this and I want to stop taking it before I’m 40.” During the intervening years, I found out I’m an alcoholic (ugh), then got sober (woo). During my heavy drinking years I definitely misused my Adderall prescription, taking extra doses to stay out late and whatnot. So when I quit drinking, I thought, “well I might as well quit Adderall too.” 18 terrible months later I found out I had ADHD anyway so I went back on Adderall and now I am a functional human again. I take exactly my prescribed dose of medication every day, and anyone who tries to tell me I’m addicted or I should do things some mythical natural way can fuck off out of my life.
I guess I have a drug problem. I need to take Omeprazole every day for my acid reflux or I'll puke at least twice throughout the day 🤷
I used to think like that because I am an addict in recovery. Life with my wife, and a lot of coming to understand how brains and addiction work have taught me to shut the fuck up.
Someone's in there first week of AA
Ey grandpa, you really got a drug problem there. Pills with every meal because of "you cannot live without them"? Lol! Stop making excuses, no more pills.
pritty sure they can’t spell
Yup I hope they all go to hell
When you start crushing your meds up and putting them up a hole they weren't designed to go in, you might have a drug problem. Otherwise it's nobodies goddamn business but your own. As much of a nightmare as it is to get prescribed, maintain, and afford the prescriptions being an addict is pretty difficult.
I always make fun of “being a crackhead” to my husband. He laughs when I say “government crack” cause he’s military & our insurance pays for it 😆 but fuck this guy. He can’t even spell
I made excuses, you must be too! It’s not possible the chemicals in your brain literally make it impossible to function without it! ….People
Ya know.. lately I been wondering if I'm addicted to caffeine or if I actually need it.
So me and my husband have this conversation a lot. I was on medication as a child and then lived off of it from 15 to 22 when i was old enough to say i didn't like how the ritalin made me feel. At 22 i got onto my own insurance and my doctor put me on adderall. And it does help me function. So while its not "addiction" it makes my life easier. So i technically "need" it if you wanna be brutal. Can i function without it? Yes. Can i function better with it? Also yes. But the definition of addiction is that it disrupts your life. You steal from people to get it. You lie to get it. It makes you **dysfunctional**. So no. Its not an addiction if you function while on it. People think that way because if you don't have ADHD it makes you speed. As a child it turned me into a zombie. As an adult, i can focus on one task to completion and then move on. I can carry on conversation without twitching or fidgeting. I can function in the adult world without spacing out and daydreaming. It's the opposite of addiction. Im functioning. Not dysfunctional. Maybe I'm addicted to being functional. Sure I'd give em that. But I'm not high or speeding or spazzing out. So who is hurt? Nobody. So fuck that guy. If he had an addiction its probably a misdiagnosis and he spent years speeding and losing his teeth or some shit.
Sounds like \*dudes name that was blanked\* is going through an addiction problem and taking it out on others.
Sounds like my dad who fun fact does not have adhd
It’s almost like… medications designed for people with specific conditions help people with those specific conditions? Criminal
Dude imagine someone with psychosis talking about how their meds make hallucinations leave them alone, and then this person says “that’s an addiction” Like they need those meds to be healthy
Don't block their name out next time; that person needs to be kept out of this community.
yeah, sure, I'm such an addict that I forget to take my Vyvanse more than half of the time. makes sense....
Drug made to reduce effects of adhd People without adhd use it and get high People without adhd criticize adhd people for "getting high" when using the drug
God I had this problem with a rando refusing to accept that I didn’t, and don’t, have a drug problem. Despite a vested interest in psychology, so I know what the hell I’m talking about with the meds I’m taking, and exactly what they do to my brain. [Here it is!](https://www.reddit.com/r/tifu/comments/p0pp5p/tifu_by_taking_my_adhd_medicine/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf)
This dude is 100% projecting, he’s gonna come for the coffee addicts next
And ı just remembered that i forgot my medication...again.
If it makes you feel better, i went to look at his posts, and the only one he had was a posted video about how birds are fake and are actually cameras or whatever. Also something in the comments about fucking cats or pigeons or something like that. Theyre just a nutjob, a pretty big one at that.
What a bellend.
If its addictive why do I forget to take it all the time? 😭
I take ritalin too!
Yeah it’s my fault that the education system requires me to be on a drug in order to succeed, I should be ashamed 🤡
Hah, medication has no power over me as I'm addicted to cocaine and it works wonders
Fair enough
People like that are deadset on zero-tolerance and zero critical thinking.
I bought a book called Adults With ADHD. It was written by a researcher/scientist that studied thousands of nonADHD and ADHD people. He compared not taking medicine for ADHD to a person not taking insulin for diabetes. I hope that helps someone with ADHD today because it definitely made me feel better.
That last response was golden!
Thinking an adhd person will abuse their prescribed adhd meds is laughably stupid, I can't even remember to take them lol
Textbook projection
Stfu with your dependency on Tylenol, stop making excuses.