Steve on Warpcast

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Steve pfp

Anyone who’s dealt with ADHD long enough: has it ever gotten easier? I feel like since becoming aware of the symptoms the struggle has only worsened, despite always considering myself decently self-aware. I don’t know if it’s just the compounding responsibilities of work, marriage, parenthood, and adulthood. Or if it’s some weird permanent brain fog from covid. Or a tangible side effect of being plugged into crypto almost 24/7 for three years. Or just a dwindling sense of agency and direction and control of emotions. But it’s been six years now that I’ve seen three therapists, one psychiatrist with a brief round of antidepressants, and tried numerous tools and tricks yet it all feels like it’s falling apart. Where did I go wrong?

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Naomi pfp

hey steve, firstly you haven't done anything wrong. having adhd is really hard. i also have had many therapists etc but i'll be honest, it got easier for me when i started and then stopped taking medication. i found that just by living as a 'normal' person on the adhd medication for a few weeks i was able to find out strategies that just worked. i now find it alot easier to stick to them without taking medication because i know that i have done it before and now know how to do it if that makes sense i also found this book How to Keep House While Drowning by kc davis really practical when it came to strategy on keeping things in order around the house.

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pugson pfp

it's a pretty recent revelation for me. i've been struggling for many years before getting diagnosed. does it get easier? sometimes it does but it's extremely hard to keep it at that level for long unless you can stick to a strict routine. even adhd meds are not a solution but a hotfix for half a day. i get bursts of hyperfocus and energy and then need days or weeks to recover. things that are happening out my control can derail everything. maybe what you're experiencing is untreated burnout that's slowly chipping away at your own understanding of who you are. being plugged into farcaster 24/7 and seeing all the cool shit everyone is building does not help. ask me how i know... try unplugging from social networks and group chats for a while and see if that helps? less consuming and more creating.

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swampnet.base.eth

Hey Steve! I really feel this. For me it hasn’t gotten any easier, but I’ve learned some coping mechanisms. I think the thing I’ve gotten better at is forgiving myself. I forget to do that all the time. So sometimes I do my own version of meditation (pause my endless podcast binge) and have my own internal dialogue. I feel like people always say we are our own harshest critics and I think that’s often true, but a lot of it is internalizing the criticism we received our whole lives. Like being labeled as lazy, flaky, overly reactionary, narcissistic, Having an invisible disability comes with its own problems and people lack the forgiveness they might give to someone who is visibly disabled. My point is that the world can be hard and sucky and we really have to be our own cheerleaders sometimes. By the way, I hit my rock bottom yesterday. I always know when I’ve hit it and then I start bouncing back. It’s cyclical for me. I also suffer from depression and anxiety.

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Caden pfp

🫂🫂🫂 ADHD is hard. before diagnosis, it was very easy to view my struggles as moral/personal failings. in some ways, that was easier because I could frame improvement as something that is and would always be possible. after diagnosis, patterns started to feel permanent. i felt irreparably broken, not just temporarily lazy. I had to find peace about who I was and what my experience of life would be like. and then I was able to accept my limitations and work with them, instead of denying my reality. medication helped too. a lot. you can do plenty of things to manage dopamine (sleep, exercise, hard boundaries on certain activities) but ADHD is hard mode. stimulants didn't solve my problems (many of my bad habits are a side effect of long-running coping mechanisms) but they gave me some wiggle room. one bad day doesn't derail me anymore. self-compassion was key. letting go was key. without them, awareness was a curse and a burden. so: don't give up. give yourself love. you will make it. I promise.

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Mark Fishman pfp

I resonate with this a lot. Thanks for sharing your experience and starting this conversation. I think of ADHD as playing life on hard mode. You can still do it, but everyone else around you is seemingly having more success – and that reality makes the experience even harder. You might be able to forgive yourself when you discover you're playing on hard mode, but that doesn't make the actual game any easier. It's a lifelong journey to play the game and the game inside the game. It's not fair, but hopefully we can learn to enjoy it.

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I don’t want to be the bearer of bad news. It’s so much harder for me now. There are other factors that may be contributing so I’ll just say this. Resist doing too much. I can’t pull myself out of my current burnout which feels like a culminated of years of being in entrepreneurial overdrive It’s not great

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caveat: i was only recently (finally) diagnosed about 2 months ago 😅 so i am in the phase of "wow i am SO aware of all of my symptoms now and what i've had to deal with for the past 30 years" BUT one thing i've noticed that has been a really positive change is i'm way easier on myself now. i used to crap on myself all the time for not being able to build a tooth brushing habit despite trying to do so for 30 years, talking too much, not being able to control the volume of my voice, and other things like that. little did i know my brain struggles with forming habits and impulse control!! being easier on yourself makes living with adhd easier in my 2 months of experience so far lol. i think a lot of the shitty feelings about adhd surround the thinking of "why can't i just do XYZ", "i wish i could be different", "i'm an asshole for talking too much" but being able to accept that some days i can do XYZ and some days i can't has made it a lot more manageable i hope this helps a bit xoxo

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Kat Shaw pfp

@ndspiritualist

You haven't done anything wrong. This is actually something that is very common with ND diagnosis. Once you start pulling at these threads and working to do things differently for yourself you have to create all new neural pathways. How your used to do things went through masking and bad habits that your developed as a post of thinking there was something wrong with you. It's hard. It's really hard having to really rebuild yourself while also mourning that this is more than temporary failing. In my experience it does get better, but it comes with giving yourself forgiveness and grace for the times where you struggle. For me learning as much as I can about how my brain works has helped me find a kind of peace with myself about what I can and cannot do.

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swampnet.base.eth

I saw a video once and they talked about all of the tasks that people with adhd find most difficult, and how, if you can afford to, there should be no shame in offloading those tasks to liberate the rest of your mind. I’m unfortunately not in a position to do most of these things but if I could afford them I would: 1) door to door laundry service 2) ready to eat meal service 3) house cleaner

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Ray 🎩 pfp

@0xgymleader.eth

i have less symptoms when i'm able to do the following but its hard to do the following cause of said adhd lol - sleep 7-8 hrs - strength training 30 mins a day - walk 10k steps - healthy meals w/ balanced macros and 30 grams of protein per meal minimun - reduce/remove inflammatory foods - avoid alcohol - avoid added sugars - some form of mindfulness practice prob missing some other stuff but for the most part being able to do all or some of these helps me a ton. i'm at peace w this being a neverending battle on a swinging pendulum. having systems in place to get these done is crucial for me.

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Marcela pfp

I have been dealing with it even before i knew i had it 1. Did it get easier? Dealing with it? yes The symptoms? no I tried ritalin but it drove me anxious and i had to stop. i'm highly functional on ritalin, spongebob squarepants without it. 2. Where did you go wrong? I wouldn't say you got anything wrong but there's much more than meds and counseling. Running/Physicsl exercise helps a lot, playing video games, learning how your brain functions and respecting hyperfocus it's not always pleasant but adhd is kkke then a song you HATE is stuck in your mind. Sometimes you've gotta listen to it until the end so you can feel relief. 🫂

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CHIC pfp

tldr: yes absolutely, hold onto hope! I was diagnosed many years ago, long before it was cute & trendy on social media. I never knew how much masking I was doing in my daily life and I had a lot to unlearn. As I’ve learned more about the nuances in symptoms, my self-acceptance has definitely increased. I had a therapist teach me the value of identifying self-talk and releasing negative thoughts that were on a loop. It took practice, but those old patterns were eventually replaced with healthy ones. You’re already showing that you have a growth mindset vs fixed and that’s truly something to celebrate! Your writing habit seems solid and if you’re not journaling already, that may be a great addition for you! My simple advice: pick one new habit you’d like to add to become part of your routine and when it’s second nature, add another. Those blocks will add up and make a world of difference. And when it feels tough, let yourself feel it and know that you’re not alone.

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Emmanuel Awosika

Nope. Hasn't gotten easier. The only difference is that at least I know how to deal with certain things now than before. Or maybe it's that I can reduce the self-judgment and identify what's ADHD and what's me (even though I still have lots of self-judgment).

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Brent Fitzgerald

I’m late to this but I’ve had a draft sitting unfinished that I just remembered. Here’s some thing I’ve noticed in my own experience that might resonate: Structure is essential. Since COVID, I’ve been working independently. There are perks, but without clear constraints, my brain spirals. I’m more productive when I have a regular schedule and people are counting on me. I don’t always like those constraints, but getting things done feels good, so it’s a constant tension. Connection helps. Turns out I’m more content when I regularly talk to and collaborate with others. My brain would rather avoid all of that and just spin on projects. Meetings and group projects kinda stress me out, but big picture they also are anchors and keep me coming back to projects and ideas rather than just flitting around.

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antimo 🎩 pfp

I'm sorry to hear that What I've found is that the attention deficit, sadly, applies to the ADHD itself (and our capacity to address it in turn) Putting on autopilot parts of it has been a partial success

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Kieran Daniels 🎩

I had fully submitted to just taking small doses if adderal for years. And then I decided I wanted to get into shape and I did strict keto and then moved to time restricted eating 8/16. Fasting completely changed my life. My sleep immediately improved and my ability to go to sleep and everything I associated with “adhd” went away. I can focus on one tasks at a time and compartmentalize thoughts easily now. ADHD doesn’t really exist as an actual disease. That’s recently made up to pump people with pills. It’s a genetic variant that many people have and it’s increased by inflammation and inputs that we give our bodies. I didn’t expect fasting to have this effect but I complete erased it for me. It takes a long time to really have an affect and everyone is different genentically, but it’s one data point for you to consider :)

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@smokingfrog.eth

“Easier” is a myth, it just becomes more manageable Cutting out coffee this year has had positive effects for me

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Trigs pfp

I don't know, but reading all these responses was really good therapy.

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Reeeny pfp

How old are you? It has gotten easier with age for me. Acceptance has played a big part. Forgiving myself has played a bigger part and being proud of what I accomplished the biggest. Apparently you have managed quite well (s. responsibilities), so there is a lot to be proud of.

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