[Seth412]

So I've pretty much stumbled through my adult life being inadequate and not knowing why. I really got down on myself. I'm lazy. I'm stupid. I can't learn. I have no working memory. I'll never be successful. Etc.

I regularly lose things. I get hyper focused sometimes, and other times I lose track of what I'm doing, where things are, what I was supposed to get done. I zone out while people are talking to me. I can't remember anyone's name. I make careless mistakes at work (last week I literally split my head open).

The occupational problems are the worst. It's not uncommon for people to have to show me things more than once, because the first and even second time it didn't "register." Got fired for it a few times. While I'm doing repetitive tasks, my mind basically leaves me. I daydream. I tried a go at the construction trades. Really liked the work, but the work didn't like me. I nearly fell off a ladder. I sliced my finger with a saw. I kicked over a paint bucket. My work speed is staggeringly slow. If a machine isn't keeping the pace for me, I have trouble keeping a productive pace. Been fired for that too. The capitalist job market and my ADD seem incompatible.

I can't stay focused on a single goal. I painted for a summer and decided I wanted to go back to school. I went back to school and decided I wanted to paint. I tried working in the ER, lost interest, and changed my mind. I worked in a gummy bear factory. Decided naaahhhhhh, walked off the job. I drive everyone close to me insane.

Assuming that I don't want to subject my central nervous system to stimulants, what the heck can I do about this?

[LifeForce]

Originally Posted by Seth412

So I've pretty much stumbled through my adult life being inadequate and not knowing why. I really got down on myself. I'm lazy. I'm stupid. I can't learn. I have no working memory. I'll never be successful. Etc.


I regularly lose things. I get hyper focused sometimes, and other times I lose track of what I'm doing, where things are, what I was supposed to get done. I zone out while people are talking to me. I can't remember anyone's name. I make careless mistakes at work (last week I literally split my head open).


The occupational problems are the worst. It's not uncommon for people to have to show me things more than once, because the first and even second time it didn't "register." Got fired for it a few times. While I'm doing repetitive tasks, my mind basically leaves me. I daydream. I tried a go at the construction trades. Really liked the work, but the work didn't like me. I nearly fell off a ladder. I sliced my finger with a saw. I kicked over a paint bucket. My work speed is staggeringly slow. If a machine isn't keeping the pace for me, I have trouble keeping a productive pace. Been fired for that too. The capitalist job market and my ADD seem incompatible.


I can't stay focused on a single goal. I painted for a summer and decided I wanted to go back to school. I went back to school and decided I wanted to paint. I tried working in the ER, lost interest, and changed my mind. I worked in a gummy bear factory. Decided naaahhhhhh, walked off the job. I drive everyone close to me insane.


Assuming that I don't want to subject my central nervous system to stimulants, what the heck can I do about this?

Unfortunately, stimulants are the only thing proven to work. I’d recommend weighing up the pros and cons of living with the consequences of ADD vs using stimulants to help your brain do what other people’s brains do naturally. Even stimulants won’t solve all your problems, especially because you’re starting as an adult, but, if they work for you, they will change your life!