3. I cannot take the pills anymore, I hate them so much.

I cannot take the pills anymore, I hate them so much.

I have ADD and was on pretty high doses of Ritalin for about a year, and they worked just as they should, with no side effects. What that looked like to me was that the added stress of needing to keep pills with me at all times, remembering to take them, etc., outweighed the benefits of actually paying attention in my classes and such. Right after stopping meds, I did an entire programming bachelors degree, and got about half'n'half A's and B' in all subjects (except a couple of C's), and even got hired by one of my lecturers for his software consultancy firm, where I stayed for a few years after.

For the bachelors, I reframed my mindset, and had some friends pissed when I called everything priorities, such as saying "No, I can't prioritize hanging out today". I had a clear list of priorities, with school (#1), work (#2), health (#3), friends/family/fun (#4), and I stuck to that list. This seems to have worked pretty well because that's also when I had a turning point with regards to my grades. That reframing, as I see it, did more for my grades than the meds could ever do.

For work, I've been consistent in that I haven't mentioned anything about it, but have been very open about what conditions cause me to be most productive, and when I'm overwhelmed etc. Both my workplaces have been extremely thankful for this open communication, because its in their interest, as well as mine, that I get to be as productive as I can within the working hours, and that I don't burn out. I'm probably seen as weird in some ways, but that doesn't really matter.

Now, I'm about as happy as I can be. I work in a very respectable company, with tasks that are just the right difficulty for me to grow at a rapid rate without being overwhelmed, I have a clear separation between work and free time, and I get to be super productive most of the time.

It's definitely doable to maintain a software engineering job without meds, at least for me. ADHD is different for everyone though, and there's different severities, so what works for me probably won't work for everyone.

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Can't make resume Been struggling with this app dev agency.. Need some input.. Need help with getting work partner understanding ADHD Can we get a wiki or a sticky post for the 'ideal' ADHD app

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