Not a doctor but I've taken both. Ritalin as a child, Vyvanse as a teen, and Adderall in later teen years/early adult-hood. My experience may not be totally helpful as they were taken at different stages in life, but I'll never forget the feeling each gave me.

I remember the first time I was given Ritalin, I felt like an absolute zombie. Yeah, I was focused, but emotionally unattached. I was easily annoyed by friends, sounds, any "distraction" that involved more than concentrated thought. I didn't eat or drink much, and just wanted to get my school work done and go lie down.

Vyvanse was different in that I ate and drank a little more. I did feel more emotionally attached. But I'd still have this layer of 'let's get this done'. I was far more social on Vyvanse, but it was still like background noise. In a way "listening, just not tracking."

The first time I took Adderall I realized afterwards that I almost put a hole in my retainer from grinding my teeth so hard. Anything that needed to get done, got done. Like others said, it's like "zooming in" but I still managed to have each thing done in a timely manner. I was social but if I wasn't actively doing SOMETHING, I'd get very annoyed. It made me extremely restless.

Long story short, everyone is different. My brother was on Ritalin and Vyvanse. He would tell you similar things but he still doesn't eat or drink with either one. My husband has been on Adderall and Vyvanse. Adderall makes him crazy, Vyvanse makes him sort of present. He does have negative and positive side affects with both though.

We're all different. Hope this helps!