u/AnimatorOwn1379

[trigger warning: implied/referenced self harm. please take care of yourselves <3]

Just a bit of a 3am rant before I stop thinking about impossible what ifs and fr lock in tmr morning LOLL. I’ve been in a bit of a wellbeing situation since early April and as im writing this im 2 days clean (if anyone’s in a similar boat I believe in you please please keep going!!). I’ve been seeing my GP regularly bc I kept relapsing in between appts and getting booked for follow ups, and she believes that the situation has been impacting my studies. I’m doing a lot better now and focused on salvaging my academics as much as possible and aim for a minimum 2.1.

I’m just a bit salty about the fact that per my uni’s EC regulations, i am definitely able to defer some of my papers — which would be massively helpful bc i have 6 exams, all being 100% of my module grades, and three being in two consecutive days. I’m learning the content for those three exams now while most of my friends are practising essay questions and genuinely omds this is such a level of academic cookery. But unfortunately I’m international from a whole continent away and can’t stay over the summer bc thats more expensive than flying home so I can’t defer some of my exams 🥀 Even if finances were not a problem, I obviously can’t explain to my parents the reason behind needing to fly back to the UK for a deferral in this situation💀

I have an EU law exam coming up and this will be my first exam where a one page (single sided) reference sheet is allowed (all my previous exams were either closed or open book). im wondering what should go on that reference sheet? I’m revising 5 topics so it’s quite a lot to put onto 1 page, so there’s very likely not enough space to put down all key academics and their opinions + the rulings of all key cases. How would you recommend structuring it from your experience - thank you!!

More info: It’s an essay based exam and all topics are examined separately (theories of EU integration + institutions of law making + authority of EU law + judicial system + EU citizenship and free movement)

Penultimate year law student that barely scraped a 2:1 in my first year. It’s a few days into exams, and the exam I just finished was a massive shitshow. I’m expecting a 2.2 or hopefully a 60/61 if im lucky on it. I have three exams next Thursday and Friday and I’ve barely started on them. I‘ve tried to plan out my study schedule and I logically know that time is VERY tight, but my actions and emotions don’t match this logical knowledge of urgency. It’s like there’s this disconnect between knowing something is urgent and feeling ‘oh shit this is urgent’ and acting accordingly.

And it’s been like this the entire revision period too — i think on average I studied 2.5 hours a day (while my peers are all doing 5-6 hours) despite learning a lot of the material for the first time. I wayyy more frequently would feel frustration from my lazy bum’s inaction not matching the daft academic emergency I am in, instead of more productively feeling the anxiousness or motivation to start work in the first place. I was chatting with my friend today and he said ‘you already accepted you’re gonna fail’ and I said, im not — and I really don’t think I am because I really need a 2.1 — but he’s right, actions speak louder than words and with how im moving, I better up my game :(

This whole situation just feel so comical and ridiculous bc all my peers with objectively way better progress are stressing and I feel so guilty bc im just… so irrationally chill, until two days before the exam where I finally ‘see’ the gravity of the situation. And it’s rather pathetic I would [trigger warning] (very superficially) harm myself from the frustration and guilt than actually put in the work. I’m already medicated for ADHD.

Idk gng but no use beating myself up for what’s done I’m gonna wake up and lock in tmr😭😭 but any advice or reality checks would be appreciated🙏

Law student with ADHD here procrastinating revising for company law by scrolling on Reddit instead LOL. This is such a minor question but I've always had this query since starting medication 9 months ago: solicitors often have to work long hours into the night. For solicitors w/ ADHD, how do you handle medication use after evening? Do you work unmedicated after 9/10pm? I was pretty bummed by the realisation that I can't study medicated till 11pm and still expect to fall asleep before 3am, but at least as a student I can choose to wake up extra early instead of doing a late study sesh. But what about those working in law?

I’m a uni student on standard release Ritalin (around 3 hours), and like many uni students I unfortunately am not a natural early bird. If all medication timing constraints are gone, I would usually start studying at 1-2pm and end at 11pm (with breaks and meals in the middle ofc) on a lock in day right before exams (which is the time of the year im in rn, 6 exams in the next 3 weeks all being 100% of my module grade).

However, the latest I can take Ritalin is around 6-7pm — later than that and my sleep schedule gets rly messed up and I dont fall asleep until 3-4am, and even then my sleep quality is low. This means that I often can’t work till late, and in order to be able to for a bit (until 9/10pm) I also have to time my doses earlier in the day precisely such that the last dose falls between 6-7pm, which is kinda hard bc on some days on less motivated, more tired etc, which might impact my dosing frequency and timing earlier in the day.

Ofc the best thing would be for me to fix my sleep schedule and start studying at 9-10am, so if I end in early evening I’d still have enough hours in. I’m trying to do that but consistency is not this adhder’s strongest suit either😭

I just wish, say, if I crashed out at night and cried until 4am the night before, and thus woke up later, I could still, as with other people, salvage the day by studying till later instead of having to choose between throwing away my sleep schedule for the next night as well or accepting a low productivity day ahead of me.

Theres not much point to this post tbh apart from being an annoyed rant about how I feel like my study life has turned me into a machine that relies on precise calculations of medication intake hours to maximise functioning, and if that fails I have to choose between studying unmedicated or losing 2-3 hours of study time. Which feels extra unfair when sticking to an early routine and sleeping early is also extra hard for us with adhd. I also still struggle with focus and task initiation during the day despite being medicated so having extra hours to spend wouldve been helpful to mitigate the hours lost from that. I’m jealous of people that can stay in the library until midnight and then sleep within the hour when they get home. I’ve heavily avoided studying unmedicated this whole year (is this a sign of dependence??) so looking back I’ve wasted a lot of hours I could’ve been studying. im studying law at a G5 uni so goddamn I’m really struggling right now...

if anyone has any advice that would be so appreciated <3

I’m a uni student on standard release Ritalin (around 3 hours), and like many uni students I unfortunately am not a natural early bird. If all medication timing constraints are gone, I would usually start studying at 1-2pm and end at 11pm (with breaks and meals in the middle ofc) on a lock in day right before exams.

However, the latest I can take Ritalin is around 6-7pm — later than that and my sleep schedule gets rly messed up and I dont fall asleep until 3-4am, and even then my sleep quality is low. This means that I often can’t work till late, and in order to be able to for a bit (until 9/10pm) I also have to time my doses earlier in the day precisely such that the last dose falls between 6-7pm, which is kinda hard bc on some days on less motivated, more tired etc, which might impact my dosing frequency and timing earlier in the day.

Ofc the best thing would be for me to fix my sleep schedule and start studying at 9-10am, so if I end in early evening I’d still have enough hours in. I’m trying to do that but consistency is not this adhder’s strongest suit either😭 I just wish say, if I crashed out at night and cried until 4am the night before, and thus woke up later, I could still as with other people salvage the day by studying till later instead of having to choose between throwing away my sleep schedule for the next night or accepting a low productivity day ahead of me.

Theres not much point to this post tbh apart from being an annoyed rant about how I feel like my study life has turned me into a machine that relies on precise calculations of medication intake hours to maximise functioning, and if that fails I have to choose between studying unmedicated or losing 2-3 hours of study time. Which feels extra unfair when sticking to an early routine and sleeping early is also extra hard for us with adhd. I also still struggle with focus and task initiation during the day despite being medicated so having extra hours to spend wouldve been helpful to mitigate the hours lost from that. I’m jealous of people that can stay in the library until midnight and then sleep within the hour when they get home. I’ve heavily avoided studying unmedicated this whole year (is this a sign of dependence??) so looking back I’ve wasted a lot of hours I could’ve been studying. im studying law at a G5 uni so goddamn I’m really struggling right now...

ive been taking short release Ritalin for nine months now officially, and before that I tried it unofficially as well to study (struggling uni student). it helps a lot on days where im so groggy and tired that I can’t get any chores done, and ive been taking it for studying too.

but lately ive been wondering whether they actually help for studying?? last night I went to my friends room at 11pm to study together for spring exams, I went back to my room after a bit and I was able to study with focus for a total of 45 mins. And ofc since it was at night, I wasn’t medicated.

On the other hand, I also realise even when im medicated, I struggle to get things started or sometimes even stay on task if im not body doubling or using a timer app like Forest. Idk how to explain this but sometimes I will ’feel’ the effects of the medication in my head (I feel a wave of swirly energy idk😭), but I still struggle to start the work. These situations are extra frustrating to experience bc then I just have all this energy trapped inside me but not ‘released’ into a high demand task like studying.

all these made me question whether I actually need medication?? does it even make things better?? they definitely did when I had no diagnosis, no learning support, and just rawdogging, but over the past nine months, ive been getting study coaching to learn how to manage time and plan, and the app Forest helps as well. body doubling has been extremely helpful before diagnosis/ medication and still is now. So what am I exactly taking my meds for(?) are they actually helping(?) I mean rn I feel like there’s no harm taking as long as im not taking too high of a dose (sometimes I accidentally do that and feel jittery and uncomfortable), but yeah im just very confused… idk:’)