u/redwinesupernova03

Hi guys, I’m wondering if any of you have tried this medication to help with your adhd and what your experiences have been like. I am diagnosed with adhd-c and I’m also autistic with a pretty severe anxiety disorder. I am very sensitive to meds, I’ve had bad side effects to most classes excluding benzodiazepines, but have never tried stimulants which I am currently on the waitlist for. I asked a psychiatrist for an opinion on what I could do while I wait to start titration and she suggested modafinil for my adhd symptoms until then.

The thing is, I can’t even have too much caffeine cause I hate feeling jittery and wired, and I’ve read that this pill isn’t even approved to treat adhd but rather a med that’s supposed to keep people awake and alert, and it can cause insomnia. I am already suffering from hyperawareness and restlessness every day, I go to bed pretty late and I’m a VERY light sleeper living in a noisy environment, so I wouldn’t want something to put my nervous system on high alert even more than it already is.

I need the opposite - something that helps me focus, clears my head and takes away the restlessness in my body so I can feel more regulated and start or finish tasks that are usually very difficult for me to sit through. I don’t want to crash hard at the end of the day or be awake till 6 am cause I already go to bed at irregular times, usually between 2-4 am.

Feel free to share your opinions. I’m not even sure if it’s worth giving this a try cause I fear having a panic attack if it makes me feel too strange.

I’m 23 and honestly feel pretty lost when it comes to choosing a career. I know what I’m passionate about, but I have no idea what job actually fits me.

For context - I’m autistic, have ADHD and social anxiety, so traditional education and work environments have always been extremely difficult. Group projects, networking, presentations, rigid structures and highly social jobs tend to burn me out. I don’t want that to stop me from building a life I enjoy though.

The thing is, I’ve always been drawn to creative industries. I love music, film, photography, editing, motion graphics, writing, storytelling and learning guitar. These are different amateur hobbies I have, but all interconnected. I used to make short-form edits on TikTok and grew a niche account to almost 10k followers with over 2 million views and almost a million likes, but after a while I lost momentum and eventually stopped editing. I still love it, but it doesn’t come as naturally as it used to.

One thing that’s been consistent my entire life is that I’m obsessed with the behind the scenes side of things. After I finish a movie or TV show, or even listening to an album for the first time, I immediately go and read or watch interviews, reviews, behind-the-scenes footage, making-of documentaries, cast conversations, production stories, reactions… everything. Same with music. I love hearing artists talk about how songs were written, recorded, produced, what touring is like, why certain creative decisions were made. Sometimes I’m just as fascinated by the process as I am by the final product.

That’s the pattern I’ve noticed about myself. I don’t necessarily dream of being the actor, director or musician. I love the world around the creative process. I’d honestly be just as excited helping build that world somehow, whether that’s props, art departments, creative research, music supervision, mood boarding, post production, or roles I don’t even know exist yet.

The problem is that I have no degree, no portfolio, no industry connections and very little experience. All I have is tons of knowledge I can’t put to use. I’ve never met anyone who’s into the same things I am, it’s always been just me and the internet. I live in the UK at the moment, although I’d eventually love to move to Canada or the US.

I guess I’m wondering if anyone reading this works in film, TV, music or another creative field and has any advice. Based on everything I’ve said, are there careers that come to mind? Are there paths into these industries that don’t require the traditional route? And if you were in my position, what would you actually do over the next year?
I’m not looking for reassurance. I genuinely want honest, practical advice from people who know these industries better than I do.

I’m 23 and honestly feel pretty lost when it comes to choosing a career. I know what I’m passionate about, but I have no idea what job actually fits me.

For context - I’m autistic, have ADHD and social anxiety, so traditional education and work environments have always been extremely difficult. Group projects, networking, presentations, rigid structures and highly social jobs tend to burn me out. I don’t want that to stop me from building a life I enjoy though.

The thing is, I’ve always been drawn to creative industries. I love music, film, photography, editing, motion graphics, writing, storytelling and learning guitar. They’re different amateur hobbies I have, but all interconnected. I used to make short-form edits on TikTok and grew a niche account to almost 10k followers with over 2 million views and almost a million likes, but after a while I lost momentum and eventually stopped editing. I still love it, but it doesn’t come as naturally as it used to.

One thing that’s been consistent my entire life is that I’m obsessed with the behind the scenes side of things. After I finish a movie or TV show, or even listening to an album for the first time, I immediately go and read or watch interviews, reviews, behind-the-scenes footage, making-of documentaries, cast conversations, production stories, reactions… everything. Same with music. I love hearing artists talk about how songs were written, recorded, produced, what touring is like, why certain creative decisions were made. Sometimes I’m just as fascinated by the process as I am by the final product.

That’s kind of the pattern I’ve noticed about myself. I don’t necessarily dream of being the actor, director or musician. I love the world around the creative process. I’d honestly be just as excited helping build that world somehow, whether that’s props, art departments, creative research, music supervision, mood boarding, post production, or some job I don’t even know exists yet.

The problem is that I have no degree, no portfolio, no industry connections and very little experience. All I have is tons of knowledge I can’t put to use. I’ve never even met a person who’s into the same things I am, it’s always been just me and the internet. I live in the UK at the moment, although I’d eventually love to move to Canada or the US.

I guess I’m wondering if anyone reading this works in film, TV, music or another creative field and has any advice. Based on everything I’ve said, are there careers that come to mind? Are there paths into these industries that don’t require the traditional route? And if you were in my position, what would you actually do over the next year?
I’m not looking for reassurance. I genuinely want honest, practical advice from people who know these industries better than I do.

in life, i’ve never really met people who got attached to me, my presence, and actually put the effort in to get to know me and be around me whenever possible. i’ve always made the plans, inserted myself into people’s lives, tried to befriend them and show them support and love, but it never felt reciprocated.

all the friends i’ve had always wanted us to hang out with other people, my exes were the same. i remember at some point i had to make my ex sign a notes app thing where i asked him to prioritize me whenever we’d see each other (we were doing long distance), instead of my literal parents, because he found hanging out around them more fun and less difficult than one on one with me.

i’ve just always had this feeling that people only wanted and liked the masked version of me, but even then it was never enough for me to actually feel truly wanted and appreciated. i don’t like hanging out with multiple people at once, i’m more of a close friend/partner type of person so this has been rough.

even now i’m trying to make friends but they all have friend groups or partners already and i’m just an option on the side. i want to be someone’s person the way they are mine. i want it to feel equal.

is it really unrealistic or too much? this sounds like the audrey hobert song. but really. sue me i wanna be wanted 😭 i want my presence to matter, and my absence to be felt the way i feel other people’s absence, the way i think about them when they’re not around, or even no longer part of my life. i want a ride or die, not just to be a ride or die for other people.

i want someone to be fascinated by things i’m fascinated by, or even fascinated by me. the real me. i wanna be in the passenger seat for once, not the backseat.

I’m genuinely curious. I can’t pick a favorite, when I talk to people about how much I love music, they often ask my favorite artist/band or what genres I’m into. Well, I don’t have a clue, I’d say I listen to almost anything but the truth is, I don’t, I have a pretty varied but simultaneously specific taste. It’s tough to describe because it’s just, me? Like, my taste is part of me and shaped by many different factors and life experiences and moods. I also suck at identifying genres and understanding what they truly mean, ask me the definition and I can’t tell you.

How do you guys describe your music taste if you’re the same? If you only listen to one or two genres, how come?

I’m 23 and gosh, was I the target audience for this show… I had no idea it would have the huge impact on me that it did. I can’t even remember how I came across it, considering I’ve never heard anyone in my age range mention it before, but I’m glad I did. I wonder why it isn’t talked about more.

The themes of growing up and transitioning to adulthood were handled in a way that was honestly some of the most relatable television I’ve watched in my life. It felt like the writers spoke to me. As unrealistic and melodramatic as it may seem to some, it was almost like it matched the way I experience life and made me feel seen, especially the way all the characters spoke. Believe it or not, some of us do think and speak like that lol.

As a queer person, I also felt pleasantly surprised by Jack’s storyline and how it was never dismissed, and I can tell they did the best they could, especially considering the era it came out in. Now, I’m not saying this show was perfect, but I feel like the writers did exactly what they set out to do and pulled it off quite well. While the later seasons had weaker moments, I was still hooked till the very end, and the finale didn’t leave me bitter (unlike other shows).

I’m curious to hear your opinions on the finale and show as a whole because I don’t know anyone who has watched it that I can talk to right now and I’m feeling all sorts of emotions after the finale 😭
I’d also love if anyone who’s older and has been around to see the show airing in real time could share any stories about how it hit back then culturally and who people were rooting for the most. It seems like the fandom isn’t alive the same way it is for other older shows, like Twin Peaks for example.

I’ve lived in five different buildings, and the only one that wasn’t freezing cold during the winter was a modern built I only got to stay in for a couple of months. Everyone’s blaming the heat on the buildings because they’re meant to trap it but this NEVER happened in any of the flats I’ve lived in during the actual cold months. I have had purple fingernails due to how cold I’ve been with the heating/heater fan on. I’ve never lived in a warm flat unless I paid hundreds upon hundreds on bills and had multiple layers on me inside. It is extremely cold and damp with pools of water and mold by the windows every winter. How come none of the flats I’ve lived in have felt warm in the winter for me? The summers are either autumn like or boiling, and the winters are freezing. This has been my experience living in the UK for the past 6 years. It’s rare that the weather isn’t actively fighting me and affecting my quality of life. And no, not everyone can afford humidifier, dehumidifiers, air conditioners, extra heaters etc. We should be able to pay the rent and bills and actually live COMFORTABLY.

I have a disability and have been housebound for some time, living in a flat on Edgware Road. Now I understand, I live in a big city and blah blah, although I didn’t choose this location, you just take what you can get when you’re a working class family. This guy does laps and he seems to be on the road every single day and night, I’ve even heard him at sunrise before, out making sure every living being in his vicinity hears it.

I can hear him coming from miles away, then hear him in the distance doing the same thing, before he comes back onto Edgware Road again. The sounds are like farts but make them scary like war time’s here and someone’s shooting people out on the street, I can feel the vibrations from my bed. It sounds like your motorcycle has digestive problems, my guy. The perfect thing to mess up your nervous system long-term. When you think he’s gone, he just keeps showing up again and again in an unpredictable pattern that startles both me and my cat out of sleep multiple times a night.

This guy probably has some serious mental health struggles, and probably not much of a life cause otherwise I can’t imagine investing into something that terrorizes people as a hobby. You are the villain and I hope you are real proud of yourself knowing how much stress you cause on a daily basis.

And no, there’s nothing I can do about it because the council doesn’t give a crap. The amount of times I tried to contact them, with proof too. What are they gonna do? This guy doesn’t have a specific schedule or hangs around in one spot for too long. I can’t just camp out and wait for him myself so I can get a photo of his plate and report it, though I’ve thought about it plenty of times.

Hi, I’m looking to chat to people and get to know each other, see if we vibe. If we do, I’d love to meet in the future instead of keeping it strictly online forever 😭

I’m in the UK and in need of some irl friends who are into the same stuff as me. I tried for so long to connect to people in my city through apps but it seems like a lost cause, we’re on totally different wavelengths. Fyi, I’m queer and neurodivergent.

I love music, films/tv shows, pop culture and being out in nature. City life and capitalism are the worst for my mental health unfortunately. I can’t seem to make it work so I am hoping to relocate in the future. I enjoy traveling and love going to concerts or festivals to see my favorite artists. The most recent ones I’ve seen live are Ethel Cain and Chappell Roan. Going out in nature for a picnic, barbequing or just taking nice aesthetic photos and walking around aimlessly for hours is so much more exciting to me compared to just going out for drinks or hanging in crowded social scenes. I’m interested in activities that feel cinematic and relaxing rather than mundane and overstimulating, and people who have a relaxed energy to them, who I don’t have to perform for and can just be myself with.

One of my biggest dreams is to go on a roadtrip in the US, visit the Redwood National Park and the town where Twin Peaks was filmed. I think these two locations tell a lot about me as a person and what makes me happy in life so I figured I’d drop this piece of info. My dm’s are open to like minded individuals <3

Hi, I’m looking to chat to people and get to know each other, see if we vibe. If we do, I’d love to meet in the future instead of keeping it strictly online forever 😭

I’m in the UK and in need of some irl friends who are into the same stuff as me. I tried for so long to connect to people in my city through apps but it seems like a lost cause, we’re on totally different wavelengths. Fyi, I’m queer and neurodivergent.

I love music, films/tv shows, pop culture and being out in nature. City life and capitalism are the worst for my mental health unfortunately. I can’t seem to make it work so I am hoping to relocate in the future. I enjoy traveling and love going to concerts or festivals to see my favorite artists. The most recent ones I’ve seen live are Ethel Cain and Chappell Roan. Going out in nature for a picnic, barbequing or just taking nice aesthetic photos and walking around aimlessly for hours is so much more exciting to me compared to just going out for drinks or hanging in crowded social scenes. I’m interested in activities that feel cinematic and relaxing rather than mundane and overstimulating, and people who have a relaxed energy to them, who I don’t have to perform for and can just be myself with.

One of my biggest dreams is to go on a roadtrip in the US, visit the Redwood National Park and the town where Twin Peaks was filmed. I think these two locations tell a lot about me as a person and what makes me happy in life so I figured I’d drop this piece of info. My dm’s are open to like minded individuals <3

I’ve been on these types of meds before and they traumatized me, I swore I’d never touch them again. A low dose of Zoloft caused me to attempt … after two weeks. I just don’t want to lose any of my emotions, or gain weight or feel drowsy, I can’t tolerate any of those side effects and no matter how bad I feel they’re not worth it and I stopped them all on my own cold turkey, it was horrendous. I’m sorry but I don’t get people who can go through that and try 10 different meds.

My GP has never suggested anything else, I had to bring up the possibility of trying a beta blocker (propranolol) for my physical anxiety symptoms myself. They’re so strict and keep you boxed in the ‘cbt/online self help book/ssri’ pathway no matter what. I’m autistic with adhd, suffering from functional impairment and long term isolation without a support system. No, I’m not in a crisis but I feel it approaching and I’d like to prevent it, but the system just doesn’t work like that. It only takes action when you ALREADY are in the crisis. There is no immediate therapy or support or med that isn’t in that category that they’ve suggested. All waiting lists in my area are a year long if not worse. Feel like going to A&E but I’m not sure what they’d do, don’t want to be forced into taking meds I don’t want or admitted, that’d only traumatize me further.

I’ve been on these types of meds before and they traumatized me, I swore I’d never touch them again. A low dose of Zoloft caused me to attempt … after two weeks. I just don’t want to lose any of my emotions, or gain weight or feel drowsy, I can’t tolerate any of those side effects and no matter how bad I feel they’re not worth it and I stopped them all on my own cold turkey, it was horrendous. I’m sorry but I don’t get people who can go through that and try 10 different meds.

My GP has never suggested anything else, I had to bring up the possibility of trying a beta blocker (propranolol) for my physical anxiety symptoms myself. They’re so strict and keep you boxed in the ‘cbt/online self help book/ssri’ pathway no matter what. I’m autistic with adhd, suffering from functional impairment and long term isolation without a support system. No, I’m not in a crisis but I feel it approaching and I’d like to prevent it, but the system just doesn’t work like that. It only takes action when you ALREADY are in the crisis. There is no immediate therapy or support or med that isn’t in that category that they’ve suggested. All waiting lists in my area are a year long if not worse. Feel like going to A&E but I’m not sure what they’d do, don’t want to be forced into taking meds I don’t want or admitted, that’d only traumatize me further.

I’ve been on these types of meds before and they traumatized me, I swore I’d never touch them again. A low dose of Zoloft caused me to attempt … after two weeks. I just don’t want to lose any of my emotions, or gain weight or feel drowsy, I can’t tolerate any of those side effects and no matter how bad I feel they’re not worth it and I stopped them all on my own cold turkey, it was horrendous. I’m sorry but I don’t get people who can go through that and try 10 different meds.

My GP has never suggested anything else, I had to bring up the possibility of trying a beta blocker (propranolol) for my physical anxiety symptoms myself. They’re so strict and keep you boxed in the ‘cbt/online self help book/ssri’ pathway no matter what. I’m autistic with adhd, suffering from functional impairment and long term isolation without a support system. No, I’m not in a crisis but I feel it approaching and I’d like to prevent it, but the system just doesn’t work like that. It only takes action when you ALREADY are in the crisis. There is no immediate therapy or support or med that isn’t in that category that they’ve suggested. All waiting lists in my area are a year long if not worse. Feel like going to A&E but I’m not sure what they’d do, don’t want to be forced into taking meds I don’t want or admitted, that’d only traumatize me further.

I’m not trying to make the people who have support feel less than. I just feel bad for people like me who don’t have it, and want it to be a reminder to the ones who do that it’s a huge privilege you should never take for granted.

My entire future depends on systems that keep failing me, mental healthcare has been the worst of all. More often than not, did more harm than good and left with me a bunch of trauma. To the people who have the funds for specialized / long term therapy, proper psychiatry, access to a neurodivergent friendly workplace / education that has accommodations, friends who try to understand and take your struggles seriously, family members who are present in your life and love you as you are, I’m happy for you guys, and I hope you’re aware of how much it actually means.

I wish I could get back all the years of my youth that I spent chronically stressed, hanging on by a thread, trying to access the right support, get help and make a life for myself. All the sweat and tears, sleepless nights, anxiety attacks or years of being on waitlists, it was all for nothing, just to be left to fend for myself stuck with severe functional impairment in adulthood. All the time that could’ve been spent on things other people my age worry about. Most days I don’t even know what I’m fighting for anymore, I am just disgusted by how complex neurodivergent and mentally ill cases are treated (or not treated and straight up dismissed/denied proper help) by the system.

Did anyone experience the context of their trauma sort of turning into a kink? It seems no matter how much I try to rewire my brain, it still goes there. Sometimes it’s like I can only be turned on by things that I know I naturally wouldn’t have been interested in had they not happened to me. It feels like my preferences are just a result of it and they don’t feel like something I consciously chose to be into, just another side effect of my trauma. For the longest time I thought it’d go away, and for months it maybe did but it’s still there in the background and it comes back once in a while. Do I just have to accept that this is how it’s going to be?

I’m a UK patient diagnosed with autism (level 1), ADHD and anxiety/depression currently waiting for ADHD titration, but it could take a while.

I have long-standing difficulties with executive dysfunction, avoidance, severe social anxiety, and independent daily living (working, studying, leaving the house alone, shopping, cooking, maintaining routines). This has significantly impacted my functioning for most of my life and has gotten worse in adulthood. I am basically living a hikikomori lifestyle and have been for a long time.

I have previously tried:
Therapy (multiple courses) - wasn’t able to access long-term due to financial struggles so it didn’t make a lasting impact
SSRIs (fluvoxamine, sertraline) - couldn’t tolerate, extreme side effects when I was younger
Risperidone - taken short term and stopped on my own
Sodium valproate - also short term and stopped on my own
Benzodiazepines (alprazolam, bromazepam) - can’t take long term due to addiction risk, not commonly prescribed in the UK
Propranolol (minimal benefit)

I’ve generally struggled with side effects and tolerability and am cautious about medications that may blunt emotions or significantly change baseline functioning.

I’m not looking for a specific prescription, but I’m trying to understand:
- What options are realistically available in the NHS for someone in this situation while waiting for ADHD titration?
- Are there any non-SSRI / non-CBT pathways typically considered for severe functional impairment in neurodivergent adults?
- Is it standard to just wait for ADHD treatment in cases like this, or are there interim supports clinicians would usually consider?

I’m trying to make informed decisions rather than feel stuck waiting without direction.

i really want to make a friend or two i can talk to or even meet once in a while, but i’ve missed out on so many milestones and live such a different life on another wavelength that i feel totally alien. i have one online friend but that can only do so much. it’s been my goal for years now but how am i supposed to do it without lying about my life and how grim it’s looked so far? i can appear 100% normal to most people but it’s such a burden to carry when they ask me about work, education, other friends and family i don’t have or what i’m up to day to day and i have to either lie or dance around it.

i remember once lying to someone that i was going grocery shopping or on walks regularly during a talking stage, even though i wasn’t because i was too embarrassed to admit i hate leaving the house on my own in this area that i live in, it’s anxiety inducing. i have hobbies and passions and about a million things to talk about but unrelated to actual everyday life and being a part of society and ofc no one gets it. with the right person i’d like to go out for different activities or invite them over but i just have to mask my entire being the whole time because no one understands me or makes me feel at home. where do i even find people like me. i’ve been looking for years.

Anyone else like me? What are we even supposed to do?

I feel like I’m living the wrong life, like this was never supposed to be my story and now I’m trapped. I lost most of my developmental years to trauma, mental health issues and an inability to adapt to society due to autism and ADHD. I just tried to make the best of what I had and survived until I reached a state of burnout a few years ago and haven’t been able to get myself out of it since.

At this point, I missed out on so many experiences and milestones that I feel totally out of the loop, not that I’ve ever really been part of it to begin with. The only thing I still have going for me are my hobbies, but also the inability to monetize them or share them with the world. They’re mostly solitary activities, and I have nothing to show for myself.

I’ve only ever been able to work 2–3 days a week as a housekeeper when I was younger, but even that drained me and made me leave one day and never return. I feel like I wasn’t made to live my life on a conventional path, yet I have no idea how to pave a different one when I have zero resources. I’m broke, I live with my mom who’s in debt, and we have no savings or support system.

During my teenage years, I didn’t think I was ever going to live to see myself as an adult, especially 23. I tried to take my life twice when I was in the 8th grade. Now I’m here, and it feels like a timeline where everything went terribly wrong.

I’ve been told, ‘You’re young, you’re smart, you’re conventionally attractive, you’re special, you have so much potential’, but I’m literally incapable of doing anything with these advantages. My mental health issues and neurodivergence make the simplest things feel like a death sentence to my nervous system, even while I look completely normal from the outside.

I feel stunted, like I’ve socially reached the point of no return, and completely without a support system. Am I doomed to fail?

As some of you probably already know, the UK is going through a heatwave right now and I live on the top floor of an 8 story building that the sun beats into all day. These old buildings are made to trap heat, so the flat stays hot and humid even throughout the night. I have nothing but blackout curtains and a fan.

Should I be worried about my guitars sitting out in these conditions or is it not that big of a deal? Just a week ago it was cold and I’d use my fan heater and now it’s incredibly hot, like we’re inside a cooker, so I fear that these sudden temperature changes could have a negative impact on the wood.