Did you get a diagnosis and did you try to fix it?

I'm a musician but I never learned how to sing properly. I tried at various points in my life and failed. This time around I promised I would stick with it and keep trying no matter what. But, again, I am showing little (or possibly no) progress. This is despite the fact I have just had my 10th lesson and have put in countless hours practising.

My teacher describes bodily sensations to give me instructions. She will say things like "breathe into the back ribs," "push the air forward", "sing down into the body," etc. The problem is, I don't seem to perceive any of what she describes. When I breathe in, for example, I don't feel my back ribs at all. And when it comes to the other instructions, I either don't feel it or don't exactly know what it is I should be feeling.

She has told that I am the only student to ever to tell her this. She is also perplexed as to why I have so much difficulty, because she tells me that to her the sensations are very obvious. Something she told me at the very start was that without getting these feelings, progress is not possible. That is now something she does not repeat. Instead, she now just tells me to visualise certain movements, such as my back ribs expanding.

She has not told me that my progress is slow or non-existent, but she has also not told me of any progress I've made either. Suffice to say this has not been a pleasant experience and I feel like I am uniquely defective.

Have any of you ever experienced anything like this? Could it be my CDS at play? I am wondering if my problem with attention could be what explains this, but from what I have read CDS does not seem to affect interoception.

Which of those has been, for you, the most effective non-medical strategy to deal with low motivation?

1. Make yourself athletic, doing aerobic exercises multiple times per week.
2. Keeping a healthy food habit.
3. Supplementing with essential minerals, vitamins, EFAs, etc.
4. Using neuroactive supplements.
5. The 5-minute rule: tell yourself you only have to work on it for five minutes.
6. Behavioral Activation: Commit to completing the smallest achievable wins.
7. Reframing Self-Talk: Shift your language from feeling-based pressure ("I have to do X") to value-based purpose ("I want to do X because it aligns with my goals").
8. Dopamine Diet: Minimize quick-fix digital pleasures progressively until they are all eliminated.
9. External Accountability: Share your deadlines
10. Other? (please describe)

Recently I’ve been finally able to put into words that I just don’t really feel positive emotions because I’ve just always felt too mentally drained. I even struggle to experience interest itself unless I’m on my adhd medication. Motivation itself seems like a rare occurrence for me. I don’t even necessarily feel bad (although I certainly can feel negative emotions). But mostly just drained.

Do any of you relate?

Has anybody with CDS (or not) had this problem after taking strattera?
I took 10mg of it everyday for a month, didn't feel any effects, however, on the fourth day after switching to 25mg I felt extreme tiredness (I'm not energetic as a whole, but this is next level), I can't focus to read, which I normally do, it's harder to initiate any tasks (such as serving myself food for lunch), I barely get out of bed, I'm on the phone all day cause I can't do anything else.
In the mornings I wake up earlier than usual, which wouldnt've been bad if I wasn't constantly tired throught the whole day.
My question is - has anybody experienced such side effects, do they go away? I'm not completely sure if it's the atomoxetine. I'm stopping it for a few days to see if energy comes back, then I will try it again to see if I'll get tired again. Maybe it's not for me....

I graduated from a competitive high school and college; the lengths that I had to go to be able to keep up with everyone else is insane. Mind you I also have ADHD-PI along with CDS, and I was not diagnosed until last year at the age of 24.

I always feel it took me a lot longer to encode information. It also takes me a while to take in new information, make sense of it, and to produce a response.

Anyone else have the same experience?

My house and finances are a mess, and I'm almost being evicted. I wouldn't care much if it was just for me, but I have 6 dependents, so I must fix my issue with motivation so that it stops affecting them.

My issue

I have always been like that, since I was born. My issue resembles CDS (SCT) more than ADHD, but CDS is not yet a full match.

It is not about distractibility. It is about motivation. I need a significant level of external stimuli to engage in whatever I need to. Otherwise, I just can't do it. On the other hand, I have very high engagement when the stimuli are enough.

When I'm facing a challenge that (a) requires me to be creative or that has time constraints and (b) stakes are high or the reward is high, then I become hyperfocused. In these situations, I can do it for 15+ hours non-stop, and I won't feel the need to sleep until it's done.

I love to keep my mind highly active with games, such as chess, but I had to quit chess because many times it turned into an addiction, so I was playing chess instead of doing what I was being paid for.

When motivated by some important goal, I can be social, communicative, pro-active, etc. However, most of the time, I feel internally apathetic and trapped with my own thoughts, unwilling to connect to the physical world.

When working remotely, the lack of interaction with my peers makes it very difficult for me to engage with the work. It becomes harder and harder until I stop working, don't send timesheets on time, etc. This has led me to lose many jobs.

But I'm not in any kind of pain. I have no tendency for depression or anxiety at all, and I'm extremely resilient. Actually, I would function better if I were constantly anxious, but instead I'm constantly laid-back.

Treatments

I have tried psychotherapy for many months, with different professionals, but saw no actual benefit in dealing with the core motivational problem.

I also tried supplements of all kinds, but there was no big change. Except when smoking had lowered my testosterone too much and I lost pleasure in everything. The supplements were very effective in fixing that. Now I don't smoke or drink, just to avoid problems.

About meds

I'm not seeking medical advice, but here is what I've tried:

• Methylphenidate stimulants (like Ritalin) may have helped me to do the boring task of washing dishes but didn't quite give me motivation for longer-term tasks that require more engagement. Anyway, I had to stop because it causes me migraines, like it happens when I consume food with Tyramine. This may be a sensitivity to monoamine fluctuations. Amphetamines would probably give me a much worse migraine.
• Clonidine doesn't seem to do much, but I haven't taken it for long enough. I tried it as an adjunct to control the migraines.
• Atomoxetine was started a couple of days ago. All I have noticed about it is that it gives me cortisol spikes, which are unpleasurable, but I will give it more time to see if it helps with motivation.

Further thoughts

I never saw it as a treatment, but in the past when I was more atletic, I only did very intensive types of exercise. I don't see the point in doing exercise unless it is very intensive. Recently I was suggested to do that again, preferably after waking up early, at dawn. Does that make sense, does that help anyone here with motivation along the day?

Does anyone here identify with what I said in this post?

Since young around kindergarten - elementary school age, I learned many things manually, not to choke when swallowing, not to trip when walking, to properly breath-speak (to remember to breath, to produce sound nicely. I remember around 3-5 grades I noticed how sometimes when I started talking I can sound weird, I’m female btw so not puberty voice), etc etc.

Falling is regular thing when I was young, breaking stuff, glasses, scars everywhere. I’m like a feral kid. Reckless clumsy and called lazy and aloof by my parents.

I suspect my gifted IQ compensate for my lack in motor skills and also in my interrupted flow of thoughts, I always have glitches moments and rarely rarely enter flow states. And I‘m coming from low socioeconomic background from 3rd world country, so my parents dgaf about my development.

Basically, growing up and almost all my life I always feel scared and left off, like I’m gasping for air barely not drowning trying to stay afloat while everyone doing fine floating flowing.

I managed to graduate from Top Uni in my country with good grade, but the undergrad experience left me scared of academia or company setting workplace. I managed to work for myself, so in paper I’m nobody, no worthy skills for workforce.
Now, approaching 40 I’m trying to continue grad school. I want to get myself proper help. I never went to psychiatrist/psychologist for any assessment, nor have a therapist.

I have problem with short term and long term memory (I’m super forgetful), executive function, focus, quickly bored.
In life, I have problem making and maintaining friendships (I can’t keep up with conversation, I tend to be silent in group not because I don’t want to talk or shy but because I’m physically exhausted), and I don’t know what to talk to with friend or to keep them entertain so no deep long lasting friendship. I don’t like party, drinks, I like simple life.

My younger sibling was diagnosed with idiopathic hypersomnia.

Before that, he had been diagnosed with mild ADHD, but I am absolutely certain he has CDS (Cognitive Disengagement Syndrome). Every single symptom aligns perfectly with CDS. Idiopathic hypersomnia seems to be just a part of those symptoms, with the root cause remaining unknown.

​He started taking Modafinil, but it doesn't seem to be working. While Modafinil keeps him awake, it fails to address the underlying sluggishness—it feels like a flimsy band-aid. His doctor doesn't recommend stopping Modafinil to start Concerta because his ADHD is only considered mild.

​I also experienced symptoms that perfectly mirrored CDS from my childhood through adolescence. Furthermore, despite having severe ADHD, it took me three whole years just to see any kind of response—whether it was an effect or a side effect—from Concerta, so I have absolutely no faith in that medication. It truly did nothing at all for me.

​He isn't able to fully utilize his natural intelligence. Even though he feels frustrated by his situation, his approach to dealing with it is incredibly passive. It seems as though he is resigned to living with this issue for the rest of his life.

Since standard health checkups didn't reveal anything, we need to run more detailed tests. Because I am very pressed for time, I want to explore alternative possibilities first and get all the screenings done at once.

​The tests we have decided to run right now are iron levels, vitamin B levels, a mineral panel, a BVD (Binocular Vision Dysfunction) test, and a thyroid panel. If the root cause remains unknown even after these tests, we plan to try ADHD medications.

If anyone shares a similar profile—including the hypersomnia—please share your information and insights with me.

1. ​His blood pressure fluctuates between low and the lower end of the normal range.
2. ​He wakes up frequently. However, two separate sleep studies showed no abnormalities while he was asleep.
3. ​Bleeding in his left arm sometimes won't stop, though it is often normal.
4. ​This year, his left nostril bled almost every single daily. He had to have the blood vessels cauterized to treat it.
5. ​His CDS symptoms started in early childhood.
6. ​His blood sugar levels consistently sit at the lower end of the normal range, at all times.

It seems to contrast completely with me except that he has hypersleep... so this profile may not be the cause...

I'll come share the information once I find out the cause :)