rant

as someone who is newly diagnosed and newly medicated, and has been surfing this sub for advice and to learn about other people’s experiences - i am getting really frustrated with people who insist on bursting everyone’s bubble by taking it upon themselves to remind people asking for help that ‘medication doesn’t magically fix everything, you still need to try’.

I understand the sentiment, and that it’s important for people to manage their expectations around starting medication but it’s also so insulting considering the vast majority of us are fully grown adults who clearly understand that no medication ‘magically fixes everything’ and it actually is not unrealistic to assume that adhd medication is going to help with our adhd symptoms.

Also, adhd meds literally do feel like a ‘magic fix’ for a LOT of people. Especially in my experience as primarily inattentive with my main symptom being executive dysfunction - starting stimulants and being able to do things for the first time ever is allowing me to stay in work and feel productive and satisfied and happy. There are so many stories like this, so when a hopeful newly diagnosed adhder starts medication after however many months and thousands of dollars it took to get there, and posts seeking help about dosage or whatever - it is so unnecessary and unhelpful to make these comments.

‘you still have to try’ is personally a very triggering statement, as i’m sure it is for a lot of you. there is no adhder that has gone through the long and expensive process of getting assessed that hasnt tried so hard for their whole lives that being diagnosed and starting treatment wasn’t their only option. It really is perpetuating the idea that people with adhd are lazy and fail to put in the effort - the lack of being able to ‘try’ is literally the symptom they are being treated for??

I usually see this under posts of people wondering if they should up their dosage, or wondering if they should switch meds. There is a way to give advice about how to work alongside of medication to get the best benefits without being rude, insulting, and generally cynical and demotivating by commenting ‘medication isn’t a magic fix, you still have to try’

if you’re reading this and you feel like your experiences align closely with others that have had a good response to stimulant medication - you CAN get your hopes up and you CAN expect to see results that will make your life a hell of a lot easier. Yes medication works differently for everyone and it might take you a while to find exactly what works for you, but in so so so many cases it’s a great relief. Get additional counselling, work on filling the gaps with tricks and methods that work for you, be realistic in your expectations but also allow yourself to recognise that adhd is a disability, and medication can be life saving.

Ok, rant over.