For those in here who’ve tried ADHD meds, do you feel it hurt your creativity? I’m considering going back on them after several years off. I’ve had a much harder time managing symptoms in regards to work since having kids and dealing with a much more fragmented schedule and frenetic pace or work now.

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Helped. Significantly and changed the trajectory of my career

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I don’t think medication has ANY effect on the quality of creative output. It won’t make you have good ideas. It probably wont hurt your ideas. It’s not for that.

It does have an effect on the ability to manage symptoms, which can improve your ability to articulate ideas clearly and timely.

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I’m medicated and motivated at all times. 😅 Definitely helps me get through the work that keeps the lights on quickly and efficiently.

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Thank you for sharing this. Right now I feel like my hardest time focusing has been with the writing part. Idea generation is much more messy in general, and more about volume at first for me.

I’ve been wondering about this as well. I’m not officially diagnosed, but my kid has ADHD off the rails. In getting him diagnosed, I started seeing A LOT of parallels between myself when I was his age and him. So I’m pretty sure I also have ADHD but have been hesitant to get diagnosed and take meds because I have felt that it is also what makes me have ideas that nobody else can think of. Because I can totally space out and hyper focus on different ways to solve problems and go down rabbit holes where I find solutions nobody else finds. I have been afraid that if I take meds, this ability will disappear. And yes… granted this ability also comes paired up with a shitload of drawbacks, like being dysfunctional in almost every other way. But if I lose this ability, I feel like I’ll lose any reason to be employed.

Am I seeing this totally wrong? Also, we haven’t found the right meds for my kid, and that whole journey makes me hesitant to embark on it myself. Ritalin didn’t work. It made his anxiety go off the charts. Same with guanfacine (made him extremely irritable).

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@ACD4 Thanks for your take. I’m *pretty* sure I’m ADHD. Again, no official diagnosis, but being that all the red flags are everywhere and my kid didn’t just catch it at the playground, but had to inherit it from someone, I’m gonna say I’m 98% sure. A diagnosis would confirm it and validate my experience, but since I’m already convinced of it, I’m already convinced I’m wired different and, as with my kid, know that the things I struggle with and have been reprimanded for my entire life, are not really my fault. I am trying to give myself grace, but it is easier said than done, given the conditioning I’ve had all my life (“you need to apply yourself, don’t be lazy”, don’t just sit there, be productive”, etc. And this constant pressure from myself to be productive otherwise I feel worthless).
However, someone else in the comments mentioned a pretty obvious thing that is making me consider it: If the meds don’t work or they affect my work, I can just not take them. Or not take them always.
I know it’s like “duh”, but for some reason that decision feels so final and definitive, even if I KNOW it’s not. It doesn’t make sense, I know…
It’s just that I don’t want to jeopardize the one talent I have that gives me an edge, finally makes me productive and employable and very good at something.

Sorry, I didn’t want this to turn into a therapy session…

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My kiddo got dx, I then got dx, the medicine has made such a monumental impact for me. I’m more creative bc I feel less anxiety and overwhelm. I feel more confident I can figure things out (deliverables, decks, complex communications, overall challenges), and more positive/optimistic and calm, which allows me to then be more creative.

uplifting

What is the medicine called

Obviously if you have bad enough ADHD that the symptoms get in the way of your success, it’s worth looking at. I’ve made a career from self medicating with caffeine and I’ve not had to get a prescription for anything stronger. But your mileage may vary. You can always stop if you don’t like the result.

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