I've been struggling a lot with my ADHD probably since hitting puberty at age 11 or so... and I'm 24 now. Recently after finally getting insurance thanks to Obama's policy (it's free :D) I've started seeing a psychologist and a ther-apist (really with the word filter Subeta...) for it for maybe 2 months now. I take 10 mg adderall (usually paired with a little pink benadryl) 2-3 times a day and a 0.25 mg xanax once or twice daily. The medication is really helpful, but it certainly isn't a fix. I'm sure it'll get better as I slowly increase the dosage, but I know it'll never fix me completely. I also don't want to rely on it 100% anyways.

I don't see the thera-pist often enough for advice (the psychiatrist really only diagnosed me and gives me pills), so it's a slow process. Heck, while he is a great listener and certainly the best guy I've seen so far in terms of understanding my condition; he hasn't helped me much at all with the advice part of it despite having ADHD himself. He usually just tells me I'll get better with higher dosages of adderall. >_> He gives me some really good advice here and there though.

My biggest problem right now is that it's really, really hard for me to just... do things. For example I love movies and video editing. There're so many movies I wanna watch and I really, really want to start a Youtube channel, but instead my brain goes on some kind of default mode everyday and I just do mindless activities (watching Youtube, browsing forums but not posting, Subeta dailies, etc.) even though I'd really like to practice video editing or something. Does that make sense? It's like how back when I was at school I never got my homework done, even though I felt like a complete loser and hated myself for it, I just couldn't get around to sitting down and just doing it. Then there was the struggle with actually focusing on it and being able to finish it within a reasonable time frame, but I've improved so much on my focus that I'd rather worry about that later.

Does anyone else struggle with this? What do you do about it?

[edit] If you see 'theattacker' anywhere in the post, it's just a dumb filter for thera-pist. :P Hence why you see the '-' in the words.

When you "shut down", how do you feel? Have you ever tried writing notes around you to keep you motivated and focused?

i have adhd as well and was diagnosed when i was young. the squirming, fidgeting, nail biting, and especially forgetting to do things i WANT to do. i make art but often forget to start up a project or forget to post my art! when i was younger i got my homework done procrastinated and lazily but done (teachers didnt care how WELL done lol) amazingly i was a nearly straight A student. the drawback was that it made me lazy"er" and college was a slap in the face. a good was to ensure you get things done is to just avoid the computer and whatever entirely and devote the day to getting whatever you want done. often when i avoid cleaning my room i often get it done when i start on doing it without doing anything else first right after breakfast and dont stop till im done, loosing momentum in your "project" or whatever it is will make you lose focus. plus you will be more proud of yourself in accomplishing at least ONE thing throughout the day no matter now small.

just so you know i had been put on medication but the best thing "in my opinion" is to not medicate at all. i find that it tends to change who you are... if you find that to not be the case in yourself then by all means medicate if you find it helpful.

I find being medicated for adhd is good in the short run, and can be counter-productive if taken for too long, or over-dosed. While a few doctors will happily suggest higher doses of medication, for some people it can cause the mind to focus on things that aren't productive or helpful.

I'm the same with you, but instead of videos, it's all drawing and art for me, and while I'm medicated, I just mindlessly search on deviant art for free lineart to colour, instead of taking the time and effort to draw things myself.

It's also the same with my bf. The medication started off helping, but he now does mindless activities over making music like he really enjoys when the doctor prescribed him a higher dose of his adhd meds.

Haven't heard of benadryl being paired with adderall, since there could be interactions, but I'm not a doctor, so I dunno what he's planned there. I take xanax for anxiety issues myself, but I know that it can help calm the effects of adhd medications, and make them less 'intense' and a bit more manageable.

This is all just anecdotal experiences I've had (or seen personally with my bf), so don't just take my advice. Maybe talk to your ther-apist or maybe even see another one for a second opinion on the matter.