Do Stimulants Change Your Personality?

Do non stimulants work just as good as stimulants?

You have changed my life. I never comment on you tube but it started with your PMDD video and finally feeling validation for my feelings reading all the comments and I'm literally stopping my Adderall as of tomorrow because it gives me a false sense of confidence and can trigger my mania but being aware in the moment that I'm oversharing to the point of being over bearing. I thought I was good at reading the room and being good with social ques. Not at Alllllll it's literally been my downfall and I've finally let go and accepted and I'm prepared to kno I'm going to be a little tired but not crash. Balanced, grounded and mindful and try to be still and use active listening and stop cutting ppl off and trying to be relatable and people plz to the point I started to realize that I started to show an unhealthy form of narcissism but as a defense mechanism and being so impulsive that I'm blocking my blessings and came to terms that my ego is not my amigo and just when you think that I have been so humbled by life that it's beautiful and and I'm uncomfortable as hell and I needed to be. I was getting too comfortable doing the bare minimum while blaming on my mental illness and having a victim mentality and the need for validation. I've always been afraid of success because I was so familiar with failure and 37 years it hasn't elevated me it's kept me stuck with being mediocre. Finding balance, being in tune and present and just appreciate the not so little things and take note to remain grateful and humble and completely authentic I dont need to announce every move bc it sets me up for failure each time. So I'm FINALLY ready to take all the social ques and loving reminders from my friends can't do so if you don't sit with yourself and reflect and let go. Nothing else has worked matter facter direction is more important than speed bc I WAS headed nowhere fast. So this is my quiet girl era. Practicing active listening and I might learn some shit and the loudest one in the room is the weakest and I'm ready to see if this way of navigating and perceiving life is a success or failure but the worst that can happen is failing but you can't succeed without failing, fall down 7 times get up 8. I'm rambling now but I need you to know you're appreciated and respected by me on a top tier level. 🫡❤️Thank you

think it's sad that people feel the medication "cures" their disorder - what it does is boosts one's perceived ability to perform in a monocultural society where people are valued only for their job, or what they produce in an economy. Stimulants make (some) people better capitalists.

Its been a long road. I was VERY apprehensive when my psych doctor recommended vyvanse for lifelong cognitive issues from bipolar 1, cronic social anxiety and adhd as well as being a recovered alcoholic at 34 one year sober. Especially while on wellbutrin, zoloft and lamictal all at once. Luckily enough its worked wonders "filling in the gaps" between my other meds. I acually enjoy working and connecting with people on a deeper leval.

my friends' experience is high dosage causes zombie effect. She needs a third of what she was given as a kid for the golden effect.

What if you are not even on medication, but you feel flat a lot of times? Like...just to numb or worn to put effort into your personality?

I’m coming down from my first dose of Adderall XR 10mg and I can definitely attest to the emotional “flattening” effect it can have. I’ve been a lot less anxious and irritable today than I usually might have been, but at the same time I can’t say I feel high or happy either. Just sort of present.

I have been taking Adderall for 16 years and now I have been abruptly taken off of it for using THC. The doctor is starting me on Clonidine for ADHD. If it doesn’t work, then I plan on either buying Adderall or meth off the street to self medicate my ADHD symptoms. Has anyone else had a positive response to Clonidine for ADHD?

I was on Cymbalta (not a stimulant, but still) for a while, not even for depression, my doc prescribed it in hopes of improving my sleep. When I got off of it, even though I weaned off, I had a major depressive episode and basically wanted to die. Now, I don't even want to try any other meds, in case something like that happens again.

I was diagnosed ADHD late in my life and was prescribed Ritalin. It completely changed my life for the better, wish I was diagnosed earlier.

Maybe clinician could contribute by also getting involved in research

I was on Ritalin all my childhood and teens, Then when I got old enough to decide, I stopped taking it. What provokes / scares me thinking back, is that when I wanted to quit, everybody said "no, that is a bad idea, you have such good effect from the meds", but when I insisted (they couldn't force me....) nothing happened. They didn't follow up on what changed / didn't change when I quit. Nobody asked me how I felt / coped, if anything changed. They basically said "fine, do as you wish". This has made me reluctant to seek help for my adult struggles connected with ADHD. I know there are other meds now, but if the philosophy of doctors still are "start with the highest dose possible and lower it until person is no longer rabid, then keep that dose for ten years without checking if it is working" then hell no

PS: I've had trouble falling asleep as long as I can remember, can stimulants cause permanent sleep disorders, or is that just the ADHD itself?

💯 correct for me I just stopped Ritalin 10mg la as I lost all sexual desire and felt depressed and flat! I’d rather be impulsive and anxious then take stimulants what a joke

On the flipside, aren't there also permanent changes to the brain by NOT medicating a child or adolescent who clearly needs it? I'd be more afraid of that in some cases.

I have to say, that i have a completly different experience. Stimulants make me feel like i finally have a steering wheel on the high way and i can direct where i am going. Opposed to slithering somewhere. I feel i cam connect to others more, because i can focus,listen and appreciate. I feel more confident and enabled,which elivates my mood and i feel optimistic and more joyous.
Also Hubermann who i value highly emphasized,how stimulants for children with adhd enhances their neuroplasticity greatly, proven by studies.

Adhd medications ruined my mind. I was in 40 mg of vyvanse from 2nd grade all the way until freshman year of high school. My grades were good but i couldn’t sleep, I started hallucinating (which was ignored by the people around me) I became paranoid and delusional, I developed severe OCD and I wasn’t never hungry/I could Not make myself eat and became severely underweight. The major stuff stopped once I quit the medication, however the depression never left after that and neither did the OCD.

As an adult with diagnosed ADHD stimulants have decreased my reactivity and stabilized my mood. I don’t necessarily feel smarter but I can definitely do better.

I think the concern surrounding permanent change to the outcome of a brains development is kind of moot. It’s a concern based squarely in the realm of the hypothetical.
Furthermore I think that if permanent change actually occurs, the concern of it being negative is also quite misguided.

Take me for example; I have ASD and received 12 years of weekly modified CBT for it (ages 6-18). Undoubtedly that much adolescence intervention has permanently changed my brain. Could it have had unintended consequences? Absolutely, it’s a possibility. Regardless, if given the opportunity to go back in time and not receive therapy, I’d never take it. God knows what kind of butterfly effect that could have.

My boyfriend recently got off of it for over 3 years then went back to it. I’m really upset because it just didn’t seem like he cared about anything… he’s been on it over a month now.. before he would have emotion and feelings and now it just feels like the person I loved is gone. Whenever I go to communicate anything he makes it like I’m arguing and doesn’t take accountability for how he’s acting and says that he’s acting the same was that he was before. How do you handle this? We’ve been together 2 years now. He won’t accept that he’s been acting this way.

Apart from the blunding all the other mentioned effects like " irritability, sadness and even depression" are mentioned as a possible side effect at least for concerta in the package insert.
It is also not really clear if Stimulants build a tolerance.
Apparently many people need to increase their dosage after some months but then stay with that dose for a long time.

I have a question if a doctor prescribes you depucote without full examination can that flatten persons expression too?

And I said this on Reddit and got my comment struck but the generic adderall XR is really shit right now. I started to listen to audio book on what “generics means and what the generic makers are required and not required to do. Book is “Bottle of Lies: the inside story of the generic drug boom” by Katherine Eban.

I’ve been on ADHD meds (Ritalin, IR Adderall, XR Adderall). I started with 1 daily - 20mg IR. Then 20mg BID. Swapped to XR. Stayed on 20mg but after many many years I felt it wasn’t working the same. I got bumped to XR 20mg TID and since I started that 5 years ago, at first it was great but I was sort of turning inward and feeling the most depression and fear. I felt like I was bit myself anymore and that my emotions were either dead inside me or if something happened at work I could easily loose my temper and weep. I never linked it to the adderall but here is some proof. Since we have shortages I’ve not have any for 8 days and these 8 days have just feel so light and free. If I wanted to watch a show, I didn’t sit and contemplate every option and I wasn’t scared to make a choice. My relationship with family feels like night and day. I cooked today. I baked today. Once I do get my script filled I think I’m going to restart slow and just take me up to the least viable dose. Anyone else have similar? (

I should have said this as well— 1995 I would have been been 22 I think. My insurance was not solid so I know there were times where I’d miss a month bc of $. But I started with the variations of adderall starting in 2001 and still take it 2023.

Hello
Dr. Tracey Marks
I am 47 years old. I recently diagnosed with ADHD. I have never used any medication, Is there any chances or hope for me to getting better with mediations at this age. I dont know should I follow my doctor or not I am worried about addiction to ADHD medications, thank you

I've been taking adhd meds since I was 8. I don't really feel much fear, anxiety, or anger — I barely remember what those emotions feel like anymore.

My 45 year old Fiancé (now ex fiancé again) Is the absolute 100% most wonderful loving woman you could ever imagine! Our relationship is something out of a fairytale. I wake up to her texts every day and go to sleep to her texts every day! Not an hour passes in a day and we are communicating about whatever! We live an hour apart so we do have a sort of long distance thing going although we never go a few days without seeing each other. She has a couple of friends that abuse Adderall and when my fiancé decides to join her friends by doing them she becomes so cold and distant its absolutely heart wrenching. She becomes scattered and distant and interested in the most ridiculous things. She's into anything but what she's supposed to be interested in. I can't even get her to call me and if I approach her on it she gets so nasty she'll just dump me! We are talking about a woman who can worship and adore me for months then BAM like a switch by day 2-3 of Adderall she's gone. Then if she throws Xanax in the mix forget it. Shes a Monster! Now I sit here heartbroken again. SMH

Maybe it is also a big question in it, what problem the person have. If the Vyvanse or Aderrall make me more soft and patiently with my friends and family members, i would not care if that is a zombie.
Maybe a zombie with smart ass is better than a dragon, who spitting fire and burning away his own hometown in rage.

Adhd :O maybe some people get a wrong diagnosis and because of that the stimulants have a opposite effect.

You do need to give people the tools to make the benefits of the medication stick around, at first the novelty keeps them from falling into old habits but you still need to teach them to focus, to deal with their emotions and to deal with all the shit where their primary coping mechanism has been distraction, otherwise they'll get diminishing returns which could lead to them unnecessarily increasing their dose, you also need to be aware that periods can influence the effectiveness of medication, some people need a higher dose for 1 week a month, if they only notice that they have low dose side effects sometimes they might use that as a reason to increase their dosage all the time wich isn't helpful because you'll be on a high dose the rest of the month.

Stress can influence how much medication someone needs, as they start treatment the amount of stress hormones in their system goes down leading to them needing a higher dose after a few weeks to make up for the lower levels of adrenaline since they're no longer using anxiety to get stuff done. That doesn't mean they've developed a tolerance to the medication, it just means their overall constitution improved so now they need a higher dose.

And if effectiveness goes down you need to check if anything happened to impact their physical health, because medication can only boost your concentration if your overall constitution is good enough.

There are people who genuinely build up a tolerance, but there are also people who keep getting higher and higher dosages prescribed to them because they don't have the tools to use their meds to their full potential and because doctors are more likely to increase a dose rather than cutting it back or even allow patients to try out a more flexible approach to medication.

Do Depressants change your personality?

I can give you my opinion. I'm clean out of 10 years of methamphetamine I really like to call it abuse because I was using it to self-medicate. I was in extreme emotional pain from being completely disconnected to self. Methamphetamine is one of the main self-medicating substances used in the street. The reason is for the numbing effect that it has on I'm not promoting drug use. I'm just saying that it does numb you at it flattens your personality it allows you to be out in extreme heat without really feeling it it can help you handle the cold more easily but mainly it's used for the numbing of emotional pain when it's being abused. When an addict doesn't have their methamphetamine they can become very irritable and even violent. It's highly addictive so when we run out we get very irritable. So the craving combined with the urge to self-medicate can make us act in ways that we typically wouldn't act if we were not using a stimulant. That was my experience and I witnessed many other people who were addicted to the stimulants react the same way.

When we're talking stimulants, does cigarettes and coffee count ? I'm dead serious.... without either, I am damn near useless...

Took me about two years along with my doc to discover that my dose should be 5mg per day. Else I will get all the side effects, tried everything from LR, brand etc etc. A basic methylfenidate 5mg will do it for me, though for me it was always been the opposite of flattening, I will become more exited and receptive.

Aderall actually helps me pick up on subtle facial expressions. Basically I can read a room now 😂. Definitely helps me to be more confident when talking to people.

Initially I was on a higher dose of the stimulant medication that I am on for my ADHD, but my parents noticed it would cause me to become more edgy and more reactive towards them and to situations. So I had my dose lowered a bit and now it works much better for me.

Adderall completely changed me & my life when it wears off I become depressed but when it kicks in I’m more sociable I like things better & I actually get up & do things like my makeup & hair

Ritalin just made me exhausted and dissociated I couldn’t focus as well , in fact I was worse and didn’t feel like doing anything

i experience some of this - the flattening, etc. - but the benefits are helpful, too - i also use depression meds - i don't know, i'd think i'd rather flatten a bit than have the disregulaiton, impulsivity, mood swings, etc.

Does NZT-48 or limitless pill help ADHD compared to Adderall?

I haven't been on ADHD meds since Vyvanse about 4 years ago. It never seemed to have any effect whatsoever. I have always had extreme emotional reactivity, RSD, poor attention, impulsivity, etc. I also believe that my diagnosis of bipolar II is way off. Now I'm on the highest dose of Effexor, combined with a mood stabilizer. I've got that "flat" aspect. And the joy I used to have in life has long been gone. Most days, I feel like there is nothing to live for. I used to be creative and have so many ideas, from the time I was young. I always had tons of energy too. Now all I do is sleep and watch TV. Sometimes I feel like I am screaming inside, but I physically CAN'T because of the meds. I also have extreme irritability and anger. My psych only ever wants to increase the doses when I complain. I agree with you, in that there needs to be more awareness and research about the effects of these meds. I think that the drug companies probably would rather escape notice, though, and continue to let people believe that they need them to survive.

This is such a stigmatic view, and that view really hurts people who take stimulants.

What about the 10+ scientific studies discovering that the use of medications in early age increase dramatically the chances of developing a "normal" brain?

I have taken Adderall for over 10 years. It does calm me down and at times no emotions and I am aware of it when that happens.😢

There's no such thing as "narcissistic personality disorder". Through toxifying our air, food supply, water they cause imbalances in our systems resulting in symptoms. "They" group common symptoms together, give it a name and declare it a "disease" or "disorder". They of course have in hand another toxic laden "medicine" that will mask some of those symptoms and in the end give you new ones requiring, you guessed it, more toxifying meds.

The reason the short answer is "NO!" is because THE NEW WORLD ORDER OWNS THE MEDIA AND DOESN'T WANT YOU TO KNOW THE TRUTH BECAUSE IF YOU DID YOU MIGHT STOP POISONING YOURSELVES WITH SATAN'S TROUGH OF BIG PHARMA.

I noticed this when i get SNRI as anti-obesity drug, when i have break i feel very disorganized but then i didn't have clou about ADHD.
When i get normaly, i feel organized and inner calm - but too much calm - as you said "blunt", maybe is only relative feeling, but was real.
Example was food... when somebody go to shop and asked what i want, normally i knew my desire, but on this i said only "meh" - desire gone,
and usual joy "triggers" not worked. Also i almost stoped seeing people for same reason. I didn't call it depression i didn't have negative thoughts rather it is closer to anhedonia only.


It was real, but not lasted after withdraw, i learned some things concoisuly or changed habit and learn to understand that my normal reactions are overblown or "anexietic".

My anxiety with stimulants has gone down SO MUCH its pretty insane. My anxiety comes from my over active brain and my forgetfulness. With the stimmies, i dont have this issue. Its super nice.

Adderall cratered my sense of humor. Just an awful drug for me.

This is very interesting. I've struggled with bipolar symptoms for decades and I realized watching this that I gravitate toward stimulants for the purpose of blunting my emotions in a way. Somehow it seems to settle the high anxiety, high reactiveness, high strung feelings I get. It's like I feel more at baseline, but it can flip things at times and cause a depressive state, so theres no exact resolution. A lot of people associate the highs of bipolar with the good, happy feelings, but that's not my experience. High emotional states can be negative as well. Being highly reactive, having high anxiety to the point of panic, or being perceived as high strung are not enjoyable at all.
I like learning new perspectives on these things. Thank you for all of your work☺️

God bless you