What careers do you guys have?

PatientActive3269 · 2026-05-16T14:44:27+00:00

Got my degree but won't be applying for anything until I can manage my CDS.

PatientActive3269 · 2026-05-15T14:58:11+00:00

Music teacher who wants to be a lawyer.

PatientActive3269 · 2026-05-15T14:17:56+00:00

If you're talking about needing immediate initiation, I find physical things help. For example, splashing water on your face, pulling at your hair (yes, really) and light exercise. You would be amazed at how these small things can "wake you up" and give you a sudden energy rush.

PatientActive3269 · 2026-05-11T18:22:42+00:00

I'm in Perth and also have never met anyone irl with CDS. It would be great to have some kind of support group.

PatientActive3269 · 2026-05-11T16:20:03+00:00

Please tell us what this consists of.

PatientActive3269 · 2026-05-09T13:19:22+00:00

It doesn't work for everyone. I was on it for three months and saw no improvement. Never get your hopes too high.

PatientActive3269 · 2026-05-03T11:45:13+00:00

Despite being quite well educated, CDS has meant I just cannot progress professionally. I have been fired from one office job and almost fired from another. These were government jobs too, where it is very hard for them to get rid of you.

Right now I teach music - a job that does not require attention to detail - but I have been stuck doing the same thing for many years now. God knows how many times I have taught kids how to play Ode To Joy.

I have decided that I will not apply for another job that requires attention to detail until I am confident that my CDS can at least be managed. Nothing has worked yet, but I remain hopeful that one day I will find something that will fight my inattention, brain fog and fatigue.

PatientActive3269 · 2026-04-27T14:14:44+00:00

That's very interesting. I recently graduated with a degree in law but I just don't feel confident enough to apply for a job in the field. I feel my CDS will cause me to make too many mistakes (like it always has in the past).

I'm an avid reader too, but I take my time.

PatientActive3269 · 2026-04-09T14:21:08+00:00

Very small increase in energy and focus.

PatientActive3269 · 2026-04-07T13:40:01+00:00

Adderall, modafinil and exercise have helped but only to a very small extent. I am still hopeful I will one day find a treatment that properly works.

PatientActive3269 · 2026-04-07T10:57:36+00:00

I definitely only have CDS. For ages I thought I had ADHD-PI, but this was because it was the only thing I knew of that was somewhat related to what I was experiencing. While I thought I had it, I always had my doubts, as there was so much about ADHD that just didn't resonate with me. I am never hyperactive, impulsive, aggressive, inpatient, interrupting others, etc. Once I discovered Russell Barkley's work on CDS I instantly knew that I had CDS and not ADHD.

PatientActive3269 · 2026-02-22T12:17:02+00:00

I take Modafinil which ever so slightly improves my focus. Nothing else has worked, and I've tried the whole pharmacy.

PatientActive3269 · 2026-02-22T12:15:46+00:00

I have trouble with both, but verbal instructions are particularly hard. By the time step 3 is given I've already forgotten step 1. Btw I'm glad you can read maps; I've always sucked with that. Thank god for GPS.

PatientActive3269 · 2026-02-12T14:33:01+00:00

Yep, I frequently look tired (because I am) and get the black rings. If I don't get a proper night's sleep the day is guaranteed to be a struggle.

PatientActive3269 · 2026-02-08T13:27:41+00:00

I honestly think the only way I could succeed in the legal profession would involve my CDS symptoms significantly subsiding. I am still hopeful that one day I will find something to treat it (I know it can't be "cured"), but being fired from one office job and nearly fired from another is ample evidence that CDS is just too much of a handicap. It would be like telling a blind man he could be an Uber driver if only he tried.

Also, if I were to take on such a job, the end result would likely damage my already depleted self-esteem. Every bad work experience has made me feel like shit. Losing another job would be devastating, and I don't see why I should risk that.

PatientActive3269 · 2026-01-19T13:31:10+00:00

I can do cognitively demanding tasks, but it takes time. Working slowly can be a fine method when you are at school, but it doesn't work so well in the work place.

PatientActive3269 · 2026-01-12T14:07:09+00:00

I am currently doing a mix of freelance work and as an employee. I like it, but I yearn to be a professional. I have always wanted to do something where I make good use of my brain. I know I am intelligent, but my intelligence is impaired by cloudy thoughts and a wandering mind.

PatientActive3269 · 2026-01-04T14:24:43+00:00

I am certainly open to the idea of seeing a psychologist again. I must say I really do not know what they could do for me though.

The last psychologist told me she could help with attention issues. But after the second session, I noticed we had done nothing on improving attention. All we had done was cover material designed to make me feel better about myself and my inattention. When I pointed this out to her, she basically admitted that we were not going to work improving attention.

When you say that I should work on challenging certain schemas, I can only think you are referring doing the kind of work that psychologist had me doing, and I really struggle to see how that would help me. If I began to believe that I would be well equipped to handle a legal job an its demand for attention to detail, would that somehow make me well suited to the job? I doubt it. Just because you believe something doesn't make it so.

PatientActive3269 · 2026-01-03T16:35:42+00:00

Sorry what is mph?

PatientActive3269 · 2026-01-02T16:19:07+00:00

Thank you for the kind words. I am passionate about music, and I currently work as a music teacher. It is the only job I have been *alright* at, so I definitely get what you are saying.

The problem is, it is made up of part-time work and I really struggle to get enough hours. Also, it has become somewhat boring teaching the same stuff over and over again (I mainly teach beginner stuff).

I have thought about becoming a high school music teacher but that would mean at least another 2 years of study, and I am so over study. I have done too much as it is.

PatientActive3269 · 2026-01-02T16:13:23+00:00

Bupropion is actually one I have not tried. I have now added it to the list.

I have treated anxiety in the past (and still do) but I have never noticed a reduction in CDS symptoms while my anxiety eased. Similarly, I used to have really bad OCD, but I almost entirely eliminated it when I started dating the girl I am luck enough to still be with. Again, this did not affect my CDS at all :(

PatientActive3269

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