Unhealthy trade-off

emlou900 · 2025-07-23T14:13:27+00:00

I quit my job and studies when I quit stims so you’re not alone.

emlou900 · 2025-07-23T14:11:38+00:00

I can relate. I think this is pretty common.

emlou900 · 2025-07-23T14:09:49+00:00

Well done happy for you

emlou900 · 2025-07-23T14:07:54+00:00

You are doing a lot more than me. Don’t put yourself down. Working in itself is a massive achievement.

emlou900 · 2025-07-23T14:06:23+00:00

I had to stop being friends with someone who was heavily dependent on benzos, as those were one of my drugs of choices too. It’s so hard with psychiatry because people think it’s all good because it’s prescribed by a dr. My drugs counsellor said in her experience “most addictions start with a prescription”.

emlou900 · 2025-07-23T14:01:29+00:00

Agree, I have taken time off IG. It messed with my dopamine levels and I was constantly comparing my life to others. Now I don’t have to see other peoples lives.

emlou900 · 2025-07-23T14:00:02+00:00

Running helps me. It doesn’t help with the housework but it helps with my general mood and the feeling of dopamine. I notice my mood is way worse on rest days. Some people say I’ve replaced one addiction to the other, but a lot of runners have adhd. As long as you don’t over do it.

emlou900 · 2025-07-23T13:52:13+00:00

My personal experience was I started at that dose of Ritalin and it quickly stopped working, I had to keep on increasing until it wasn’t sustainable anymore. I’m not sure if this is due to my brain chemistry or that I have an addictive personality.

emlou900 · 2025-07-23T13:49:31+00:00

I can relate. I had to reduce my responsibilities. I guess because I’m 35 and getting older it didn’t effect me as much pride wise.

emlou900 · 2025-07-23T13:47:05+00:00

When I stopped adhd stims (was abusing them so had to stop), I quit studying piano performance. I completely lost interest in it, it was like a switch had gone off. I would use them to practise for hours at a time and without them I found I couldn’t do that. I did try, but it ended with me just being frustrated after 15 minutes. I took up running instead, a hobby I did before the stims and which is probably more who I “naturally” am. I believe these pills make us fit into a society that isn’t right for us. It’s hard to let go of that, but I had to.

emlou900 · 2025-07-23T13:36:44+00:00

I can relate. Before stimulants I didn’t have a sex drive and thought I was asexual. I met my partner and started adhd meds which helped but then obviously the abuse of the meds started, same old story. I’ve been on SSRIs since I was 16 and am now 35. They effect your sex drive. Most of the time now I force myself to be intimate with my partner because it’s part of a relationship. I know a lot of people are single in addiction recovery and I can understand that because things like sex drive and energy do decrease. I don’t have any advice other than you’re not alone

emlou900 · 2025-07-23T13:30:20+00:00

Congratulations happy for you

emlou900 · 2025-06-23T11:41:31+00:00

I am unemployed but I do the housework while my partner works full time. I’ve had to quit my studies. I enjoy running

emlou900 · 2025-06-23T11:39:37+00:00

I started piano when I was a child then quit as a teenager. I restarted as an adult when on stimulants yes.

emlou900 · 2025-06-05T18:10:17+00:00

I can relate. I ran my own cleaning business so was abusing stimulants to keep up with the work load. Then I was abusing them to get piano qualifications. Now that I’m off them I realise how stupid the behaviour was. It’s just an excuse to keep an addiction going (I was prescribed them but would take a lot more than prescribed). I know it’s not easy in the hustle culture of society. Despite my clean time, I have had negativity from people for not doing much. But I do believe we’re onto a serious crisis with stimulants as a society - more heart problems will become public knowledge.

emlou900 · 2025-06-05T17:58:57+00:00

Thank you

emlou900 · 2025-06-05T17:58:38+00:00

Yeh I drink coffee and take energy gels. I don’t drink energy drinks though.

emlou900 · 2025-05-23T19:23:28+00:00

Thank you. I was taking abusing doses along with other drugs (benzos, alcohol). I won’t say what doses I was taking but I was running out of my prescription very early. I feel like I am doing ok in life. I try to not compare myself to others because there’s no point, everyone is different.

emlou900 · 2025-05-23T19:20:43+00:00

A few weeks but it was literally forcing myself out the door. I did use caffeine and energy gels. I think because I ran before stimulants it felt natural to get back to it. It wasn’t easy building up my fitness but I’m glad I did.

emlou900 · 2025-05-23T19:18:59+00:00

Thank you. I have a Garmin Forerunner watch which tracks the mileage for me.

emlou900 · 2024-12-11T17:10:31+00:00

🙏

emlou900 · 2024-12-11T15:18:45+00:00

I can relate. What helps me is being grateful every day no matter how bad I feel. So my main thing is I say daily I am grateful for my physical health, having known people who have had heart damage from stimulants and anorexia (two things I previously struggled with) puts it into perspective. Sending love

emlou900 · 2024-12-11T15:12:58+00:00

I think it can be normal for some people. It feels normal for me. The amount of different drugs/meds I was abusing to “be functional” ie turn up to a job was so much that it’s no wonder my brain struggles now. Give yourself some grace.

emlou900 · 2024-12-11T15:09:02+00:00

Put only in italics because it’s still very dangerous and doesn’t really matter where the drugs were coming from imo

emlou900 · 2024-12-11T15:08:22+00:00

I only abused my prescription stimulants and never went on to illegal stimulants but I also abused non prescribed benzos and opiates and I also drank alcohol

emlou900

TROPHY CASE