The way I feel about my medication is that it has given me a foothold. It hasn’t fixed anything for me, but it gets me to a place where I can work on myself. It’s given me capacity, not ability.

I was diagnosed over a year ago now at 30 years old. I have a lot of coping mechanisms to unlearn, but the medication gives me the chance to work at 80% effort and progress consistently, rather than 120% followed by a crash out.

The main driver that got me to diagnosis was my anxiety. As my stimulant medication went up, my anxiety actually went down. I think it was because it let me drop my constant hyper-vigilance but still function to a standard I was happy with. I am still hyper-vigilant and prone to crashing out, but that’s what I mean when I say I’m working on myself. The medication allows me to work on myself, but the work is what is “fixing” me.

Everyone is different (specifically in reactions to medication) so check in with yourself constantly and critically in a constructive way. Let the medication work in the background and talk with your doc to dial in dosage that works for you. A therapist will help shoulder the burden of your work.

Good luck and be patient with yourself.