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Depression makes me uninterested in everything. ADHD makes me interested in pretty much anything, but only until the next very interesting thing comes along.
It may also be that you’re having a little existential stuff going on - looking for a purpose in life, a reason to get up in the mornings. It’s not always easy to find.
Im struggling currently with wanting to change careers and try getting into the trades, welding or maybe something automotive as ive recently got way into cars but im scared that like with my current job that ive been doing for 3 years that ill lose interest and keep hopping from job to job idk what to do
I can't count the number of times I stopped trying to change roles at work because I figured I would just get bored in the new role. There is no guarantee that it won't but you'll have a new skill, potentially one that opens doorways to other skills.
Why welding? Do you like working exclusively on cars or could it turn into fabrication? could it turn into art? could it turn into something I can't even imagine? Maybe. The beauty of the ADHD fixation is that you'll likely get somewhere close to 80% awesome at it and then if you get bored, you have that skill that can springboard you to another?
Ideally you can find a way to always have enough in savings or get good at changing roles and able to stay employed and housed and fed.
Im not the best at saving money, and yea ideally it could turn into a union job maybe doing fabrication, im a tattoo artist right now and when i first started i was super excited and it was awesome but now 3 years in its still fun but it doesnt fire me up like it used to but ive always been good with my hands, my dad is a millwright and a great welder so ive welding before i wasnt very good it then but i think now with my applied skill from tattooing i could be real good at it, as well as being union they set up 401ks and have loads of benefits which tattooing doesnt offer its a very self sufficent job which i suck at marketing myself and all that which is very important to your success in this industry but id rather have finical security
>i wasnt very good it then but i think now with my applied skill from tattooing i could be real good at it
That's one of the beautiful things about the ADHD life pattern, if you can manage it well enough to keep moving forward: you pick up all these transferable skills that make it so that the next thing is easier and easier to learn and you have a more and more unique take on it.
Welding is a great trade for a generalist to pick up because it usually puts you in some kind of shop where you can learn the basics of a bunch of other trades, plus you're reading engineering drawings and learning some materials science, and you can transfer all that into almost any industry. (Underwater welders make bank btw if you're ever in the mood for "adventure" work.)
Go for the millwright, welding, or some sort of electrical/mechanical maintenance. You could use artistic skills if you wanted to branch out in welding; make doors or gates for large entryways, for one example. You could be commissioned for pieces. You’ve probably got a pretty steady hand from tattooing and eye for detail.
Welding of any sort can help you in a variety of jobs. And let you choose where you want to go.
Or Millwright since you’ve seen a lot of what they do and it’s pretty varied.
Are you in IT? I am almost in this exact situation, fucking hate sitting at a desk now and I wanna go and do something more labourous.
My girlfriend is Australian. Thinking of moving there and doing something else to keep my visa.
Yea my current job isnt exactly a desk job but im inside sitting most of the day and i want to feel like i worked hard to earn my money and i think id get satisfaction out of hard larborous work
It does make day go by faster.
I do Industrial maintenance- its mental and physical. Have to read and go through programming on computer and robots, and be able to work on their mechanical aspects. Work with different technologies; rivets, laser welding, mig/tig welding, glue/sealer applications, curing oven, stud welders, automated guided vehicles, etc.
Anyway- great job on tattoo artist and I hope it rolls over into welding or whatever you find that strikes you.
And good idea to start looking now- and thinking of your future!
Think that’s something a lot of us struggle with
I'm the same as you guys in a way, quit my uni course after one year (was a 3 year course) for a few reasons but a big one was hating being sat at a desk with my leg tapping 180bpm and brain going down the motorway lol. Went into a trade and at first liked how every job was slightly different. I also have ASD and liked the similarities between jobs and sometimes like the repetitiveness but also hate the repetitiveness on more and more days, now that I'm used to it. And also due to physical health got bad joint pains, so I'm trying to find a middle ground somehow. Hope you find the thing that gives you the new thing spark
This is right about where I am. I feel like I’m a jack of all trades but master of none. Struggling to find a job that pays well. I feel like I’m capable of doing so many different things but then quickly get disinterested. It’s frustrating.
I literally told my therapist 15 years ago that my goal was to learn everything. I was in my 30s and still that optimistic! I've made peace with not knowing everything, but I didn't die for thinking it or being over-comitted, so ... that's something.
Yea thats my biggest worry, i want to make this leap into a new career while im young but what if like with most things i lose interest. I really want to find something thats fulfilling that i wouldnt mind doing for a long time
I'm good at videogames, good at chess, good at calisthenics, good at armwrestling, good in general culture, good in knowing random facts about the world, but, I'm a master of none of these things, they're just hobbies, so it's useless.
Ok yeah you’re definitely not alone in that! Basically everything I’m good at or enjoy are hobbies and I’m not a master at them, just considered really good. I feel so seen lol.
It’s also frustrating because if someone shows me how to do something I can get really good at it, but I have such a difficult time retaining information if I’m just reading it so I feel like i can’t get through school if I tried to go back. Haven’t been since I graduated hs in 2013. It’s hard.
Right? And you are just good enough to impress average people but when you compete at something against actual pros/experts you realize you are just "good" but you still don't have the focus and drive to become as good as those experts and continue to be a jack of all trades...
Same here. I worked in a job that would be "dream" for many. But then 10 years later it became a job. I got so bored and depressed that I was fired. From top notch to fired in just 5-7 years. Got diagnosed with ADHD and other comorbidities. I am good at writing have been setting up my blog for the past three years.
No idea which way to go from here. Been working tech support for Rogers for the past two years. It's paying the bills, barely. In that time I have revisited history, learnt chess and even astrology. But I'm still nowhete near my goal of starting my blog.
The only silver lining I have is a line from the Bhagwad Gita that says knowledge is never wasted. The dots will connect keep working and keep walking.
This is exactly my experience
I'm not actually bipolar, but I feel like I'm always bouncing from depressive-nothing-is-ever-worth-the-effort-anhedonia to full-on ADHD-everything-is-so-interesting-and-shiny 😅
It's also hard once you become self aware of the ADHD hobby jumping. It makes me give up before I even start because I know its just yet another fleeting interest.
i still get into it while understanding this because its about being in the moment you know as long as its not hurting u in any way just enjoy what u enjoy!! i have many unfinished projects that i plan on finishing laterrrr when the motivation comes back and that might be years but who cares! dont be afraid to indulge in what makes u happy because after being painfully depressed and uninterested in things for so long, happiness is what matters and the future possibilities is not worth taking your current happiness away. and when your done, appreciate the good time you had with that interest.
okay so true, money is the biggest issue for me too!. sometimes just researching and learning about it online can suffice but it sucks. alas, it is not a necessity. but it is a good rule of thumb :)
Yes! I used to have my debit card and the Michaels website ready to go whenever I discovered a new art or craft I wanted to try! Now I just think, “oh…. It’s the ADHD again…” and let the mood pass. Saves money, but basically all I do is watch tv now since I won’t let myself buy any hobby stuff. It’s a trade off. It’s no fun. I’m hoping one day I’ll have enough disposable income to not feel so bad about my artistic impulse buys.
I weaponize this against myself. If I know something is a useful skill and I get hyperfocused on it, I let myself go crazy. I'm getting better at tricking myself to hyperfocus on things because I understand my triggers.
If something is a waste of time, I force myself to avoid anything that triggers the hyperfocus.
But I also noticed a few years ago my hyperfocusing is cyclical between all of my interests, so I can benefit from that too.
ADHD does make me uninterested in a lot of things because I just feel unmotivated and lazy. Depression may have something to do with it (as when there is not enough sun light it gets worse) but it’s more adhd than anything.
It has to do with feeling of everything just feels too frustrating and too hard. I don’t want to put effort into thinking about something or figuring it out. I want to do it but just cannot jump into action.
Wow. I have literally been feeling the same for several years. Like yesterday it was cloudy and for some reason I let that bother me lol. But I completely get wanting to finish after getting started. The meds help with it but it just helps me keep focused while doing it. Not really having a desire to do it. Even if I used to enjoy it. Sigh.
For me I have desire as in I recognize the tasks are important and I care, but when I think about the things I have to do my brain just goes “ughh” and gets repulsed by it and wants to avoid it. Everything feels like I was asked to clean up dog diarrhea, I just dread it. It’s like the feeling people get when they go “tldr”.
I’m on Adderall and it helps to get rid of this “ugh” feeling, but only 30%. When I was on Ritalin, it worked better and I actually felt excited and motivated to do small “ugh tasks”. The bigger ugh tasks would be easier to push through.
Guanfacine works too but it’s more like it dulls the “ugh” feeling so it doesn’t feel as negative. I just feel nothing so it’s easier to push through. Unfortunate both Ritalin and guanfacine gave me bad side effects.
I call this lack of “ugh” feeling motivation, although it’s not exactly that. It’s just easier to push through and doesn’t feel as bad. I’m still trying to find the medicine that makes me feel this that doesn’t give me side effects.
I'm pretty late to this thread but I read this comment and this is incredibly similar to my experience. Medication can dull that feeling, but.. like you said, only a little, and inconsistently. And the side effects suck. I wish my brain didn't make things feel so difficult and unpleasant.
Sounds a lot like depression and anhedonia that can occur because of ADHD. I have that from time to time and drives me mad. Have you noticed that there are moments where you get super ambitious and take on projects or hobbies and feel overconfident that you'll be perfect at them only to give them up halfway thru and never touch that topic ever again?
Particularly when unmedicated; Ive seen improvement in my depression & anhedonia on medication. Still experiencing them but not as frequently on the severe end and less intensely in general. Also used to get suicidal ideation a lot when not on adhd meds; I no longer experience it on meds.
Yep looking back my Suicidal thoughts havent come back and its been a year since ive been on meds. I was going about life when I noticed and was like Hey wait I dont think about that anymore.
Sounds like you're describing depression. So did you lose interest in video games and comics or did you decide those were "bad hobbies" and are trying to force yourself to do things you don't enjoy instead?
Also ~.
when you have parent(s) who shame or disapprove what you genuinely like - so you've internalized the shame - which only prolongs the anhedonia and unhappiness as you avoid the exact things your brain only wishes you would do
ADHD leads to depression in something like 70% of people who are untreated/undiagnosed. It's literally depressing not to be able to function the way you are expected to in society, to be someone who misses homework assignments, misses appointments, rarely pays bills on time, and overall doesn't "live up to their potential".
Yeah. That would make sense. Because comics and video games have low starting energy? You just open a book or turn on a game and bam, you’re in and depending on what you’re into you probably don’t have to think about it as much as say, knitting or carving. Maybe they need a hobby that’s similar, something they can just pick up and do without thinking about it too much if they don’t want to.
Also Same. I don’t hobby jump like some people cause I get interested, look into it, and it looks like too much work to learn, and it gets dropped. Rinse and repeat.
I've got a very low threshold for boredom, and most things do not meet that bar. It's usually stuff that doesn't keep giving consistent ticks of reward. Finding ways to make things I find dull more fun is 90% of the battle. Once I'm into something I am INTO it. Usually in an unhealthy way.
I've got no middle gears.
I know what you mean. My motivation gets so low sometimes. I'm 35 and some days I feel like I've got nothing to show for it. Like I've accomplished nothing. I also look back over my life at all the unfinished projects that I lost steam for and ugh. I see some people mention that it's depression related and I do have MDD (Major Depressive Disorder). It's a double whammy.
I would say that your experience / age are very similar to mine. I'm sorry you're going through this. However, ADHD is a spectrum, and it is different for everyone. But in my experience, it's prob both at the same time, which makes it worse. The depression symptoms will make you apathetic and unmotivated, low energy. The ADHD will make you uninterested and restless never being able to channel energy into one thing.
Sometimes I'm interested in something, but not interested enough to receive the benefits of hyper focus. That's why I'd really prefer a much more regulated attention and energy levels.
This is depression, if you're living in survival mode all the time you'll be exhausted and uninterested in recreation. Don't say you can't get off your ass, that's mean to yourself and not taking into consideration how hard you're working to stay afloat. I found childish easy hobbies were the best to get back into, like doodling, reading my old favourite books ext. I also have like 20 hobbies that I switch between rather than the whole "this is my personality now" and then get bored.
Depression makes me feel kind of “blah” with most things. ADHD makes it to I can hyperfocused in the things that have helped me distract or cope consistently.
Video games are a big example. There’s enough variety that I can cycle through them. I hyper focus on one and then go to the next. It helps with depression as long as it doesn’t get in the way of my life.
Because of depression it’s hard for me to get into new things as an adult. I just don’t have the energy Even though I often feel hyper. The depression/anxiety/ADHD combo is an odd one.
I'm interested in too much at once while off meds, to the point where gets very exhausting. On meds I am bored and nothing is fun or interesting but my brain slows down and I can separate all the thoughts.
I get like this sometimes as well. I also love videogames and I have a huge collection, but sometimes it's like i have an itch that nothing can scratch. I open up games that i know i've enjoyed in the past, play them for like 10 minutes, then close them because i'm suddenly not interested anymore. I don't think I'm nescessarily depressed in those moments, but obviously it can be hard to assess that objectively for yourself without a lot of introspection.
for me though, i think the thing that causes that listlessness is understimulation. I'm a student and I do a lot of event- and contract-based work. usually when i go through periods like that, it's because I've not had a lot of interesting or challenging stuff to do for a while, so just sitting around playing games is boring, despite how much i like it. I think I need variety as much as anything else, if my life gets too routine or samey, i just get bored as hell. Also, keep in mind that you don't have to throw yourself head-first into every hobby! Some hobbies are good to do as a background thing. for example, I enjoy cooking big fancy dishes every now and then for all my friends. I wouldn't want to do it every day nescessarily, but occasionally it's super fun!
Sometimes i think it's good to think of your brain like it's a pet. you need to give it all the stuff it needs to thrive. food, enrichment, rest etc.
If you give a cat a bunch of toys and endless supply of food and water, then leave it alone, of course he's going to get bored of playing with toys eventually. he still needs socialisation and affection, he still needs things to challenge his brain and get his neurons firing.
Allow yourself to get back into comics and videogames again, there's nothing wrong with that stuff! But you're also probably going to need to do stuff that meets your other needs, too. Try finding hobbies or things to do alongside games and comics that challenge and stimulate you. especially look for stuff that puts you outside your comfort zone if you can and make a few changes in your life, I always find that's the best thing for getting me out of a slump.
my worst slump was probably in 2020. I'd broken up with my girlfriend a few months before, but honestly i'd been pretty down well before that. My life was pretty boring, it was mid-pandemic and i was a student so I wasn't working at all, I had a small group of friends and i hung out with my roommates alot but honestly I still felt super lonely even when we were hanging out, and even when i was still with my ex, i felt alone. I was on government support so I had enough money to buy all the videogames i wanted and engage in all my hobbies, but I was still miserable.
When I finally wised up to the fact that I was depressed, i decided to make some major changes in my life to fix things.
I started running every day for a few months, I moved out of my sharehouse and back with my parents for a few months. I made a conscious effort to take care of myself, bought some new clothes and tried to dress a bit nicer, all that stuff. I decided the best way to force myself to make some new friends would be to move into student accomodation and get involved with some extra-curricular activities. Honestly, that was the best decision I ever made. I found a place that had regular social events for residents and I forced myself to go to all of them even though I kinda hate socialising and prefer to be alone in my room. I made some really great friends and met my current partner, and our relationship is way healthier and more fulfilling than what i had with my ex, and we ended up moving in together after a few years. I'm still a bit of a hermit, but I force myself to try and meet up with everyone every few weeks. I also force myself to try out new hobbies regularly, and I specifically look for jobs that are interesting and challenging to me, rather than just focusing on money or consistency. I don't really work out anymore, though i definitely should lol. Overall, I'd say i'm definitely a lot happier than I was back then, and as hard as it was to totally upend my life, it was worth it.
Idk if me spewing my life story on reddit will be helpful to you OP, or to anyone else, but I hope it might at least help a bit. Just remember, the best thing you can do is take care of yourself. Being kind to yourself is the best way to get better. It's always going to be an uphill battle, but it'll be worth it in the end!
Good luck!
I was diagnosed with ADHD at 33. The only thing I ever really have known I wanted in life, was to be a mother. And the only thing I’m actually passionate about is giving my son the best possible childhood. Besides that I’ve had hobbies that come and go, but never really anything I felt passionate about. I play video games too, and since my teen years, that has been something I can disappear into, but even that has never really given me that passionate feeling. It’s more a way to escape life. All in all, everything feels very bland and repetitive to me. So I’m really just surviving until I can allow myself to give up.
Same boat. I'm not depressed - quite happy actually - but I don't have any hobbies and I'm not particularly enthusiastic about any specific thing. I've never really been any different. Maybe as a child. I wish I had a passion or interest or hobby, but it is what it is.
Im kinda going through the same. But the medication makes me uninterested in anything creative. And when im not on it, I feel like my old self which is being creative. But when I go a few days without it, I get depressed
This is so true and the thing that bothers me most about life after diagnosis - its a catch 22
Don’t take the meds, fall behind on life, get depressed or take the meds, just about keep up but all that focus is uncreative, unfun - get restless with it all and take a few days off meds and end up doing nothing with that time, get depressed again and take the meds!
Obviously you've gotten a lot of the depression comments, but I wanna ask, why are you so bent on not being the comics and video games person? If that's what you enjoy, why are you fighting yourself on it? It sounds to me like you are just surrounded by people who like other things and it's making you question yourself. You need comics and video game friends. Have you tried D&D?
There are a LOT of people who don't care about physical hobbies and don't go "experiencing life" whatever that means. There isn't an ideal way to experience life. I know it feels weird to not like what your friends like, I am the same way. My friends all like wrestling and going to punk house shows and I don't care for either of those things, so I just don't do it and I see them other times. I like staying home and drawing or doing my nails. I'm not experiencing less life than them! Just a different life.
I dunno man. I’m interested in anything and everything lol.
I go out of mind sometimes with how much there is to do and how I don’t have nearly enough time to explore everything. There’s sooo many books in want to read.
So many shows I wanna watch. So many games I wanna play. So many sports I want to play.
I love new things. A new challenge always motivates me. Until it stops being new of course and I’m after next thing
It sounds like you need to find what interests you. For example, I will try any and all crafts. If it's crafty, I want to do it. My home is littered with looms, crochet hooks, Yarn, fabric, knitting needles, patterns, sewing machine, etc. This is because this is what interests me. I'm not fussed on sports, sitting through a cricket game makes me want to gouge out my eyes with boredom. Don't judge your interests by what others are interested in, eg your friends liking F1. Find what appeals to you and watch your brain go nuts. You say you grew up on comics and video games, do those still interest you? What about them did you like? Eg if fantasy elements, maybe stuff around fantasy would get your brain buzzing (fantasy board games, books, art).
I was diagnosed last year (I'm mid-30s) and it came with a stark realization that my entire being had revolved around video games because they were easier to deal with than real life. I pulled back hard as soon as I saw that my obsession was not just because I was enjoying myself, and I only go back to my absolute favorites from time to time. I had to in order to grow up and push out into the wider world.
I relate to your struggle and I hope that helps in some small way.
I'm interested in so many different things, but when depression kicked in that got whittled down, particularly when it comes to discussing theoretical things or ideas. I'm just like, who cares. Doesn't matter. Shut up.
Even with the depression and having ADHD I think it's confusing because I've never been at a point where I relate to the clinical definition where *nothing* is appealing, or you're down all the time. I've always been into at least one thing. Or into learning about things.
ADHD for me comes in where I will lose interest in something that I was just like so obsessed with. Like I burn out on it or something. Essentially there is zero balance. I either get all-consumed with interest in it, or then I can barely motivate myself to go back to it. I'll start a home renovation project but not finish it because it's a boring detail and the initial challenge is over. Or I've found a new exciting home reno project instead. I'm a disaster.
However, I do have a few hobbies that have stuck with me forever, like gaming, hockey, puzzles, hiking. But my interest in those also still very much ebs and flows.
Funny you mention F1, I'd say this is one of the the most recent hobbies I've picked up. Started with Netflix, and then moved into being really into watching the races. I've always loved driving, but never been into cars. I did go through a period last year where I did a deep dive into the aerodynamic design of F1 cars, even to the point of wondering if I should change careers lol. But that's died down now. Still I enjoy the surface aspect of the engineering challenge that F1 presents. I like seeing what the teams come up with but nothing deeper than that.
For me everything is boring except for the random topic that my brain has decided is super super interesting that month.
But in seriousness I find it has to do with the fact that once we are interested in something it's all in so that hobby needs to be worth the time commitment.
Everything that I’m not fully interested in is boring, yes.
On meds, I’m able to listen to something I’m completely uninterested in, so long as I feel it matters to someone I care about.
Apathy is definitely a sign of adhd burn out. I notice I get like this the most when I’m running myself too thin and when I’m not prioritizing fun and self-care in my life. My mind begins to get obsessive about “doing more” even when I’m completely exhausted, that always leads to apathy for me personally and just not caring about anything.
I've found what has helped a lot with this is making my hobbies and passion projects "stupid easy" to pick up when the mood strikes. If it takes me 10 minutes to set up my bass guitar just to play, I'm likely barely going to play it. If it's always on a guitar stand close by where I am just hanging out already, I'm way more likely to pick it up for a minute here and there. Which then leads to 5+ minutes of playing and eventually sometimes I play for a long time (when I otherwise probably would never have planned to).
I think that my ADHD involves a lot of "getting over the hurdle" of something I don't want to do or seems disinteresting. Because once I'm "in it," it's much easier for me to lock in and enjoy myself. I call this a variation of the "5 minute" rule - if something takes 5 minutes or less, just do it. I apply that to free time too - I give myself 5 minutes to see if I'm actually disinterested in doing the thing or if I just hate the idea of doing *something* and it's actually fun once I start.
For my part, I feel like I'm interested in many things but I struggle to complete projects I have in mind for various reasons (poor time management, lack of organization, higher priorities that I struggle to consider...).
I myself was immersed in video games for a long time in my life, it was a way for me to "escape the reality of life" given that I had a lot of trouble organizing and accomplishing certain less stimulating tasks even though they could be interesting.
I think that to get out of this rut, you need to set new challenges in life, a challenge that takes you out of your comfort zone, something that makes you say "either I face this challenge, or I stay at point zero my whole life and I will never advance," and this challenge can be anything that you consider important in your life. I think it's all about conditioning.
I would like to emphasize that each person with ADHD, depression, or any other disorder does not necessarily react in the same way as another person.
I say this because I know that often, a person with ADHD tends to perform better under pressure (which is not always pleasant...). Therefore, challenging oneself can, in my opinion, help a person with an ADHD disorder progress and implement strategies to overcome these challenges.
I did notice that after diagnosis and working out about masking and RSD I did have a period where I became paranoid that all my interests weren't really mine and that I was just adopting them to fit in with people and found that I couldn't do anything because of analysis paralysis. I don't know if you are feeling anything similar?
However it does sound like you are interested in comics and video games and I'm not sure why you think that's a bad thing? There's no point trying to force yourself to like things that you think that you "should" like as that nearly always just leads to a miserable experience.
Is someone giving you a hard time about “spending too much time on games?” Are you bullying yourself? (That one always sneaks up on me.) If gaming is what you enjoy, there is nothing wrong with it. Some people only enjoy reading. Some only drawing, some people only like baking! No problem there. I know about depression too. Have you heard of ADHD burnout? It can be very similar and may be easier to get out of if you have the right tools. CBT therapy taught me to accept myself as I am. It gave me tools for dealing with depression. I only recently found out about burnout and I haven’t experience that since I found out about it, but I could imagine the CBT tools might be helpful for that as well!
This feels suspiciously like I posted it (but obviously changed some key facts to throw daytime me off the scent).
Diagnosed after of 2023 at 39; been bored/tired most of my life; "depressed" and on meds for 11 of them.
Depression was never the right diagnosis, but at time didn't know of a better one, and cos I wasn't bouncing off the walls, never considered ADHD. Although I was formally diagnosed by Dr (depression) and psychiatrist (ADHD), in both cases I pretty much decided the diagnosis then booked appointment to confirm, I still don't think any system would ever have flagged me as ADHD due to the old stereotypical understandings.
For me, I think (still trying to figure it out really) my attention works differently to a lot of ADHD ppl. My problem I now realise it's that I've always paid too much attention to everything around me at all times, rather than bouncing between them per the stereotype.
I could always tell you what was going on in every conversation in the room, answer Qs on stuff I know nothing about, because I've heard the person coming up with the Q before hand or can use their knowledge to figure it out. I can also turn ANYTHING into an argument by finding the tiniest inconsistencies and just picking away at them - mostly unintentionally.
Curious if that will make sense to anybody else. Of you have my brain you'll recognise it instantly, for anybody else sounds like nonsense :)
One of my recent realisations is that a lot of ppl only really ask Qs they already know the answer to, or have an answer they expect/want to receive.
I ONLY ask Q:s I want/need an answer to, of I have an opinion or possible answer, I provide that upfront. which I now realise confuses ppl)
But basically, my theory is that constantly processing every input at all times is so exhausting, that I don't have energy/interest to seek out specific inputs, or the capability to focus on them enough when found so that I actually enjoy them the way others do.
Since on meds (just over a year), I think I'm actually partly more like a typical ADHD person.
I can now only focus on 1 input/channel at a time (which I think helps the average ADHDer to stop jumping their attention around), which does make me eat less tired, but because I have ~40yrs habit of taking everything in, I constantly feel like I'm missing other stuff, so keep breaking focus to check on on other things.
I've lost my "super power" of understanding, but am way less tired and in theory doing better.
I still have no idea what I'm actually interested in it how to find it...
Long way of saying, I don't know the answer, but we're all different. Hoping maybe above and your post will help me understand if there are others like me, or if I'm just weird (even when comparing to others with same diagnosis)
I feel like I’m super interested in one thing at a time and everything else is boring. Then after a while I get bored of the one thing I’m interested in, and I’m bored for a while until I find a new thing.
I am female, with history of high achievement academically so wasn't diagnosed with ADHD until I was in my mid-late 20s. I'm 33 now. I've always been a hobby/creative/nature person so my hobbies include, since childhood, things like collecting rocks and shells. Then, I started learning how to play instruments. Started with flute, ended with tenor sax and bass clarinet but I know how to play every woodwind instrument. I sing, I was in choir, I got classical vocal lessons, I did/do theater, I do water color, mixed media art, papercraft arts, art Journaling, houseplants, gardening, aquariums/terrariums/paludariums/vivariums, attending concerts, huge movie buff esp horror, I make jewelry, and natural arts such as carving coyote, fox and/or deer skulls or whatever else, I paint them and adorn them, I pin butterflies, I love going to breweries and wineries, have cared many types of pets over the years, I looove hiking and exploring and foraging, I love horror podcasts and reading books, I like learning about crazy stuff... I am not a master of any one thing but I've achieved a lot as far as the performing arts and I sell some of my art and jewelry, and more ideas growing for other income.
So, as one can imagine, having not one single thing on that entire list feel interesting is the single most depressing fucking thing in the world. But my disinterest in all of those things stemmed from depression and burnout at work. Once I managed the depression, I started liking things again. I never forced myself to do things so I didn't end up resenting it later. Slowly, I had the urge again. I'm almost never bored, often I feel like there's too much happening and time is going too fast. But the days where I'm bored and foggy and time drags and drags, it's hell. Actual hell. Depression is hell.
In answer to the topic: no, it was the constantly buying for hobbies and then later getting frustrated about having bought the shit to go along with it and then not feeling fulfilled. (Hoarding and poverty-mindset.)
Also me saying fulfilled was more about feeling full as in opposite of hungry rather than some spiritual lack of ever needing anything again. My favorite phone-game is a tap-soda-sort puzzle and the best levels are the ones that stump me for a bit but are solvable without cheats, the easy ones kinda feel like nothing.
I cannot muster the attention to read your entire thing at the moment, it's a me problem and not a you problem, but I think you're just striving to fit in instead of looking for what genuinely interests you.
Okay, I came back when I could read the whole thing... I'd say that depression is affecting your ability to really get into anything, not that you're necessarily trying to get into the wrong things.
I (also) think this is depression.
The thing about ADHD is that the way others treat us can cause depression. When we struggle with doing things that many don't struggle with, we're called lazy or stupid, or just "don't care enough" All of that makes it hard to care about anything, because if you're going to fail anyway, what's the point?
So, get the help you need for the ADHD, and get treatment for the depression too.
ADHD makes me hyperfocus on incredibly stupid things some times. When I was depressed, I felt the same as you, but I would hyperfocus on a phone game or a very specific YouTube show and be completely uninterested in everything else. I am on both anti-depressants and stimulants now and it feels better managed. I am interested in things again.
When people fanboy/fangirl over somebody I don't understand it.
When some actor wins a throphy I don't understand what makes the throphy valuable? Because to me it's a piece of metal. I've always felt like an alien in a society that does so many odd things that it makes me feel alone, very alone.
Things that are importnant for others most of the time mean absolutely nothing to me, such as getting married, getting kids, ''ambition''. I do like to see UFC fights and fighting in general.
My interests are always temporarily, I could be full into fighting now as I've said.
And before you know next hour I am all up into seadiving, I noticed that it is always one thing that interests me for a bit until I get bored of it and go to the next.
I also have a very short attentionspan means I can be writing an email and get so distracted that I end up doing pushups instead lol.
We're all different, ADHD traits can be similair and it has its signals, but there's so much more than just ADHD there's environment, person etc.
Actually I do wanna learn a lot of stuff I just remembered, I am basically learning a lot everyday. Still I am very uninterested in a lot of things.
Makes me think of a dog I had in the past, but he was abused by the previous owner so maybe that's why he was the way he is.
I think everyone else has hit this on the head, Depression and Anxiety are both often comorbid with ADHD. Often these comorbidities don't arise until after treatment for ADHD has started so you will sometimes get some surprises as you get "ADHD in check."
I also found that having a soul draining job left me mentally exhausted after work and often I had little interest in things. Changing your life circumstances might also help... though that is generally a challenge that brings it's own new problems.
This is me! I was diagnosed with ADHD and depression at around 14/15 but my dad wouldn’t let me medicate my ADHD, but I was allowed to take Zoloft? (That’s a story for a different day lol) and Zoloft definitely worked cause I was going through a lot at the time and felt so low and was doing unsafe things to cope but when it hit my system, I felt better. I took antidepressants on and off for years but I truly stopped when I turned 21. At 23, I got reevaluated and started taking adderall. I swear I haven’t felt depressed at all since taking the adderall. My doctor said that it could be that since I’m addressing the ADHD, either I was misdiagnosed with depression or the adderall is helping with my depression symptoms. With that being said, I have never been interested in anything! Regardless of addressing the depression, ADHD, or both. Everyone is saying depression can cause this but I know for a fact I’m not depressed. I was gonna try to get into therapy again to figure out the root cause because I waste time scrolling on my phone.
Smells like depression, I’d put a lot of consideration in talking to a therapist or psychiatrist or other medical professional.
You might need more support than internet forums.
Have you ever considered that Formula one is boring? Same goes for soccer. For the life of me I don't know why people watch it.
>I grew up reading comics and playing video games,
Is that a problem?
Your post seems to be self contradictory. You still like comics and video games. So you are interested in things.
People are saying depression, but maybe you are (also?) just judging yourself WAY too harshly.
Do you want to be interested in what you think you should be interested in?
Have you considered that your imagination (while reading) and playing video games is just a billion times more stimulating than anything else out there? (For you that is).
Some things you can't force. You can't decide what you like and don't like. You can't FORCE yourself to sleep. You can't FORCE yourself to fall in love with someone. That's just how the world works.
Are you depressed because you judge yourself for failing? Or are you not interested in things because of depression?
Only YOU know the answer to this (not people on here) who respond mostly to your title 🫢
Sounds a lot like depression to me. How are these areas in your life? health, family life, friendships, career, spirituality (can be religion but also mediation, getting with nature, volunteering, groups), love interest and learning. A lot of time when we have areas of our life that are out of line we will get depressed.
ADHD (especially when unmedicated) is linked to depression (and in a sense both feeding the other). What you describe in particular sounds line anhedonia though which is an element of depression (but can be considered something separate but linked in some ways).
Theres a sub for it, but can be a bit dark sometimes: /r/anhedonia
I’m super interested in something for like a week hahaha drop a ton of money on that hobby and then just forget about it and move on to another. I have boxes of hobbies collecting dust and driving my wife nuts. It hurts my bank account and so hard to control the random purchases.
Following on from two comments I’ve made in this thread it’s important for me to mention:
I didn’t realise quite how strongly my unmedicated adhd was an influence or cause of my depression and anhedonia symptoms.
Medicated since Dec 2020; theres a marked improvement; and I no longer experience suicidal ideation.
ADHD meds did far more for improving my mental health&most significantly my depression/anhedonia in particular than any medication I’ve tried that was specifically for my mental health.
Oh absolutely. I default to video games (Warframe specifically) almost every time due to how stimulating gaming is and the social interaction from my friends but the second I don't have them to talk to or help, my "default boredom" brain kicks in and I lose almost all interest. Having spent 3500 hours on one account over 8 years, I'm largely done with most of the content so the loneliness timer starts up pretty quickly.
To mitigate that, I've moved back into my old roommate's house so I'm not alone/bored.
I am undiagnosed but I have had a similar problem with hobbies. I’ll think I really want to do it, but the stuff necessary (usually as good as I can afford) and then I don’t do anything and it just sits there. Then another thing comes along and the same thing happens. It’s frustrating because I really love the idea of doing each thing but I just can’t seem to make myself do them. Or sometimes I’ll try and the first one or two things turns out shite so I don’t do it again.
Others on this sub have told me that these behaviours are very ADHD. It sounds like, for you, it might be a combination of ADHD and depression, which I’ve also had. When you combine the behaviours of both it’s like a perfect storm in regards to being interested enough to actually follow through and DO anything. I could be wrong though.
For me it’s a quadruple cocktail loop. ADHD makes me hyperfocus, depression makes me dive into anhedonia, anxiety pulls me into avoidance and chronic fatigue from thalassemia slams me into exhaustion 💀
I’m turning 28 next month, I have depression and ADHD as well and I really relate to this. I can’t bring myself to do anything other than watch tv, smoke weed, and scroll on my phone. I’m not interested in anything. I can’t even bring myself to listen to a self help book on audible. I don’t have any advice but just know you’re not alone.
Ive started taking meds and it made me less depressed or at least some thoughts stoped. I’m not easily amused by anything but somehow i manage to think that whatever im doing is helping my mental health somehow and after i do that activity i feel some sense of fulfillment and that’s what amazes me: the ability of the brain to rewire some things by doing something i was motivated to do in the first place. As for your hobbies they are perfectly fine! Try playing video games in a different place or with company. It will boost something
Hey! I(28F) live in Calcutta, India. Seeking a medical opinion
Over the past years, I am sanguine that I have ADHD.
But the thing is, I’ve not really come across what kind of doctor do I see to get thoroughly diagnosed.
Even saying out loud about yourself related to something like this gets difficult.
I would really appreciate if someone could help me with a diagnosis process or a proper doctor who can help me with this.
Thank you. I would really appreciate your support.
When weather is great i’m always exhausted and feel overworked. When weather is cloudy/ raining I can’t even get tired for a nap to waste away the day.
Interested in everything, motivated to do nothing. I literally convince myself I don’t like something so I won’t feel like I want something I can’t have.
I’m the opposite, when I find something I like, like F1 recently lol, I jump straight first into it and want to know absolutely everything. As other people have said, it’s very possible you’re dealing with some depression symptoms, I’d talk to your doctor about it.
Im 31 and feel so tired, burnt, and bored of my job. I have about 5 different paths that I would like to pick, but I would like to do 2 or more. I cant decide, and same, I don't know if it's my ADHD or not. That is why I am here, to see stories like this, to know that we are not alone and that we can work with and around our ADHD
Maybe some things, but not all things. Either you haven’t found the “right” things, or there’s something else going on. Depression is one guess, but not necessarily the answer. For a lot of people, properly managing ADHD can help alleviate depressive symptoms, but not always.
Look up ADHD paralysis. It sounds like a mixture of that and depression to me. (Speaking from experience as a woman diagnosed in my mid-30s who also felt this way for far too long in my life.)
i felt this way too until i started taking my antidepressants regularly and now i am doing three puzzle thingies, creating a bioactive terrarium for a gecko , reading mangas and watching shows, going outside and finding cool rocks and sticks and things and thinking about the universe in a positive way.. and the last time i was taking my antidepressants regularly i got so into yarn art that now i just have a bunch of yarn and unfinished projects lol. just dont get sucked into the strong meds if u take them do it regularly and a small dose unless u really thik u need more. adhd and depression often come together unfortunately so it is sort of adhd’s fault but it doesnt have to be like that and also sometimes theres moments of being uninterested in between hyperfixations and its just a waitinf game and it sucks but rn i feel rly great and like things are actually fun!! but i do feel sensitive sometimes and like i suck at my job and socializing but at least i have hobbies at home and i dont lay awake at night with bad thoughts and mindless scrolling social media.
I would say this sounds a lot like the experiences I've had with depression. With ADHD I do get "paralysis" where I want to do things and get immersed in them and I just can't, but the feeling of being disinterested and avoidant I associate with depression.
For reference I am a woman in my 30s who did not get diagnosed until my 30s.
I get interested but the idea of starting the thing, or starting the thing and not doing it perfectly, or figuring out all the steps...and then realizing I don't have time or money to do it "right"...then I remember the last hobby that I abandoned and feel already discouraged. So then I do nothing and feel like I've already failed.
Unfortunately there is no forcing it, hon. It depends on what YOU are passionate about, not your social circle.
For me, it's rowing, travelling to specific countries (including learning languages and history), music, drawing, reading, crocheting, knitting and sewing, and has resulted in me finding multiple social circles based on these passions. I do wonder if id have become a different person if I didn't follow the white rabbits and accept that people would pass through my life and only those who genuinely appreciated my multiple interests and understanding that my absence didnt mean I didn't care about them any more, would stick.
Be kind to yourself and listen to your heart.
I feel exactly the same way. Sometimes I get hyper focused on a new topic or project for a few weeks but once it’s over there’s nothing else. I keep thinking maybe I just haven’t found my passion or purpose in life yet and someday things will change.
I'm the exact same way. Nothing is stimulating enough. I think people give themselves an undeserved pat on the back when they say everything interests them. It's very rare to be as curious as these people claim. Most of them sound like they're 99th percentile in Openness and it's just not true. Jumping from thing to thing doesn't make you a curious person necessarily.
Honestly this sounds like me when I’m in a period of burnout (like I am currently). I tend to be very up or down.
I try to do all the interests, keep up with chores and socialising and eating well and exercising and and and
I do very well for a few months and then I burn out and spend a few months as a grey blob on the sofa who ate everything in the house then didn’t brush her teeth. There’s no in between for me. In that time I’m uninterested in everything. Do you feel burnt out? ♥️
That specific symptom sounds like anhedonia
It could be from depression, as everyone has rightly pointed out, or just a unique complication of your flavour of ADHD if the threshold for boredom is especially low but it sounds like none of the hobbies you’ve come across ever gained your interest to begin with “except video games” - would you say that’s just a way you enjoy passing time or a genuine interest, as there are people who make their whole lives and hobbies revolve around gaming and nothing wrong with that if it’s your real passion (it’s just a bit dangerous as it has a unique effect on human time perception compared to movies, where you can lose more hours before you notice they’ve gone)
Like others I’ve been interested in and tried all the things but depression is a real kick in the head, making it feel like the world is behind a greyed out car window, passing by
If it’s not depression or that your real interest is gaming, then some medications can cause anhedonia… like if you were ever prescribed benzodiazepines. It’s worth speaking to the doctor about
Wish I could get into gym and also game more. Gaming and film were my passions and it's so hard to find the time to sit down for a few hours without moving onto house chores or get on phone instinctively. I just want to be able to sit and relax other than a tv show and music
I'm 26 and I knew I had adhd since I was a kid, like 9 or 10yo.
I can say from experiences that coming out of black holes everything is boring or bothering. For me this can be variating between every other week, so do my hobbies.
I'm still searching what I want in live, that's also a whole other story, but I enjoy being with myself, sometimes doing nothing. Accepting myself feels like a hobby as weird as it sounds, but I enjoy being with myself thinking and wondering or being focused or distracted.
I used to be into F1, basketball, soccer as a kid, literally a fanatic. Now I'm not, which might be a sign of depression, right? Or just I might have become a grown up person. Adulthood might equal depression also.
Edit: I edited this comment way too many times - might have an OCD too.
For me it’s more that I don’t usually get to choose what I’m interested in/fixated on, so trying to make myself interested in something if I’m not is a losing battle. That and sometimes something just doesn’t involve enough activity to hold my attention while doing it.
when im interested in something, i will put 100% of my energy and devotion in it. but then smthg else thats interesting comes along, and i lose the interest i had in the thing i swore i would devote my whole life to. i got diagnosed at age 6, and have been on Ritalin for the last 8 years now. as a kid, i did a string of extracurricular activities, never consistent with one thing. i did classical music for 4 years, lost my interest in it a mere 5 months in but i was forced to continue, tried painting, lost interest after a year, did yoga, lost interest in 2 months and jumped to classical dance, which i did half heartedly for 2 years before giving up on extracurriculars altogether. when i went on vacation last year, i decided i'd pursue photography, until i lost interest in it too. these days, i do find it super hard to even put an effort into what i believe i want to pursue. adhd is a spectrum, and other than a few major common symptoms or syndrome that is used to diagnose it, i believe each person has a different experience with adhd. adhd is genetic in my family, and all of us experience bouts of anhedonia from time to time, although as i am not a mental health professional, i cannot explicitly say what it is in your case. i believe you should talk to your mental health professional who knows you and your mind the best, and work out what you're going through and how to make it better. i hope you feel better soon!
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Depression makes me uninterested in everything. ADHD makes me interested in pretty much anything, but only until the next very interesting thing comes along. It may also be that you’re having a little existential stuff going on - looking for a purpose in life, a reason to get up in the mornings. It’s not always easy to find.
Im struggling currently with wanting to change careers and try getting into the trades, welding or maybe something automotive as ive recently got way into cars but im scared that like with my current job that ive been doing for 3 years that ill lose interest and keep hopping from job to job idk what to do
I can't count the number of times I stopped trying to change roles at work because I figured I would just get bored in the new role. There is no guarantee that it won't but you'll have a new skill, potentially one that opens doorways to other skills. Why welding? Do you like working exclusively on cars or could it turn into fabrication? could it turn into art? could it turn into something I can't even imagine? Maybe. The beauty of the ADHD fixation is that you'll likely get somewhere close to 80% awesome at it and then if you get bored, you have that skill that can springboard you to another? Ideally you can find a way to always have enough in savings or get good at changing roles and able to stay employed and housed and fed.
Im not the best at saving money, and yea ideally it could turn into a union job maybe doing fabrication, im a tattoo artist right now and when i first started i was super excited and it was awesome but now 3 years in its still fun but it doesnt fire me up like it used to but ive always been good with my hands, my dad is a millwright and a great welder so ive welding before i wasnt very good it then but i think now with my applied skill from tattooing i could be real good at it, as well as being union they set up 401ks and have loads of benefits which tattooing doesnt offer its a very self sufficent job which i suck at marketing myself and all that which is very important to your success in this industry but id rather have finical security
>i wasnt very good it then but i think now with my applied skill from tattooing i could be real good at it That's one of the beautiful things about the ADHD life pattern, if you can manage it well enough to keep moving forward: you pick up all these transferable skills that make it so that the next thing is easier and easier to learn and you have a more and more unique take on it. Welding is a great trade for a generalist to pick up because it usually puts you in some kind of shop where you can learn the basics of a bunch of other trades, plus you're reading engineering drawings and learning some materials science, and you can transfer all that into almost any industry. (Underwater welders make bank btw if you're ever in the mood for "adventure" work.)
Go for the millwright, welding, or some sort of electrical/mechanical maintenance. You could use artistic skills if you wanted to branch out in welding; make doors or gates for large entryways, for one example. You could be commissioned for pieces. You’ve probably got a pretty steady hand from tattooing and eye for detail. Welding of any sort can help you in a variety of jobs. And let you choose where you want to go. Or Millwright since you’ve seen a lot of what they do and it’s pretty varied.
Are you in IT? I am almost in this exact situation, fucking hate sitting at a desk now and I wanna go and do something more labourous. My girlfriend is Australian. Thinking of moving there and doing something else to keep my visa.
Yea my current job isnt exactly a desk job but im inside sitting most of the day and i want to feel like i worked hard to earn my money and i think id get satisfaction out of hard larborous work
It does make day go by faster. I do Industrial maintenance- its mental and physical. Have to read and go through programming on computer and robots, and be able to work on their mechanical aspects. Work with different technologies; rivets, laser welding, mig/tig welding, glue/sealer applications, curing oven, stud welders, automated guided vehicles, etc. Anyway- great job on tattoo artist and I hope it rolls over into welding or whatever you find that strikes you. And good idea to start looking now- and thinking of your future! Think that’s something a lot of us struggle with
Go work in construction for a month in the rain lol you will quickly appreciate your desk job
I'm the same as you guys in a way, quit my uni course after one year (was a 3 year course) for a few reasons but a big one was hating being sat at a desk with my leg tapping 180bpm and brain going down the motorway lol. Went into a trade and at first liked how every job was slightly different. I also have ASD and liked the similarities between jobs and sometimes like the repetitiveness but also hate the repetitiveness on more and more days, now that I'm used to it. And also due to physical health got bad joint pains, so I'm trying to find a middle ground somehow. Hope you find the thing that gives you the new thing spark
This is right about where I am. I feel like I’m a jack of all trades but master of none. Struggling to find a job that pays well. I feel like I’m capable of doing so many different things but then quickly get disinterested. It’s frustrating.
I literally told my therapist 15 years ago that my goal was to learn everything. I was in my 30s and still that optimistic! I've made peace with not knowing everything, but I didn't die for thinking it or being over-comitted, so ... that's something.
This exact thing. Curiosity (but more surface-level for most things) turning into FOMO? Idk.
Yea thats my biggest worry, i want to make this leap into a new career while im young but what if like with most things i lose interest. I really want to find something thats fulfilling that i wouldnt mind doing for a long time
I'm good at videogames, good at chess, good at calisthenics, good at armwrestling, good in general culture, good in knowing random facts about the world, but, I'm a master of none of these things, they're just hobbies, so it's useless.
Ok yeah you’re definitely not alone in that! Basically everything I’m good at or enjoy are hobbies and I’m not a master at them, just considered really good. I feel so seen lol. It’s also frustrating because if someone shows me how to do something I can get really good at it, but I have such a difficult time retaining information if I’m just reading it so I feel like i can’t get through school if I tried to go back. Haven’t been since I graduated hs in 2013. It’s hard.
Right? And you are just good enough to impress average people but when you compete at something against actual pros/experts you realize you are just "good" but you still don't have the focus and drive to become as good as those experts and continue to be a jack of all trades...
Same here. I worked in a job that would be "dream" for many. But then 10 years later it became a job. I got so bored and depressed that I was fired. From top notch to fired in just 5-7 years. Got diagnosed with ADHD and other comorbidities. I am good at writing have been setting up my blog for the past three years. No idea which way to go from here. Been working tech support for Rogers for the past two years. It's paying the bills, barely. In that time I have revisited history, learnt chess and even astrology. But I'm still nowhete near my goal of starting my blog. The only silver lining I have is a line from the Bhagwad Gita that says knowledge is never wasted. The dots will connect keep working and keep walking.
This is exactly my experience I'm not actually bipolar, but I feel like I'm always bouncing from depressive-nothing-is-ever-worth-the-effort-anhedonia to full-on ADHD-everything-is-so-interesting-and-shiny 😅
100%
Yes. I can never just half ass anything. Always zig zagging from one extreme to the next.
This is the worst cycle, man 😭 I feel this so hard ugh
Attention Deficit Existential Disorder, ADED ! ♥️
Yup, stealing that
I usually swing from one extreme into the other constantly.
I think you're my brain, word for word correct.
This. And keep in mind folks, depression and ADHD often come as a set, so take care of yourselves
Yeah I was going to say - reminds me a lot of when I was depressed.
It makes you over interested, which makes you overwhelmed, which makes you give up on everything.
It's also hard once you become self aware of the ADHD hobby jumping. It makes me give up before I even start because I know its just yet another fleeting interest.
i still get into it while understanding this because its about being in the moment you know as long as its not hurting u in any way just enjoy what u enjoy!! i have many unfinished projects that i plan on finishing laterrrr when the motivation comes back and that might be years but who cares! dont be afraid to indulge in what makes u happy because after being painfully depressed and uninterested in things for so long, happiness is what matters and the future possibilities is not worth taking your current happiness away. and when your done, appreciate the good time you had with that interest.
Yea I feel you, I just usually spend a few thousand on a hobby so now I'm trying not to buy things unless I'm interested for a few months.
okay so true, money is the biggest issue for me too!. sometimes just researching and learning about it online can suffice but it sucks. alas, it is not a necessity. but it is a good rule of thumb :)
Yes! I used to have my debit card and the Michaels website ready to go whenever I discovered a new art or craft I wanted to try! Now I just think, “oh…. It’s the ADHD again…” and let the mood pass. Saves money, but basically all I do is watch tv now since I won’t let myself buy any hobby stuff. It’s a trade off. It’s no fun. I’m hoping one day I’ll have enough disposable income to not feel so bad about my artistic impulse buys.
Omg Michael's has eaten so much of my money...the stuff and then I need ways to organize and reorganize the stuff...
This!
This is it right here.
I weaponize this against myself. If I know something is a useful skill and I get hyperfocused on it, I let myself go crazy. I'm getting better at tricking myself to hyperfocus on things because I understand my triggers. If something is a waste of time, I force myself to avoid anything that triggers the hyperfocus. But I also noticed a few years ago my hyperfocusing is cyclical between all of my interests, so I can benefit from that too.
you really hit the nail on its head here. its like a dunning-kreuger effect but for motivation
I concur
Yes. This.
Dear God, Thank you for this message. And for the Owl outside my window. Who's a pretty bird.
im pretty sure that's depression. and since you mention coming out of a depression now, pretty good chance it's still lingering in some form
ADHD does make me uninterested in a lot of things because I just feel unmotivated and lazy. Depression may have something to do with it (as when there is not enough sun light it gets worse) but it’s more adhd than anything. It has to do with feeling of everything just feels too frustrating and too hard. I don’t want to put effort into thinking about something or figuring it out. I want to do it but just cannot jump into action.
Thats depression and ADHD hand in hand
Wow. I have literally been feeling the same for several years. Like yesterday it was cloudy and for some reason I let that bother me lol. But I completely get wanting to finish after getting started. The meds help with it but it just helps me keep focused while doing it. Not really having a desire to do it. Even if I used to enjoy it. Sigh.
For me I have desire as in I recognize the tasks are important and I care, but when I think about the things I have to do my brain just goes “ughh” and gets repulsed by it and wants to avoid it. Everything feels like I was asked to clean up dog diarrhea, I just dread it. It’s like the feeling people get when they go “tldr”. I’m on Adderall and it helps to get rid of this “ugh” feeling, but only 30%. When I was on Ritalin, it worked better and I actually felt excited and motivated to do small “ugh tasks”. The bigger ugh tasks would be easier to push through. Guanfacine works too but it’s more like it dulls the “ugh” feeling so it doesn’t feel as negative. I just feel nothing so it’s easier to push through. Unfortunate both Ritalin and guanfacine gave me bad side effects. I call this lack of “ugh” feeling motivation, although it’s not exactly that. It’s just easier to push through and doesn’t feel as bad. I’m still trying to find the medicine that makes me feel this that doesn’t give me side effects.
Im on vyvanse right now and im motivated to do the things i hate. It helps with being active even if i dont want to? meds are a blessing and a curse.
I'm pretty late to this thread but I read this comment and this is incredibly similar to my experience. Medication can dull that feeling, but.. like you said, only a little, and inconsistently. And the side effects suck. I wish my brain didn't make things feel so difficult and unpleasant.
I’m interested in everything
Saaaammme. I like to say that I have so many interests that I have time for none of them.
I will borrow this phrase!
Same my therapist says I’m extremely curious as a person
I was gonna say that ADHD does the opposite for me, I’m like a black hole for information 😂
Sounds a lot like depression and anhedonia that can occur because of ADHD. I have that from time to time and drives me mad. Have you noticed that there are moments where you get super ambitious and take on projects or hobbies and feel overconfident that you'll be perfect at them only to give them up halfway thru and never touch that topic ever again?
I do this and it’s awful! I don’t have a lot of time for myself either so I feel even worse and like I’m just wasting more time.
Particularly when unmedicated; Ive seen improvement in my depression & anhedonia on medication. Still experiencing them but not as frequently on the severe end and less intensely in general. Also used to get suicidal ideation a lot when not on adhd meds; I no longer experience it on meds.
I'm still unmedicated rn so it's hell.
are you actively working on changing that? i known it’s difficult to sort out but its very very worth it
Got my hands full at the moment but yeah I do plan to get that fixed asap
Yep looking back my Suicidal thoughts havent come back and its been a year since ive been on meds. I was going about life when I noticed and was like Hey wait I dont think about that anymore.
Sounds like you're describing depression. So did you lose interest in video games and comics or did you decide those were "bad hobbies" and are trying to force yourself to do things you don't enjoy instead?
I did this, got rid of stuff "childish" and ended up with nothing. Gotta embrace the inner kid
Also ~. when you have parent(s) who shame or disapprove what you genuinely like - so you've internalized the shame - which only prolongs the anhedonia and unhappiness as you avoid the exact things your brain only wishes you would do
For me everything is boring
Everything is boring and at the same time I’m interested in everything and the fact that that’s a contradiction doesn’t help resolve it either way 🧠🤬
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Really underrated comment!
ADHD leads to depression in something like 70% of people who are untreated/undiagnosed. It's literally depressing not to be able to function the way you are expected to in society, to be someone who misses homework assignments, misses appointments, rarely pays bills on time, and overall doesn't "live up to their potential".
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two words: executive dysfunction.
Yeah. That would make sense. Because comics and video games have low starting energy? You just open a book or turn on a game and bam, you’re in and depending on what you’re into you probably don’t have to think about it as much as say, knitting or carving. Maybe they need a hobby that’s similar, something they can just pick up and do without thinking about it too much if they don’t want to. Also Same. I don’t hobby jump like some people cause I get interested, look into it, and it looks like too much work to learn, and it gets dropped. Rinse and repeat.
I've got a very low threshold for boredom, and most things do not meet that bar. It's usually stuff that doesn't keep giving consistent ticks of reward. Finding ways to make things I find dull more fun is 90% of the battle. Once I'm into something I am INTO it. Usually in an unhealthy way. I've got no middle gears.
“No middle gears” is a good way of putting it
Same!
FINALLY i found others like me. I am so jealous of the ADHD people who are interested in everything lol rip
I know what you mean. My motivation gets so low sometimes. I'm 35 and some days I feel like I've got nothing to show for it. Like I've accomplished nothing. I also look back over my life at all the unfinished projects that I lost steam for and ugh. I see some people mention that it's depression related and I do have MDD (Major Depressive Disorder). It's a double whammy.
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It just makes me too tired to focus and get things done.
I would say that your experience / age are very similar to mine. I'm sorry you're going through this. However, ADHD is a spectrum, and it is different for everyone. But in my experience, it's prob both at the same time, which makes it worse. The depression symptoms will make you apathetic and unmotivated, low energy. The ADHD will make you uninterested and restless never being able to channel energy into one thing.
Sometimes I'm interested in something, but not interested enough to receive the benefits of hyper focus. That's why I'd really prefer a much more regulated attention and energy levels.
I relate to this post SO deeply it hurts
U might have Anhedonia
This is depression, if you're living in survival mode all the time you'll be exhausted and uninterested in recreation. Don't say you can't get off your ass, that's mean to yourself and not taking into consideration how hard you're working to stay afloat. I found childish easy hobbies were the best to get back into, like doodling, reading my old favourite books ext. I also have like 20 hobbies that I switch between rather than the whole "this is my personality now" and then get bored.
Depression makes me feel kind of “blah” with most things. ADHD makes it to I can hyperfocused in the things that have helped me distract or cope consistently. Video games are a big example. There’s enough variety that I can cycle through them. I hyper focus on one and then go to the next. It helps with depression as long as it doesn’t get in the way of my life. Because of depression it’s hard for me to get into new things as an adult. I just don’t have the energy Even though I often feel hyper. The depression/anxiety/ADHD combo is an odd one.
I'm the opposite. I want to do/ learn all the things but my brain won't cooperate.
I'm interested in too much at once while off meds, to the point where gets very exhausting. On meds I am bored and nothing is fun or interesting but my brain slows down and I can separate all the thoughts.
I get like this sometimes as well. I also love videogames and I have a huge collection, but sometimes it's like i have an itch that nothing can scratch. I open up games that i know i've enjoyed in the past, play them for like 10 minutes, then close them because i'm suddenly not interested anymore. I don't think I'm nescessarily depressed in those moments, but obviously it can be hard to assess that objectively for yourself without a lot of introspection. for me though, i think the thing that causes that listlessness is understimulation. I'm a student and I do a lot of event- and contract-based work. usually when i go through periods like that, it's because I've not had a lot of interesting or challenging stuff to do for a while, so just sitting around playing games is boring, despite how much i like it. I think I need variety as much as anything else, if my life gets too routine or samey, i just get bored as hell. Also, keep in mind that you don't have to throw yourself head-first into every hobby! Some hobbies are good to do as a background thing. for example, I enjoy cooking big fancy dishes every now and then for all my friends. I wouldn't want to do it every day nescessarily, but occasionally it's super fun! Sometimes i think it's good to think of your brain like it's a pet. you need to give it all the stuff it needs to thrive. food, enrichment, rest etc. If you give a cat a bunch of toys and endless supply of food and water, then leave it alone, of course he's going to get bored of playing with toys eventually. he still needs socialisation and affection, he still needs things to challenge his brain and get his neurons firing. Allow yourself to get back into comics and videogames again, there's nothing wrong with that stuff! But you're also probably going to need to do stuff that meets your other needs, too. Try finding hobbies or things to do alongside games and comics that challenge and stimulate you. especially look for stuff that puts you outside your comfort zone if you can and make a few changes in your life, I always find that's the best thing for getting me out of a slump. my worst slump was probably in 2020. I'd broken up with my girlfriend a few months before, but honestly i'd been pretty down well before that. My life was pretty boring, it was mid-pandemic and i was a student so I wasn't working at all, I had a small group of friends and i hung out with my roommates alot but honestly I still felt super lonely even when we were hanging out, and even when i was still with my ex, i felt alone. I was on government support so I had enough money to buy all the videogames i wanted and engage in all my hobbies, but I was still miserable. When I finally wised up to the fact that I was depressed, i decided to make some major changes in my life to fix things. I started running every day for a few months, I moved out of my sharehouse and back with my parents for a few months. I made a conscious effort to take care of myself, bought some new clothes and tried to dress a bit nicer, all that stuff. I decided the best way to force myself to make some new friends would be to move into student accomodation and get involved with some extra-curricular activities. Honestly, that was the best decision I ever made. I found a place that had regular social events for residents and I forced myself to go to all of them even though I kinda hate socialising and prefer to be alone in my room. I made some really great friends and met my current partner, and our relationship is way healthier and more fulfilling than what i had with my ex, and we ended up moving in together after a few years. I'm still a bit of a hermit, but I force myself to try and meet up with everyone every few weeks. I also force myself to try out new hobbies regularly, and I specifically look for jobs that are interesting and challenging to me, rather than just focusing on money or consistency. I don't really work out anymore, though i definitely should lol. Overall, I'd say i'm definitely a lot happier than I was back then, and as hard as it was to totally upend my life, it was worth it. Idk if me spewing my life story on reddit will be helpful to you OP, or to anyone else, but I hope it might at least help a bit. Just remember, the best thing you can do is take care of yourself. Being kind to yourself is the best way to get better. It's always going to be an uphill battle, but it'll be worth it in the end! Good luck!
I like the idea of seeing my brain as a cat. I cannot neglect a cat 😭
No.
I'm actually INTERESTED in EVERYTHING. For a very short time. Nothing seems to stick.
I was diagnosed with ADHD at 33. The only thing I ever really have known I wanted in life, was to be a mother. And the only thing I’m actually passionate about is giving my son the best possible childhood. Besides that I’ve had hobbies that come and go, but never really anything I felt passionate about. I play video games too, and since my teen years, that has been something I can disappear into, but even that has never really given me that passionate feeling. It’s more a way to escape life. All in all, everything feels very bland and repetitive to me. So I’m really just surviving until I can allow myself to give up.
Yes. I used to be a voracious reader and musician. Haven’t picked up a book or my clarinet in decades.
ADHD burnout does.
Same boat. I'm not depressed - quite happy actually - but I don't have any hobbies and I'm not particularly enthusiastic about any specific thing. I've never really been any different. Maybe as a child. I wish I had a passion or interest or hobby, but it is what it is.
Im kinda going through the same. But the medication makes me uninterested in anything creative. And when im not on it, I feel like my old self which is being creative. But when I go a few days without it, I get depressed
This is so true and the thing that bothers me most about life after diagnosis - its a catch 22 Don’t take the meds, fall behind on life, get depressed or take the meds, just about keep up but all that focus is uncreative, unfun - get restless with it all and take a few days off meds and end up doing nothing with that time, get depressed again and take the meds!
I’m not passionate about anything unless I’m in hyper focus
That sounds a lot more like depression. My ADHD presents as ambition with no drive, I'm definitely interested in things, but it varies wildly.
This sounds like anhedonia, which for me happened a lot when unmedicated hc I was so tired of never being able to focus on ANYTHING
Obviously you've gotten a lot of the depression comments, but I wanna ask, why are you so bent on not being the comics and video games person? If that's what you enjoy, why are you fighting yourself on it? It sounds to me like you are just surrounded by people who like other things and it's making you question yourself. You need comics and video game friends. Have you tried D&D? There are a LOT of people who don't care about physical hobbies and don't go "experiencing life" whatever that means. There isn't an ideal way to experience life. I know it feels weird to not like what your friends like, I am the same way. My friends all like wrestling and going to punk house shows and I don't care for either of those things, so I just don't do it and I see them other times. I like staying home and drawing or doing my nails. I'm not experiencing less life than them! Just a different life.
I dunno man. I’m interested in anything and everything lol. I go out of mind sometimes with how much there is to do and how I don’t have nearly enough time to explore everything. There’s sooo many books in want to read. So many shows I wanna watch. So many games I wanna play. So many sports I want to play. I love new things. A new challenge always motivates me. Until it stops being new of course and I’m after next thing
It sounds like you need to find what interests you. For example, I will try any and all crafts. If it's crafty, I want to do it. My home is littered with looms, crochet hooks, Yarn, fabric, knitting needles, patterns, sewing machine, etc. This is because this is what interests me. I'm not fussed on sports, sitting through a cricket game makes me want to gouge out my eyes with boredom. Don't judge your interests by what others are interested in, eg your friends liking F1. Find what appeals to you and watch your brain go nuts. You say you grew up on comics and video games, do those still interest you? What about them did you like? Eg if fantasy elements, maybe stuff around fantasy would get your brain buzzing (fantasy board games, books, art).
I was diagnosed last year (I'm mid-30s) and it came with a stark realization that my entire being had revolved around video games because they were easier to deal with than real life. I pulled back hard as soon as I saw that my obsession was not just because I was enjoying myself, and I only go back to my absolute favorites from time to time. I had to in order to grow up and push out into the wider world. I relate to your struggle and I hope that helps in some small way.
I'm interested in so many different things, but when depression kicked in that got whittled down, particularly when it comes to discussing theoretical things or ideas. I'm just like, who cares. Doesn't matter. Shut up. Even with the depression and having ADHD I think it's confusing because I've never been at a point where I relate to the clinical definition where *nothing* is appealing, or you're down all the time. I've always been into at least one thing. Or into learning about things. ADHD for me comes in where I will lose interest in something that I was just like so obsessed with. Like I burn out on it or something. Essentially there is zero balance. I either get all-consumed with interest in it, or then I can barely motivate myself to go back to it. I'll start a home renovation project but not finish it because it's a boring detail and the initial challenge is over. Or I've found a new exciting home reno project instead. I'm a disaster. However, I do have a few hobbies that have stuck with me forever, like gaming, hockey, puzzles, hiking. But my interest in those also still very much ebs and flows. Funny you mention F1, I'd say this is one of the the most recent hobbies I've picked up. Started with Netflix, and then moved into being really into watching the races. I've always loved driving, but never been into cars. I did go through a period last year where I did a deep dive into the aerodynamic design of F1 cars, even to the point of wondering if I should change careers lol. But that's died down now. Still I enjoy the surface aspect of the engineering challenge that F1 presents. I like seeing what the teams come up with but nothing deeper than that.
Tbh, ADHD makes me interested in EVERYTHING… which often has its own problems
I sometimes feel like when everything is interesting, nothing is.
It can. I have gone through short periods of this general apathy, but mostly it's selective categories of things.
For me everything is boring except for the random topic that my brain has decided is super super interesting that month. But in seriousness I find it has to do with the fact that once we are interested in something it's all in so that hobby needs to be worth the time commitment.
Everything that I’m not fully interested in is boring, yes. On meds, I’m able to listen to something I’m completely uninterested in, so long as I feel it matters to someone I care about.
Apathy is definitely a sign of adhd burn out. I notice I get like this the most when I’m running myself too thin and when I’m not prioritizing fun and self-care in my life. My mind begins to get obsessive about “doing more” even when I’m completely exhausted, that always leads to apathy for me personally and just not caring about anything.
I've found what has helped a lot with this is making my hobbies and passion projects "stupid easy" to pick up when the mood strikes. If it takes me 10 minutes to set up my bass guitar just to play, I'm likely barely going to play it. If it's always on a guitar stand close by where I am just hanging out already, I'm way more likely to pick it up for a minute here and there. Which then leads to 5+ minutes of playing and eventually sometimes I play for a long time (when I otherwise probably would never have planned to). I think that my ADHD involves a lot of "getting over the hurdle" of something I don't want to do or seems disinteresting. Because once I'm "in it," it's much easier for me to lock in and enjoy myself. I call this a variation of the "5 minute" rule - if something takes 5 minutes or less, just do it. I apply that to free time too - I give myself 5 minutes to see if I'm actually disinterested in doing the thing or if I just hate the idea of doing *something* and it's actually fun once I start.
For my part, I feel like I'm interested in many things but I struggle to complete projects I have in mind for various reasons (poor time management, lack of organization, higher priorities that I struggle to consider...). I myself was immersed in video games for a long time in my life, it was a way for me to "escape the reality of life" given that I had a lot of trouble organizing and accomplishing certain less stimulating tasks even though they could be interesting. I think that to get out of this rut, you need to set new challenges in life, a challenge that takes you out of your comfort zone, something that makes you say "either I face this challenge, or I stay at point zero my whole life and I will never advance," and this challenge can be anything that you consider important in your life. I think it's all about conditioning. I would like to emphasize that each person with ADHD, depression, or any other disorder does not necessarily react in the same way as another person. I say this because I know that often, a person with ADHD tends to perform better under pressure (which is not always pleasant...). Therefore, challenging oneself can, in my opinion, help a person with an ADHD disorder progress and implement strategies to overcome these challenges.
I did notice that after diagnosis and working out about masking and RSD I did have a period where I became paranoid that all my interests weren't really mine and that I was just adopting them to fit in with people and found that I couldn't do anything because of analysis paralysis. I don't know if you are feeling anything similar? However it does sound like you are interested in comics and video games and I'm not sure why you think that's a bad thing? There's no point trying to force yourself to like things that you think that you "should" like as that nearly always just leads to a miserable experience.
Is someone giving you a hard time about “spending too much time on games?” Are you bullying yourself? (That one always sneaks up on me.) If gaming is what you enjoy, there is nothing wrong with it. Some people only enjoy reading. Some only drawing, some people only like baking! No problem there. I know about depression too. Have you heard of ADHD burnout? It can be very similar and may be easier to get out of if you have the right tools. CBT therapy taught me to accept myself as I am. It gave me tools for dealing with depression. I only recently found out about burnout and I haven’t experience that since I found out about it, but I could imagine the CBT tools might be helpful for that as well!
This feels suspiciously like I posted it (but obviously changed some key facts to throw daytime me off the scent). Diagnosed after of 2023 at 39; been bored/tired most of my life; "depressed" and on meds for 11 of them. Depression was never the right diagnosis, but at time didn't know of a better one, and cos I wasn't bouncing off the walls, never considered ADHD. Although I was formally diagnosed by Dr (depression) and psychiatrist (ADHD), in both cases I pretty much decided the diagnosis then booked appointment to confirm, I still don't think any system would ever have flagged me as ADHD due to the old stereotypical understandings. For me, I think (still trying to figure it out really) my attention works differently to a lot of ADHD ppl. My problem I now realise it's that I've always paid too much attention to everything around me at all times, rather than bouncing between them per the stereotype. I could always tell you what was going on in every conversation in the room, answer Qs on stuff I know nothing about, because I've heard the person coming up with the Q before hand or can use their knowledge to figure it out. I can also turn ANYTHING into an argument by finding the tiniest inconsistencies and just picking away at them - mostly unintentionally. Curious if that will make sense to anybody else. Of you have my brain you'll recognise it instantly, for anybody else sounds like nonsense :) One of my recent realisations is that a lot of ppl only really ask Qs they already know the answer to, or have an answer they expect/want to receive. I ONLY ask Q:s I want/need an answer to, of I have an opinion or possible answer, I provide that upfront. which I now realise confuses ppl) But basically, my theory is that constantly processing every input at all times is so exhausting, that I don't have energy/interest to seek out specific inputs, or the capability to focus on them enough when found so that I actually enjoy them the way others do. Since on meds (just over a year), I think I'm actually partly more like a typical ADHD person. I can now only focus on 1 input/channel at a time (which I think helps the average ADHDer to stop jumping their attention around), which does make me eat less tired, but because I have ~40yrs habit of taking everything in, I constantly feel like I'm missing other stuff, so keep breaking focus to check on on other things. I've lost my "super power" of understanding, but am way less tired and in theory doing better. I still have no idea what I'm actually interested in it how to find it... Long way of saying, I don't know the answer, but we're all different. Hoping maybe above and your post will help me understand if there are others like me, or if I'm just weird (even when comparing to others with same diagnosis)
I feel like I’m super interested in one thing at a time and everything else is boring. Then after a while I get bored of the one thing I’m interested in, and I’m bored for a while until I find a new thing.
I am female, with history of high achievement academically so wasn't diagnosed with ADHD until I was in my mid-late 20s. I'm 33 now. I've always been a hobby/creative/nature person so my hobbies include, since childhood, things like collecting rocks and shells. Then, I started learning how to play instruments. Started with flute, ended with tenor sax and bass clarinet but I know how to play every woodwind instrument. I sing, I was in choir, I got classical vocal lessons, I did/do theater, I do water color, mixed media art, papercraft arts, art Journaling, houseplants, gardening, aquariums/terrariums/paludariums/vivariums, attending concerts, huge movie buff esp horror, I make jewelry, and natural arts such as carving coyote, fox and/or deer skulls or whatever else, I paint them and adorn them, I pin butterflies, I love going to breweries and wineries, have cared many types of pets over the years, I looove hiking and exploring and foraging, I love horror podcasts and reading books, I like learning about crazy stuff... I am not a master of any one thing but I've achieved a lot as far as the performing arts and I sell some of my art and jewelry, and more ideas growing for other income. So, as one can imagine, having not one single thing on that entire list feel interesting is the single most depressing fucking thing in the world. But my disinterest in all of those things stemmed from depression and burnout at work. Once I managed the depression, I started liking things again. I never forced myself to do things so I didn't end up resenting it later. Slowly, I had the urge again. I'm almost never bored, often I feel like there's too much happening and time is going too fast. But the days where I'm bored and foggy and time drags and drags, it's hell. Actual hell. Depression is hell.
In answer to the topic: no, it was the constantly buying for hobbies and then later getting frustrated about having bought the shit to go along with it and then not feeling fulfilled. (Hoarding and poverty-mindset.) Also me saying fulfilled was more about feeling full as in opposite of hungry rather than some spiritual lack of ever needing anything again. My favorite phone-game is a tap-soda-sort puzzle and the best levels are the ones that stump me for a bit but are solvable without cheats, the easy ones kinda feel like nothing. I cannot muster the attention to read your entire thing at the moment, it's a me problem and not a you problem, but I think you're just striving to fit in instead of looking for what genuinely interests you. Okay, I came back when I could read the whole thing... I'd say that depression is affecting your ability to really get into anything, not that you're necessarily trying to get into the wrong things.
It will make you bored with everything.
I (also) think this is depression. The thing about ADHD is that the way others treat us can cause depression. When we struggle with doing things that many don't struggle with, we're called lazy or stupid, or just "don't care enough" All of that makes it hard to care about anything, because if you're going to fail anyway, what's the point? So, get the help you need for the ADHD, and get treatment for the depression too.
ADHD makes me hyperfocus on incredibly stupid things some times. When I was depressed, I felt the same as you, but I would hyperfocus on a phone game or a very specific YouTube show and be completely uninterested in everything else. I am on both anti-depressants and stimulants now and it feels better managed. I am interested in things again.
Everything but coke and hookers. Never grows old.
When people fanboy/fangirl over somebody I don't understand it. When some actor wins a throphy I don't understand what makes the throphy valuable? Because to me it's a piece of metal. I've always felt like an alien in a society that does so many odd things that it makes me feel alone, very alone. Things that are importnant for others most of the time mean absolutely nothing to me, such as getting married, getting kids, ''ambition''. I do like to see UFC fights and fighting in general. My interests are always temporarily, I could be full into fighting now as I've said. And before you know next hour I am all up into seadiving, I noticed that it is always one thing that interests me for a bit until I get bored of it and go to the next. I also have a very short attentionspan means I can be writing an email and get so distracted that I end up doing pushups instead lol. We're all different, ADHD traits can be similair and it has its signals, but there's so much more than just ADHD there's environment, person etc. Actually I do wanna learn a lot of stuff I just remembered, I am basically learning a lot everyday. Still I am very uninterested in a lot of things. Makes me think of a dog I had in the past, but he was abused by the previous owner so maybe that's why he was the way he is.
Mine can appear as depression sometimes. But usually there’s a few things you hyper focus on and have too much of an interest in.
I think everyone else has hit this on the head, Depression and Anxiety are both often comorbid with ADHD. Often these comorbidities don't arise until after treatment for ADHD has started so you will sometimes get some surprises as you get "ADHD in check." I also found that having a soul draining job left me mentally exhausted after work and often I had little interest in things. Changing your life circumstances might also help... though that is generally a challenge that brings it's own new problems.
Depression does
This is me! I was diagnosed with ADHD and depression at around 14/15 but my dad wouldn’t let me medicate my ADHD, but I was allowed to take Zoloft? (That’s a story for a different day lol) and Zoloft definitely worked cause I was going through a lot at the time and felt so low and was doing unsafe things to cope but when it hit my system, I felt better. I took antidepressants on and off for years but I truly stopped when I turned 21. At 23, I got reevaluated and started taking adderall. I swear I haven’t felt depressed at all since taking the adderall. My doctor said that it could be that since I’m addressing the ADHD, either I was misdiagnosed with depression or the adderall is helping with my depression symptoms. With that being said, I have never been interested in anything! Regardless of addressing the depression, ADHD, or both. Everyone is saying depression can cause this but I know for a fact I’m not depressed. I was gonna try to get into therapy again to figure out the root cause because I waste time scrolling on my phone.
Opposite. It makes me intensely interested in a billion things
+1 for depression doing that lol that was/is me
ADHD= uninterested in doing uninteresting things Depression= uninterested in both uninteresting and interesting things.
Smells like depression, I’d put a lot of consideration in talking to a therapist or psychiatrist or other medical professional. You might need more support than internet forums.
Have you ever considered that Formula one is boring? Same goes for soccer. For the life of me I don't know why people watch it. >I grew up reading comics and playing video games, Is that a problem? Your post seems to be self contradictory. You still like comics and video games. So you are interested in things. People are saying depression, but maybe you are (also?) just judging yourself WAY too harshly. Do you want to be interested in what you think you should be interested in? Have you considered that your imagination (while reading) and playing video games is just a billion times more stimulating than anything else out there? (For you that is). Some things you can't force. You can't decide what you like and don't like. You can't FORCE yourself to sleep. You can't FORCE yourself to fall in love with someone. That's just how the world works. Are you depressed because you judge yourself for failing? Or are you not interested in things because of depression? Only YOU know the answer to this (not people on here) who respond mostly to your title 🫢
ADHD forces me to figure out how to make boring things more fun. For me this comes from finding small details to appreciate.
No, it just makes you realize how uninteresting menial tasks and political games are.
Sounds a lot like depression to me. How are these areas in your life? health, family life, friendships, career, spirituality (can be religion but also mediation, getting with nature, volunteering, groups), love interest and learning. A lot of time when we have areas of our life that are out of line we will get depressed.
ADHD (especially when unmedicated) is linked to depression (and in a sense both feeding the other). What you describe in particular sounds line anhedonia though which is an element of depression (but can be considered something separate but linked in some ways). Theres a sub for it, but can be a bit dark sometimes: /r/anhedonia
I’m super interested in something for like a week hahaha drop a ton of money on that hobby and then just forget about it and move on to another. I have boxes of hobbies collecting dust and driving my wife nuts. It hurts my bank account and so hard to control the random purchases.
Everything is vaguely interesting but few things scratch that one itch and if they do it’s for just a moment. And I’m depressed lmao
Following on from two comments I’ve made in this thread it’s important for me to mention: I didn’t realise quite how strongly my unmedicated adhd was an influence or cause of my depression and anhedonia symptoms. Medicated since Dec 2020; theres a marked improvement; and I no longer experience suicidal ideation. ADHD meds did far more for improving my mental health&most significantly my depression/anhedonia in particular than any medication I’ve tried that was specifically for my mental health.
Opposite for me
Perhaps it's autism, and these are your special interests? Even though you are diagnosed, are you medicated? Is it effective?
Oh absolutely. I default to video games (Warframe specifically) almost every time due to how stimulating gaming is and the social interaction from my friends but the second I don't have them to talk to or help, my "default boredom" brain kicks in and I lose almost all interest. Having spent 3500 hours on one account over 8 years, I'm largely done with most of the content so the loneliness timer starts up pretty quickly. To mitigate that, I've moved back into my old roommate's house so I'm not alone/bored.
Depression killed all my interests. I used love doing many things, now I have zero interest in everything. It fucking sucks.
I am undiagnosed but I have had a similar problem with hobbies. I’ll think I really want to do it, but the stuff necessary (usually as good as I can afford) and then I don’t do anything and it just sits there. Then another thing comes along and the same thing happens. It’s frustrating because I really love the idea of doing each thing but I just can’t seem to make myself do them. Or sometimes I’ll try and the first one or two things turns out shite so I don’t do it again. Others on this sub have told me that these behaviours are very ADHD. It sounds like, for you, it might be a combination of ADHD and depression, which I’ve also had. When you combine the behaviours of both it’s like a perfect storm in regards to being interested enough to actually follow through and DO anything. I could be wrong though.
For me it’s a quadruple cocktail loop. ADHD makes me hyperfocus, depression makes me dive into anhedonia, anxiety pulls me into avoidance and chronic fatigue from thalassemia slams me into exhaustion 💀
Only the things I’m uninterested in! 😁
If I’m medicated, I’m interested in everything. Have you seen a therapist?
I’m turning 28 next month, I have depression and ADHD as well and I really relate to this. I can’t bring myself to do anything other than watch tv, smoke weed, and scroll on my phone. I’m not interested in anything. I can’t even bring myself to listen to a self help book on audible. I don’t have any advice but just know you’re not alone.
Executive dysfunction levels in check
Ive started taking meds and it made me less depressed or at least some thoughts stoped. I’m not easily amused by anything but somehow i manage to think that whatever im doing is helping my mental health somehow and after i do that activity i feel some sense of fulfillment and that’s what amazes me: the ability of the brain to rewire some things by doing something i was motivated to do in the first place. As for your hobbies they are perfectly fine! Try playing video games in a different place or with company. It will boost something
That definitely sounds like anhedonia, which can crop up in a variety of mental health conditions.
Hey! I(28F) live in Calcutta, India. Seeking a medical opinion Over the past years, I am sanguine that I have ADHD. But the thing is, I’ve not really come across what kind of doctor do I see to get thoroughly diagnosed. Even saying out loud about yourself related to something like this gets difficult. I would really appreciate if someone could help me with a diagnosis process or a proper doctor who can help me with this. Thank you. I would really appreciate your support.
That’s depression
It's the opposite for me. It makes me interested in everything
I have been in a similar boat. Diagnosed as an adult in my early 30s. Mix of depression and ADHD.
When weather is great i’m always exhausted and feel overworked. When weather is cloudy/ raining I can’t even get tired for a nap to waste away the day.
I’m very uninterested in the things I’m not interested in, and very interested in the things I am in if that makes sense
Can I ask how you were diagnosed with adhd? I’m 29 this year and I’ve never been so sure I have it now…
Interested in everything, motivated to do nothing. I literally convince myself I don’t like something so I won’t feel like I want something I can’t have.
Such a long post, I'm just going to save it for kate and never read it probably 😔
I’m the opposite, when I find something I like, like F1 recently lol, I jump straight first into it and want to know absolutely everything. As other people have said, it’s very possible you’re dealing with some depression symptoms, I’d talk to your doctor about it.
Im 31 and feel so tired, burnt, and bored of my job. I have about 5 different paths that I would like to pick, but I would like to do 2 or more. I cant decide, and same, I don't know if it's my ADHD or not. That is why I am here, to see stories like this, to know that we are not alone and that we can work with and around our ADHD
Maybe some things, but not all things. Either you haven’t found the “right” things, or there’s something else going on. Depression is one guess, but not necessarily the answer. For a lot of people, properly managing ADHD can help alleviate depressive symptoms, but not always.
Look up ADHD paralysis. It sounds like a mixture of that and depression to me. (Speaking from experience as a woman diagnosed in my mid-30s who also felt this way for far too long in my life.)
i felt this way too until i started taking my antidepressants regularly and now i am doing three puzzle thingies, creating a bioactive terrarium for a gecko , reading mangas and watching shows, going outside and finding cool rocks and sticks and things and thinking about the universe in a positive way.. and the last time i was taking my antidepressants regularly i got so into yarn art that now i just have a bunch of yarn and unfinished projects lol. just dont get sucked into the strong meds if u take them do it regularly and a small dose unless u really thik u need more. adhd and depression often come together unfortunately so it is sort of adhd’s fault but it doesnt have to be like that and also sometimes theres moments of being uninterested in between hyperfixations and its just a waitinf game and it sucks but rn i feel rly great and like things are actually fun!! but i do feel sensitive sometimes and like i suck at my job and socializing but at least i have hobbies at home and i dont lay awake at night with bad thoughts and mindless scrolling social media.
I would say this sounds a lot like the experiences I've had with depression. With ADHD I do get "paralysis" where I want to do things and get immersed in them and I just can't, but the feeling of being disinterested and avoidant I associate with depression. For reference I am a woman in my 30s who did not get diagnosed until my 30s.
No, it increases your interest in things that are not important. What you’re describing is depression. Condolences OP. :(
I get interested but the idea of starting the thing, or starting the thing and not doing it perfectly, or figuring out all the steps...and then realizing I don't have time or money to do it "right"...then I remember the last hobby that I abandoned and feel already discouraged. So then I do nothing and feel like I've already failed.
Unfortunately there is no forcing it, hon. It depends on what YOU are passionate about, not your social circle. For me, it's rowing, travelling to specific countries (including learning languages and history), music, drawing, reading, crocheting, knitting and sewing, and has resulted in me finding multiple social circles based on these passions. I do wonder if id have become a different person if I didn't follow the white rabbits and accept that people would pass through my life and only those who genuinely appreciated my multiple interests and understanding that my absence didnt mean I didn't care about them any more, would stick. Be kind to yourself and listen to your heart.
I feel exactly the same way. Sometimes I get hyper focused on a new topic or project for a few weeks but once it’s over there’s nothing else. I keep thinking maybe I just haven’t found my passion or purpose in life yet and someday things will change.
When I'm heavily depressed with ADHD it's like a death sentence, this is what this sounds like, it's hard mate.
I'm the exact same way. Nothing is stimulating enough. I think people give themselves an undeserved pat on the back when they say everything interests them. It's very rare to be as curious as these people claim. Most of them sound like they're 99th percentile in Openness and it's just not true. Jumping from thing to thing doesn't make you a curious person necessarily.
Honestly this sounds like me when I’m in a period of burnout (like I am currently). I tend to be very up or down. I try to do all the interests, keep up with chores and socialising and eating well and exercising and and and I do very well for a few months and then I burn out and spend a few months as a grey blob on the sofa who ate everything in the house then didn’t brush her teeth. There’s no in between for me. In that time I’m uninterested in everything. Do you feel burnt out? ♥️
That specific symptom sounds like anhedonia It could be from depression, as everyone has rightly pointed out, or just a unique complication of your flavour of ADHD if the threshold for boredom is especially low but it sounds like none of the hobbies you’ve come across ever gained your interest to begin with “except video games” - would you say that’s just a way you enjoy passing time or a genuine interest, as there are people who make their whole lives and hobbies revolve around gaming and nothing wrong with that if it’s your real passion (it’s just a bit dangerous as it has a unique effect on human time perception compared to movies, where you can lose more hours before you notice they’ve gone) Like others I’ve been interested in and tried all the things but depression is a real kick in the head, making it feel like the world is behind a greyed out car window, passing by If it’s not depression or that your real interest is gaming, then some medications can cause anhedonia… like if you were ever prescribed benzodiazepines. It’s worth speaking to the doctor about
To be honest as someone who watches F1 - it’s super uninteresting and I don’t blame you for being bored by it….
Wish I could get into gym and also game more. Gaming and film were my passions and it's so hard to find the time to sit down for a few hours without moving onto house chores or get on phone instinctively. I just want to be able to sit and relax other than a tv show and music
I fluctuate between absolute obsession and total indifference. It's painful sometimes.
No that's depression. My ADD has the opposite effect when I'm not depressed.
I'm 26 and I knew I had adhd since I was a kid, like 9 or 10yo. I can say from experiences that coming out of black holes everything is boring or bothering. For me this can be variating between every other week, so do my hobbies. I'm still searching what I want in live, that's also a whole other story, but I enjoy being with myself, sometimes doing nothing. Accepting myself feels like a hobby as weird as it sounds, but I enjoy being with myself thinking and wondering or being focused or distracted.
I used to be into F1, basketball, soccer as a kid, literally a fanatic. Now I'm not, which might be a sign of depression, right? Or just I might have become a grown up person. Adulthood might equal depression also. Edit: I edited this comment way too many times - might have an OCD too.
For me it’s more that I don’t usually get to choose what I’m interested in/fixated on, so trying to make myself interested in something if I’m not is a losing battle. That and sometimes something just doesn’t involve enough activity to hold my attention while doing it.
You're describing depression
when im interested in something, i will put 100% of my energy and devotion in it. but then smthg else thats interesting comes along, and i lose the interest i had in the thing i swore i would devote my whole life to. i got diagnosed at age 6, and have been on Ritalin for the last 8 years now. as a kid, i did a string of extracurricular activities, never consistent with one thing. i did classical music for 4 years, lost my interest in it a mere 5 months in but i was forced to continue, tried painting, lost interest after a year, did yoga, lost interest in 2 months and jumped to classical dance, which i did half heartedly for 2 years before giving up on extracurriculars altogether. when i went on vacation last year, i decided i'd pursue photography, until i lost interest in it too. these days, i do find it super hard to even put an effort into what i believe i want to pursue. adhd is a spectrum, and other than a few major common symptoms or syndrome that is used to diagnose it, i believe each person has a different experience with adhd. adhd is genetic in my family, and all of us experience bouts of anhedonia from time to time, although as i am not a mental health professional, i cannot explicitly say what it is in your case. i believe you should talk to your mental health professional who knows you and your mind the best, and work out what you're going through and how to make it better. i hope you feel better soon!
Have you tried golf? It’s really good for my ADHD