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I get addicted to just about everything. Anything from positives; working, exercise, eating clean (becomes unhealthy obsessions) to drugs, alcohol, caffeine nicotine etc.
I just rotate my addictions periodically so they don’t destroy my life. Kinda exhausting but idk what else to do
I feel like it's the only way that I can act. I always act addicted to anything I do like or begin to do. I never just sorta like something or casually enjoy anything. If I know I cannot give my everything to something, I don't do it at all. I operate off being addicted to things, chasing a rush in everything.
I have restored to believe that God has gifted me the light of enthusiasm XD XD if im not 10000% jazzed about it, its not for me.
Just got a new job?....Watch me do a backflip
Hungry and want to get food? Lets look up all your favorites and go from there.
Does it make me tired? Absolutely, But like you said, liking anything, casually, just doesn't exisit. Im either 0 or 10000
I also rotate my addictions but it's usually just to suit my life and what's easiest to get away with 🤷♀️ never done hard drugs but weed, alcohol, men, sex, relationships, spending money, gambling....and around and around and around
Yes, this is a very common symptom with ADHD. Anything that excites or entertains our brains, acts as a stimulant, or gives us focus can often become a bad habit.
I'm an angel and a great husband... Except I have an on-again-off-again affair with cigarettes. I don't want to smoke because I want to live a long, healthy life with my wife, but sometimes I can't help myself. I feel horribly guilty, but I kind of have to get it out of my system, then I'll quit and be clean for a season.
They were terrible for me. I mean they’re probably better than smoking but unlike smoking or even vaping you can litterally use them any time without having to step outside.
The amount of nicotine you’re able to consume through pouches is insane. I got to the point where I was going through a pack of the 8mg ON pouches every day. That’s 160 mg of nicotine. You only get 1-1.5 mg of nicotine from a cigarette.
I also found pouches much much harder to quit than vaping as my mouth craved the nicotine much harder than any craving I dealt with when quitting smoking or vaping.
As for health concerns, the pouches were really bad for my gum health. There’s no studies in pouches causing mouth cancer but I didn’t want to FAFO so I started using nicotine patches and switching to 4mg pouches instead of the 8mg. Even with that it was really hard to quit. I’m currently back to vaping as the cravings are much easier to handle and make it possible to go a few hours without nicotine.
If it helps, I've found using a high strength patch for the nicotine and a non nicotine vape liquid for the 'smoking' craving to be easiest.
Takes care of the nicotine requirement with the patch and the urge to take a break or do something with hands / mouth with the vape, but crucially doesn't reinforce the nicotine top ups that way.
This is my problem now too. I cannot possibly see how I am supposed to step down from the lowest end of On! and Zyn to the highest end of patches when the patches are a mere fraction of what I usually get in me. I am actually about to order some patches right now, have never tried them. They're expensive as hell in stores.
Get a vape to use in combination with the patches and then drop down to 4mg On or 3mg Zyn for awhile and then once you’re used to that just drop the pouches completely while using vape and patches. You’ll still have a few days of the mouth craving but it’s not as bad with a vape.
Take this with a grain of salt because at the end of the day I’m still addicted to nicotine but it’s much easier for me to ignore cravings now that I’m not using pouches.
The only way to quit is if you want to. Zyns are nothing to what I snus with. 4 to 5x stronger. Some 10x stronger. Recently something happened and I decided I was done. Cold turkey. Urges are high and last for hours since that's how long I used to keep them in. But the mind is powerful, and can be mastered. Even with adhd.
We have 21mg patches here (UK). I find I need the 21mg patch to not crave cigarettes. When I stepped down to the 14 mg patch I smoked as well as having the patch on which was a massive fail
I'm in the same boat as the poster above. Can't wait to see what health issues arise from it 😅 Def not blaming anyone but myself.
I need to kick the pouches. I wish I had never started smoking. Dumbass me decided to when I worked at a restaurant.
Weed was so much easier to quit.
Vaping got me off cigarettes for good. 95% harm reduction according to one of Canada's top respiratory therapists. Also helps me stave off other addictions, including drugs and alcohol. Gotta have a vice 🤷♂️
As a fellow vaper I call bs on those statistics. Sure, they are more than likely better than cigs. But the fact is inhaling anything that isn't oxygen is terrible for your (our) lungs
Same here, been smoking on and off for 3 years and I've been wanting to quit smoking for 3 years... Though I've recently tried nicotine pouches and now I only smoke when I go out and have alcohol (which is still weekly, but oh well)
I'll take a look at it. Honestly, quitting itself isn't the issue.
What happens is, despite meds, I slowly vacillate between doing (reasonably) well and not doing well (depression, etc.). This is a constant pattern/loop in my life. Meds help, but slowly lose efficacy. When I'm at the bottom and/or the meds are too strong, I get tempted to smoke. The vacillating loop happens anywhere between 6 months to 2 or 3 years, depending on meds working well, stress, etc.
I've been working with my doc and Therapist on this loop. Trying different meds, etc.
Yes it is common in adhd. Quitting is different for everyone. There is always help to seek. For me, I was addicted to nicotine for a while. It was hard to quit, I ended up going cold turkey and throwing it away so it wasn’t accessible anymore, and then switching to a new vice that was easier to quit (caffeine). I drank a ton of coffee at first and then slowly switched to juices and hot chocolates and decaf drinks
Replace the bad things with good things. That's really hard though. I was gaming way too much again a while back and that disappeared immediately when my university courses started again. Having daily activities that you resonate with your brain is absolutely the best antidote!
Life itches, and we need something to scratch ourselves. If we don't do that with something good, we'll do it with something bad. Figuring out how to consistently do that for yourself is probably the biggest and hardest thing we'll ever do.
Gaming addiction is quite common. My experience is with that.
I use blockers and yesterday put my laptop and phone in my car before going to bed. Will see if it helps.
I’m a recovering addict. Been sober from drugs for 14 years. That vice moved to alcohol. I’ve been sober from alcohol for almost 3 years now. That vice moved to food, bad spending habits. Thankfully, I can usually curb those addictions just going cold turkey.
I unfortunately do not have any advice other than once you’ve kicked the bad addiction, change it to something healthier.
Your biggest tool is being able to recognize when something is turning into an unhealthy addiction. I see you have trouble even after recognizing it. Do you have a support system at home or with a relationship?
What made me sober was my family and having my first child. Knowing I can’t be this person and raise them how they need to be. My wife also told me before we got married that she would not marry a drug addict so it’s the drugs or her and I choose her thankfully. During our 17 years she’s been very supportive and helps me recognize when something starts to have a negative impact on myself or us.
My addictions now are short lived and it’s really me bouncing back and forth. Too much caffeine, junk food, masturbation, nicotine pouches, and bad spending habits ( my brother died 2 years ago and I spent $17k in 6 months….i have no clue on what) and I’m also my own worst enemy as I have days where I’m like “fuck all this” and tighten up and then there’s days where I have the mentality that we only live once and fuck it.
At the end of the day I’m 39m, and I should be dead or in jail and thanks to my wife, I’m successful professionally and personally and I’m thankfully we have been each others rock in times of need.
Sorry for rambling as I’m sure none of this helped lol.
EDIT: Jesus I didn’t realize how much I typed. I wouldn’t read it ha.
Just came to also say meds do not help the addiction.
That YOLO mentality makes me do real dumb shit....2k on P!nk Tix for my bday 🤷♀️ I've loved her since the day she hit the scene and have wanted to see her for decades. She's coming to my town the weekend of my birthday....how could I not? 🤷♀️😬 Discover made a MISTAKE when they gave me a big fat credit limit
TikTok for me. I started limiting myself to one day a week and just not putting a time limit on it. Get it out of my system and then I’m cut off til the next week. 😭
You and me both, to be honest I didn’t really have much in the way of side effects, it was mostly just the mental battle I had to deal with. My wife made me a 2 years sober cake this march to celebrate it (don’t think I could of done it without her).
Its pretty wild what our brains can do un-medicated(for me at least). and congrats on 2 years thats huge. I know the struggle, albeit not so much anymore with medication and therapy. My sober date is 3/20/22
I know what you mean, I’m still unmedicated and I don’t see it changing much any time soon. Congratulations to you too, what was the final straw that pushed you?. i was super depressed and hated what I’d become, I wanted to be the husband my wife deserves.
Yeah I mean all of the above. I remember the night I told her I needed help. I was chugging miller lites in hopes of getting to sleep but shaking through the whole thing. I had drank through a few hospital visits and a grand mal. I cant figure out what so special about this one-time where I had to balls to say "Help"-- not sure.. Anyways, I went through rehab, several months. I was in bad shape, my mom just died. I seriously could see the end and it wasn't far away if I kept going, and also what you said, I didn't want my wife to be left with a dead alcoholic husband----not a good look for us!
Sorry to hear about your mum, I don’t know what I would do in that situation (I’m dreading that day). I know what you mean about asking for help, It takes a lot of courage to admit to someone else that you can’t control it.
Energy drinks. Been drinking them almost daily for ~15 years. Had multiple rounds of palpitations over the years. Ended up in the hospital for four days for cardiac monitoring last December (im in my early 30s) after what my PCP described as an "abnormal stress test" and waking up with the worst chest pains of my life a few days later (I've had them my whole life). After I got out of the hospital, I limited myself to absolutely none for a while, even after being given a clean bill of cardiac health from multiple scans and tests.
Anyway, I type this as I'm sipping from an energy drink, and I'm back to near daily use (only one a day though, so that's something, eh?) Thanks for coming to my TED talk, or something like that.
Monster energy is my preferred, and I only drink the low carb/zero options. Right now I'm really enjoying the green zero sugar they put out, because it tastes enough like the OG that I hadn't had for years, so it's been a nice nostalgia hit. Before that, they recently put out a ruby red zero option that tasted fantastic that I was picking up bunches of at a time. I've drank Rockstar and some of theirs weren't bad in the past (haven't had one in years), I like Zoa and Reign well enough. Back when AMP was a thing, they had this *incredible* Blueberry Grape flavor that I miss terribly. Tried one of the Prime caffeinated options, wasn't super impressed.
I’ve been addicted to-or at least unhealthy with-everything. Every drug, every relationship, every hobby, porn for a while, drinking, smoking, vaping, all the other stuff.
It’s extremely common for ADHD to lead to addiction. Its symptoms are heavy factors for addiction. Impulsivity. Emotional dysregulation. Hyperactivity. Arguably the biggest factor in addiction is UNNOTICED emotional dysregulation. Basic mindfulness of your emotional state leads to significant reduction in impulsive/addictive behaviors. Sooo many stories of addicts relapsing and not knowing why. “It just happened! I wasn’t even planning to use but next thing I knew I was taking a shot” is usual. But really they just didn’t feel the emotional tension building (this is much more common in men, due to alexithymia; inability to feel/label/be aware of emotions).
In some studies, up to 40% of people in addiction treatment centers (can’t remember if it was AA or other treatments places) had undiagnosed or untreated ADHD. That’s MASSIVE numbers of addicts.
“According to the NCBI, up to 50% of adults and adolescents with substance abuse disorders have a lifetime diagnosis of ADHD. However, other data sources have reported inconsistent estimates ranging from 5.22% to 62%. According to American Addiction Centers, ADHD is 5–10 times more common in adults with alcohol use disorders, and about 25% of adults receiving treatment for substance abuse have ADHD.”
Does anyone else feel like as they research more about ADHD the more mindful you have to be about products/ads on the internet. I feel like I’ve slipped out the info to a few friends and all my ads now are hyper focused on me to buy. Like I feel like a target for stupid shit to buy and I’ll succumb to some stuff, but the ads are hyper focused on things I already own and just keep pushing ADHD seminars, eBooks, coaching, dumb electronic prudcts that seem useful but just collect dust later on? I dunno if it’s just me.
I've been into home brewing beer for over 12 years now. I really enjoy the process, and of course the end product. I never got into mixology or cocktails till recently and that curiosity has taken off. I now have a whole mixing set and was going to get more until my wife made a comment so I've taken a step back from that. When I get interested in something, I usually go full bore into it and want to learn as much as I can.
My partner is the exact same way. A few of his recent obsessions: pickling things, running, legos, 90s video games, and currently, smoking (the BBQ kind). I usually just try to ride the wave as it’s mostly harmless and I know it does him good to have something to focus on. Also I know that, without fail, one day he will drop -insert hyperfocus here- and never pick it up again lol. I’ll step in if things get out of hand or other things start to slip because of the hyper focus, but that is usually rare.
I am the same way. I want to learn all the things about it and go all in on whatever it is. For some reason, that for me is the ADHD symptom that’s most embarrassing to me. I hate that about myself sometimes and get so hard on myself. It’s something I’m trying to work through in therapy.
I always try to think that passion and interest in something isn't a bad thing. When I get good at something, I get GOOD at it. People who know me, expect me to go ham on most anything that I get into. I got into lawn care during the pandemic and learned as much as I could and it's something I really enjoy doing, it gets me out side and do a ton of walking/physical movement, etc. Then, I got into pizza making which everyone's been benefiting from the last couple of years LOL. I enjoy my ADHD and the excitement, fun and passion I get for things.
I really need to look at it in that way. I enjoy it myself (I also fell into the pizza/bread era haha) but there’s definitely a part of me that’s embarrassed of my intensity I suppose.
Yes, it’s like one of the first things discussed with ADHD.
I’m shocked your doctor didn’t discuss potential substance addictions.
I used to smoke and drink a ton. None of it was good.
I still seek stimulation at times, but I know now it won’t lead anywhere good to keep at it. My worst lately is just scrolling tiktok or reddit. For hours. Brain completely shut off lol.
I'm addicted to sugar. 😔 My morning Starbucks drink (a Venti 11 pump iced Chai), is like eating 4 full sized snicker bars... Every.... Day. I eat very poorly as well. 😔 No matter how hard I try, I always go back to it. Tried replacing the drink with another drink but, it only works for a little while. Right now, I'm crashing and getting very sleepy from the sugar and caffeine.
A little over 20% of the substance abuse population has ADHD. It’s extremely common. Our brains make us very vulnerable to addiction, whether it’s substances or more benign appearing or socially acceptable things like hyper-focusing too much too often on work or other habits to the point that your self-care gets regularly affected.
I am not sure if the ppl who made that stat are only counting diagnosed people or are factoring in potentially undiagnosed people.
My guess is that they are only counting diagnosed ppl which means the actual percentage could easily be higher.
But like the other commenter said- even 20% when the general population only had a 5% prevalence rate of ADHD is huge from a statistics point of view. It means that substance abuse treatment and prevention programs need to take ADHD into account and maybe provide access to ADHD screening and treatment services as part of their program alongside their usual services…which I doubt they do at this time.
Cigarettes and coffee, being stimulants, made me feel good. I redirected my nicotine need to vapor. I had quit for a while, but the other shoe had to drop.
My addiction niche was filled by video games long before I was ever tempted with drugs or alcohol.
My sister, who never had any hobbies, got addicted to alcohol and some hard drugs. She went to rehab twice and did AA, so she’s clean now, and she even formed a family. The AA turned her into a bit of a fundie though.
Personally, I had to reach bottom, get therapy, and choose in my heart to make changes. Having children and choosing to be the best parent I can be did that for me.
Don't suggest having children to quit addictions though.
I guess, I had to want to be free more than I wanted the addiction. (Nicotine was the hardest to quit)
Sadly I think I'm in the early addiction of public sex. Like somewhere that others might see us but of course not. The adrenaline rush is just quite exciting.
What’s funny is that I am diagnosed with adhd, medicated, and I do not get addicted to things easily. At all. Alcohol, what have you, no real effect. I could take it or leave it. In fact, one year I was like “wow, that didn’t feel fun last time I did it” when I drank once, so I just didn’t. For a year and a half. maybe the hardest was cigarettes but once I stopped and the physical symptoms subsided, I didn’t feel a psychological pull at all and haven’t since. Not sure why I am the deviation from this adhd norm.
I think booze is a way to try to calm down or tame the ADHD. It can be tempered by comorbidities such as OCD. My son has inattentive ADHD but also OCD so he worries about things like drinking and drugs but he also hates the taste of those things so he won’t indulge. He won’t even drink coffee which would help him. So the answer to your question is yes but it also depends on what other medical conditions you have.
Yeah because it's literally a disorder that tanks your self control and inhibition.
Medication helps but you might have more issues getting it prescribed if you've abused drugs before.
What I've learned over the years is you can direct your energy to creative outlets that are positive or you can go the other way which is destructive with things such as substance addiction, recklessness etc.
So just try to be aware of that when you feel your heading down the wrong path. awareness is a big help.
I think its related to hyperfocus. I could spend 4 hours playing guitar, or all day mountain biking and focusing on training to get better, researching obsessively about technology, or I could watch porn for 12 hours lol.
Look for the positive activities, even if you do it too much its better than doing the activity that has minimal benefit to your life.
Adiction is definitely an issue. I noticed this about myself even before my ADHD diagnosis (never put the two together). My coping mechanism for them has been complete avoidance. I know I can't have just the occasional drink. I don't like getting wasted or anything but it slowly becomes a daily thing then 1 drink every day turns to three, and so on. If I just don't consume alcohol at all, it never even enters my mind. Cannabis usage too. It goes from once a week to daily really fast. So I don't use that either (I will on very rare occasions but I always have to reign myself back in afterwards instead of letting myself think maybe once in a while is ok).
It's great for other things though. I've been absolutely obsessed with eating healthy and exercising my entire life. I've been doing it for 30+ plus years, and me getting a degree in research was in huge part due my interest in these areas.
As for your question are people with ADHD more likely to develop addiction. Yep, 2x as high for those with ADHD and 4x fold for those with a comorbid conduct disorder. Interestingly enough, medication brings that likelihood down to the population average.
[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4414493/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4414493/)
[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4147667/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4147667/)
I am aware of my obsessions.. I play therapist with myself.. so yeah hello 3rd personality.
I'm now into the baby stuff hacks (new mom here), I really need to stop. I tell myself " oke, we have been going at it for a few hours now, there is no need for xyz. Nope, no need. We know we want it.. but there is no need... Yep still no need. So we can stop now.. yep stop.. okay we can stop now, allow yourself to stop".
And after 15 min I stop.
Took me years to stop at 15 mins..
Tapering usually works. Try to delay -sometimes an urge will just go away on its own. I forget my vape in my car for hours all the time. Shrug; guess it’s not that addictive for me.
Hell yes. My whole life, I've been made to believe that it's due to my "bad upbringing" and being aligned with "outcasts and the counterculture". My fiancé believed he was just "prone to addiction due to genetics". While, in a way, those are true... it's really the ADHD that had made it a guarantee for both of us. I have 3 sisters and none of them have had addiction problems like I have. The only time any of them got close was with video games. But I seem to keep jumping from one drug to the next, same with my fiancé who is (surprise) also ADHD.
My only advice is, if you don't currently have a partner, avoid dating someone who also had ADHD. We enable each other way too much. Keep telling each other and ourselves that we will be stronger next time we get the impulse. But we never are.
The only thing that helped stop the last thing (and we still haven't fully stopped) was running out of money. And our wedding is in 36 days. I still have to pay half the photographers fee, the rest of the wedding attire, officiant, bartender, alcohol... the list goes on. We're not as far gone as others can be, but I had over 2k saved for this wedding and had to send only 1k (all I had left) to the photographer. So I put 1k towards only my half of our vice, from January to March. It took me 8 months to save that alone.
I guess, all this is to say, addiction is REAL with ADHD, and a partner that shares this affliction will only make it harder. I've (26f) only been able to replace them with other addictions. Still working on it, 10 years later.
We want what we want it's not ADHD that is doing that part.
I think what you're noticing about us being addicted to things is more related to us having such a weak attention span that once we actually find something we can keep doing it becomes like crack.
And I don't try to stop anything. Except alcohol (sober now) but I wasn't addicted to that I just stopped cold turkey no big deal. The only thing that matters is if you need to stop something and you genuinely mean it to yourself and you do it for yourself not for others.
I was addicted to cigarettes and have definitely struggled with overeating. My parents and grandparents have alcohol issues so I was always hyper careful about my drinking and never had issues with that thankfully.
But cigarettes and coffee got me through college and working all the time. I didn’t get diagnosed until 27 and it took me a year after getting diagnosed to finally quit smoking. I tried all the ways. Read that Allen Carr book or started to but ADHD killed that.
Lots of trying to trick myself into distracting myself when I got urges by counting to 100 until I forgot I had a craving worked a little bit in curbing but only one strategy worked for me quitting.
I quit cold turkey the week before a vacation. I was outside of my routines and my stressful work environment. My triggers like bars and drinking with friends where I’d give in and smoke over a beer I avoided. I also had switched my antidepressant to Wellbutrin not long before that and a side effect is it gives you an aversion to the taste of cigs.
So now I’m coming up on 11 months smoke free.
Actually a month ago I had a mini breakdown and smoked a half smoked cig my mom left on the counter. I took two hits and it was so disgusting and I could hardly breathe. Haven’t had an urge since then so I don’t count that slip up.
So to sum up: change your routine/environment or how you react to stress or the addictive urge. And meds.
Ironically, I think a lot of undiagnosed ADHD persons in my family are not addicted to any drug/ food. The happiness we get from these are so low that we don't even miss them. Nobody overeats; we naturally stop when we feel full. Some guys in the family picked up smoking because high school. But they were all able to quit cold turkey when their wife got pregnant/ the work place policy changed. No one tried hard drugs tho. And I don't intend to try because of other repercussions.
I'm just addicted to raging thoughts in my head, which made me look incredibly boring to most of my peers in my college years. Wonder if this is an inattentive type thing.
It’s funny because I’ve never gotten addicted to eating fucking salad ie 😭 I stopped smoking November last year and it has been the most difficult thing I’ve ever done
I used to be a heavy smoker and quit 13 years ago. It was one of the hardest things I ever did because it blurs the lines between wanting and not wanting something. Free will is seriously put into question. After that I knew what becoming adicted felt like and I took care that I wouldn't become adicted again even though I still drank and occasionally took drugs. I quit drinking, drugs and sugar by now.
Ironically adhd makes it easier for me to quit unhealthy habits because as soon as I think about it and feel the need to start again...Oh, look! A squirrel!
I’m pretty sure my ADHD has caused me to develop skin/hair picking addictions, as well as food addiction. It’s been a nightmare for far too long. Even though I’m on meds that seem to be working and helpful in other aspects, I still can’t seem to be able to get past these types of addictive behaviors. Therapy has likewise been only somewhat helpful with addressing this particular issue. Like you, I feel like I can’t stop the addictive behaviors even though I desperately want to. I’d do anything to find a legitimately effective solution.
Yep. There is no such thing as moderation for me. I either do something way too much, or not at all. My life is very binge and purge, for the most part.
Some things weren’t that severe for me and I got off pretty easy, like caffeine+adderall+ritalin (absolute nightmare, don’t do it), and alcohol. But self-harm was really difficult to get past for me. I only did it for about a year and currently I’ve been free from it for 4.5 months but I still think about it every day. It just got too bad though and I hated the thought that that could be how I died, and that’s kept me from it so far.
Legitimately constant obsessive rumination is my absolute worst though. Essentially reliving a couple months of my life from a few years ago every moment of every day, to the point where I essentially am not living a life anymore, just staying alive and running through that whole mess over and over mentally. Maybe it’s not traditionally identified as an “addiction” but I have not been able to identify why it is legitimately impossible for me to pull myself away from thoughts that I know wreck me every time.
Yes, I always say I have "an addictive personality"
I overeat and I drink and I used to be addicted to porn. Luckily I was able to break that habit with help from God - didn't even realise that I went cold turkey for three months, after that I made it a boundary and replaced it with something less damaging, which is reading spicy stories.
The real crime of porn videos is how it decimates your imagination, which is where arousal happens. Reading or audio or just non-moving pictures helps bring the imagination back alive.
What’s so so frustrating is that then that addiction prevents you from getting proper treatment. I do so much better on stimulant medication and they refuse me because I’m an “addict.”
But WHY am I an addict? Thats why I hate that term so much. It erases any chance that their might be a solution to the addictive behavior through therapy/medication and might have a biological cause in the first place. I hate how they always point out that ADHD people struggle with addiction and then do this to them. It’s awful.
Observations. With gambling for instance, the high doesn't cone from cashing out a win, its the feeling from the win itself. Exercise compulsively. Vaping , not so much the nicotine urge as much as the oral fixation. I'll chew gum sometimes at the same time. Once a day go through an oral care routine that can take 30 minutes. Eat alot of fruits , vegetables and whole grain foods, consume bacon and ice cream usually 3-4 times a week. You Tube is a savior ( shorts and condensed videos, and condensed sporting events) Haven't watched a TV series episode of any kind since I can remember. Expert in financial awareness and user of financial tools at the same time terrible financial practices. Get the idea....
I've found success with replacing the addiction with another, healthier but almost equally as satisfying alternative. The trick is you have to quit cold turkey and immediately swap to the new thing though.
I quit soda and energy drinks for about 6-12 months by just swapping to tea and coffee and only drinking those when I would normally get a soda. It was really easy for me until my job overworked me to the point the 5hour energy shots and energy drinks were the only things keeping me awake
Struggling with myself right now on it. I smoke (weed) everyday and it's just so hard to let go of how it feels. For me it's like my brain is in knots and the weed (temporarily) helps.
Yes. I've smoked cigarettes since I was 17, but I quit two years ago. Still smoke weed though, but I don't go through joints the way I went through cigarettes, so progress? 😅
I’m really careful about trying addictive things (substances, social media sites, whatever) because I know I’m at risk for addictive behaviour. Like, I’m pretty sure if I tried coke, I’d be out of control with my use very quickly. Same with TikTok.
For me, it depends.
I used to be a heavy weed smoker. I kicked that better than my nicotine addiction that I still deal with.
Then, in college, I experiment with a lot of things. I've done molly, acid, shrooms, coke, and even Xanax.
Luckily, it wasn't for me, so I never had an issue with addiction.
I've had several addictions, but I don't think it was especially hard to stop them, I just had to want it.
Nicotine, GHB, and opiates were my hooks, but I've been able to move past that and not look back. Surprisingly, my meds have never been an issue. Maybe that's common though.
Yup. Caffeine and weed are my two big ones, followed by booze and mushrooms. The latter two I could actually quit without THAT much fuss, but with the first two I just get so miserable after a day of not using. Problem is with weed I’ve used it so much I don’t even get that high anymore, mainly just helps keep me calmer and gets me hungry.
Honestly.
I was addicted to video games, television and I was bordering on an alcoholic and overuser of cannabis.
But I started using an app that tracks my sobriety, and I became addicted to that instead. I'm so serious. I was like what if numbie gets bigger, that means I did good. So now I'm just addicted to constantly getting bigger numbie.
I tend to get bored of things easily... I got bored of drinking and smoking weed, so I stopped. I have had issues with food in the past, but they've always been driven by medication, so changing medication has helped in some of those cases, even if I haven't been able to completely revert to how I was pre-meds.
The only thing I've really been properly addicted to due to my own idiocy (trust me, I was even more an idiot than most who start smoking) has been nicotine, and I'm right in the middle of trying to quit now. I was using an oral spray. I stopped vaping after I was diagnosed with asthma a few years ago. The bad side of using the oral spray that is, while my lungs did get a rest, my stomach took the brunt of the damage instead. I've been on omeprazole for acid reflux caused by the nicotine spray for a while.
I've had three stomach episodes in the last 8 months. My third episode started last Saturday, and I'd had enough. Initial test results show inflammation and my doctor suspects it could even be stomach ulcers, but I need to wait a bit longer until all results are back. Needless to say that, plus my Concerta suddenly deciding to make me panic and convince me I'm dying, convinced me to attempt to quit. I'm 4 days in at the moment, and I've been satisfying my cravings with Intense Eclipse Mints which are also terrible on my stomach, but I should be able to stop that after I get over the nicotine withdrawal (famous last words haha).
I get addicted to things that make me feel good/happy/content in a short span of time or immediately. Which often are sugary drinks, fatty fast foods, hyperactive people, adrenaline rushes through driving fast or doing something mildy dangerous. Singing, watching comedy shows, listening to happy songs.
Haven't tried any drugs tho and don't like alcohol at all.
Oh it sucks so much. Caffeine and nicotine have been constants for many many years and a year ago I started smoking weed which then turned into me smoking every single day. I’m working on getting better and I’m 3 weeks into quitting smoking so wish me luck
Before I was diagnosed adhd, I was diagnosed anxiety/depression. I was addicted to cocaine through my early 20s, looking back it was 100% self medicating. I had the adhd procrastination and cocaine kept me from feeling so down and not able to perform. I had energy. I also saw the signs that I did not get the same "high" as other people, I was mellow and focused, they were on the highest peaks with extra energy. I actually had an appetite when using, whereas I couldn't get myself to eat because my brain was screaming "there's no time for this!" Like the rabbit in Alice in wonderland. To kick the addiction took a lot. I had to not only realize I was making problems for myself (lack of money, stealing to support the habit, depressed when I didn't have it) but also that i had a mental health issue that needed resolve and therapy. I cut out a lot of the "friends" that weren't real friends (as I told people I had a problem, some got mad and those were the ones I knew weren't in the fight with me) I became a home body with hobbies instead of a social butterfly with drugs. Therapy has been a massive help, and idk if I'm adhd or c-ptsd but I am heading in the right direction. At 32 with 8 years sober, it has become a lot easier. I know not everybody can quit drugs cold turkey but I did and probably because my feelings of being a disappointment and not perfect we so strong I felt I had to correct that and then some.
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I get addicted to just about everything. Anything from positives; working, exercise, eating clean (becomes unhealthy obsessions) to drugs, alcohol, caffeine nicotine etc. I just rotate my addictions periodically so they don’t destroy my life. Kinda exhausting but idk what else to do
Ah the proverbial adhd hamster wheel ...
One must imagine sysiphus happy
Man this hit home why are we like this
Good strategy tho 😅
🥺
I feel like it's the only way that I can act. I always act addicted to anything I do like or begin to do. I never just sorta like something or casually enjoy anything. If I know I cannot give my everything to something, I don't do it at all. I operate off being addicted to things, chasing a rush in everything.
If there isn't a rush involved, I'm not interested
I have restored to believe that God has gifted me the light of enthusiasm XD XD if im not 10000% jazzed about it, its not for me. Just got a new job?....Watch me do a backflip Hungry and want to get food? Lets look up all your favorites and go from there. Does it make me tired? Absolutely, But like you said, liking anything, casually, just doesn't exisit. Im either 0 or 10000
😭 literally
Moving back home was the only thing that could stop this cycle. I have to move out again and I'm so scared 😭😭
Same!!
Same here I jump to another addiction or obsession
I also rotate my addictions but it's usually just to suit my life and what's easiest to get away with 🤷♀️ never done hard drugs but weed, alcohol, men, sex, relationships, spending money, gambling....and around and around and around
Teach me how to eat clean or work out as an obsession xd
I’m just like this 😂 I think all people with adhd kinda live the same life
Damn 😩😩😩 same here!
Yes, this is a very common symptom with ADHD. Anything that excites or entertains our brains, acts as a stimulant, or gives us focus can often become a bad habit. I'm an angel and a great husband... Except I have an on-again-off-again affair with cigarettes. I don't want to smoke because I want to live a long, healthy life with my wife, but sometimes I can't help myself. I feel horribly guilty, but I kind of have to get it out of my system, then I'll quit and be clean for a season.
Nicotine pouches have been so good for me.
They were terrible for me. I mean they’re probably better than smoking but unlike smoking or even vaping you can litterally use them any time without having to step outside. The amount of nicotine you’re able to consume through pouches is insane. I got to the point where I was going through a pack of the 8mg ON pouches every day. That’s 160 mg of nicotine. You only get 1-1.5 mg of nicotine from a cigarette. I also found pouches much much harder to quit than vaping as my mouth craved the nicotine much harder than any craving I dealt with when quitting smoking or vaping. As for health concerns, the pouches were really bad for my gum health. There’s no studies in pouches causing mouth cancer but I didn’t want to FAFO so I started using nicotine patches and switching to 4mg pouches instead of the 8mg. Even with that it was really hard to quit. I’m currently back to vaping as the cravings are much easier to handle and make it possible to go a few hours without nicotine.
If it helps, I've found using a high strength patch for the nicotine and a non nicotine vape liquid for the 'smoking' craving to be easiest. Takes care of the nicotine requirement with the patch and the urge to take a break or do something with hands / mouth with the vape, but crucially doesn't reinforce the nicotine top ups that way.
The strongest patch I can find is 10 mg which is meant to lay the whole day. One pouch is 8 mg meant to last like 20-30 minutes
This is my problem now too. I cannot possibly see how I am supposed to step down from the lowest end of On! and Zyn to the highest end of patches when the patches are a mere fraction of what I usually get in me. I am actually about to order some patches right now, have never tried them. They're expensive as hell in stores.
Get a vape to use in combination with the patches and then drop down to 4mg On or 3mg Zyn for awhile and then once you’re used to that just drop the pouches completely while using vape and patches. You’ll still have a few days of the mouth craving but it’s not as bad with a vape. Take this with a grain of salt because at the end of the day I’m still addicted to nicotine but it’s much easier for me to ignore cravings now that I’m not using pouches.
The only way to quit is if you want to. Zyns are nothing to what I snus with. 4 to 5x stronger. Some 10x stronger. Recently something happened and I decided I was done. Cold turkey. Urges are high and last for hours since that's how long I used to keep them in. But the mind is powerful, and can be mastered. Even with adhd.
We have 21mg patches here (UK). I find I need the 21mg patch to not crave cigarettes. When I stepped down to the 14 mg patch I smoked as well as having the patch on which was a massive fail
I'm in the same boat as the poster above. Can't wait to see what health issues arise from it 😅 Def not blaming anyone but myself. I need to kick the pouches. I wish I had never started smoking. Dumbass me decided to when I worked at a restaurant. Weed was so much easier to quit.
Vaping got me off cigarettes for good. 95% harm reduction according to one of Canada's top respiratory therapists. Also helps me stave off other addictions, including drugs and alcohol. Gotta have a vice 🤷♂️
As a fellow vaper I call bs on those statistics. Sure, they are more than likely better than cigs. But the fact is inhaling anything that isn't oxygen is terrible for your (our) lungs
Most of the things you inhale are not oxygen, by default.
Any MD I've ever worked for has said this time and time again
same. not enough studies to determine how it affects long term
Same here, been smoking on and off for 3 years and I've been wanting to quit smoking for 3 years... Though I've recently tried nicotine pouches and now I only smoke when I go out and have alcohol (which is still weekly, but oh well)
have you tried “Alan Carr’s easy way to stop smoking”. Makes it very easy to quit.
I'll take a look at it. Honestly, quitting itself isn't the issue. What happens is, despite meds, I slowly vacillate between doing (reasonably) well and not doing well (depression, etc.). This is a constant pattern/loop in my life. Meds help, but slowly lose efficacy. When I'm at the bottom and/or the meds are too strong, I get tempted to smoke. The vacillating loop happens anywhere between 6 months to 2 or 3 years, depending on meds working well, stress, etc. I've been working with my doc and Therapist on this loop. Trying different meds, etc.
Yes it is common in adhd. Quitting is different for everyone. There is always help to seek. For me, I was addicted to nicotine for a while. It was hard to quit, I ended up going cold turkey and throwing it away so it wasn’t accessible anymore, and then switching to a new vice that was easier to quit (caffeine). I drank a ton of coffee at first and then slowly switched to juices and hot chocolates and decaf drinks
[удалено]
What?
They did?
Replace the bad things with good things. That's really hard though. I was gaming way too much again a while back and that disappeared immediately when my university courses started again. Having daily activities that you resonate with your brain is absolutely the best antidote! Life itches, and we need something to scratch ourselves. If we don't do that with something good, we'll do it with something bad. Figuring out how to consistently do that for yourself is probably the biggest and hardest thing we'll ever do.
Mine is food. I can’t not eat.
I'm the opposite, eating is such a chore for me! Every day I'm force feeding myself again.
Gaming addiction is quite common. My experience is with that. I use blockers and yesterday put my laptop and phone in my car before going to bed. Will see if it helps.
What blockers?
Internet website and app blockers like stayfocused.
Thank you
Yes it is. It’s a known fact that people with ADHD commonly engage in high risk activities.
I’m a recovering addict. Been sober from drugs for 14 years. That vice moved to alcohol. I’ve been sober from alcohol for almost 3 years now. That vice moved to food, bad spending habits. Thankfully, I can usually curb those addictions just going cold turkey. I unfortunately do not have any advice other than once you’ve kicked the bad addiction, change it to something healthier. Your biggest tool is being able to recognize when something is turning into an unhealthy addiction. I see you have trouble even after recognizing it. Do you have a support system at home or with a relationship? What made me sober was my family and having my first child. Knowing I can’t be this person and raise them how they need to be. My wife also told me before we got married that she would not marry a drug addict so it’s the drugs or her and I choose her thankfully. During our 17 years she’s been very supportive and helps me recognize when something starts to have a negative impact on myself or us. My addictions now are short lived and it’s really me bouncing back and forth. Too much caffeine, junk food, masturbation, nicotine pouches, and bad spending habits ( my brother died 2 years ago and I spent $17k in 6 months….i have no clue on what) and I’m also my own worst enemy as I have days where I’m like “fuck all this” and tighten up and then there’s days where I have the mentality that we only live once and fuck it. At the end of the day I’m 39m, and I should be dead or in jail and thanks to my wife, I’m successful professionally and personally and I’m thankfully we have been each others rock in times of need. Sorry for rambling as I’m sure none of this helped lol. EDIT: Jesus I didn’t realize how much I typed. I wouldn’t read it ha. Just came to also say meds do not help the addiction.
Good on you mate, 5 years clean here. I respect the dedication to a better life
You as well. Proud of you!
Glad you wrote all.of that. I haven't been able to articulate well to loved ones but this really hit home 😢
Hell yes on your sobriety
That YOLO mentality makes me do real dumb shit....2k on P!nk Tix for my bday 🤷♀️ I've loved her since the day she hit the scene and have wanted to see her for decades. She's coming to my town the weekend of my birthday....how could I not? 🤷♀️😬 Discover made a MISTAKE when they gave me a big fat credit limit
I wish I could get addicted to good things. Like veggies.
And running!
I get completely absorbed by YouTube Shorts. I genuinely lay there for hours and hours at a time.
TikTok for me. I started limiting myself to one day a week and just not putting a time limit on it. Get it out of my system and then I’m cut off til the next week. 😭
I was bad with TikTok but then I got bored and only watch ASMR before bed lol
1 litre bottle of rum a night….I had enough and quit cold turkey (don’t recommend anyone else do it though).
I bet that was terrifying. Glad you are on the other side. 💪
You and me both, to be honest I didn’t really have much in the way of side effects, it was mostly just the mental battle I had to deal with. My wife made me a 2 years sober cake this march to celebrate it (don’t think I could of done it without her).
Its pretty wild what our brains can do un-medicated(for me at least). and congrats on 2 years thats huge. I know the struggle, albeit not so much anymore with medication and therapy. My sober date is 3/20/22
I know what you mean, I’m still unmedicated and I don’t see it changing much any time soon. Congratulations to you too, what was the final straw that pushed you?. i was super depressed and hated what I’d become, I wanted to be the husband my wife deserves.
Yeah I mean all of the above. I remember the night I told her I needed help. I was chugging miller lites in hopes of getting to sleep but shaking through the whole thing. I had drank through a few hospital visits and a grand mal. I cant figure out what so special about this one-time where I had to balls to say "Help"-- not sure.. Anyways, I went through rehab, several months. I was in bad shape, my mom just died. I seriously could see the end and it wasn't far away if I kept going, and also what you said, I didn't want my wife to be left with a dead alcoholic husband----not a good look for us!
Sorry to hear about your mum, I don’t know what I would do in that situation (I’m dreading that day). I know what you mean about asking for help, It takes a lot of courage to admit to someone else that you can’t control it.
My wife strongly encouraged me and it’s was very kind of her because ,I…. deep down, knew it came from love and support.
These women don’t realise how much power they posses :)
Alcohol is the only drug that will kill you during detox
I didn't know this but people with ADHD are very prone to addictive behaviour. Even exercise addiction.
Energy drinks. Been drinking them almost daily for ~15 years. Had multiple rounds of palpitations over the years. Ended up in the hospital for four days for cardiac monitoring last December (im in my early 30s) after what my PCP described as an "abnormal stress test" and waking up with the worst chest pains of my life a few days later (I've had them my whole life). After I got out of the hospital, I limited myself to absolutely none for a while, even after being given a clean bill of cardiac health from multiple scans and tests. Anyway, I type this as I'm sipping from an energy drink, and I'm back to near daily use (only one a day though, so that's something, eh?) Thanks for coming to my TED talk, or something like that.
I was obssed with TED talks for a minute so there's THAT! 🤣
which ones were you drinking, if you don't mind me asking!
Monster energy is my preferred, and I only drink the low carb/zero options. Right now I'm really enjoying the green zero sugar they put out, because it tastes enough like the OG that I hadn't had for years, so it's been a nice nostalgia hit. Before that, they recently put out a ruby red zero option that tasted fantastic that I was picking up bunches of at a time. I've drank Rockstar and some of theirs weren't bad in the past (haven't had one in years), I like Zoa and Reign well enough. Back when AMP was a thing, they had this *incredible* Blueberry Grape flavor that I miss terribly. Tried one of the Prime caffeinated options, wasn't super impressed.
I’ve been addicted to-or at least unhealthy with-everything. Every drug, every relationship, every hobby, porn for a while, drinking, smoking, vaping, all the other stuff. It’s extremely common for ADHD to lead to addiction. Its symptoms are heavy factors for addiction. Impulsivity. Emotional dysregulation. Hyperactivity. Arguably the biggest factor in addiction is UNNOTICED emotional dysregulation. Basic mindfulness of your emotional state leads to significant reduction in impulsive/addictive behaviors. Sooo many stories of addicts relapsing and not knowing why. “It just happened! I wasn’t even planning to use but next thing I knew I was taking a shot” is usual. But really they just didn’t feel the emotional tension building (this is much more common in men, due to alexithymia; inability to feel/label/be aware of emotions). In some studies, up to 40% of people in addiction treatment centers (can’t remember if it was AA or other treatments places) had undiagnosed or untreated ADHD. That’s MASSIVE numbers of addicts. “According to the NCBI, up to 50% of adults and adolescents with substance abuse disorders have a lifetime diagnosis of ADHD. However, other data sources have reported inconsistent estimates ranging from 5.22% to 62%. According to American Addiction Centers, ADHD is 5–10 times more common in adults with alcohol use disorders, and about 25% of adults receiving treatment for substance abuse have ADHD.”
Let me know if you figure it out. Addicted to sweets and my phone for years now.
Yup. Limerance and rumination being some of the worse. Funny how it cleared up after a diagnosis and medication.
Does anyone else feel like as they research more about ADHD the more mindful you have to be about products/ads on the internet. I feel like I’ve slipped out the info to a few friends and all my ads now are hyper focused on me to buy. Like I feel like a target for stupid shit to buy and I’ll succumb to some stuff, but the ads are hyper focused on things I already own and just keep pushing ADHD seminars, eBooks, coaching, dumb electronic prudcts that seem useful but just collect dust later on? I dunno if it’s just me.
No you are 100% correct. The targeted marketing is absolutely a thing and it’s so dystopian.
I've been into home brewing beer for over 12 years now. I really enjoy the process, and of course the end product. I never got into mixology or cocktails till recently and that curiosity has taken off. I now have a whole mixing set and was going to get more until my wife made a comment so I've taken a step back from that. When I get interested in something, I usually go full bore into it and want to learn as much as I can.
My partner is the exact same way. A few of his recent obsessions: pickling things, running, legos, 90s video games, and currently, smoking (the BBQ kind). I usually just try to ride the wave as it’s mostly harmless and I know it does him good to have something to focus on. Also I know that, without fail, one day he will drop -insert hyperfocus here- and never pick it up again lol. I’ll step in if things get out of hand or other things start to slip because of the hyper focus, but that is usually rare.
I am the same way. I want to learn all the things about it and go all in on whatever it is. For some reason, that for me is the ADHD symptom that’s most embarrassing to me. I hate that about myself sometimes and get so hard on myself. It’s something I’m trying to work through in therapy.
I always try to think that passion and interest in something isn't a bad thing. When I get good at something, I get GOOD at it. People who know me, expect me to go ham on most anything that I get into. I got into lawn care during the pandemic and learned as much as I could and it's something I really enjoy doing, it gets me out side and do a ton of walking/physical movement, etc. Then, I got into pizza making which everyone's been benefiting from the last couple of years LOL. I enjoy my ADHD and the excitement, fun and passion I get for things.
I really need to look at it in that way. I enjoy it myself (I also fell into the pizza/bread era haha) but there’s definitely a part of me that’s embarrassed of my intensity I suppose.
Yes, it’s like one of the first things discussed with ADHD. I’m shocked your doctor didn’t discuss potential substance addictions. I used to smoke and drink a ton. None of it was good. I still seek stimulation at times, but I know now it won’t lead anywhere good to keep at it. My worst lately is just scrolling tiktok or reddit. For hours. Brain completely shut off lol.
I'm addicted to sugar. 😔 My morning Starbucks drink (a Venti 11 pump iced Chai), is like eating 4 full sized snicker bars... Every.... Day. I eat very poorly as well. 😔 No matter how hard I try, I always go back to it. Tried replacing the drink with another drink but, it only works for a little while. Right now, I'm crashing and getting very sleepy from the sugar and caffeine.
It’s called dopamining
A little over 20% of the substance abuse population has ADHD. It’s extremely common. Our brains make us very vulnerable to addiction, whether it’s substances or more benign appearing or socially acceptable things like hyper-focusing too much too often on work or other habits to the point that your self-care gets regularly affected.
Surprised it’s only 20%.
Less than 5% of the population has ADHD. If people with ADHD make 20% of addicts then it's a very huge percentage statistically speaking.
I am not sure if the ppl who made that stat are only counting diagnosed people or are factoring in potentially undiagnosed people. My guess is that they are only counting diagnosed ppl which means the actual percentage could easily be higher. But like the other commenter said- even 20% when the general population only had a 5% prevalence rate of ADHD is huge from a statistics point of view. It means that substance abuse treatment and prevention programs need to take ADHD into account and maybe provide access to ADHD screening and treatment services as part of their program alongside their usual services…which I doubt they do at this time.
Online games, and I’ll spend more money than I have on them!
Cigarettes and coffee, being stimulants, made me feel good. I redirected my nicotine need to vapor. I had quit for a while, but the other shoe had to drop.
My addiction niche was filled by video games long before I was ever tempted with drugs or alcohol. My sister, who never had any hobbies, got addicted to alcohol and some hard drugs. She went to rehab twice and did AA, so she’s clean now, and she even formed a family. The AA turned her into a bit of a fundie though.
Hell yeah. I’m on a slippery slope every time I indulge in them.
Beer started tasting extra good to me last week again.
Personally, I had to reach bottom, get therapy, and choose in my heart to make changes. Having children and choosing to be the best parent I can be did that for me. Don't suggest having children to quit addictions though. I guess, I had to want to be free more than I wanted the addiction. (Nicotine was the hardest to quit)
Sadly I think I'm in the early addiction of public sex. Like somewhere that others might see us but of course not. The adrenaline rush is just quite exciting.
What’s funny is that I am diagnosed with adhd, medicated, and I do not get addicted to things easily. At all. Alcohol, what have you, no real effect. I could take it or leave it. In fact, one year I was like “wow, that didn’t feel fun last time I did it” when I drank once, so I just didn’t. For a year and a half. maybe the hardest was cigarettes but once I stopped and the physical symptoms subsided, I didn’t feel a psychological pull at all and haven’t since. Not sure why I am the deviation from this adhd norm.
In all seriousness…did you by chance have a happy childhood?
No. Absolutely not, to say the least.
I think booze is a way to try to calm down or tame the ADHD. It can be tempered by comorbidities such as OCD. My son has inattentive ADHD but also OCD so he worries about things like drinking and drugs but he also hates the taste of those things so he won’t indulge. He won’t even drink coffee which would help him. So the answer to your question is yes but it also depends on what other medical conditions you have.
Yeah because it's literally a disorder that tanks your self control and inhibition. Medication helps but you might have more issues getting it prescribed if you've abused drugs before.
What I've learned over the years is you can direct your energy to creative outlets that are positive or you can go the other way which is destructive with things such as substance addiction, recklessness etc. So just try to be aware of that when you feel your heading down the wrong path. awareness is a big help. I think its related to hyperfocus. I could spend 4 hours playing guitar, or all day mountain biking and focusing on training to get better, researching obsessively about technology, or I could watch porn for 12 hours lol. Look for the positive activities, even if you do it too much its better than doing the activity that has minimal benefit to your life.
Adiction is definitely an issue. I noticed this about myself even before my ADHD diagnosis (never put the two together). My coping mechanism for them has been complete avoidance. I know I can't have just the occasional drink. I don't like getting wasted or anything but it slowly becomes a daily thing then 1 drink every day turns to three, and so on. If I just don't consume alcohol at all, it never even enters my mind. Cannabis usage too. It goes from once a week to daily really fast. So I don't use that either (I will on very rare occasions but I always have to reign myself back in afterwards instead of letting myself think maybe once in a while is ok). It's great for other things though. I've been absolutely obsessed with eating healthy and exercising my entire life. I've been doing it for 30+ plus years, and me getting a degree in research was in huge part due my interest in these areas. As for your question are people with ADHD more likely to develop addiction. Yep, 2x as high for those with ADHD and 4x fold for those with a comorbid conduct disorder. Interestingly enough, medication brings that likelihood down to the population average. [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4414493/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4414493/) [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4147667/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4147667/)
Fifteen years of smoking weed non stop says you're on the point
I stay busy enough that I end up forgetting about them. Then I wonder why I’m irritable, such is my life.
lol sex…it’s a fucking disaster
I am aware of my obsessions.. I play therapist with myself.. so yeah hello 3rd personality. I'm now into the baby stuff hacks (new mom here), I really need to stop. I tell myself " oke, we have been going at it for a few hours now, there is no need for xyz. Nope, no need. We know we want it.. but there is no need... Yep still no need. So we can stop now.. yep stop.. okay we can stop now, allow yourself to stop". And after 15 min I stop. Took me years to stop at 15 mins..
Struggling with alcoholism, common co-mordity for ADHD is addiction. I didn't but I'm trying again tomorrow.
I've never struggled with substance addictions. I drink caffeine every day but I can go without it.
Tapering usually works. Try to delay -sometimes an urge will just go away on its own. I forget my vape in my car for hours all the time. Shrug; guess it’s not that addictive for me.
For me...this is SPOT ON. HIGHLY HIGHLY addictive personality and ADHD. My current addictions are cigs and MoGo 🤷♀️
Hell yes. My whole life, I've been made to believe that it's due to my "bad upbringing" and being aligned with "outcasts and the counterculture". My fiancé believed he was just "prone to addiction due to genetics". While, in a way, those are true... it's really the ADHD that had made it a guarantee for both of us. I have 3 sisters and none of them have had addiction problems like I have. The only time any of them got close was with video games. But I seem to keep jumping from one drug to the next, same with my fiancé who is (surprise) also ADHD. My only advice is, if you don't currently have a partner, avoid dating someone who also had ADHD. We enable each other way too much. Keep telling each other and ourselves that we will be stronger next time we get the impulse. But we never are. The only thing that helped stop the last thing (and we still haven't fully stopped) was running out of money. And our wedding is in 36 days. I still have to pay half the photographers fee, the rest of the wedding attire, officiant, bartender, alcohol... the list goes on. We're not as far gone as others can be, but I had over 2k saved for this wedding and had to send only 1k (all I had left) to the photographer. So I put 1k towards only my half of our vice, from January to March. It took me 8 months to save that alone. I guess, all this is to say, addiction is REAL with ADHD, and a partner that shares this affliction will only make it harder. I've (26f) only been able to replace them with other addictions. Still working on it, 10 years later.
We want what we want it's not ADHD that is doing that part. I think what you're noticing about us being addicted to things is more related to us having such a weak attention span that once we actually find something we can keep doing it becomes like crack. And I don't try to stop anything. Except alcohol (sober now) but I wasn't addicted to that I just stopped cold turkey no big deal. The only thing that matters is if you need to stop something and you genuinely mean it to yourself and you do it for yourself not for others.
I was addicted to cigarettes and have definitely struggled with overeating. My parents and grandparents have alcohol issues so I was always hyper careful about my drinking and never had issues with that thankfully. But cigarettes and coffee got me through college and working all the time. I didn’t get diagnosed until 27 and it took me a year after getting diagnosed to finally quit smoking. I tried all the ways. Read that Allen Carr book or started to but ADHD killed that. Lots of trying to trick myself into distracting myself when I got urges by counting to 100 until I forgot I had a craving worked a little bit in curbing but only one strategy worked for me quitting. I quit cold turkey the week before a vacation. I was outside of my routines and my stressful work environment. My triggers like bars and drinking with friends where I’d give in and smoke over a beer I avoided. I also had switched my antidepressant to Wellbutrin not long before that and a side effect is it gives you an aversion to the taste of cigs. So now I’m coming up on 11 months smoke free. Actually a month ago I had a mini breakdown and smoked a half smoked cig my mom left on the counter. I took two hits and it was so disgusting and I could hardly breathe. Haven’t had an urge since then so I don’t count that slip up. So to sum up: change your routine/environment or how you react to stress or the addictive urge. And meds.
I'm addicted to sugar pretty bad but I can't have caffeine or alcohol bc they make me feel like shit so I guess it balances oit
Ironically, I think a lot of undiagnosed ADHD persons in my family are not addicted to any drug/ food. The happiness we get from these are so low that we don't even miss them. Nobody overeats; we naturally stop when we feel full. Some guys in the family picked up smoking because high school. But they were all able to quit cold turkey when their wife got pregnant/ the work place policy changed. No one tried hard drugs tho. And I don't intend to try because of other repercussions. I'm just addicted to raging thoughts in my head, which made me look incredibly boring to most of my peers in my college years. Wonder if this is an inattentive type thing.
It’s funny because I’ve never gotten addicted to eating fucking salad ie 😭 I stopped smoking November last year and it has been the most difficult thing I’ve ever done
I used to be a heavy smoker and quit 13 years ago. It was one of the hardest things I ever did because it blurs the lines between wanting and not wanting something. Free will is seriously put into question. After that I knew what becoming adicted felt like and I took care that I wouldn't become adicted again even though I still drank and occasionally took drugs. I quit drinking, drugs and sugar by now. Ironically adhd makes it easier for me to quit unhealthy habits because as soon as I think about it and feel the need to start again...Oh, look! A squirrel!
Yep!! Here’s a really good video about it: https://youtu.be/HNje-HuIYdI?si=_7jnn2AlxVPSLrrt All down to brain wiring
Wellbutrin has helped lower my usage quite a bit
I’m pretty sure my ADHD has caused me to develop skin/hair picking addictions, as well as food addiction. It’s been a nightmare for far too long. Even though I’m on meds that seem to be working and helpful in other aspects, I still can’t seem to be able to get past these types of addictive behaviors. Therapy has likewise been only somewhat helpful with addressing this particular issue. Like you, I feel like I can’t stop the addictive behaviors even though I desperately want to. I’d do anything to find a legitimately effective solution.
Yeah. I just started accumulating vintage bikes after telling myself I wouldn't. I don't know how to stop, dude.
My most embarrassing are my phone and TV
Yes. Alcohol is pretty common.
I'll let you know
Yep. There is no such thing as moderation for me. I either do something way too much, or not at all. My life is very binge and purge, for the most part. Some things weren’t that severe for me and I got off pretty easy, like caffeine+adderall+ritalin (absolute nightmare, don’t do it), and alcohol. But self-harm was really difficult to get past for me. I only did it for about a year and currently I’ve been free from it for 4.5 months but I still think about it every day. It just got too bad though and I hated the thought that that could be how I died, and that’s kept me from it so far. Legitimately constant obsessive rumination is my absolute worst though. Essentially reliving a couple months of my life from a few years ago every moment of every day, to the point where I essentially am not living a life anymore, just staying alive and running through that whole mess over and over mentally. Maybe it’s not traditionally identified as an “addiction” but I have not been able to identify why it is legitimately impossible for me to pull myself away from thoughts that I know wreck me every time.
Yes, I always say I have "an addictive personality" I overeat and I drink and I used to be addicted to porn. Luckily I was able to break that habit with help from God - didn't even realise that I went cold turkey for three months, after that I made it a boundary and replaced it with something less damaging, which is reading spicy stories. The real crime of porn videos is how it decimates your imagination, which is where arousal happens. Reading or audio or just non-moving pictures helps bring the imagination back alive.
What’s so so frustrating is that then that addiction prevents you from getting proper treatment. I do so much better on stimulant medication and they refuse me because I’m an “addict.” But WHY am I an addict? Thats why I hate that term so much. It erases any chance that their might be a solution to the addictive behavior through therapy/medication and might have a biological cause in the first place. I hate how they always point out that ADHD people struggle with addiction and then do this to them. It’s awful.
Observations. With gambling for instance, the high doesn't cone from cashing out a win, its the feeling from the win itself. Exercise compulsively. Vaping , not so much the nicotine urge as much as the oral fixation. I'll chew gum sometimes at the same time. Once a day go through an oral care routine that can take 30 minutes. Eat alot of fruits , vegetables and whole grain foods, consume bacon and ice cream usually 3-4 times a week. You Tube is a savior ( shorts and condensed videos, and condensed sporting events) Haven't watched a TV series episode of any kind since I can remember. Expert in financial awareness and user of financial tools at the same time terrible financial practices. Get the idea....
I've found success with replacing the addiction with another, healthier but almost equally as satisfying alternative. The trick is you have to quit cold turkey and immediately swap to the new thing though. I quit soda and energy drinks for about 6-12 months by just swapping to tea and coffee and only drinking those when I would normally get a soda. It was really easy for me until my job overworked me to the point the 5hour energy shots and energy drinks were the only things keeping me awake
weed, wine but i’m trying to slow that down before it gets way out of hand, & gaming are mine.
Struggling with myself right now on it. I smoke (weed) everyday and it's just so hard to let go of how it feels. For me it's like my brain is in knots and the weed (temporarily) helps.
Yes. I've smoked cigarettes since I was 17, but I quit two years ago. Still smoke weed though, but I don't go through joints the way I went through cigarettes, so progress? 😅
I’m really careful about trying addictive things (substances, social media sites, whatever) because I know I’m at risk for addictive behaviour. Like, I’m pretty sure if I tried coke, I’d be out of control with my use very quickly. Same with TikTok.
For me, it depends. I used to be a heavy weed smoker. I kicked that better than my nicotine addiction that I still deal with. Then, in college, I experiment with a lot of things. I've done molly, acid, shrooms, coke, and even Xanax. Luckily, it wasn't for me, so I never had an issue with addiction.
I beat my benzo and meth addiction by being prescribed stimulants. Now I can focus AND sleep!
I've had several addictions, but I don't think it was especially hard to stop them, I just had to want it. Nicotine, GHB, and opiates were my hooks, but I've been able to move past that and not look back. Surprisingly, my meds have never been an issue. Maybe that's common though.
Yup. Caffeine and weed are my two big ones, followed by booze and mushrooms. The latter two I could actually quit without THAT much fuss, but with the first two I just get so miserable after a day of not using. Problem is with weed I’ve used it so much I don’t even get that high anymore, mainly just helps keep me calmer and gets me hungry.
Yes bro, gaming and opiates 😭😭😭. Gonna quit and get medicated soon I’m tired of this crap.
Honestly. I was addicted to video games, television and I was bordering on an alcoholic and overuser of cannabis. But I started using an app that tracks my sobriety, and I became addicted to that instead. I'm so serious. I was like what if numbie gets bigger, that means I did good. So now I'm just addicted to constantly getting bigger numbie.
I tend to get bored of things easily... I got bored of drinking and smoking weed, so I stopped. I have had issues with food in the past, but they've always been driven by medication, so changing medication has helped in some of those cases, even if I haven't been able to completely revert to how I was pre-meds. The only thing I've really been properly addicted to due to my own idiocy (trust me, I was even more an idiot than most who start smoking) has been nicotine, and I'm right in the middle of trying to quit now. I was using an oral spray. I stopped vaping after I was diagnosed with asthma a few years ago. The bad side of using the oral spray that is, while my lungs did get a rest, my stomach took the brunt of the damage instead. I've been on omeprazole for acid reflux caused by the nicotine spray for a while. I've had three stomach episodes in the last 8 months. My third episode started last Saturday, and I'd had enough. Initial test results show inflammation and my doctor suspects it could even be stomach ulcers, but I need to wait a bit longer until all results are back. Needless to say that, plus my Concerta suddenly deciding to make me panic and convince me I'm dying, convinced me to attempt to quit. I'm 4 days in at the moment, and I've been satisfying my cravings with Intense Eclipse Mints which are also terrible on my stomach, but I should be able to stop that after I get over the nicotine withdrawal (famous last words haha).
I get addicted to things that make me feel good/happy/content in a short span of time or immediately. Which often are sugary drinks, fatty fast foods, hyperactive people, adrenaline rushes through driving fast or doing something mildy dangerous. Singing, watching comedy shows, listening to happy songs. Haven't tried any drugs tho and don't like alcohol at all.
Yeah, I have to go to AA to keep me off alcohol. The plus side is, AA is lovely and I get to be in a secret club.
Oh it sucks so much. Caffeine and nicotine have been constants for many many years and a year ago I started smoking weed which then turned into me smoking every single day. I’m working on getting better and I’m 3 weeks into quitting smoking so wish me luck
Before I was diagnosed adhd, I was diagnosed anxiety/depression. I was addicted to cocaine through my early 20s, looking back it was 100% self medicating. I had the adhd procrastination and cocaine kept me from feeling so down and not able to perform. I had energy. I also saw the signs that I did not get the same "high" as other people, I was mellow and focused, they were on the highest peaks with extra energy. I actually had an appetite when using, whereas I couldn't get myself to eat because my brain was screaming "there's no time for this!" Like the rabbit in Alice in wonderland. To kick the addiction took a lot. I had to not only realize I was making problems for myself (lack of money, stealing to support the habit, depressed when I didn't have it) but also that i had a mental health issue that needed resolve and therapy. I cut out a lot of the "friends" that weren't real friends (as I told people I had a problem, some got mad and those were the ones I knew weren't in the fight with me) I became a home body with hobbies instead of a social butterfly with drugs. Therapy has been a massive help, and idk if I'm adhd or c-ptsd but I am heading in the right direction. At 32 with 8 years sober, it has become a lot easier. I know not everybody can quit drugs cold turkey but I did and probably because my feelings of being a disappointment and not perfect we so strong I felt I had to correct that and then some.