Do stimulants make you beta?

Turbosuperfastlaser1 · 2014-04-25T04:56:32+00:00

Hey buddy, I too have adhd. I take adderall. Nothing makes you beta, but you. Remember, you're the only one in your head and it's all about how you look at things. Think of it as your pay attention and focus on "silent" cues she gives off that help you seal the deal. Boom!

blahbergstein · 2014-04-25T04:59:56+00:00

Have you talked with your doc? Definitely speak with your doc before you go off your meds. Even if you both agree that you should go off them, there may be a specific procedure that you have to follow.

I'm on an SSRI and speaking with a psychologist about my own issues. Part of what I'm realizing about myself is that there's a conflict in my values - I value discipline and productivity because they symbolize my self worth, on the other hand I value risk-avoidance because I value safety. I've been living a risk-avoidant life for years now, I don't want to take risks because I feel like I'm going to be hurt.

So what the psychologist recommended was for me to recall times in my life when I really felt like myself - confident, extroverted, "in the game". Examining those feelings and, more importantly, realizing that other people responded positively to that is helping me to be more confident in myself in the first place.

I have to choose to be the person I want to be, and that means that I have to establish concrete steps and fulfill them and, furthermore, be accountable to myself and my psychologist. Picking yourself up isn't a mental exercise, it takes action. Getting started, for me, is the hardest part because I have to fight against all the inertia of my own inaction so I become anxious to the point of being crippled about doing even simple tasks. I wanted to be safe and safety comes from crawling into a hole and avoiding my problems (which is a lie).

You're problems are almost certainly different than mine, but I guess I'm trying to say that we're all in this together - we all want to help each other be the best men we can be. You have to own your dark side - for me it's risk-avoidance, for you it's probably something else, but you have to recognize it to fight it.

So talk to your doc and if you have a friend you can confide in, do so. It'll be hard and you'll be afraid that he's going to think you're stupid or broken or something. But you'll be surprised.

Anyway, I hope this helped a bit. I don't know you at all, but there's at least some alpha in all of us - we just have to learn how to tap into it and, unfortunately, it has to be translated into the real world. It starts out mental, but if it doesn't translate into action nothing will happen.

Also, baby steps. It's like you need to learn to walk again. You need help to get started, but you have to hate the crutch.

Edit: In fact, responding to this post inspired me to get off my ass and text a buddy of mine I haven't seen in months. That's a big deal to me, nothing to almost every guy here. But I've haven't seen him since Christmas and I've been back in town from school for months now after dropping out of my masters program due to my issues. I haven't gone out with friends since I've been back and I'm living at home like a loser (risk-avoidance!) at 27 years old. Shit man, you ain't alone.

RPthrowaway123 · 2014-04-25T04:01:37+00:00

Right there with you buddy. That sort of medication had a strong effect on me too. Overall I think it was a positive one, because it let's me focus. I've experienced the social anxiety too and it crippled me for awhile, but I'm getting through it.

Remember, the meds might be able to change how you feel/act but they can't change who you are. For me, part of getting over it was forcing myself out of my comfort zone socially.

Whatever you decide, I know you can do it!

a_nus · 2014-04-25T05:01:59+00:00

One of Adderall's side effects is anxiety. It can come in any form, including social anxiety.

I turn beta if I get too high off weed. I'm fine if I only take a few hits though.

fukewe · 2014-04-25T08:06:51+00:00

I've taken ADHD medication for ~25 years. Different medications have different effects, but in general I have to say medication makes me more introverted, I've struggled with exactly what you're talking about for years. Without meds I'm very outgoing, loud confident etc. I understand the desire to go off meds, it feels like you're not yourself on them, that you're locked in some sort of introverted shell. Thing is this is close to what you'd be like without ADHD, the outgoingness is part of the disorder.

I know if I'd go off my meds I'd probably be unemployable even at a shit job. I was on and off meds for years but stumbled into a field in which I was interested, medicine. I knew at that point I needed to decide between having a "fun" life always barely getting by, getting constantly fired or actually being a productive sucessful member of society and not have my life in constant chaos, but still have my little breaks of "freedom."

There are a lot of options when it comes to medication, look into them. I'd straight off say your dosage is a bit high. In order to keep the neuroticism at bay I personally take 18mg of concerta per day and supplement it with a cup of strong coffee if I need to be a bit more focused. If I need to be even more focused I take 18mg more. I also make sure I eat regularly as it's easy to forget to eat when you're not hungry. When I don't eat at proper intervals I feel even more introverted. I don't take medication on the weekend or when I'm on vacation, as I want to keep in touch with that outgoing, boysterous, hilarious me. Keep in mind Concerta is a stimulant, if your meds are antidepressant based you cannot take days off.

Hope this helps

robesta · 2014-04-25T15:26:15+00:00

Do stimulants make you beta?

Ask Tony Montana.

laere · 2014-04-25T21:27:14+00:00

I remember in my first year of college, the roomate I bunked with had ADHD. He had this huge bottle of adderall and would sell it. One day he offered me some for free, and holy shit was it awesome (BTW adderall is similiar to cocaine, their chemical structures are very similar).

Anyways I would usually take some and go to classes, and just talk to literally everyone. I felt like a fucking boss. It literally made me NTGAF about anything socially, but made me want to get my homework done, pretty paradoxical.

angryadult · 2014-04-25T22:25:39+00:00

Mental health issues are just like chronic diseases, you have to manage them. Part of being the best man you can is taking care of yourself, and this means mental health as well.

If you feel like your medications aren't helping, or are causing too many side effects, talk to your doctor. There is a gigantic pile of anxiety/depression/add drugs out there, and it can take a while to find the right combo, and when you do, it's magical. You can suddenly be yourself without all the other shit dragging you down.

All of this, of course, is predicated on you living a healthy lifestyle. Physical activity, eating well, etc. I know from first-hand experience (morbidly obese teenager? check) that those things can change your mental and physical health more than you think. If you're mildly lactose intolerant, for example, you may have chronic inflammation that presents as muscle pains and general malaise. If you are mildly gluten intolerant, you'll get hangovers from odd foods. When you're morbidly obese, you are significantly more likely to hit depression and have blood pressure issues. The drugs that fix those, can cause their own side effects. If you get to the point where you're pre-diabetes or even into type 2 diabetes (this is when I got my wakeup call, and got my shit in order), the drugs you take for that can cause intestinal issues and increase your risk of stroke or heart disease. Make sure you're giving yourself the best starting platform you can.

[deleted] · 2014-04-25T16:06:56+00:00

The hell is the problem with everybody eating that kind of shit all day? Supressing your problems is not the way to solve them.

Title	Do stimulants make you beta?
Author	[deleted]
Upvotes	2
Comments	20
Date	April 25, 2014 3:27 AM UTC (12 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/askTRP
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/asktrp/comments/23x7z5/do_stimulants_make_you_beta/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/askTRP/do-stimulants-make-you-beta.195648 https://theredarchive.com/post/195648

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