Healthy Arousal Options?

[LBJace900]

Hey fellow ADHDers, so I’ve been diagnosed about 6 months ago and as I’ve observed my patterns, I’ve realized that every little while my ADHD will kick in big time to the point that my brain overwhelming craves some kind of arousal or stimulation. I’ve had success in finding a lot of unhealthy ways to meet this need (pornography, illegal drugs, achohol, crazy screaming metal music, outbursts of anger, crazy seven year old bursts of energy where I yell and tickle my wife and bite my dog and act like a lunatic, driving like a mad man, taking unwarranted risks on just about anything, etc. ), but it seems difficult for me to find some more healthy ways of getting this out. What do ya’ll do?? Thanks!

[LBJace900]

Also I should say that I’ve tried various stimulant medications. They definitely do the trick but inevitably leave me feeling very depressed, negative, I even have suicidal thoughts which I never had before trying stimulants. So unfortunately that doesn’t seem to be an option for me :/

[LaJefa85]

That’s a tough one , Definitely been there before having my kids though. What helps me a lot it’s heavy weight training and running . I’m on meds and therapy , so that’s helped too . Have you tried taking an SSRI to counterattack the depression/ unwanted thoughts ?

[LBJace900]

Thanks for the response Lajefa! I know exercise is supposed to be great. I’ve never been one for exercise for the sake of exercise. I used to be very active in sports, particularly basketball, but I’ve had that taken away with a knee injury. Anytime I try sports I re-injure my knee. It sucks because that would be an obvious solution for me! But I’m still working on getting my brain interested in boring old exercise for the sake of it

As far as depression, I was diagnosed with it long before ADHD and tried a bunch of meds, ended up on Cymbalta for a couple years. I was still on Cymbalta when I first tried Adderall and Ritalin. I had the negative side effects, stopped the stimulants, eventually stopped Cymbalta too, and tried stimulants again. The stimulants always give the same positive results for a week or two, but then are accompanied after a bit by some serious depression and suicidal thoughts. I’ve decided that for now I just need to stay away from meds. I’ve tried a few different kinds, different doses, but for now the side effects just scare the crap out of me.

[hldb]

Exercise, concerts, and a full calendar work for me. Knowing I have things planned to look forward to helps me to stay calmer when I am expected to be calm! I use a lot of the behavioral techniques like to do lists, the calendar, running, etc... I also take Vyvanse but am not certain it is doing much. Good luck!

[cjnolet]

I’ve always called this stimulation chasing (to boost the lack of dopamine production) and once harnessed/controlled, I’ve found it to be a very useful mechanism for accomplishing great things.

I was visiting silicone valley this past week and I rented a Dodge Challenger on a impulse and I too felt the urge to drive 100+ mph. And I did. I also listen to loud pumping house music every morning while I’m showering and exercising and preparing for my day. I’m 34 and I’ve stopped caring whether this behavior appears normal because I’ve accepted the fact that I’m different.

By definition, you cannot change the world doing what everyone else is doing.

[Hidden]

Welcome to my world get medicated I've just hit brick wall been diagnosed 3 years been waiting 2.4 years to see specialist going mad now I know what wrong welbutrin is what I after not so much stimulants as I'm now 62 healthy but still addictive to adh, ers good luck