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ADD and addiction to whatever gives good emotions..

nathanba95 profile image
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HI guys, nice to find such a community and to know we are not alone :)

So the title says it all. I'm in med school, I like what I'm doing and it's satisfying to accomplish things like learning textbooks. But...

It's hard to explain, but I'll try:

I can't concentrate, I mostly oscillate between times where I don't want to study because it doesn't give me my dopamine high (because the reward is AFTER the effort) to times where I got my dopamine high so I'm less and less interested in anything that doesn't.

It's that emotional rollercoaster driving me all the time.. I'm so frustrated

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nathanba95
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StinaWolff profile image
StinaWolff

I can relate to this! I think I use food for a dopamine high and alcohol to calm my myself in social situations or to calm stress/overwhelmed feelings. I've realized since I started Wellbutrin (for ADHD) a few weeks ago that my relationship to food and alcohol is changing and I still want those things but I don't crave it as much as I did before.

adhd_positive profile image
adhd_positive

Hi nathanba95. Yep. That pretty much describes my circular tornado life that I live right now too...

I realized that my mind simply will NOT move on until it gets its dopamine fix, and so I just stopped trying to fight it after a while. And at least now I don’t battle myself for an hour every day over doing something very basic!

happy_kitty profile image
happy_kitty

I would probably recommend talking to your doctor about medication. Medication can regulate your dopamine and help reign in those highs and lows.

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