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December 21st, 2010 by Mike1. They’re Smart
Most Adderall users possess higher-than-average intelligence. With or without Adderall, they are uniquely capable people, and are often pursing various “brainy” goals like staying competitive at prestigious universities, succeeding at intellectually-challenging careers, and thinking of all kinds of smart things they’d like to do with their life.
What’s more, their verbal intelligence is typically quite high. Adderall takers are an articulate bunch, able to convey their feelings with depth and wit, laughing at themselves along the way — all characteristics of highly intellegent people.
So, what makes an already-smart person reach for pills nicknamed “smarties?” Because genius is as seductive as power. Once you have a little, you want a lot more. And you never, ever have enough. Plus, just because you’re smart does not mean that you’re confident, and it sure as hell doesn’t mean that you’re always motivated.
2. They’re Attractive
Pretty much like this except with more anxiety and self-consciousness.
I’ve met a lot of Adderall users over the years, and I’m always surprised by how good-looking they are. Now, the initial response to this is “well of course they’re all attractive…they’ve got speed to burn off any fat.” But I think it’s more than that.
Without fail, when I meet a new Adderall user in person after getting to know them online, my first thought is usually “wow…they’re really attractive.” This goes for girls and guys (to the extent that I can judge guy attractiveness).
I think the attractiveness trait also contributes to the big fear of weight that’s common to the quitting Adderall process. People who are attractive are hell-bent on staying that way, so Adderall can be a very rationalizeable addiction for them. This is also why it’s often even harder for people to quit Adderall when they have to also face the notion of gaining weight.
Of course, as I’ve said before on this site: You don’t have to keep the weight you gain when you quit Adderall (see Lilah’s post for lots more on this). You will be your attractive self again just as soon as you develop an exercise habit (I’ve also seen girls just totally shed the post-Adderall pounds after a few months, like a rebound effect).
3. They’re Creative
Billy! Put your silly little project away and come take your math test with the rest of the class.
Most people equate intellect with creativity, but they’re not always the same thing. While it’s true that smart people are also typically creative people, there’s a difference between a “smart person” and a “creative person that is also smart.”
There is such a thing as a smart person who is not creative. I know several highly-intelligent people who rarely use their powers to create something tangible (of course, when they do it’s amazing). Likewise, it’s possible to be creative, but not smart (think of a child…spends all day inventing fantasy games and finger painting…very creative, but not yet very smart).
All that said, Adderall takers are frequently “creative types.” These are people who have a bug in them to add all kinds of new things to the world. To paint, to write, to photograph, to create new types of businesses. Â This is their talent, but also their curse, as it’s often hard for a creative type to settle for a monotonous daily grind (hence, Adderall).
4. The Have an Over-Achiever Complex
Ugh. I’ll never get this astrophysics PHD thesis done. God I’m so stupid.
As mentioned above, most Adderall takers are uniquely smart and creative people. What separates them however is that instead of being boosted by their talents, they are burdened by them. They feel a strong need to do smart things, to do creative things, to squeeze every inch of their value onto the world. If they leave something inside, they feel guilty. But it’s still not enough.
As smart and talented as everyone tells them they are, they will never believe it themselves until they’ve proven it a thousand times over….and probably not even then.
This makes them work like crazy and strive for unrealistic heights of perfection with everything they do. At least, when they have the motivation to do so. They are a perfectionist at all times, but often don’t have the will to act on it, much to the dismay of their own inner critic. Adderall gives them the energy and focus to try and do everything perfect…satisfying that overachiever drive. And on Adderall, they can finally feel smart.
5. They’re Approval Addicts
Two musicians battle for a little girl’s single dollar in the Pixar Short “One Man Band”. Watch it here.
Even though Adderall takers are smart and overachieving, they’re also creative-centric, which often means they can’t properly channel their smarts and ambition into an existing, world-approved mold. But they want to. Oh, how they want to. They want to be successful like other smart people. They want people to see them for the star that they are. They need their parents and friends to be proud of them…to validate them. But the creative urges inside them often drive them towards unbeaten paths….paths that do not come with much approval along the way (because the traveler alone can visualize the destination, if only vaguely).
So Adderall comes along. And suddenly they can be everything that everyone wants them to be. They get approval. Everyone tells them how smart and hard-working they are. They get all the worldly accomplishments…the grades, the salary. Only years later do they realize that this was never the game they were meant to play; that they were supposed to be different.
In time they realize their fatal flaw: they are living and defining themselves by what they think other people expect of them, not by what they truly want for themselves.
6. They’re Insecure
About the pic: Artist website here, but it’s not totally readable there either.
And now we’ve come to the heart; the root of all evil when it comes to Adderall takers. Most every Adderallic is hopelessly insecure about their own capabilities. Of course, this is ironic considering how very capable most of them are. But of all the Adderall takers I’ve met, each one seemed to have something in him or herself that he/she wasn’t satisfied with. Some erroneous yet persistent assumption that they weren’t attractive enough, weren’t smart enough…whatever.
Insecurity, above all else, is what attracts people to drugs like Adderall, because Adderall makes you feel so confident, so secure. But if you really look closely at your thoughts and actions while you’re on Adderall…the insecurity is still very much alive, and still as much or more damaging to your decision-making…you just don’t notice it so much because you’re too busy telling yourself you’re a God.
Then you quit Adderall, and all that insecurity comes rushing back to the surface. The good news is that now you have a chance to really address it head-on. No more masking it. Now you have to fight it. And as long as you keep fighting that insecurity, you will chip away at it. Until one day you will become, for the most part, an actual stable, secure person. You will be happy and confident, not because of a pill, but because of who you’ve become.
7. They Have A Hidden Talent
Hint: Those are tap-dancing shoes
Because Adderallics are smart, they can be good a lots of things. In fact, with the help of their precious Adderall, most of them can be really damned good at pretty much anything that they decide to focus on. But for all their widely-applicable ability, for all the the things they are really good it, there is often one special thing that they are absolutely brilliant at.
But there is a catch: that special talent that they are extra-good at, that piece of gold in a sea of silver, is very often something that is unconventional, off the beaten path, hard to make a living off of, and hard to get approval from.
So like the insecure, approval-addicted, over-achieving people that they are, many Adderallics focus their lives on doing something that is sane and acceptable — something that their peers and parents pour praises on them for. They follow the call of expectation above the call of their own heart.
And they suppress that little piece of gold inside them, because it’s just not practical, at least not now, for this phase of your life. You’ll surely get back to it later. And who needs a real passion when you can just pop an Adderall and make anything your passion?
Mike,
I’d like to nominate you to go on Oprah. The articles you’ve written here are amazing. You have my addiction to adderall nailed down to a science along with my personality traits as stated above. My favorite part of this article is your new term “adderallic”! Awesome. That’s totally what I turned into. It wasn’t pretty. My now ex-boyfriend would love to tell you all about it if he had the opportunity.
Anyhow, I have great news to share for all those still suffering with this addiction. Quitting this time around has been wonderful.
I am happy again for the first time in a long time. I thought my life would fall apart without adderall. It’s getting better everyday. Your website has prepared me. Honestly, I know I’d never be in such great shape right now had it not been for you and all the information you’ve shared here. Thank you so much!!! I can’t wait to share my experience with everyone. Just wanted to get this out while I could!
I am 9 days clean and sober today from everything. Life is good.
Thanks again!
Erin
@Erin
Congratulations! Glad you’re back (in both the metaphorical in literal sense)!
I can’t take credit for Adderallic™. That was reader Elizabeth’s brilliant invention. I usually have that trademark/link to the source in there, but I got two new computers (yay!) and hadn’t re-configured the little hotstring that inserts the trademark.
Keep posting! Let me know if you’ve got a full article in you.
Me? Write a full article? Really? OOOOoooo…dat sounds nice!
@Erin – Sure! You sound like you have an article in you. Let me know if you get it out.
Oh, I have a novel inside of me.
Any topic?
@Erin – Yep! Any tangentially-related topic. Check out the email I sent you for more details.
I will never stop taking adderall because on it I am unstoppable. I must say though I have read through a bunch of articles on here, and I think your a great writer and every article I have read has been spot on! Also Adderallic cracked me up!!!!
Thank you. Its hard for me to explain whats in my head in a way for my friends and family to understand. Maybe if they read this it will shed some kind of light on it for them. Ive only been off adderall for 3 days and im afraid of going back to the old me before I found it. I have 3 children and i don’t want to let them down because i can’t “get my head together”.
Dude, well I can write an essay about this post but to keep it concise I am just going to say. You nailed it Mike, I’d say you are bang on at least in my case!
Your article hits the nail on the head. Thankyou for your work.
All of this reminds me of that simpsons episode where bart goes on focusin. As the dr tries to sell the drug to bart’s parents she ends her pitch by saying “the only thing more effective is regular exercise”
how do i send an email? Or use this site? Or am I doing that now? LOL
@Ryan – Thanks! And sometimes it’s helpful and necessary to stop, which is a problem for the unstoppable. :-p
@stephanie – You don’t have to go all the way! There is such a thing as days off and lower doses.
@mo – Write it! I’ll post it!
@Michael – Thanks!
@monkz – As soon as I get good at ripping videos I’m going to totally post that episode. Thanks for the tip! I’ll credit you whenever I make it into a post.
@Jon – You’re doing it now.
Hi Mike & everyone,
This post is my absolute favorite! It almost boosts my self-confidence as I still try and stay clean and dry from pills, as well as offers a validation of why I stayed on the drug for so long.
This Friday, it will be two months since I stopped cold turkey from Adderall. During the depths of abuse, I took upwards of 70 mg/day and frankly did not live on planet earth. Yes, I was very skinny; yes, I was an awesome worker bee; and yes, I even got paid more money; but I was god-damned unhappy and living on the line of true addiction. However, I knew that if I did not stop (age 24), I was certain that my future would consist of me folding laundry and other mindless household tasks for my future family only under the guise of uppers.
While the first six weeks of being clean were pretty bearable (thanks to a vacation from work the first week), I feel as though I have now hit a plateau. For instance, just yesterday I tackled the bills and other real-world paperwork that i have put off since August. Thankfully no eviction or other serious notices, however, there were a few things such as a bounced check I had cashed back in September. Also, not working overtime in upper-land means direct things for my paycheck, i.e. a desperate call to my parents for help with the rent. While they support my decision to do things on the clean and sober track, it also feels like I am 22 years old again and just sort of starting out as an adult.
While I really regret having to call my parents to bail me out, I have to remember that being so hard of myself is pretty much what landed me into Adderall abuse in the first place. It’s a windy road, but I have faith my soles (thank you exercise), my soul & my God.
Woop Woop!
Thanks for telling the truth about adderall. I wonder if adderall is an attempt by the drug companies to keep us, (the creative, non-conformists) in line, or is it just plain old fashioned snake oil? I started adderall because I thought it would help me be more productive but it didn’t do anything but make me into a zombie. My doctor went on vacation and forgot to write me a script so I have had to go cold turkey. I’m glad I found this website, it makes it easier to realize it was just a crutch. I am on my second day, and I feel my spirit comming back.
There is a youtube video of Mike Wallace interviewing Aldous Huxley. This was in 1957 or 58 and Huxley was talking about advertising and drug companies. He was describing what he felt could happen in the future and how propaganda would be more sophisticated. A lot like what is happening now with so many people on multiple drugs to control their moods. Read about George H. W. Bush and his being on the board of directors for Eli Lily. When Bush was vice-pres under Reagan, he was influential in creating a positive atmosphere in Washington for the growth of big pharma.
(Above: It’s not my Website, just my story about raising my son. I be grateful to learn you read it.)
Probably a rare personal trait (for an Adderallic) would be mine: I’m old at 67 years. After about 200 runs on Adderall in 15 years, I finally flushed the last half of my last vial. Panic! You say I’ll be better in 6 months?
As I go, I’ll keep reading your well done essays and advice, Mike.
Don
Would these (spot on) qualities be as equally prevalent among all users of FDA approved stimulant meds for ADHD treatment?
YEP, thats me. Haha. I’ve been off adderall for about 3 months now and every time I want to make that call to my Doctor to get my script refilled, I come to this site and read the articles over and over to remind myself I can continue to beat this no matter how bad my day feels.
I am continually surprised that after the first month or so, I can get through days, weeks, months now without it and I still have a job, my boyfriend and fit in my clothes. Lol. Those were my fears, and sure I take more naps now and go to bed earlier (like a normal HUMAN haha)- but I also laugh more, sing more, dance more, have started running and have started to want to have closer relationships with all my friends again.
IT IS SO WORTH going through bad parts of withdrawal once you hit the 2-3 month mark. I wish everyone luck who is going through this process. Thank you MIKE for this amazing site, I KNOW it is saving not only me but many, many others as well.
Thank you.
Wow you nailed it
Okay I just discovered this website this morning b/c I forgot my Adderall and realized it while waiting for the subway. I quickly googled tricks to keep me focused at my job today b/c I’ve been on adderall for 13+ years now and I’m TERRIFIED every time I forget to take it before work. I just want to say that this site is truly helpful and inspirational. I might make my boyfriend read it b/c he’s not ADD AT ALL and just doesn’t understand how being ADD can affect you in everyday life like just cleaning up after yourself or not forgetting everything. THANK YOU FOR THIS SITE!
The best description that I have ever read! Its eerie how accurate this is….. Just so damn eerie.
Mike,
I just read the 7 Personal traits and it makes me feel like that guy who said “Let there be light”
Nice work,
i901
I am the opposite I never knew what it was like to think about one thing for a couple minutes instead of 1000 for 2 seconds each. the first time I took it I felt like a cloud was lifted off of my brain
I’ve got to say you’re right on with a lot of these. But as someone with ADHD-PI, I have to say that Adderall actually makes that little piece of gold inside a lot more shiny, seductive. To me that’s a good thing, as my special talent is wholly achievable. But as your disclaimer says, I’m one of those for whom Adderall is appropriate.
Adderall has destroyed me. Im 16 yrs old and I tried adderall 2 yrs ago because I had bad grades and felt fat. Well now when im on it im anti-social feel bugs under my skin chain smoking and hypersexual. And when im not on it i cant help but eat 6-8 thousand calories a day. I usually take a day or two off it a week. These short breaks added all the weight i intially lost. I feel like if I quit ill become like mega-obese and lazy.(btw i was skinny b4 adderall just insecure but now gained 20 lbs on the breaks). But if i countinue taking it I feel like ill just be some loner who cant laugh or be a teenager. ill be some stupid kid picking at hi s skin and smoking 2 many ciggerettes. I don,t want to be a fat lazy depressed worthless person. And i don,t want to be pissy humorless and smokers coughing either. what the hell do i do im stuck either way?
Adderall addiction can happen to anyone. It tends to target kids with low self-esteem but it can target anyone. from kids who are depressed to old ladies trying to loose weight it does not matter. Bottom line is adderall is a dangerous HIGHLY addictive drug that can easily rip you to shreds.
Hi everyone… I am 31 years old and my adderall story is a bit different. Before I get into the particulars I would like to say that #1 I did have a history of drug addiction before starting adderall. #2 My doctor knew about it prior to prescribing adderall. #3 I am in a very dark place right now and that’s why I need to at the very least get my dosage down. I will try to make this short as I tend to ramble now..(I wonder why??). I first took adderall about 6 or 7 months ago. A acquaintance gave me a couple of her 20mg ir tabs. I didn’t think it would lead to where I am now. Basically I was addicted to pain killers and ended up on subutex which I still take. Its a type of opiate for those who don’t know. For 6 years I have been taking subutex and withdrawals from this med is so awful I don’t even wanna think about it. It makes me extremely groggy,fatigued as well as foggy minded. When I took that adderall I felt like everything I did I could do 10x better! I play guitar..and I could play sooo much better when I took it. To the point where I literally couldn’t put the guitar down. My girlfriend who expects me to be superman and do everything..was always on my case and having little to no energy before to bam! Now not only can I do everything but I was doing extra. Well I went to my doctor and got a script and I abused it badly! I had the dosage increase over the next few months all the while I was badly abusing them and running out in less than a week. I eventually about 3 months ago decided that I would take them more as directed (50mg ir a day). Anyway when I run out I fall asleep at work and while driving! I cannot control this and I was nodding wile driving pre adderall yet another reason it was prescribed. Before I would have to go 3 weeks between scripts but I’ve been on now without any breaks. I admit going and geTtinh extra scripts. I now get little to no positives from it and I’m depressed and anti social. I can’t afford to stop cold turkey and will lose my job or fall asleep at the wheel… I now have to take xanax to get to sleep and also during the day for anxiety that its causing after it wears off. I’m just really stuck and my girlfriend and I are not intimate as the adderall has completely killed my sex drive. I don’t know what to do!
@Michael – Hang in there! You can get control of this. If it all possible, the best scenario might be to take as much vacation time as you can right now and reset your tolerance levels. You’ve got so many uppers & downers flowing through your system right now that you have to keep amping the dose at either end just to be able to sleep and work when you want. That kind of roller coaster is going to keep your tolerance levels shooting higher and higher.
You need a hard reset. If you can’t get a week off, take a weekend + one vacation/sick day if you can. I don’t usually get all hippie about this, but I would even recommend trying one of those herbal detox systems. You just want to take a few days and focus on nothing but sleeping, detoxing, and letting your chemical levels start floating back towards sober.
It’s going to be a very miserable weekend/week, but it should help your tolerance levels. Note that I can only speak for the Adderall. I don’t know how wise it would be to come off the subutex and xanax completely during that time. But if at all possible, you should come off of evertything.
Then, when you have to go back to work, do what you can to maintain without the drugs. Monitor your urges. Figure out for yourself which situations make you crave each drug. At the end of one day, you should have figured out a break down like: Adderall to work, xanax to sleep, subutex to quiet the voices. And as you get the urges, you can step up each drug until you get just enough to take the edge off (but leave a little edge left over). Then try to stick at those new minimum doses until you can figure out your next move.
If it’s not realistic to come off the subutex, may ignore that one for now and focus on the Adderall and xanax.
The other option might be to cointinue taking the Adderall so you can function, while stepping-down the other drugs in the background.
If you can stand it, you may want to consult a different doctor about this. I’m a little skeptical of this guy who loaded you up with high-dose pills even knowing your history. Find a stricter doctor, and tell him your goal: You want to be as little influenced by chemicals as possible, while still being able to lead a happy and normal life.
I should add here that you definitely need to warn your girlfriend first. But ultimately, you can’t let her disdain keep you from getting healthy.
All I can say is WOW!!! So much time feeling like im the only one addicted to this crap! Im almost 36 but have been hidding this secret addiction of mine from everyone! My husband, children, sister, just everyone! I have never been addicted to anything other than coffee and cigarettes, which is bad enough. I cant belive how you narrowed the old trait thing down to the T!!! Why is it without adderall after you have taken it for so long that everything you once lived and strived for quickly becomes so “I wanna crawl in a hole and die”? Im a wife and mother of three that just wants to be the wife and mother of three i was 7-8 years ago! I have the harderst time getting past the idea of how when I dont have adderall I feel like I cant smile. I feel sad and unhappy no matter how hard I try. Like my brain cant do it, totally messed up. Not to mention before i ever took that one little adderall I was the person lighting up the room, you couldnt wipe the smile off my face! Go figure…. Reading on this site surely makes me feel not so alone and that I know I can get past this! Its just goooood to know that I will be able to smile and laugh again without adderall! I can honestly say if I could pick to go back in time and change one and only one decision I would have never taken that first adderall!!! Its funny the one and only thing that can make me feel so on top of the world is the only thing that can make me feel like im burning in the wrath of hell!!! Catch 22 isnt it???
Hi Heather!
You can totally get through this! It’s hard when you first come off and you get hit with that wall of unpleasant feelings. But that gradually subsides if you stick with it. You will crawl in a hole and die. And then one day you’ll crawl out of that hole and be reborn.
Good luck! And please keep posting updates!
Im on my 2nd week of quitting adderal. Sad to say ive been contimplating getting back on. Im actually considering concerta.
I dont know, i wished i d never discovered adderal.
I kinda feel it s like that pill from the movie Limitless.
Have been on 5 mg/day for six months. Never heard of Adderall until six months ago. Aids focus but feel like shit when it wears off. Find myself bitchy and short-tempered with the people I care about most. This stuff is like radioactive waste. No good can come from taking it. I am over it. Sorry I ever took the doctor’s advice to take it in the first place.
Thank you for posting this. I can think of so many times that I have taken (probably too much) adderall and searched online for “adderall addiction” and whatnot, and found scary articles of people who party too much/take it to get wasted, etc. But your article really hit home with me, I feel like it was written about me and made me look at the real reasons of why I even bother doing SO MUCH in the first place. I haven’t taken any in a week and a half… So tired, but Getting my “spirit” back feels so good, and even though it seems like a lot of work to get through every task, it is rewarding to know that I can do it without the super pill. (Maybe just a little/alot of caffeine…) It is just nice to know that there are other people who arent just taking it to be high, but have an addiction to overachieving
Good luck everyone… I have found that laughing it all off is the best way to beat it!! Its kinda funny when you think about it 
))
I enjoyed immensely your thoughtful article. Unless, however, I skipped over the subject, and didn’t note your observations, there are very cogent reasons for the use of Adderall among patients with seizure disorders, in cases where patients do not respond to SSRIs and SNRI’s, etc. Some seizure disorders require enormous doses of anti-seizure drugs, and anti-depressants simply do not work. Doctors in many cases will prescribe Adderall–since its use in small doses (20 mgs a day) suspends the oppressiveness of anti-seizure drugs. To that extent, Adderall has an unarguable value. Patients behave with the confidence and enthusiasm that they are otherwise unable to enjoy.
@Eric — Yes, I definitely don’t want to imply that Adderall has no legitimate uses. People who take it for seizures (or narcolepsy for that matter) aren’t really my target audience. Very fair point. Glad you like the article!
Reading this, I think I fit every category except one. Over-achiever.
I seriously don’t understand how adderall can turn people into manic robots of achievement. I thought that was what it did to non-ADD people who snorted it in high amounts (read: most of my friends).
I figured that most ADD people were like me: adderall just made it possible for you to do basic things, like get to class on time and do laundry. I took adderall all throughout highschool and got terrible grades.
I took in college and failed out.
It makes it possible to concentrate, yes, but I still retain the ability to choose what I concentrate on. I usually could take notes for about five minutes before I started drawing on the paper. I have notebooks filled with what I call “college-level doodling”.
And I procrastinate the way most people grieve, from denial (I’ll start the project tomorrow!) to anger (WHEN IN LIFE WILL I EVER NEED TO WRITE A F***ING TEN PAGE PAPER ON FEMINISM) to bargaining (If I pull a D on this paper and then do this extra credit assignment …) to depression (why can’t I be like normal people? why is this so hard for me?) to acceptance – or in this case apathy (who gives a fuck about my english grades, anyway.)
That’s when I’m *on* adderall, you guys.
Are y’all on some crazy high dose, or am I just SUPER ADD?
how do you know when someone starts taking it again?
How ? Lack of appetite, they feel distant from you, and they need to drink alcohol at night to “come down” from their stimulant high. So many cns stimulant addicts are caught in this cycle of high-low-low-high. Many of them are addicted to benzodiazepenes, xanax in particular, so they are able to function. Let’s face it, without sleep you cannot function properly. Alcohol and/or benzo’s do the trick. Just so many people know….gonna throw this one out there….dexedrine does the same thing as adderrall, but without the nasty side effects when you want to stop. It’s more pure, just dextroamphetamine…and is much nicer to your body. Yes, its addictive too, but again, much easier to stop when compared to the blue devil as I like to call adderrall.
Like other people’s comments, I too wish I never had discovered adderall. Why? A very long list of why’s. For one, if I had never found adderall, I would had been forced to adapt to the college academic demands, and would have ‘accepted’ schoolwork to be boring and dull BY NOW. Instead, the adderall has acted like a POWERFUL ALLY defeating feelings of academic insecurities, anxiety, boredom, and lack of concentration; deceiving my brain into CONFIRMING I have unchangeable shortcomings, and only through this pill COULD I SUCCEED IN ACADEMIA.
Do I have academic/task management ISSUES? YES! I have conceived this notion that researching, studying or writing a paper for school is ABSOLUTE TORTUE. In this mindset, ADDERALL appears as a SAVIOR from the heavens because I realize just HOW WELL my work comes out, but more importantly because I realize HOW LITTLE MENTAL ENERGY & CONDITIONING I needed to WANT TO DO THE SCHOOLWORK.
See, that’s precisely the CATCH 22 about adderall; it provides a very short-term fix to a LARGER ISSUE in your life, while ignoring the ACTUAL PROBLEM and leading to NO PERMANENT SOLUTION. Adderall is like a “friend” who pretends to look out for your best interest. He listens to you explain A ISSUE IN YOUR LIFE. Looking for answers, a solution, a remedy, a FIX, you seek your “friends” advice and insight into dealing with your problem. Speaking loud and confident, he pieces together a BS plan of action. Your now sold and at his mercy, because “how could he not be right about this when he came off so sure and caring?!?” And then you implement his plan, and quickly realize ENORMOUS IMPROVEMENTS IN YOUR PROBLEM AREA, leading you to believe your “friend” is THE MAN. What you don’t realize, and your friend forgot to ‘mention’ is the RESTRICTIONS it constructs in various areas of your life.
RESTRICTIONS? “Aaa if I ACE my stat exam then whatever, I’ll revisit those areas of my life at another time.” But it is not that easy; it’s borderline impossible when you exercise your ‘friends’ advice on a daily or weekly basis.
WHAT DO YOU MEAN RESTRICTIONS? OK. Taking Adderall quite frequently, especially when abused, kind of molds your life/universe into a predictable, dark and narrow tunnel, with the light at the end moving further away with each additional pill. Sure while fully present in the tunnel you don’t seem to mind, because your measuring every last dimension, while devising what sounds to you as a ‘brilliant’ plot to construct the world’s first double-decker tunnel connecting U.S. and England. And for some strange reason, YOU ARE THE PERFECT MAN FOR THE JOB!!! HUH….last time I checked I never was nor ever will be interested in tunnels nor do I have the background to accomplish such a task. Meanwhile, three weeks have gone by without you even thinking about how far the light has gone. Your unnatural three week OBSESSION with the tunnel has led you to NEGLECT:
1. YOUR DIET
2. YOUR FRIENDS
3. YOUR FAMILY
4. YOUR SOCIAL LIFE
5. YOUR WORKOUTS AT THE GYM
6. YOUR PEACEFUL RUNS/WALKS
7. YOUR SLEEP &
8. Your Mind
Most importantly, leading YOU to NEGLECT…Y-O-U-R L-I-F-E
So after writing my thoughts and you reading them, its shocking to accept the horrendous trade-offs that come with a reliance to Adderall.
*Attaining instant ENJOYMENT & THIRST for previously BORING & Difficult tasks
{at the mercy of}
*Your interests, health, family, friends, LIFE
******{vs}******
*Developing positive HABITS, well balanced days, health, attending class & working hard to remain responsible for work, and opening opious amounts of free time
{at the mercy of}
*Feeling temporarily dreamy & delirious about largely hated aspects of everyday life, aka SCHOOLWORK.xperiencing are felt by other adderall users/abusers.
@Jay – You accidentally wrote a good article or two there. Send me an email (mike at quittingadderall.com) if you’d like to formalize everything you posted into an article for the main blog.
Dude, this was well written and true. I am all of these with adderall w/o it I would be on chat rms, making funny videos, singing and playing my instruments all day, and watching movies galore. I am in college though and need my adderall so I guess I will be bored the rest of my life.
This is scary how true this is. Even the part of being attractive. Everyone I’ve seen that takes is a really hot girl or (not gay at all) a good looking dude. Even the part about self consious. I’m going to try to quit starting tomorrow. Thankyou
@Ryan – Right? I have yet to see that attractiveness thing proven wrong. Not even one exception.
WOW! I read #1 …lucky guess. #2…okay that was just coincidence. #3…I’m getting freaked out. #4,5,6,7 : This is ME perfectly described. How is this possible? There is definite truth to this article and after 7 shots, it’s plain to see they weren’t just shots in the dark. Great read!
Thanks for creating this site, Mike. I’m not sure I can relate to the people who are saying they have been off adderall for a matter of days and are already feeling better. Kind of a mockery of the addiction if you ask me. It is just not possible; they were not an addict to begin with. I’m currently taking, on average, 80mg daily. Have been taking adderall for several years, but never at the dosage I have currently worked up to. I have tried to quit in the past and have never been successful. The depression, laziness, and loss of interest in life becomes to overwhelming. I also take about 15mg, on average, of ambien every night so I am able to shut my mind and body off. Have been taking ambien for about 7 years. I have completely lost my self identity because of this drug and have grown to resent myself and everyone around me. I do not want to set unrealistic goals, and I am not committing to quitting. I am, however, committed to ‘stepping down’ and getting back to my prescribed dosage. Once I achieve this goal I will re-evaluate the decision to rid it. I just want to speak to that point that the legitimacy of adderall does not matter. Yes, it does have it’s legitimate uses and can be an effective drug for some people, but the addictive nature and abuse of the drug is overwhelming. The implications of abusing this drug is often misconstrued because it is a ‘prescription drug.’