Meds - A tool, not a "quick-fix" | ADHD Information

I like the brick wall analogy too! Gets the point across better than the walking stick one.  i would think cbt refers to cognitive behavioral therapy?  

Thanks for all of these posts.  I've only tried on med so far and it didn't work out so I have no idea what to expect in the future.  This is a great site and isn't it wonderful we live in a time where we can communicate with people from everywhere?  I love the brick wall analogy.  I'm not so fond of the walls themselves tho.  Someone keeps throwing them up at the most INCONVENIENT times!  LOL

 

 

YES!!!!! I'm glad that I'm hearing people get it!!

I've seen a lot of people - especially in the spouse's areas wondering why after getting hubby/wifey meds and being there with love/support - why aren't they snapping to attention??

They MUST want to get off their duff!  If not for some pretty crappy stuff - including but not limited to the death of my last uncle (ADD all the way), the death of my relationship of 13 years and the death of my yet-to-be born son 3 years ago - the journey I'm on would not have happened.  Even with all the meds in the world if I hadn't got to the end of my rope nothing would have come of it.

Everyone has the breaking point - that one thing that they need to become motivated.  Some people's threshold for pain is less - some more.  Mine is fairly high I guess.

As my personal development coach told me years ago "the pain of change has to be less than the pain of staying where you are".  I think it's from a PD book called "what color is your parachute?".  I remember it as excruciatingly painful to read at the time (20 years or so ago), but I'm considering picking it up again.  I'm finding some of my coach's wisdom soaked into me - maybe osmosis? LOL

Good for everyone who's getting it!!! Good luck to all who are getting there.

[QUOTE=murried2]My own sister even made a smart ass comment about my messy house and the cat hair on the couch.  I promptly put a sign on my door that states that if you don't like my animals, LEAVE.  She hasn't been back much since I put that sign up.  [/QUOTE]

LOL! Good for you! I feel the same way about my kitties. I doubt my boyfriend would let me put a sign like that on our door though.

Do most of you out there feel comfortable inviting others into your home?  Is it fine when someone stops by? 

I can't imagine the "overwhelmed" feeling being absent from my life, projects actually completed, or all of my rooms in the same state of organization.  OK I can imagine it, I just can seem to get there.  Yet.

msglitz - No, I don't feel comfortable inviting people into my home.  If someone stops by unannounced I become extremely uncomfortable and probably come across as rude without meaning to.  I really don't like entertaining people, it's too stressful for me.  I don't even like going to other people's houses and trying to be sociable.

One of my hubby's buddies comes over several nights a week, and I'm okay with that cause he knows how I am and doesn't mind the complete mess that my house is usually in.  He also doesn't mind being molested by 7 cats and 2 dogs, which most people are bothered by.

My own sister even made a smart ass comment about my messy house and the cat hair on the couch.  I promptly put a sign on my door that states that if you don't like my animals, LEAVE.  She hasn't been back much since I put that sign up. 

For me, I would be sitting on the couch.  My mind would be on all the things I NEED to do.  but somehow, the connection from what i NEEDED to be doing and the command to actually GET UP and DO IT, was broken.

Meds, for me seemed to fix that connection.  I would think "I need to wash the dishes".  and instead of sitting there and sitting there and sitting there for hours trying to "get up the energy and motivation" to get off the couch, I was actually able to just get up and do it...then it was done...that is how my brain works, and what meds did for me....

oh, and it also took out the "overwhelmedness"...(new word..)  instead of seeing this HUGE GIGANTIC MESS, that would NEVER EVER get done, or take DAYS to finish cleaning, my brain was able to break down the mess....as in...hm...that's just some dirty clothes.. once those are in the hamper, i just have to stack those papers, and then the place would be clean..

but you're right.  you have to use your brain, you still have to make yourself do it....the meds just makes it easier for you to make yourself do it...that's how it is for me, anyway.

sonya_h38554.4142708333Nah, they both work for me, BC! equally!

Thank you, unbreakable, for clarifying CBT for me!

Glen, I remember "What Color is Your Parachute?" Was a great book when looking to change your career or even initially looking for a job.

Glen, many of the people on this board were not diagnosed until they were 30 to 50 yrs old, some older. So why aren't they "snapping to attention"? Or "getting off their duffs"? It takes more than an Rx to break the habits we've lived with for so many years. Of course we want to make positive changes, but it takes a lot of work and determination, whether with a counselor, therapist, or on our own.
Since I've been trying out different medications and dosages since April, obviously I've been doing a lot of thinking about how they work. I've finally found something that seems to work for me, and in the process, I figured out HOW and WHY it works.

I'll admit that when I started this "journey", I didn't know what to expect. I didn't know if I would feel some sort of "buzz", or "high", that would turn me into some super-focused, motivated machine. I'd heard the analogy that meds feel like "brain glasses", and wondered if the meds would make everything more clear, and easier to do. In short, I ignorantly expected the meds to magically "fix" my symptoms.

Then I realized something that many of you have said in the past - you have to work with your meds. They don't do everything for you. It's like a person learning to walk after an accident - they are given a
walking stick, but the walking stick doesn't magically animate them and
make them walk. They have to use the stick as a tool to aid them, while they get up under their own power and walk. That person may need the walking stick for the rest of their life, or they may not.

The medication is the same way. It acts as a tool to slow down your thoughts, so that you can then choose to do a task and complete it. The meds won't act like a set of puppet strings to make you suddenly jump off the couch and conquer the world, but they may organize your head enough to make you believe you can conquer the world, if you so choose. LOL.

Back to the "glasses" analogy, glasses may make you able to see, but you still have to make the choice to pick up a book and read it.

Just thought I'd share.

Funny, I was just thinking about a lot of the same things a few weeks ago, too.

I thought of a strange analogy for it - think of a project or task as a race (not necessarily timed, but it has a start and end point). Without medication, it is like there are big brick walls in the middle of the race track where I am trying to run (sometimes thinner or thicker, depending on the task). So I feel whenever I try to get myself to just "do" things (running the race), I smack into the wall, and have to smash into it repeatedly to get the bricks to come loose so I can get through (frustration). Then I just run into another brick wall a few feet later, of course. With medication, those brick walls are more like hurdles or speed bumps, and even though it is actually me doing the "running", it's so much more manageable.

I hope that made sense.

boredomkills38553.5375Oooh, Jennifer, that's really a good analogy, as well! I like it! And it sure helps from getting a splitting headache, doesn't it?

More? Anyone?Funny I was just thinking the same thing. The meds are just the starting point and I've been thinking about setting up some CBT sessions with my therapist. BC..excellent, well put! I love when someone else can put how I feel into words. Your words give me motivation to keep pluggin' and not give up, whether on meds or not.

dhart, sorry, but I don't do well with abbrev. (lol)...CBT sessions? Please clarify. Thank you.

BTW, does the font in this post look really tiny? It does when I preview or even after posting. I don't know whether it's just my computer, or the board. I used to use size=1 and it made it much larger, not it just looks tiny-er. And I'm afraid if I use size=2 it will be too large, although yours doesn't look too large to me, BC. ?? GypsyWomyn38553.5375231481

Thanks Ronna, I'm glad you like it. I got sick of hearing the "driving with windshield wipers" and "glasses for your brain" analogies and thought I might be able to come up with something a little better. 

Something else to think about - If there was a magic pill that did everything for you, then you wouldn't really be living your own life, would you?

[QUOTE=GypsyWomyn]
Glen, many of the people on this board were not diagnosed until they were 30 to 50 yrs old, some older. So why aren't they "snapping to attention"? Or "getting off their duffs"? It takes more than an Rx to break the habits we've lived with for so many years. Of course we want to make positive changes, but it takes a lot of work and determination, whether with a counselor, therapist, or on our own.
[/QUOTE]

Uh, actually that WAS a rhetorical question - I know that it's hard I was playing that as what other non educated people ask.  Just thought I'd clear that one up for everyone.