I eventually learned to redirect myself - which Adderall enabled me to do. The first step was qualifying my own good and bad behaviors.
It took time to deepen the reward association with beneficial behaviors. That helped me redirect away from counterproductive behaviors - not just revived behaviors but also the persistent ones. Making progress on those was huge.
During this process, the messy, euphoric edges smoothed themselves out. I never had to address it directly.
About 6 months in I came to the conclusion that I really would have benefited from a therapeutic guide, someone who was familiar with this specific experience. I'm not sure there is anyone like that out there.
I use it occasionally still but with no euphoric, overwhelming empathy or boundless energy to mow the metaphorical fields. It helps me push through brain fog when things just need to be done.
I haven’t managed to get past the tooth grinding. I barely feel that I’m on it now, but every single time... I grind my teeth. Even if I feel perfectly relaxed otherwise.
I was working from home and the second it kicked in I started getting literal chills down my spine.
I ended up messaging a bunch of people on Facebook I haven’t talked to in years but felt a sudden affinity and empathy for.
I got distracted by a part of my apartment that I hadn’t cleaned in a while and missed a meeting because I ended up cleaning the whole place, including weird things like dusting the sides of books.
When I finally got to coding, it was like I was in the matrix. Hyper focused (and fwiw getting a lot done) but in a weird euphoric high feeling way.
I guess what I’m asking is is that how everyone feels the first time they take it?
And how long does it take to just feel normal on it, but like able to focus?
I want to try it again, because I need help focusing and know I can do better, but I’m genuinely afraid of the person I was on that stuff.