I didn't want to for decades, despite obvious symptoms, for fear of dependency or being labeled a drug seeker and because of the stigma implied by comments like this. Could be I was the only person those drug education programs worked on.

I'm glad I finally did. That one little pill makes me a better and happier person.

Same. I was diagnosed with ADHD at eight and was put on stimulants then. Took them for 8 years and stopped. Now at 30, I'm on them again and all the anxiety and depression that I was caused by or masking my issues with functioning just dissolved. I'm glad I finally let myself take them, but I still feel stigma around it.

Even still, the stigma is reinforced by arbitrary rules that presume I am an addict: "You can only have a 30 day supply," "we can't fill the pending 'script until 31 days after you last picked it up," "no, you can't get it early even if you're traveling for over a month. You'll need to find a pharmacy there to fill it."

Yes. The irony of the temptation to buy the pills illegally to avoid that stigma is not lost on me.

Figured I had it for 20 years. Finally tried. First time in my life I could stay on task. Was amazing.

Then the burning pain started. So no more for me. I at least know what it’s like to stay on task. Helps some. Still a major struggle.

Which drug?

I'm pretty sure I've got ADHD but I've watched too many people ride rollercoasters for years finding the right amount of the right drug. I self medicate with a heavy caffeine habit, thank you very much. There are more important things in life than productivity.

I take an unprescribed focus drug every day, and it works wonders for me: Caffeine. I genuinely function so much better with it, I have no idea how I was productive at all before it.

Some people believe caffeine is what sparked the industrial revolution and woke us up from our groggy and inebriated state to where we are now.

I suggest that the vast majority of people are not interested in drugs.

Even among those with an ADHD self-diagnosis, I don't think it's hugely related.

I take those 'online tests' for ADHD and pretty much always score as though I have it.

I can 100% see a lot of people reading about it, taking those tests and believing they have it.

Agree. I've never used any drug recreationally, other than alcohol. No interest in it, and definitely don't want to wind up on any long term prescription meds.

Curiously alcohol is one of the worst drugs in any scale. The world worked with drugs before the "war on drugs", and things like opium, cocaine, marihuana... were consumed by tons causing less troubles than alcohol.

Opium was seen as the main reason behind chinese inmigrants to the USA being better workers than whites (XIX), so it was outlawed. Of course, the narrative was that opium was evil (you can even read things like chinese men lured white women to opium dens to made them slaves).

I prefer to avoid drugs, legal or not. But the war on drugs, any drugs, makes zero sense to me. It's a shame that drugs that were known to treat e.g. depression were outlawed because "say no to drugs", and further research effectively halted for decades.

Even today, when a new substance is discovered and used for "fun" is immediately outlawed. If you want fun, your only legal option is alcohol, even when we know it's way worse than, say, ecstasy or acid.

[Raises hand]

No thanks.