It blows my mind how productive I’m able to be, being properly medicated after a diagnosis. I don’t understand why I cannot do these simple tasks normally. Why does adderall make me “go” and actually accomplish tasks?
In: Biology
Psychiatrist here.
Front part of your brain is filled with cells that specialize in memory and attention. In ADHD those cells have to work harder since the part that generates the impulses and ideas is overactive (back part of your brain), so the front can’t keep up with the back.
Adderall increases how sensitive those cells are and also releases dopamine to make the signal stronger, which enhances focus and memory by allowing the front to keep up with the back and stay together.
ELI5/tldr: imagine your brain is like two people rowing a boat in opposite directions and Adderall basically allows them to row in the same direction.
The ADHD brain is effectively deprived of stimulation 24/7. Your brain needs stimulation to keep your sanity, so when deprived of stimulus, your brain will seek it in any way it knows it can. This supersedes most other requirements, so your brain will be distracted doing random bullshit all day until either frightened or intrigued into doing otherwise.
Adderall is basically a slow-burn stimulant. You take a pill, and the ‘buzz’ (if it can even be called that) will keep your brain satisfied enough to function properly. This is why many undiagnosed ADHDers self-medicate with coffee or energy drinks throughout the day; same basic effect, just way worse for your heart and breath lol.
This seeking of stimulation is why ADHDers tend to excel in fast-paced jobs like Emergency Services, Sales, Food, CS, etc. When time is always ticking and things never get old, it keeps the brain engaged and in the moment.
I have a friend who has been on Adderall for years and she has a horrible memory. Can keep going like an energizer bunny, tho. Does this stimulant cause memory loss?
u/sailor_moon_knight answered a similar question a while ago and I saved [that comment](https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/s/EkR9AMxFX2) because I thought it did a great job explaining it in a way that’s easy to understand yet also extremely clear.
> There is a concept in neurology called “optimal arousal”. (It is not about sex.) The idea is that there is a certain amount of stimulus: sensory input *and* tasks, where a person is most comfortable. If your environment has too little stimulation, you’re bored. If your environment has too much stimulation, you’re overwhelmed. Think about how many drivers turn down the radio while navigating unfamiliar areas: their task is more stimulating than usual, so they have to reduce sensory input to maintain optimal arousal and not get overwhelmed.
> People with ADHD generally have VERY HIGH thresholds for optimal arousal. They really do focus on their homework better with music, and they really do like to play their music that loud. They jump chaotically from topic to topic and task to task because they’re constantly chasing every bit of stimulation they can get, like tigers pacing at the zoo. They need more pumpkins full of hamburger in their enclosure, STAT!
> Stimulants, well, *stimulate* the brain and central nervous system. Caffeine, for some ADHD people at some doses, stimulates the brain enough that they can sit still, focus on boring tasks, or even fall asleep in a timely manner instead of literally or figuratively pacing. Stronger stimulants like amphetamines (Adderall) and methylphenidates (Ritalin), and SNRIs (Strattera) can have the same effect, but they also have to be prescribed because they’re more likely to make someone with a normal threshold for optimal arousal sick from too much stimulation.
> Source: am a pharmacy tech, also have ADHD.
Stimulants make you more focused. In fact in low doses meth will do the same as Adderall, it’s actually prescribed in the US for this purpose. It’s not like the high doses, which get one less liver pass so they affect you more. Alot of people on meth masturbate for hours as it increases your sex drive like crazy.
Didn’t work for me. I’d hoped after getting my diagnosis I’d get on some meds and be ok. It’s been over three years now. Adderall just sped me up, without focus so I switched to atomoxetine, and it didn’t work either. I’m terribly bummed out. Maybe I don’t have ADHD. Maybe it’s something else.
Commenting to save this thread. I am mid late 20’s and have just got re-diagnosed with very very bad ADHD and anxiety and I am almost positive that when I was a kid it was ADHD and ADD but I’m not big on taking drugs so I like to learn what I can before I go speak to the doctor once every few weeks.
“Task initiation” (aka starting to do a thing, or changing what you’re doing) requires dopamine.
Our brains misuse dopamine.
Adderall forces our brains to make more dopamine.
(Vast oversimplification, obviously.)
For a real answer, aside from defending from stigma and all that, you can look to the origins of Ritalin. Baddely et al
Stimulants and dopamine reuptake inhibitors like Ritalin and Adderall, as well as their ‘recreational’ versions like meth and coke, make whatever you are doing more interesting.
It’s great when you have something to do and no desire to do it, but you know you have that task, like studying the brainstem or chapter on exam, or anything. It also has the same effect if you’re playing games or porn or gambling, which might not be a good thing for you.
It is a myth that it only works on people with adhd. The mechanism of action doesn’t differ, everyone gets the same effect. People use it to study, despite not having adhd. Anyone denying that fact doesn’t know what they’re talking about.
Source: 30 years on it and masters in neuroscience. You can also read about it yourself too. Google it if you want to know.
Brain is moth. Moth wants to bounce against lightbulb. Bouncy bouncy bouncy. Adderall is lightbulb. Brain can bounce on other things now.
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