Oh for sure! I'll take some notes as I go and be sure to report back (and hopefully I won't procrastinate too much 😁)

You're blowing my mind right now! Never considered that, but when you mention it it makes perfect sense and seems so obvious.

Thank you for the link, and the discussion. Lots for me to digest over the next few days, but it's all very exciting! Never too tired to learn more about myself.

IRT your post, agree in that I definitely feel it was the rejection of the meds that led to the drinking.

Alcohol turned into my medicine, I knew I needed SOMETHING to make the anxiety go away, and whereas with meds I felt singled out or different, with alcohol I felt like I was blending in.

This tracks 100%.

I was also put on a series of SSRI's back then that did more harm than good IMO. I spent a long time feeling off-axis and finally learned how to "pretend" to be "normal" while I secretly stopped taking my meds.

Having truthful conversations about my symptoms still feels awkward.

Correct, it was recommended to my parents. I don't remember much of the specifics, but I do remember needing to go to the nurse every day at lunch to take my pill.

From my POV it just made me fuzzy and dull, like I lost my "spark". And it drew a lot of attention from peers, like I was "different".

I'm 41 now and decided to try ADHD meds again. It's been a few months and I finally feel in control of my emotions, the anxiety has dissipated, and I can comfortably not drink in social settings.

Unlike kid me, adult me feels like this is who I truly am, and I wish I stuck it out back then.

2/2

I grew up on ADHD meds (starting at 7) and hated them because I thought they made me "not me". By high school I refused to take them. High school was also around the time I started abusing substances.

1/X

the benefits of trickle down economics have been "coming next year" for 40 years now...

Wow, @latimes.com has a mini! And there's access to the backlog? Seems better than @nytimes.com mini, free or not.

For many, finding therapy is very overwhelming in and of itself. It's highly dependent on access to healthcare and income.

Agree with the sentiment, but lumping it in with "charge your phone away from bed" kinda downplays both it's significance and the difficulty some people have in finding it.

no mention of AI = no funding