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this post was submitted on 06 Dec 2025
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this is a false dichotomy.
I have a job that plays well with my ADHD (working from home doing software engineering). I worked in this field before I knew I had ADHD (I'm in my late 30s, and only diagnosed a couple years ago).
but having a job that is relatively ADHD-friendly simply is not enough. especially when so many ADHD symptoms affect my personal life and not just my 9-5 job.
honestly - rather than sounding stupid, you just kind of sound like an asshole. listen to yourself:
since I take an ADHD medication every day, I guess that makes me a "slave" to pharmaceutical companies or "drugged up" or a "pill zombie" in your estimation?
if I skip medication for a day, that is what makes me feel like a zombie. most ADHD medications are stimulants. before I started medication, I was doing what I now recognize as self-medicating - drinking an absolute fuck-ton of coffee and energy drinks, but still never feeling like I got an energy boost from them.
also - before I was diagnosed with ADHD, I was depressed, at times pretty severely. I tried all the "you don't need antidepressants, you just need X" things people recommend - therapy, better diet, better sleep, more exercise, more outdoor exercise, and so on. none of it worked.
eventually I gave up and asked my doctor for antidepressants (reluctantly, because I had internalized a lot of the "rx drugs for mental health issues are bad" that I think you have as well)
the antidepressants helped, but only partially. eventually I figured out I probably have ADHD and went to a psychiatrist about it. part of what helped me realize that was that of a couple different antidepressants I had tried, the one that helped the most (buproprion) was also used in treating ADHD.
and so in my case, "antidepressants help, but they don't treat the underlying problem" was true - but the underlying problem also needs prescription medication.