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> > you end up addicted and pretty much permanently require drugs to function well

No? First, even when I was taking it almost every day for three years, I kept forgetting to take it. Today, my last refill was in February this year.

I recommend against raw-dogging reality with ADHD without meds. At least so you have baseline "this is what normal feels like"

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I think it's important to take it case-by-case. Many people with ADHD find stimulant medications positively life-changing. However, plenty of people with ADHD also have a substance use disorder. Sometimes medication is an effective treatment for both issues; other times it exacerbates the latter.

Consider the subreddit r/stopspeeding, a recovery community for people addicted to stimulants. Many, many users share similar stories of being prescribed a stimulant medication for ADHD, then beginning to abuse it. Many of these people really do have ADHD, but find that their lives are better without stimulant medication.

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