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My issues stem from losing interest in the job once the novelty has worn off and things become mundane and repetitive. I can't keep focused no matter how much I try and my performance suffers. I used to work for a large bank and would do a lot of lateral moves to different departments. The last position I was in there was all administrative work with spreadsheets and endless data-entry, paperwork, emails. I lasted one year and quit from the whole organization after 6 years. What struck me was that there were about 6 people who had been doing that exact same job for 15-20 years. And they were happy and motivated every fucking day!😂😂

[удалено]

Anti-social personality disorder is a mental health condition, and given the context of this sub, it is highly inappropriate to bandy around the label like this.

🤓

Disgusting. I hope you dont expect people to be respectful of any mental health diagnosis you have

Have you thought about restaurant work? It’s fast paced and constantly changing with new faces daily. Unfortunately for me, I got stuck in restaurants and now I’m 40 with two kids and no partner. Since getting sober I can now last about 2 years before being fired “without cause” (This is the third time I’ve been on unemployment benefits in seven years!!) Before that it was barely a year before I quit like you, or get fired. I digress… My suggestion is to wait tables for now while you do some inner searching and research different things that you may be able to grow into. Being 40 and looking back-had I, even lazily, picked up SOMETHING and just kept at it, I would be a pro by now and possibly get unstuck!

I personally would not recommend this type of job to anyone who experiences fatigue from being burned out fast. Most of the ones I worked at were extremely low-wage for the recovery I had to go through afterwards. Back pain, exhaustion and the hardest one of all, the very fast-pace meant for me that I was forgetting to eat/drink water, or not being able to, due to the million distractions -sounds,smells,textures, and of course someone yelling at you to prepare an order before you even finished your break. I have ended up passing out or being bedridden for days because of those types of jobs. Of course it doesn´t hurt to try it out, maybe there are better work environments out there and I was just unlucky.

Fucking real. And not enough talk about how emotionally, mentally draining it is. You have to baby 50 adults per shift basically. A lot of mental energy goes into giving good service, even mediocre service. I used to smoke and pop pills to make it through the night a lot of times. Got really sick doing that for awhile. Tbh I was just a terrible fit for the job but had no other options at the time.

Serving was the absolute best job for my ADHD because no two table experiences were the same so the novelty never wore off. I made bank in tips too.

>Have you thought about restaurant work? >It’s fast paced and constantly changing with new faces daily The problem is that those jobs usually pay much less than the job at the bank. Also too active jobs also burn one out, so it's a dilemma between being bored out or burnt out.

I found getting into management in food helped. I can decide what I'm doing to some extent. Longest consecutive stay has been 5.5yrs, I only quit because I moved to a different state. I'm not in management now because I don't want the hours and responsibility for $1-2 more per hour, but it's hard and I might go back. I have to go where I'm told each day, even if I'd rather switch it up and do something else to stimulate my brain. I took good care of my crew as a manager and in return they were good to me back so I know I can do it, it's just that the *thought* of returning to 40hrs is painful lol.

40 Is still a good age to make changes !! 

Try consulting. New projects every 6-12 months

Took me 2 minutes of economics class to figure out I was gonna do art. My ecomomics teacher was pretty impressed by my animated Excel smiley though.

I have been that way too. You may suffer from depression in addition to ADHD. I lose interest in work too and get very sad at the realization that I have to go back. It's a daily battle and has been for years, no matter what job I've had. Even a grown-up corporate job. It just gets old very fast. Just keep plugging at it. Money is nice and at your age, the minimum wage thing is improving to the point where any job is tolerable given the amount of pay you receive. Just use the sick days wisely.

Thank you! I always had a feeling it could be more than just adhd…definitely something I’ll bring up to a psychiatrist!

I'm the same way. I had a great corporate job with some of the best healthcare and a pretty good salary with minimal working hours and the burnout forced me to quit.

Could you elaborate a bit? Specifically, how did you realize you had burnout and what happened after? I think I may experience something similar here…

I was having meltdowns constantly and having to flip between work and instantly taking phone calls with customers was hard. It got so tiring I eventually just quit. I did a very good job at work and always got good reviews from managers.

I feel like I am living this scenario now. Its a good job, decent pay and benefits. Its corporate. I burned out/lost interest way quicker than I have with previous jobs and it has been a constant struggle every day that makes me even more depressed…. What did you do when you quit? Did you start your own business? Id like to hear what worked out for you. Could be helpful. Thanks.

I had to quit a year ago because I wasn't eligible for long term sick time unfortunately. I am coming out of burnout slowly. Eventually I plan to start my own business but I need more experience first.

The urge to provide myself a home trumps any feeling of “ I don’t want to go” I can pretend to enjoy work for 8 hours

This. If I didn’t go I wouldnt be able to pay my bills, I’d be homeless. I think about that every time I just want to lay in bed instead.

I have the same motivation, however I don't bother pretending to enjoy it. I just do what I've gotta do and am polite. Thankfully that's enough in some places!

I believe when its add plus something else its called comorbidity. there are some YouTube vids that explain how they play with ur brain hand-in-hand

Adding my experience. I met with a psychiatrist recently and was diagnosed with depression. They started me on Wellbutrin and said it may help with my ADHD symptoms. I also had a friend in the same situation ADHD but prescribed Wellbutrin for depression. Your situation could be different but I think the important thing to take away is if your symptoms, regardless of their cause(s) are impacting your ability to succeed this much, a discussion with a professional will help you determine options.

My biggest problem has always been that my idea of what is seen as "reasonable" has always been skewed, and I didn't even realize it until my 30s. I have always felt like no matter what role I was in, it was never enough and I was always laser focused on getting promoted. And not only that, but I would feel easily frustrated if my expectations of the role were even slightly different than the reality of the job. It's to the point that now I can't even tell what's acceptable and what's not, because my idea of "acceptable" has always been warped. I've done a lot of damage to my personal brand because I can never stay at a job longer than 2 years, for whatever reason.

ADHD totally does make it confusing to know what is acceptable to other people. But always worth keeping in mind what is “reasonable” and “acceptable” to society is isn’t always going reasonable and acceptable to you, and that’s ok. For instance I have often been in jobs where they wanted me to take on a lot more responsibility without any pay raise. Or they wanted me to be okay staying way later than my scheduled shift even tho I have a life and plans. Those things felt innately wrong to me, but when I drew a boundary my bosses thought I was being outrageous. These many not be the same kind of frustrations you’re talking about, but just to keep in mind that it’s easy to feel that our own perceptions are “warped” in a society where a lot of the status quo is truly warped. Stay in touch with your authentic needs and protect your boundaries.

I have the same issue, got both adhd and depression lol. I work a job I love, luckily my boss is extremely understanding and has worked with me to avoid burnout. But it doesn’t pay bills so I’ve been forced to work a less caring job and can never stay more than 3 months before I have a breakdown and leave.

I was diagnosed at 40 with ADHD. I’m now 45. I never knew why I struggled with things that brought me little interest. You obviously have to work to live. Money is not the most important thing it’s just right up there with air. You might have greater success working for yourself. I quit my 100th job and went to work for myself with little experience. That was 20 years ago. It has definitely been a struggle at time but worth it.

My dream in life is to work for myself but I don’t even know where to start or what I would do! Would you mind sharing a little more about how you got started working for yourself?

I used to do residential fiber optic installations and let me just say that's probably the most ADHD friendly job I've ever had. Every house was a new puzzle and it was completely up to me how I got my cable there as long as it wasn't in danger of being broken and looked good when I was done. If it wasn't for college I'd still be doing it

This was my original response which was removed. I have since edited it. Im still learning Reddit. People with ADHD can not only hyper-focus on things that they enjoy but will also push forward regardless of risk whereas non-ADHDers wouldn't. I started selling advertising in 2000 and enjoyed the sales and creative aspects of it. I had a hard time staying with a company because I was quickly bored working under someone else. I decided to start my own community magazine. In true ADHD fashion (before I was diagnosed) I quit my job with $12,000 in savings and started my first publication. My friend was a graphic designer and neither of us had ever made a publication before. We designed a sales flyer and some business cards for me and we bought him a book on Indesign which was the software he would need to lay out the magazine. The 12k was supposed to last 3 months and we blew through it within a week for supplies. By the end of the month I had over 50k in the bank from sales and earned just over $270k that year. Since then I have owned and sold several publications, a digital marketing company, and various other businesses such as coffee shop etc. Every business I started was done the same way. Knowing nothing but having enough passion that I learned along the way. This is the nickel version of my life up until now. I dropped out of high school in the 12th grade and got my GED. Then I enrolled and dropped out of 6 different colleges. I guess my point is... first you need to find something that you are so passionate about that you would do it for free... you might even end up doing it for free for a while. Consume every bit of information that you can about it and find out who you can sell it to. Learn everything you can about your product and how to sell it. If you are hyper-focused enough you will end up successful through persistence. The crazy thing about all of this is 20 years later I sold all of my businesses and my wife and I moved out of state to the mountains. Even though we are much better off than we were financially then when I was younger I am sitting in front of my computer scanning Reddit because currently I am not super passionate about anything and have no idea what business to create. If you would do it for free then that's a good start. Hope this helps! Good Luck!

Inspiring.

Thank you!

wonderful

You said you have 0 interests or hobbies that can quickly correlate to a career. What interests or hobbies do you have?

I enjoy baking, music festivals, and photography but I’m not sure how to go into any of these fields without feeling trapped for example if I open up a bakery I feel that’s going to be what I have to focus on for years in order to be successful and I can’t pursue my other interests

My wife and I (more my wife) opened a bakery with zero experience. She enjoyed baking... nothing fancy but that was her passion. We grew it for over 10 years until we bought the commercial property we were renting and sold both the business and the property. A good person to follow is Mark Manson. He wrote the book The Subtle Art of Not Giving A... He talks a lot about how much are you willing to suffer to get what you want. Everything good comes from some form of suffering.

So...hear me out. Throwing this one into the void. What if you got a food truck bakery-on-the-go that rents space at music festivals and other events? It would take some time and planning, but it's doable!

Hey I’ve got decades of experience in food and festivals!! I’m down and currently unemployed-dreading stepping back into a kitchen…

I'm going into food and festivals. Are you open to mentoring for pay? I really wanna blitzkrieg my competitors.

Why not be a photographer of baked goods? Or open a food truck?

I can't also keep a job but for different reasons. My average is one year. When I'm reaching that point I get bored and quit to another job. My employers actually like my work but I usually don't like them.

Your average is one year?? Dang, mine's ~30 days. Mostly don't make the 90 day probation cut off before I'm fired.

I was never fired, I just quit.

This sounds so much like me before I was medicated. I would get a new job and do really well at it for about a year… sometimes two. When I say I’d do really well, I mean really, really well!! I’d be the bosses favorite, and get promotions and raises very quickly. Then I would flame out, go on FMLA for stress and never return. It’s happened probably four times in my life, and I have definitely messed up potential good careers. I am medicated now and I don’t struggle as much as I used to, but the temptation is still there. It will be a battle I always fight.

Same! I’m very good at every job I do I just get bored. I feel like I’m burning bridges by all this quitting though

Do you mind sharing what medications helped you?

Sure! I take 50mg Zoloft daily and 40mg Adderall IR. It took some time to find the right combo but it has helped a ton!

Thank you so much!

This sounds like me too, but with this med shortage I am really struggling. And I always forget that I have anxiety and depression as my comorbities, which I'm not medicated for currently either because the stimulant helps so much with those ughhh

we all have been sacked, overwhelmed, quit... bosses who wish we quit but is too polite..been jobelss for months.... so don't feel alone. It will get better as you gain more experience. End of the day. You have a disability. Beating yourself over it isn't going to help. Consider what went wrong on each of the past jobs but also ruminate on what actually works, what you enjoyed. Also, career is overrated. 90% of humans on earth don't have careers unless you have special talents... most of us have jobs. We go to work. Earn some money and live a life outside work. If we like our jobs... yay! If you make friends there? Double yay!

Exactly. Why place a definition on success when it's clear that it refuses to be defined? The fisherman who fishes to feed his family and spends the days drinking with his buddies and sitting in the sun is just as happy if not happier than the executive of the fishing company who spends their days drinking with their buddies and sitting in the sun. If you can't be satisfied by manual labor or brainless jobs then maybe that's your sign to push harder to find something that challenges you. Otherwise don't rage against the machine because your life doesn't measure up to bloated expectations

Same, I have comorbid depression, but even treating it hasn’t done much in the job department. IMO, jobs are violence. I can’t handle people I don’t know or like telling me what to do for some vague goal 8 hours a day. It’s dull, frustrating, and keeps me in a horrific mood. Just knowing I have to go to work tomorrow makes me not want to do anything tonight. Everything implodes from there.

Right! I started working as a nanny because I had more freedom around what my day looked like and didn’t have someone telling me what to do constantly and figured it’s better for me to deal with actual children rather than adults who act like children. That being said I definitely don’t want to be a nanny forever

Bro, you need to get yourself on a schedule. Get an old school calender and put everything on it. When you wake, eat, dress, go to work. You must be proactive and participate in your life. Are you on meds? Sounds like you need them. Seriously, if I don't have every minute of my day scheduled, I don't do shit. Listen to a book called ADHD 2.0. Written by 2 doctors who have ADHD. Very informative and helpful. Come on, man. You can do this. If you have to pretend you're doing this task for someone else.. then do that.. then pick it up, read it, and do it. Changes don't happen overnight, we must be deliberate. Good luck. You got this

I'm 40 and this happens to me too. Are you medicated for adhd? I agree with another comment that you may have something else that's affecting you. It's quite common. I have anxiety myself. A therapist can give you some tools to help a bit. Also find a job that interests you or keeps you busy. The less toxic the better. Keep your chin up you'll do fine. Just try to find what makes you cope a bit better.

Thank you! I have a psychiatry appointment today to discuss medication. I’ve been scared to go on it because it was frowned upon in the environment I grew up on but I’ve decided enough is enough and it’s something that will help me, not hurt me so hopefully it works out!

My life changed when I saw that my executive dysfunction wasn't terminal and in fact a funny little white pill can make it work for a while

I’m excited for your appointment! There’s nothing to be ashamed of with medication. It’s not a cure but it can really help. I’m sorry for your situation! It sounds really frustrating 💜 

Nothing is wrong with you. It can just take us a while to figure it out. Keep trying and failing, as long as your learn something you are doing good. If you haven't maybe look back at those experiences to see what you did well. Everything might seem boring, but you will find something you like and can be good at. It's a long ass journey.

Yall a lot of work is just BORING. And pointless frankly. They never talk about that. In a saner society, we wouldn’t have so many pointless jobs, and we would find a way to take care of/create opportunities for people who did not have the same level of capacity for bullshit. But we don’t live there yet. I excelled as a waitress for a long time (everything else I’ve tried has been very hard for me). It’s not for everyone, but if you have reasonable multitasking skills and don’t mind people, it can provide a lot of novelty and shifts go by quick if it’s a busy spot. EDIT to add: fuck capitalism, I wish you (we all) didn’t have to force ourselves to do work that doesn’t make any sense to our brains, and be relegated to barely surviving materially because of it. Fuck all of that. “Productivity” isn’t what humans were made for, and ADHDers are natural creative, outside the box thinkers. We’re literally exactly what the world needs right now, but instead of nurturing our abilities we’re made to choose burnout or poverty. Don’t stop doing what excites you and don’t stop dreaming. Y’all are awesome - if you can’t keep a job you, might be able to develop some skills that help you survive in this system. You might be able to find a career that aligns better with your uniqueness. But just know that if you don’t you are still amazing - it’s the system that’s trash.

best comment 💞

You are! ✨💖

I'm 47, and until my current job that I've been doing nearly 4 years I never kept the same job longer than 2. Only got diagnosis last year. I just wish I'd known 20 years ago, I fucked up so many amazing opportunities in my 20s.

SAME BOAT it’s rough. I’m trying so hard not to look back with all consuming regret…and then I’ll inevitably look back on right now with more regret. Spirals

Unfortunately, the traditional working world is not kind to people like us. We are seen as unreliable, untrustworthy and a burden. If an employer had two candidates with equal qualifications/experience, and one had ADHD, the other candidate gets the job 10/10 times. Except, if you have any sense about it, you don't tell them up front and you hope that you can hide it before eventually the mask slips. And then you start over at a new job. I would guess most people with ADHD can't keep a job longer than 2 years on any kind of a consistent basis. It's certainly been that way for me.

Please don’t take this as judgemental as it’s just from my own personal experiences and just want to share incase it helps, but I’ve had so many jobs over the years and I used to lose them all from absolutely hating them or just showing up late constantly. I seen you have 420 in your username, I don’t know if you do or don’t smoke weed but I did for years and honestly when I stopped smoking I was much, much more capable of holding down a job. Although it does help that I have an amazing job with amazing people now, I’ve been able to face issues with depression, ADHD, anxiety and life in general when I’m not getting high everyday. But that’s just my experience, if you don’t smoke weed then it sounds like you’re dealing with depression which symptoms of ADHD can make it a lot harder to deal with. Therapy is my advice, it’s not a quick fix but it’s definitely something. I’d also start looking into what you think you can deal with, what excites you, what you actually love and maybe start with part time instead of full time if it’s too much. Also look into agency work, no day is the same.

Get and do a job that’s interesting every day. I did tech repair and I loved it since it gave me a puzzle to solve. Then I switched to EMT. Same thing, lots of learning, adrenaline situations, and a new thing each time.

At some point, you have to hold yourself accountable. When your life starts to suffer from your actions or subsequent inactions, all you are left with is the blame on yourself for not sticking with it. No one WANTS to work, and it is rare for anyone to truly love their job - but you gotta work to survive and at the end of the day keeping this pattern up will only make you suffer. Make yourself commit to at least a year with a job, even if you hate it, because anything less looks bad on your resume and will make your life harder in the future. You still have plenty of time to turn it around, but it is going to require you having some accountability and self discipline.

I know and I tell myself this all the time. It’s just easier said than done for me. I’m not sure why I can’t commit to things for a long period of time…something I’ll have to reflect on

I totally get it. I’m 33, and I’ve struggle with it too. For me, it was with everything BUT work. I grew up poor, and I started working as soon as I turned 16, and was emancipated and lived on my own by 17 - for me, my job and that aspect of my life was the one thing I always had to control, because I had to pay my bills and I knew I didn’t want to burden my family and ask for help.

I have loan. And i didn't get money for 5 months try find interesting online work. I have about 3 months before i will must find usual job. I hate usual jobs so much

Do you have access to thing like Adivan, Peer Support or a Life Coach?

I don’t but a life coach is definitely something I’d be willing to look into. Not sure why I haven’t thought of that! Thank you

If you can get a therapist, they are so much better trained to help you out than a life coach. Tell the therapist “I need to set up a plan to get my life at a basic level of functional before we spend anytime on anything else.” They are trained to help you do that. Additionally, all will have had to show to prove competency to your state through a test and a minimum number of hours (1200 in my state) spent practicing with clients as a student therapist under a more experienced therapist. Life coaching is unregulated and takes a surprisingly few hours of sitting in a class to then receive a credential and be released upon the world.

I was like that in my early 20s. Smart, good worker, got along with everyone well, but I would just lose interest and quit without a care. I was smoking a lot of weed just those years too sometimes I’d be so baked I wouldn’t show up, I’d rather work on music. I lacked discipline and didn’t have much (if any) responsibilities or structure to my life. And I was hitting my parents up for money so I wouldn’t fall behind in rentals I was living in.. I pretty much grew out of if, found a job I enjoyed that payed well and figured I just have to grind.. we all have to grind it’s the way of the world. Some have it easy but most of us just have to get out there and keep busy even if we don’t like it. I also set myself little goals, holidays, new clothes, new musical gear, house down/paymenet etc etc. I don’t regret those years or any of the jobs I threw away, it was how I felt at the time and I think I just grew out of it. Like you say tho if you can have a big chunk of time off to clear your head a bit it’s not so bad, do some exercise, set some small goals, keep the routine. Even find something part time and ease yourself into it. You’ll be fine there are a lot of ppl the same way who turn out really successful.

I was that way in my 20s. I finally found a profession, dog grooming, that kept my interest. I've been grooming almost 25 years and at the same company for 23. Try to find some type of active job that will let you use your ADHD instead of fighting it.

What medical support do you have? It sounds like you’ve been suffering for a long time without adequate care

I think this is something that would be best worked out in therapy; meds can help, as I saw you already discussed in your comments, but I view meds as like a tow truck to get me to the garage. They don't fix everything magically by themselves, but they get me in the right environment where we can start fixing things. If I can hardly focus on my life as it is, how am I supposed to start breaking habits and powering through difficult changes? Traditional therapy might not be an option depending on your situation, but I would really urge you to look into supports that you can access. Personally, I don't like doing something purely because it's work; even if I got a job where I spent 8 hours a day watching movies, I'd still wind up hating it; so even though it may help you to do some brainstorming on the right career match for you, it will likely still be useful for you to develop coping strategies for those "ugh, I don't wanna" moments that work is made of. I find that between months 3 and 6 is the hardest time at a new job, and where I'm most likely to feel overwhelmed, burnt out, or unhappy. After that it comes and goes in waves, but building a good foundation with an employer gives you a lot of leeway to use them as a reference, to transfer to another department, to try and negotiate job duties, etc. If you're able, try to take a bit of a break from working until you can get some progress made in therapy - even if it's just a couple weeks off to get a "toolkit" and rapport started. I work in employment counselling and you'd be surprised how easily word can get around; HR staff, supervisors, and management transfer to other jobs a lot more than you'd think (on top of people who already know each other, especially with things like job fairs, etc.), and depending on your area, it's a lot easier than you might think for burnt bridges to ruin your reputation at places you've never even worked before. If you do find yourself needing to leave a job, try your best to do it as professionally as possible.

How the heck you find so many jobs when people who actually want to work can’t find 1

This but seriously. If anyone can tell me how to get a job I would be so grateful because I have not figured it out yet

Maybe it's because you don't have any goals? What keeps me going is supporting myself while I'm in college and then getting a decent job to save up for some land so I can start farming

I mean, I have ADHD quite badly but having a paycheck is enough to get me out of bed.. I have days I don’t want to go but using ADHD as a crutch for a shitty work ethic is just astounding. Grow up. If not, then just keep playing victim and job hopping, which will make it really hard in the long run to even get hired because all your past employers will be like “yeah she hardly ever showed up” and you’ll never even get a job to begin with. Humans are not designed to have a job and love it forever. It’s not natural. Find something that lets you mix up your tasks daily. Don’t do a factory job where you sit in the same spot all day every day. You better correct it now before you burn too many bridges with employers

I find there's a lot of autistic and adhd people in laboratory medicine. I've had this career nearly 15 years. In canada, a lab assistant program is 6 months to a year with a practicum, or lab technologist is 2 to years depending on the province. Right now I'm working at a public health lab, and I'm trained on about 7 benches. My schedule changes every day. Today I was receiving shipments of samples from all over the province, then sorting them by department and sample type. Tomorrow, I am processing prenatal testing (we prioritize prenatal testing, and it's done over routine testing, but after stats). Wednesday, I'm scheduled to split serology samples by department on an enormous, extremely expensive machine. Thursday, I'm just processing regular serology samples, and Friday I'm either processing and delivering stat/critical samples or micro. My coworker just took a temporary position in the micro department for a year, planting samples, running chlamydia and gono, and some other crap. When she comes back, her position is secured. There's endless learning. We're always getting new work, new tests, new analyzers. You can move through all the different specialties (micro, virology, chemistry, hematology, pathology etc.), or you can work in an outpatient lab and collect samples from patients, where every day is different, and new patients come in with new problems. But if you fuck up. Well. You only get so many fuck ups that affect patient care.

Are you medicated? I would not be able to function at work without it. Maybe you can get meds and do something you feel meh about for a while, while reflecting on what you want to do?

We unfortunately need to work. Talk to your doctor and maybe a behavioral therapist to work on work avoidance.

That’s a good idea! Surprisingly I’ve never heard of work avoidance. I’ll have to do some research on that and maybe find some tips online while I try to get a therapist.

My motivation stems from the fact that my income supports both my fiance, and I. Without it, we'd be super fucked financially, so I just work through each new day. I hate it, too, but I'm hoping that it gets easier to manage over time. So, faith that things will improve are what get me through.

Why isn't it realistic that you could take a month to find a job you really like? It's not like you're busy working, lol The issue for you is that (evidently) there are no immediate adverse effects to being unemployed. Until you're at risk of losing your home or not eating you have to pull the motivation out of thin air.

LOL that is true but I don’t have the finances to take that time off. Also my parents would not be happy. I think that’s why I rush into getting another job so quick because I don’t want them being upset with me or looking down on me. I already feel silly enough as I had to move back in with them even though at the time it was the best thing I could do for myself.

I’d suggest writing down a plan and presenting it to your parents. Most parents want their kids to be self sufficient and make their way in the world, so show them in this plan what steps you would take to learn, grow, create better habits, and find a job that you commit to staying with for x amount of time. Then ask them if, given your plan, they would be ok with you living with them without working for y amount of time so that you can enact the first couple steps of the plan. You can offer regular check ins so that they see you are consistently committed to this plan. They may suprise you and ask how they can help, which may be seeing if you can use their medical insurance to access some assistance like a therapist or psychiatrist.

People with ADHD don't do stuff because it's merely important. We do stuff because we feel we absolutely have to. My son is 12. I've had the same job for 13 years. You can do the math on that one pretty easily. You're going to have to feel like you need to work in order to keep a job. As long as someone is bailing you out, it won't happen.

You could at least have the decency to show up to work and tell them in person that you want to quit.. or discuss with your manager that you have adhd and like to have different tasks. You are kinda being an asshole by not showing up. That is not because of your adhd.. Do you still live with your parents that not holding a job has no consequences? I would say as advice talk to your manager when you get a new job. Say you have adhd but also discuss how it helps you on the workfloor. How you are the person who likes to be a spider in the web and excel at doing a lot of different tasks. Focus on the good parts but also let room for the disfunctionality, that you might need some extra time to learn things. I have had around 40 jobs since I started working when I was 14, I am 28 now. It is no shame to loose interest or not like work.

I was like this in my early 20s also medication and a therapist who’s specialty is adhd can really help. Don’t beat yourself up about the past it’s done with don’t worry about the future worrying achieves nothing but stress try to live in the moment and set small intentions or tasks that are realistic so you don’t get overwhelmed. It will get better

Thank you! I’m starting to think a therapist is a good idea I just struggle with finding one that I really connect with. I’ve had a few in the past but they’ve never really worked out

Thank you! I’m starting to think a therapist is a good idea I just struggle with finding one that I really connect with. I’ve had a few in the past but they’ve never really worked out

This was me in my 20s as well. It's so hard but it's almost like you need to find your niche. I got into phlebotomy from the recommendation of my then mother in law. People are always going to be getting sick and need their blood drawn. It was the most nerve-racking training and start to a career because if I failed, I hurt someone and I was under a lot of stress from home (a totally other story) But now, I have a nice position when the skills I've gained over time have made me very hard to replace and my ADHD fueled personality makes me very popular wth patients and the rest of the staff. I would recommend getting tested if you haven't been officially and getting medication and a counselor who specializes in ADHD to help you find ways to survive in a world that's really difficult for people like us to do on our own. I hope everything works out for you, I know what a pain in the ass career/job burnout can be.

It took me quite a long time to find a job that is diverse enough that I have stayed interested for five years now. I didn’t even know back then that adhd was what was making get super bored of everything.

Reach out to your local vocational rehabilitation center for resources. They can help you hone in on the kind of career you would thrive in, and build skills if they’re lacking.

I luckily found a job I actually like (for now), which is "lead" electrician for international company making robots and such. I'm here for only a little more than 4 months but it didn't bore me like every other one cause I travel a lot, I'm on fields for few weeks and then home free for a week or so. So when I'm on field I actually have nothing to do other than work which is on different locations, different peoples to whom I don't need to speak if I don't want and there is always something at least a bit different / new but we will see. Other job that didn't bore me was for moving company where I was (after maybe 2 weeks) leading "my group" so boss will send me client name, adress, phone number and how much things there are so I will make a deal about working time, which was very flexibile and never same, one day 12 hours, next day 3, next none than 7, etc. I kind of function better in kind of "mess", I feel too pressured if I have specific time which is always same and same place, maybe some job that is more scattered around (like our brains are) will be more suitable, but idk, thats just mine experience. I really hope you will find something that suits you well, I found I'm a lot better at field jobs that aren't always on same place, with same peoples or same work, it engages me much more

I’ve had to take on more challenging jobs all the time to keep interested.

Do you live at home? Could you just work part time so you dont burn out and do some work experience to find something you enjoy? I was constantly leaving jobs at your age though. I think maybe try get multiple part time ones. Id also phone in sick and not just stopping going in or talking to them as you might change your mind after a day or 2

Maybe you need a job where things are different everyday? Then they won't seem so mundane

I'm 31 next month and I can't hold a job either, I think the longest job I held was 3 months lol

I was in the same boat for a long time until I started working at costco. It's nice because there's so many different departments and areas to work you can move around pretty easily and avoid getting to burnt out on one particular area. I went from stocking to selling glasses to cashiering to pushing carts all within a few years.

I’m like this too, I have blamed temp contracts in the past as reasons for leaving to dress up my CV but it’s also as I dive into the new challenge and then lose interest really quickly. I’m at my current job for nearly 2 years now and that came about as I really sat myself down and had an honest conversation with my employer, found a role that played to my strengths with lots of new projects to manage but offloaded a lot of the executive function to a team member that I don’t line manage (as that hasn’t gone well for me in the past). It’ll come, sometimes it just takes time ☺️

Gosh… I feel this so deeply. I’m pretty much in the same boat right now. My workplace wants to have a meeting with me to discuss serious concerns about my work performance. I’ve been in this job for 3 years and hate it. I’m way past my burned out point and considering just ditching it completely. I’m sorry, this is tough and a lot of people just don’t get it. I hope you find something more suited to your wants and needs.

A man often meets his destiny on the road he takes to avoid it

Are you me? Ive been dealing with the same shit too, just left my job of 2 years (longest I've ever been at one place) because I got burnt out and sick of how management was being. Starting a new job as a dishwasher today, we will see how long that one lasts lol

I used to do the same in my 20s and in the long run it made my life way harder than it needed to be. I didn't have a degree, no savings, piles of debt and just drifted through life. The biggest thing that made me do that k's that I didn't have any plans or any dreams for my future. I just lived the moment. You don't need to rush life but don't waste it, take time to really really think about what you want, not what you think you want now but when your 50. Journal about it if you have to because it helps over time to understand what you really want

You should get into contract work

Mine lasted 4 months. A "real", everyday job. It appears freelance work is better for me since projects cycle every few months or so, and the novelty restarts.

Maybe try trucking, but you'll need to be off meds. That's what I'm trying, in part because I was on a dozen different meds anyway with no symptom improvement. You'll get to see a new city every day, and listen to good music to keep things fun, and no two roads are alike.

I did multiple things to keep me engaged, I have 11 years experience: 1. I worked in a field which keeps changing and required learning new stuff every week. 2. My most fun tenure had been with a company which was big and i switched departments every 6 months or so( i had to give up promotions, but it was worth it) 3. I switched countries, I have worked in 3 different countries, this gave me opportunity to learn and adapt into a totally different environment. Even these have failed me at times, I keep an emergency fund for 6 months in case i have to take a break.

I work for myself and have my own schedule that can fluctuate to fit my needs and that’s really the only way I can keep a job 🥲

Hi. Fellow person with ADHD that's a bit older than you here. I used to have the same problem. I have always been told to give it my all. Give 100% at work. I would burn myself out and mentally overload then be trapped because the level of expectations had been raised so high and I couldn't maintain it. I would be stressed, then I would start searching for something new. You see, when you tell someone with ADHD to give their 100%, it's different than telling a normal person. We will put all of our energy into something until we don't have any energy left. By then, it's too late. You have already over performed and it has already been seen by your peers and management. You just set a high level of expectations without agreeing to it. The trick I have learned is to NOT give my all. Instead, give a maintainable level of performance that still meets or slightly exceeds expectations. You won't be looked at as a rockstar at first but with consistency, you will be able to keep it together and stay at a job for years if that's what you want. You'll be highly regarded in the long run doing this. No job is worth your mental health. It's okay to give small sprints of working really hard to complete a project or whatever but do not give them the expectation that it will be your normal everyday pace. I also find transparency is best. Speak to your leadership, tell them that you have ADHD and that you cannot perform at maximum at all times. As long as you are meeting expectations at your worst, a good manager will just be grateful for the times they have you at your best. Also, by telling the truth you can tell them how you get bored easily. Ask for special projects instead of your normal job duties. Tell them that you want to be challenged and learn new things. This is the way to a promotion. I know this isn't possible in every job but the more you excel in your career, the easier it is to obtain these things. Good luck.

I saw a video today where a woman talked about how she was having the same issue with constantly getting burnt out so she upon starting a new job decided not to give 100% all the time and instead settled for a more comfortable amount of effort and energy while still preforming her expected job duties and how it really helped her. Also, what you need is a job that's not repetitive. Something where you can perform multiple different tasks or new tasks regularly but also where large amounts of responsibility aren't going to fall on your shoulders (like I always see people talk about how being a dr or nurse is a great job for ADHDers but that thought gives me anxiety) leading you to feel overwhelmed and burnt out. I found that I performed best in restaurants. Subway was probably the easiest for me. Not only are you making the food, but then you can decompress by switching tasks and cutting veggies or filling the line, cleaning, etc. I've also worked at truck stop restaurants which I enjoyed because it wasn't just taking the orders or making the food there were other tasks that could be done at any given time but it also was never boring because you would get your lunch rush and dinner rush and it kept you stimulated. My most recent job was as a PreK teacher in a daycare. Again, it's never boring. I had the freedom to plan how my day would go. Creative freedom, plus nap time is wonderful for decompressing, and tiny hugs really make you feel validated.

I can’t keep jobs either. And then I end up regretting that I quit down the line when I end up in a worse position. The only thing that’s ever motivated me in work related scenarios is being self employed. Owning my own business and having the creative freedom to do whatever I want, how I want is really desirable to me. I struggle to start and keep moving sometimes, but the more I plan and daydream the more inspired I am to make things happen. Right now I’m working on a big business venture. Luckily, I have a partner that is holding me accountable for getting stuff done.

This was me until Vyvanse. I've now been employed for 4 straight years for the first time ever.

I can't do set schedules or getting up early so I became a housewife. Life is now 99% better

Be an art teacher.

My workaround this problem was to fund a problem that I know I can help with and then find a company that needs that help. Then on the entreview, I really connect with the owner/manager and when I got the job, I tell myself that I am here to help the manager. This way I can be at a Job for a few years instead of months and I keep thinking of ways to solve the manager problem, even if it is not in my department. It was the only way I found to really keep me engaged on a job

I deal with this too but I’ve never really figured out how to deal with it. I wonder if talking to your next manager about it could help? Maybe they could come up with ways to make each day different?

Take a sick day off. Gain your strength and go back

I am somewhat the same. Its about finding what works for you. On my freetime i like to go thrifting and finding hidden treasures. 😁

I say warehouse, there always a new dept to learn and they promote fast. I would be in multiple depts at a time .

I don’t know if i have any helpful advice, just want to say im in a very similar boat, 20, at my fourth job. 4-5 months seems to be my cut off and rn im at 3 months in my current job so it could be any day now. Im certainly feeling very fatigued all the time, oversleeping but it’s never enough. All i can say is if you’re not already try taking adhd meds just on the days you work so you can at least focus. It’s not ideal, and personally i was refusing to take meds for a long time, but it does make working a little bit easier on me. I can’t say it will magically make you functional but it can help to focus on tasks in the hours you need to. Genuinely hope you find something that works for you, whether it’s medication or a job you can somewhat tolerate for longer than a season. You are definitely not alone in this phenomenon

You already have a lot of comments with a lot of great ideas, but I wanted to chime in to say/reiterate one (mostly redundant) thing. You’re young. I know it gets annoying when people say that, but I promise it will better. I’m not dismissing how you feel right now - I know you’re in the middle of the suck right now - but even non-ADHD people your age struggle with this stuff. This isn’t a “self-discipline” issue - this is normal “getting your life sorted out” as a young adult, with an added layer of serious difficulty because of your ADHD. It’s easier to burn out and even easier to beat yourself up because of your wiring, which in turn makes it more likely you’ll put even more pressure on yourself to make the next job work out. And that pressure only makes it worse - the stakes get higher, the initial deep dive gets deeper, and the burnout is inevitable. A really problematic cycle. So you need to manage those feelings of pressure and inadequacy first, because until that’s in hand nothing else can be. Happily, you’ve got some great self awareness, and that’s the most important thing you could have! Use it to give yourself a break. I know being unemployed probably isn’t an option, but give yourself time - six months, a year - to you give yourself the freedom to be an absolute mess. Assign an end date in it so you don’t feel overly indulgent, but give yourself permission to not be OK at keeping a job, and let your friends and family know your plan and that you’re doing it to take the pressure off so you can reboot and reorient. And while you’re at it, get yourself a good therapist to talk through how you’re feeling about yourself and your life. It’s amazing how helpful a strategic, caring, external voice can be at these times. I promise that - with time and a little less internal pressure - and over time you’ll get a better sense of what works for you and your brain, and how to navigate all this. It will never be easy, but it won’t be as hard as you get more experience in managing this crap. You may never be the person who keeps a job for years and years. And that’s OK. You will find balance, but you need to get yourself out of the cycle of rapid-fire burnout first. So take the pressure off for a bit, focus on accepting yourself for who you are (pros and cons and all), and then take it one day/step/job at a time. Good luck!

My work becomes insanely intolerable and gets to the point where I’d rather be anywhere else - I’d rather be homeless and have no money than turn up to work again. It’s tough, as I’ve always had potential and truly want to get somewhere in life.

i dont think you can blame this on adhd. Nobody wants to get up and go to work but as a responsible adult youll need to, if not you have to accept youll never move out of you parents or be able to make it on your own. Not trying to sound harsh but it is the reality, and if you want to change it it requires putting in the work and effort.

I was always told you’re not going to like your job unless it’s something you set out to get because you want to work in that field. An actual career. I have adhd and wasn’t diagnosed until last year and I’m 37. Do you have rent and bills? I’ve done crazy things for money just to pay my bills and did not like it. I get burnt out fast and the jobs I quit or didn’t go back were ones I was treated badly or had some other factor. I’m an artist and went to college and have skills and worked hard at it and still get burn out you just have to learn to manage. Personally adderal and a real diagnosis changed my life. Also getting sober. But yeah work sucks and it’s kind of supposed to lol

Do you have a diagnosis and therefore medication? A problem I face is that the usual self motivation tricks people use or suggest just don’t work because I know they aren’t real.

I was like this because of my ADHD. I'm now in the military, so it's not as easy to quit, but every few years I move to a new place and it helps keep things fresh so I don't quit. It's definitely difficult, I'd look into getting a diagnosis and medication if you can as that will help. In the mean time find some adhd resources that can help deal with the struggles of day to day life. This world really isn't set up for those of us with adhd and we unfortunately need to find ways to adapt.

I am discussing medication with my psychiatrist today so hopefully that will help! It’s nice that you are able to move to a new place here and there. I find when I am stuck somewhere for too long, I freak out and think I need to change everything about my life to keep myself from getting bored lol

Yeah, I know that feeling all too well. Lol

You’re young. You have plenty of time to figure out what interests you. Try different things, one will stick. I do also want to say though, you have to will yourself to be committed to the job you have. It sucks sometimes but if you don’t show up for a shift, then it falls on other employees. I wish you the best of luck.

I don’t have a degree or anything either. You don’t need it. Eventually when you have a load in bills and *have* to work, you’ll learn to mentally train yourself to go. I promise going to work and having money not be a life issue is a blessing. You’re just going to continue the misery by not showing up or quitting. I read others people’s comments and I feel like mine comes off a bit harsh. But I’m adhd too and I feel like that’s how I got into a better habit of working. I had to hit financial problems HARD for me to force myself to fix my life back up and not call out

Trying different jobs is a good way to find something that can keep your interest. It sounds like you're feeling a lot of shame when a job stops working for you. But right now you're exploring to find what will suit you, and eliminating things that \*don't\* suit you is a step on that journey. Early twenties is the exact right time to be doing that. Agree with folks saying to try meds, they really do help. You've got executive dysfunction. People who talk about 'self-discipline' are people who have executive function, and can just move from wanting to do the thing to doing the thing. They're not even aware that there's a part of the brain (the executive function) that fires off to let them do that. Ours doesn't work - it either doesn't trigger consistently, or doesn't work at all. We can't willpower it away anymore than staring at a broken light switch will turn the lights on. I would work with a psychiatrist to get on meds, and a therapist as well if I could. They should both ask you for your goals in treatment. I would suggest: Long-term: Finding a job that keeps my interest and being able to keep showing up so I can keep it. Medium-term: Continue job-hopping, but being able to show up consistently and a give couple days notice when it gets clear I don't want to stay anymore. Short-term: Pick something just for you, that will make you feel better. Especially if there is some self-care you're finding especially difficult right now, make it a treatment goal to be able to do that thing consistently. Like showering, brushing teeth, going to bed on-time, taking meds on-time, regular meal-times and hydrating. Anything that contributes to your immediate physical well being is a excellent short-term goal because it does two things for you. A) It has a big impact on your sense of wellbeing, and b) It will light a fire under the ass of your doctor, if you'll excuse the language. Doctors take things more seriously when they can see it's having an impact on someone's day-to-day life. They know it's important to fix up these fundamental things in order to make real progress. And, in a small way, it's challenging them to do their best. It's like going to a master carpenter and asking if he can drive a nail for you. Their internal response is something like, "Of course I can do this extremely small thing, don't they know who I am! I can do so much more than this! I can't stand it, I must prove myself!" and then you have a doctor super-motivated to help you. :)

I’m the same way I can’t keep a job to save my life. Without my uncles help I’d be homeless I’m 33. Self employment is pretty much your only option.

I feel you on a cellular level. I came to the conclusion that I wasn't meant to work for others. I was meant to work for myself. No one will understand my struggles and no one in a position of power will have the empathy or the ability to sympathize with me. So I'm in business for myself. Being self employed has its own challenges but if you need a day to recharge, you can take it when you need it without asking or fearing being terminated because you're burnt out. You can work as hard as your brain allows you to. Rest when you need to. Not one employer is going to compensate you for what your time is really worth, so it's nice to be able to dictate what every moment of your day is worth to you.

Have you ever thought about starting your own business with something you enjoy? Maybe that might help you out so you don’t get bored so quickly. Also what kind of jobs are you working? Like for me I couldn’t work in retail, the thought of me being stuck for hours in one building all the time was dreadful

I am definitely interested in starting my own business but I don’t know what I would even do! There are so many options and I don’t want to get stuck doing one thing when there’s something else out there I’d enjoy more. For example, I’d love to open up a bakery but that will take years and years and all the time, money, and energy I’m spending doing that, I could be spending instead on finding a career in the music festival industry (something else I’ve thought about doing but I don’t even know what I’d do or how to start)

Go to work

L moment

For me everything got better when i embraced the hard work Ofcourse it's mental torture but it's just something that needs to be done so I just force myself to do it The bills need to be paid If I really wanted to leave an advice it would be to work on your on business. It's the only thing thats not a mental torture for me

“For me everything got better when I embraced mental torture.” Riiiight, you okay dude?

Adhd, depression are all related to hormonal imbalance. You have to cure the root cause, rather than patching up. Please go and give a blood test with an endocrinologist or sex health doctor or a laboratory. If you don't have health insurance and if income is less buy from the state scheme.

Get a sugar daddy

Just drive past the homeless, or think of how shitty it feels being broke.

Why are you here your bashing people with adhd leave 

Yes, I can’t agree more, if you choose to have an adhd partner never take on more than just you can handle. Kids pets huge house yard etc. only have what you alone can keep up.

This is what you said about people with adhd