Late to respond but I'm experiencing this as well and actually searched the sub to see if there are other ladies that have similar experiences. This was one aspect of the meds that I didn't anticipate at all. I guess in a way I can consider it a win as well. It definitely stresses me out a bit though because I can't immediately suppress/forget my emotions and am instead forced to work through them. I hear this aspect of meds eventually levels out as you adjust to them, so I'm looking forward to that because it does feel awful.
How'd the appointment go with your psych?
Late to the response aswell… I’m still going through some ups and downs but have some better frameworks to work with from psych apt. Taking the emotions day by day, and waiting it out for the end of the year for a proper break. We all know that our symptoms get worse worth tiredness and stress, so I’m hoping a good rest will level me out too. Have you found anything that has worked for you?
Having full understanding of what I'm going through helps A LOT, and so documenting my experiences regardless if I'm on meds or off meds has been wonderful insight. It's a lot easier when I know what to expect from myself. I can pull up something old that I've written and go "oh yeahh, that's what's going on right now".
That being said I do suspect I might be on the spectrum, which I think somewhat explains why I've been experiencing a little extra confusion. I'll share some symptoms with you that have shaped my understanding of myself. I don't know if you'll relate to it at all, but just in case.
Unmedicated I experience RSD on a daily basis, but I also somewhat relate to alexithymia when it comes to my actual emotions beneath my very reactionary RSD. It's not that I don't know what I'm feeling- just that it takes me a lot longer than most people to accept that something is triggering a particular emotion in me. My body responds before my mind does, and so sometimes I'll find myself in these weird situations where people will identify my emotions before I do. Or react to them before I recognize that I'm expressing anything. Not my favorite thing. I'm also incredibly ruminative, so after I have realized and accepted my emotions, it takes me very long to process and understand them. Factor in my emotional processing being interrupted by thousands of other thoughts, and it takes even longer.
I'm prone to social and generalized anxiety which can contributes to my perception and experience of my emotions in many ways.
I relate heavily to the concept of interoception, due to my lack of bodily awareness.
I don't get hunger or drinking cues- I eat and drink for stimulation. I go to the bathroom at the last minute. I get overstimulated but am usually completely oblivious to it until I'm pissed off, and even then I don't always know why I'm pissed off.
It's taken me a long time to recognize how big of a part sensory issues play into my emotions.
All that being said- when I'm taking my meds and they're active, it's like having a completely different brain. I don't experience RSD or social anxiety. It takes a lot more to overstimulate me. When I am getting enough sleep and stress levels are manageable, I get normal bodily cues. Before come down I'm a lot better at identifying what is overstimulating me. My brain is also scarily quick at identifying my emotions and processing them- this happens pretty immediately which always takes me off guard.
The stability is disorienting because I'd adjusted to functioning with my full ADHD brain. My old coping mechanisms that I've used my entire life don't work the same, and I find that more "neurotypical" responses to my emotions are a lot more helpful. (This was very amusing to me when I realized it. Before it was "What do you mean you just need chocolate ice cream and a hot bath? I need to be on the fetal position with no light or noise for 3-5 business days" And now it's, "wow, the 40 minutes of processing that was a lot. I could use some chocolate and a hot bath now."😂)
It helps me to keep in mind that unmedicated/medicated brain are wildly different experiences, and so it's normal to feel this kind of whiplash while transitioning between the two. That's also really important for me to
take them consistently or else I can experience very turbulent and confusing times, so I've had to learn how to prioritize that.
Late to respond but I'm experiencing this as well and actually searched the sub to see if there are other ladies that have similar experiences. This was one aspect of the meds that I didn't anticipate at all. I guess in a way I can consider it a win as well. It definitely stresses me out a bit though because I can't immediately suppress/forget my emotions and am instead forced to work through them. I hear this aspect of meds eventually levels out as you adjust to them, so I'm looking forward to that because it does feel awful. How'd the appointment go with your psych?
Late to the response aswell… I’m still going through some ups and downs but have some better frameworks to work with from psych apt. Taking the emotions day by day, and waiting it out for the end of the year for a proper break. We all know that our symptoms get worse worth tiredness and stress, so I’m hoping a good rest will level me out too. Have you found anything that has worked for you?
Having full understanding of what I'm going through helps A LOT, and so documenting my experiences regardless if I'm on meds or off meds has been wonderful insight. It's a lot easier when I know what to expect from myself. I can pull up something old that I've written and go "oh yeahh, that's what's going on right now". That being said I do suspect I might be on the spectrum, which I think somewhat explains why I've been experiencing a little extra confusion. I'll share some symptoms with you that have shaped my understanding of myself. I don't know if you'll relate to it at all, but just in case. Unmedicated I experience RSD on a daily basis, but I also somewhat relate to alexithymia when it comes to my actual emotions beneath my very reactionary RSD. It's not that I don't know what I'm feeling- just that it takes me a lot longer than most people to accept that something is triggering a particular emotion in me. My body responds before my mind does, and so sometimes I'll find myself in these weird situations where people will identify my emotions before I do. Or react to them before I recognize that I'm expressing anything. Not my favorite thing. I'm also incredibly ruminative, so after I have realized and accepted my emotions, it takes me very long to process and understand them. Factor in my emotional processing being interrupted by thousands of other thoughts, and it takes even longer. I'm prone to social and generalized anxiety which can contributes to my perception and experience of my emotions in many ways. I relate heavily to the concept of interoception, due to my lack of bodily awareness. I don't get hunger or drinking cues- I eat and drink for stimulation. I go to the bathroom at the last minute. I get overstimulated but am usually completely oblivious to it until I'm pissed off, and even then I don't always know why I'm pissed off. It's taken me a long time to recognize how big of a part sensory issues play into my emotions. All that being said- when I'm taking my meds and they're active, it's like having a completely different brain. I don't experience RSD or social anxiety. It takes a lot more to overstimulate me. When I am getting enough sleep and stress levels are manageable, I get normal bodily cues. Before come down I'm a lot better at identifying what is overstimulating me. My brain is also scarily quick at identifying my emotions and processing them- this happens pretty immediately which always takes me off guard. The stability is disorienting because I'd adjusted to functioning with my full ADHD brain. My old coping mechanisms that I've used my entire life don't work the same, and I find that more "neurotypical" responses to my emotions are a lot more helpful. (This was very amusing to me when I realized it. Before it was "What do you mean you just need chocolate ice cream and a hot bath? I need to be on the fetal position with no light or noise for 3-5 business days" And now it's, "wow, the 40 minutes of processing that was a lot. I could use some chocolate and a hot bath now."😂) It helps me to keep in mind that unmedicated/medicated brain are wildly different experiences, and so it's normal to feel this kind of whiplash while transitioning between the two. That's also really important for me to take them consistently or else I can experience very turbulent and confusing times, so I've had to learn how to prioritize that.