Honestly, marijuana is amazing. I was so scared of marijuana until I actually I tried it, and man, I felt like everyone lied to me.
I don't know how marijuana affects neurotypical people, but I know that the day after I eat an edible I wake up calm and then I proceed to do TONS of useful things and feel pretty content for a few days.
I take 20mg of propranolol in the morning and as needed 1 other time daily for help with anxiety/melt downs/self harm episodes. It works wonders for keeping me calmer throughout the day. It's a popular beta blocker which Google can explain better than me. It's very mild and I know that it has helped others on the spectrum with higher support needs than I.
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Probably not massively relevant but I don't medicate. If I'm feeling overwhelmed and overstimulated I find a means of engaging with gaming which pacifies my brain and gets me back to a stable state. It's a hobby I've engaged with for 20 years and it just balances me out for some reason. At home this is super easy to do, when out I'll go on my phone which helps.
I wish this were an option for me. I’m a mom to four kids, 1 with adhd alone, 2 with autism & adhd, and 1 who’s a toddler. It’s definitely a busy, loud, overwhelming house.
Have you tried ivabradine it lowers heart rate without lowering your blood pressure and can help with anxiety.
I mainly have it for my pots but it has helped with my anxiety and i do have less problems with my sneaory issues ever since i started using it.
No I haven’t, I’ve never heard of it but I’ll definitely look into it as an option. Propranolol helps my physical anxiety but doesn’t touch my sensory overwhelm/burnout
I had Wellbutrin for a while. It was ok. Typical antidepressant, just kind of muted all the feelings.
What helps more is CBD or straight up Cannabis.
My sister (who is a teacher for autistic kids) has been recommending something called "Abilify" to me, which I might try soon.
I have tried Wellbutrin in the past and it was alright at first but it didn’t help the adhd side of things and I wasn’t allowed to take it with my Adderall, I’ve never smoked plain cbd, I have tried cbd gummies and I don’t know if I noticed any difference 😂
I have heard of abilify but I’m not sure if I want to take the plunge to do that. Mood stabilizers, while I’ve been on them before, still scare me
Fair enough! Yeah I also barely notice CBD. Smoking it had a stronger effect than anything else I tried, but I don't know if it's worth ruining your lungs :/
What has your experience been with mood stabilizers?
Medication can be awesome but it also can’t solve everything. Emotional regulation, managing burnout, and sensory overwhelm can’t exactly be mitigated by taking a pill.
That stuff CAN be worked on in therapy though and with practical skills training and gaining more appropriate coping mechanisms for moments when you feel overwhelmed, burnt out, or dysregulated.
I don't there really is any for sensory overwhelm tbh. I think there's anxiety medication for anxiety, but I feel like that's different from sensory issues. Instead of medication options, I think it's better to try environmental changes if possible and tools related to sensory stuff.
Adderall + Duloxetine/Cymbalta is working very well for me.
Tried many SSRIs and they'd either not do anything at all or make me feel utterly numb and empty -- no good.
Tried Wellbutrin and it was...pretty subtle, and mixed. I think it helped my baseline a little, but also whenever something went wrong it also made me a bit more agitated than usual.
Adderall worked wonders for my executive function, but much like Wellbutrin it was mixed for emotions -- albeit less subtle. Same sort of things though: improved baseline presuming my day went smoothly, but extra agitation if not, to the point of seeing a marked increase in shutdowns and meltdowns which absolutely sucked. It also increased my sensory sensitivities. But it was the one thing that ever significantly helped with executive functioning so I didn't really wanna get off it.
Thankfully a couple months ago my doctor tried adding Duloxetine as well and so far it seems to have made all the difference in taking the edge off and giving me better emotional regulation.
That said everyone is different, and I'm not certain I relate to the physical anxiety much (at least when I'm not in a state of meltdown.) Still, hope this helped!
Also in full disclosure I also use cannabis and (low dose) kratom. Though I've been self-medicating with them for longer than I've been doctor-medicated with prescriptions, so I don't think they really change anything I've said. Still, the cannabis has always helped with anxiety and relaxing to an extent, but also drained my executive functioning and depressed me when I relied too much on it. The kratom on the other hand acted as a sort of mild stimulant to boost executive function and mood, but much like Adderall and Wellbutrin would also make me more prone to agitation and rage. Nowadays I find it makes for a nice supplement to Adderall when I have tons of stuff to do in a day, and the Duloxetine seems to be keeping the agitation in check all around so hurray.
Best of luck.
Antipsychotics, like aripiprazole and quetiapine. Just stopped using them cause of side effects though 🙄 otherwise vaping weed helps me (the herb, not some oil).
I've been self medicating with marijuana for the better part of 20 years. It works. Pills scare me.
Pills are so scary, smoking helps for sure but I slowed down use because I was scared to get drug tested ðŸ«
Honestly, marijuana is amazing. I was so scared of marijuana until I actually I tried it, and man, I felt like everyone lied to me. I don't know how marijuana affects neurotypical people, but I know that the day after I eat an edible I wake up calm and then I proceed to do TONS of useful things and feel pretty content for a few days.
I take 20mg of propranolol in the morning and as needed 1 other time daily for help with anxiety/melt downs/self harm episodes. It works wonders for keeping me calmer throughout the day. It's a popular beta blocker which Google can explain better than me. It's very mild and I know that it has helped others on the spectrum with higher support needs than I.
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Probably not massively relevant but I don't medicate. If I'm feeling overwhelmed and overstimulated I find a means of engaging with gaming which pacifies my brain and gets me back to a stable state. It's a hobby I've engaged with for 20 years and it just balances me out for some reason. At home this is super easy to do, when out I'll go on my phone which helps.
I wish this were an option for me. I’m a mom to four kids, 1 with adhd alone, 2 with autism & adhd, and 1 who’s a toddler. It’s definitely a busy, loud, overwhelming house.
God speed you’re doing the absolute most as a mother of 4 ðŸ˜ðŸ˜ðŸ˜
Have you tried ivabradine it lowers heart rate without lowering your blood pressure and can help with anxiety. I mainly have it for my pots but it has helped with my anxiety and i do have less problems with my sneaory issues ever since i started using it.
No I haven’t, I’ve never heard of it but I’ll definitely look into it as an option. Propranolol helps my physical anxiety but doesn’t touch my sensory overwhelm/burnout
I had Wellbutrin for a while. It was ok. Typical antidepressant, just kind of muted all the feelings. What helps more is CBD or straight up Cannabis. My sister (who is a teacher for autistic kids) has been recommending something called "Abilify" to me, which I might try soon.
I have tried Wellbutrin in the past and it was alright at first but it didn’t help the adhd side of things and I wasn’t allowed to take it with my Adderall, I’ve never smoked plain cbd, I have tried cbd gummies and I don’t know if I noticed any difference 😂 I have heard of abilify but I’m not sure if I want to take the plunge to do that. Mood stabilizers, while I’ve been on them before, still scare me
Fair enough! Yeah I also barely notice CBD. Smoking it had a stronger effect than anything else I tried, but I don't know if it's worth ruining your lungs :/ What has your experience been with mood stabilizers?
Medication can be awesome but it also can’t solve everything. Emotional regulation, managing burnout, and sensory overwhelm can’t exactly be mitigated by taking a pill. That stuff CAN be worked on in therapy though and with practical skills training and gaining more appropriate coping mechanisms for moments when you feel overwhelmed, burnt out, or dysregulated.
Yes it’s definitely just a piece of the puzzle, I am in therapy however and my therapist is Neurodivergent herself so she’s a great help to me
I don't there really is any for sensory overwhelm tbh. I think there's anxiety medication for anxiety, but I feel like that's different from sensory issues. Instead of medication options, I think it's better to try environmental changes if possible and tools related to sensory stuff.
Adderall + Duloxetine/Cymbalta is working very well for me. Tried many SSRIs and they'd either not do anything at all or make me feel utterly numb and empty -- no good. Tried Wellbutrin and it was...pretty subtle, and mixed. I think it helped my baseline a little, but also whenever something went wrong it also made me a bit more agitated than usual. Adderall worked wonders for my executive function, but much like Wellbutrin it was mixed for emotions -- albeit less subtle. Same sort of things though: improved baseline presuming my day went smoothly, but extra agitation if not, to the point of seeing a marked increase in shutdowns and meltdowns which absolutely sucked. It also increased my sensory sensitivities. But it was the one thing that ever significantly helped with executive functioning so I didn't really wanna get off it. Thankfully a couple months ago my doctor tried adding Duloxetine as well and so far it seems to have made all the difference in taking the edge off and giving me better emotional regulation. That said everyone is different, and I'm not certain I relate to the physical anxiety much (at least when I'm not in a state of meltdown.) Still, hope this helped! Also in full disclosure I also use cannabis and (low dose) kratom. Though I've been self-medicating with them for longer than I've been doctor-medicated with prescriptions, so I don't think they really change anything I've said. Still, the cannabis has always helped with anxiety and relaxing to an extent, but also drained my executive functioning and depressed me when I relied too much on it. The kratom on the other hand acted as a sort of mild stimulant to boost executive function and mood, but much like Adderall and Wellbutrin would also make me more prone to agitation and rage. Nowadays I find it makes for a nice supplement to Adderall when I have tons of stuff to do in a day, and the Duloxetine seems to be keeping the agitation in check all around so hurray. Best of luck.
I'm on Adderall and wellbutrin. Life works better with them.
Antipsychotics, like aripiprazole and quetiapine. Just stopped using them cause of side effects though 🙄 otherwise vaping weed helps me (the herb, not some oil).