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"…why, within a month or two, people will say, “It's transformed me.” Non-stimulants work slowly, a bit more like, antidepressants, and take up to six months to take full effect…
Certainly, in the US and Canada. where I feel thev're more advanced with their ADHD treatments, people often use stimulant and non-stimulant medications… / One thing I've realised is that like any chronic condition, even physical health…"

"…conditions, treatment is a mixture of chemistry and environment. Massively, actually. There has to be a chemical underpinning going on here. Otherwise, medication wouldn't do didly squat, right? Medication is very effective, but it's definitely not the only answer. When I started this work I thought, “Oh, just take the stimulants: that's what you do.” It's not enough."

"…neurotransmitters at the level of the brain, which is a very simplified way of looking at this. Interestingly, the research shows there might be other chemicals involved in ADHD as well. / Non-stimulants such as atomoxetine and guanfacine, work by increasing noradrenaline levels. Stimulants and non-stimulants work in slightly different ways, primarily regarding rates of action. Stimulants work quickly. That's…"

"…noradrenaline levels, particularly in the brain's frontal area. There are two chemical types: methylphenidate and amphetamine-based stimulants. Methylphenidate primarily work by blocking the reuptake of dopamine and noradrenaline. Amphetamine-based stimulants will block the reuptake of dopamine and noradrenaline and increase production. But overall, both will have the same effect of increasing those two…"

DR SHYAMAL MASHRU: "Patients tell me, “I don't want to be on a stimulant, my brain feels overstimulated as it is.” If you look at it from a medical perspective, the brain in ADHD is in a state of chronic understimulation or quick to boredom, and that's where I look at the term ‘stimulant’, so it's not the way we'd usually look at it in English. Stimulants are primarily designed to increase your dopamine and…"

"…ask, “What problem am I trying to solve, and can I reduce my need for a solution to this problem?” If you're doing something because of stress, don't worry about the habit; reduce your stress so your need for the solution decreases… It doesn't feel like it has a profound effect in the moment, but over time, it becomes something with real substance in your life."

"Whenever things aren't going to plan with food, one of my clients thinks, “What's the most mature and intelligent choice that I can make right now?” That's also completely changed things for her in other areas. / When things are on heavy rotation, we build a tolerance to them—even sugar. Diversify your tools if one thing has been doing the heavy lifting for a long time. Look at all these things as solutions and…"

"When the pandemic hit, it was a perfect storm of events. Melbourne went in and out of lockdown for two years. My eldest started to have some really big emotions, and I just remember sitting there watching him and thinking, “Fuck, I would love to do that. I'd love to be able to just lose my shit,” but I know that's not socially acceptable. That's when I realised I was trying to teach him skills I don't have."

"…anxiety. I hate that feeling of stress. If I can do something that prevents it from a long-term perspective, I will put it into place — so long as I remember."

"…of my friends who don't have these mechanisms. When I talk to them about it, they're like, “I never thought of that.” But how do people deal with their money otherwise? If my money were all in one place, I would spend it and be in a massive heap of trouble… If everything is in a bank account or a spreadsheet, I know I'm organised. I'm much more comfortable, and I have less…"

"…because it means that I don't have to be organised; I just have to do it once in a while. If I put it by, the bank does everything else. I suspect it's part of my autistic tendencies that I need to have some control. No one else is going to help me with finances and I cannot find myself in a position where I can't afford something or other… Little things like that mean I'm never caught unawares. / I look at some…"

"I can only ensure that my money is where it's supposed to be by having multiple bank accounts… Once a year, I'll sit down with my spreadsheet and look at my current financial situation, incomings and outgoings, mortgage, car, whatever it is. I need to ensure I've got that amount of money… out of my bank account, so I cannot spend it. Otherwise, I will find myself in a pickle… These coping mechanisms help me…"

"…that I knew how to behave correctly or what might get a strange reaction and lead me to think, “Shit, I've done something wrong.” I can feel that I almost don't exist… I physically can't get the pilot light going. I don't have the techniques, so I must wait until my brain decides, “Oh, right. I'm just going to light it spontaneously, and we'll do it now at two o'clock in the morning.”"

"…curve. We've spent years trying to fit into somebody else's box… Some experience this as compartmentalisation rather than just being one person. I have periods where I feel like an avatar in a meat suit, my mind and body completely separate rather than one unit charging through life. To pass as a human being, I had to achieve more than anyone else because I couldn't guarantee…"

"Paying attention to tiny things helps, an aspect of mindfulness I never understood… tiny moments of awareness have the same effect that writing a gratitude list does, opening your eyes to elements of it so that you can keep grounded in what's happening here, now, rather than being drawn away on the current of what is happening around you. / Acceptance is such a massive part of it and an ongoing learning…"

"…and different stuff going on, that I need everything else to be organised. I guess it's about feeling I can have a sense of control. My home is really important to me. It's where I feel safe and I can be myself. I'm not super-super organised, but I need lists and everything on the calendar because otherwise, I forget… I can have my whole day mapped out with what I'm doing. My systems keep me safe…"

"…each thought is on an individually scrunched-up ball of paper. It's hard to get those individual thoughts out when I'm feeling overwhelmed; if my surroundings are disordered, it adds to that. I get a sense of pleasure from things being where they should be. Knowing what I'm doing and having lists and everything organised takes that pressure away. There's sometimes such an overload in my brain, so many thoughts…"

"I've got a chocolate orange in my fridge that somebody gave me in September last year, and I haven't eaten it because it's in the door, up high, and I've just completely forgotten it's there. Sometimes, I glance up and go, “Oh, I've got a chocolate orange,” and then it will be another month until I remember."

"I used to be very visual. I'd keep my things organised, but when it came to my thoughts and time, I was just a floating rock in space… Because my head is so messy, I have to have less mess around me; otherwise I feel uncomfortable… having space and cleanliness around me makes my brain feel less cluttered."

"…lanyard; the car key goes on the fridge. My boyfriend knows that when he comes around, he has to put them exactly where I would because I can put my keys down for half a second and lose them and the next day wonder where they are."

"…normal email because most are messages I don't need. My keys are on a lanyard because fifty times a day, I think, “Have I lost my keys?” My poor work colleagues don't understand my incredibly complex filling system, but how would I find stuff if I didn't have separate files? …My car keys always used to get lost. They now go on the fridge. The second I come in, the house keys go on the back of the door with the…"

"I put in so many coping mechanisms before my diagnosis that it makes me look organised at work. I didn't know that everybody else didn't need them. For as long as I can remember, I've had a phone with a diary. Then, to stop getting distracted, I turn off all the pings and the envelopes you see in the corner of the screen when you've got emails. I made an auto folder for cc'd items so I don't get disturbed in my…"

"A godsend has been those developments in tech that automate and outsource. My phone instantly became an extra limb, so I've never lost it… Until technology picked up, I was constantly panicking about where things were, what I needed to have done, when, and why I hadn't done it… Technology supports our lives, and every time something new comes in, there's chance it will simplify another aspect…"

"The idea of hyperfocus, when it's something your brain is really locked into and that you find interesting and engaging, meant work wasn't difficult to stick with… I was using every ounce of me to try and make sure that I was paying attention, then getting to the end of the day and feeling exhausted. It was like my brain desperately needed to shut off and escape from focusing on anything."

"You start asking a billion and one questions in your head that no one else asks because it doesn't occur to them." – Michelle, 41

Podcasts: "I adored Dr Ned Hallowell's strengths-based approach and Dr Russell Barkley's no-nonsense reassurance."