stuck in an endless quest for stimulation, now normal is unbearable

i can’t shake this feeling that i’m not doing anything with my life because i don’t have “a thing.” like the one thing, the one passion or hobby or goal that a person lives for and throws their whole soul into. a purpose. i’ve suffered from hobby-hopping my entire life, i fixate on a new subject or hobby, get totally obsessed for a short time, and then i always lose interest. the novelty wears off. i am constantly teaching myself new skills and knowledge about random things i get into, and i love learning, but nothing sticks. my whole life i’ve wondered what my “thing” was, my purpose. it’s the one question i can never answer for myself and lately it feels like a giant hole in me, like something is missing and i am incomplete. but i have no idea where to look or what to try. if i don’t have it by now, what if one “thing” doesn’t exist for me because of how my adhd brain works? it feels so empty, like i’m going to be unfilled forever. i go on benders of compulsive shopping for quick dopamine hits, and i spend SO much time sitting on my computer just binge watching youtube videos, shopping, playing games and quizzes, social media, news, consuming an ungodly amount of content and internet every day and the time blindness is debilitating because i end up at my computer for 16-20 hours at a time sometimes. i’m unmotivated to go out unless something has been planned way in advance, and i have a zillion things i wanna do around the house where i already bought new furniture to assemble or shelves to hang or stuff to redecorate the back patio - and the stuff sits there untouched for months, years, because i can’t find the motivation. and everything feels so boring. i want to be a morning person so bad again and have a self-care routine and workout and eat right and make time for friends, but it’s so overwhelming to think about it feels impossible. i just over-stimulate myself with content and information to distract myself or because i’m hyper-fixating and it’s the only thing that seems entertaining. it’s all such a vicious cycle right now and i don’t know why. i feel like i’ve reached the point of no return and normal things will ever give me dopamine again.

unserioususer

wow i felt that

samson

I am so much the same. I overbook and overcommit myself so much and then I do the shame spiral because I don’t actually want to follow through on what I committed to. I’m learning more to give myself grace around my perfectionism. I’m also just really good at learning things , not all of it! But enough to start and I like to share that information with people. I listen to audiobooks occasionally while cleaning/driving and I loved Gabore Mate’s “Scattered Minds”. It was so much my life — and it helped me understand and be compassionate with myself, and my son who is Autistic and ADHD. It really Re-shaped my view. If you get a chance, definitely check him out!

neurospicy1

Have you heard the full quote about “a jack of all trades”?

LunaMoon

Wow, I related to your post so much! You hit the nail on the head. It’s all too familiar. But the great thing about it is that you end up know a lot about many different hobbies. My latest hobby is raising puppies and it’s been so fulfilling.

sunnyaudhD

I do this too, so I just call my hobby learning new things 😂 and just gave up on being a morning person as long as I am productive in the time my brain works best I try to just accept it.

CometOfTheNights

I can feel you... What you are telling reminded me myself who has major depression also. As it is known, ADHD can cause depression. Your words seem to me you might have depression due to ADHD. Maybe you should ask for some professional help about it, if you haven't already.

Sondes

Hi, I really feel your post i experienced this feeling many times too as adhder, even though I found myself into art and I always recognised myself on expressing myself in this way making it my job. I honestly reached a point of my life where I do not feel related to certain situations anymore , specially when I have to share my work with others in a professional way ( also because I’m autistic too so I’m struggling with some social situations to understand ) and I feel I would like to express myself in different ways as dancing, singing, gym etc.. but everything is blocked into my head ! So I tried new thing for a while but I’m always aware about other responsibilities and lack of time that I perceive that I don’t allowed myself anymore to start stuffs to avoid self disappointment ! Im also very addicted on social media and memes , posts etc.. if this can help I tried to find a way how to do journaling and track things monthly .. still a lot of effort ( specially on journaling I’m not very constant ) but if I can track things in a certain amount of time I can be able to repeat them for the month after creating a sort of circle. Also i made a box with tickets with random activities to pick up everyday, that’s fun!

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