At university, I medicated heavily with “the hard stuff” - stimulant medications. These took a heavy toll on my body; I had nervous tics and twitches galore. The meds gave me enough focus to develop good study habits and after 2-3 years I ceased them.

Once I joined the workforce, I focused on doing things that I was passionate about. For me, ADHD doesn’t always mean lack of focus; I can hyper focus when I’m motivated by something. Having a job that I liked to do turned me into a low grade workaholic (too much hyper focus!) but I became successful in my career.

For the past few years, I’ve been medicating with a non stimulant that I tolerate very well. I still do what I love, at work, and Strattera helps me stay focused on doing the things that are most important to my employer and myself, but my days of being a workaholic are over.

If you are like me, then doing what you love is essential, and finding the right medication is a big help, though not strictly essential.

This was a fascinating read that led me down a rabbit hole of other queer Forwards content. Thanks for sharing!

In the US press, there was some coverage of the sier/xier body of neo pronouns for enby people. Are those the ones you mention that didn’t catch on?