Magicians with ADHD: a thread

[pixel_fortune]

Quite a few people with ADHD on the forums, and I always end up commenting on it in other threads.

Maybe we could have a thread just for this topic?

Some prompts:

• How does this make magic/mysticism/etc harder for you?
• On the other hand, what strengths does ADHD bring? David Shoemaker says the process of invoking your HGA will eventually bring in every single part of you and every tool you have - so that's going to include ADHD. When I go into hyperfocus, I can read and absorb a huge amount of material, for eg.
• ADHD people are often "spiky" - they are great at some stuff and terrible at other stuff, rather than being average-competent across the board. (So a graph of their abilities would be spiky angles, not a rolling curve across the centre). What are your magical spikes
• Do you have any magical techniques for managing it or working with it?
• Do you take meds? If yes, have you noticed any interactions with your magical practice, positive or negative?
• IDK, any other crossover topics?

Please make a separate thread if you're wanting to say that:

• ADHD isn't real or is overdiagnosed
• ADHD is caused by... anything. Separate conversation.
• Have you tried....? any diet or non-magical advice that could be found with a google search. Trust that we've already googled it.

If you don't have ADHD, but you have similar executive function struggles, feel free to contribute though. Like, every parent with a kid under 2 basically has circumstantial ADHD due to lack of sleep.

Post automatically merged: May 9, 2024

One thing i mentioned in a recent post was that the idea of making habits as small as possible (aka "Atomic Habits") had never worked for me, because it's not exciting.

Counter to all the advice, I am far more likely to follow through on something big, complicated and demanding, because I get excited and motivated about that, which gives me the brain chemicals required to do the job. Doing Helios Unbound, a theoretically huge project that people wouldn't recommend to a person with ADHD, is EASIER for me than just building up a little daily habit, because the size and challenge of it motivates me. (Also, the magic changes every week or month, so it allows for novelty within a structure of consistency.)

The biggest secret to all of this, IMO, is know thyself. How does my brain ACTUALLY work, not how i think it should it work. And then do what works for your brain, even if it seems silly or weird or childish or like you "shouldn't need it". Even a lot of ADHD advice is only a good fit for like half of ADHD people. It really is something you have to hack out for yourself imo.

 

[Taudefindi]

How does this make magic/mysticism/etc harder for you?

In my case it's mostly when it comes to meditation that I end up having issues, which is kinda funny since I can daydream so vivdly and even when doing something else.

I don't know how this works.
Also, despite actually loving to find scholar-type materials about magic and etc., usually I don't have the attention span necessary to read it all if the authors use hard words or speak a lot before getting to the point.

No problem when they're direct and talk a lot, just when they beat around the bush a lot.

On the other hand, what strengths does ADHD bring?

When I "get in the zone" during my daydreams I get massive boosts of energy(while also spending it physically so I end up calm) and when it comes to the physical side of things(in general and for magic as well), it's as if I can actually focus better through physical acts(for example, even though I can daydream just fine normally, if I start walking or running it's like getting into an altered state to me).

Both body and mind finally united.

What are your magical spikes

Not sure I understood the question or know my "spikes".

Do you have any magical techniques for managing it or working with it?

"It" bring the spikes?

Do you take meds?

When I was a kid, but they never seemed to work with me so I stopped.If I do physical activities I can somewhat manage it, maybe it's why acting works for me too as that is a mental activity that demands a lot from your body.

IDK, any other crossover topics?

With magic or with ADHD?

 

[pixel_fortune]

It" bring the spikes?

, these are spikes:

If this was a graph of skills, this person is bad at most things, decent at one thing, and amazing at two things. ADHD people tend to have big spikes up and down, rather than being average at lots of things. So their graph of abilities is spiky.

With magic or with ADHD?

for the crossover between magic and ADHD.

This question was just to say "don't limit yourself to the questions I've written, please feel free to talk about any thoughts you have on magic and ADHD"

Don't worry about the questions that didn't make sense - This thread isn't meant to be "Pixel has questions", it's "hey there's a lot of us with ADHD, maybe I should make a space for people who want to talk about that", so they were just potential conversation starters.


Re movement and physicality, one of the things I like so much more about ritual than non-magical self-development (meditation, journalling) is that it's so embodied

 

[Wildchildx11]

I find that I primarily accomodate by utilizing pathworking and meditation and visualization, t's really hard for me to have the motivation a lot of the times to gather up all of the rituals.

I take the stimulants for dual depression and ADHD, but they probably negatively impact my Magickal work because while they do help with the depression, I abuse them and they are an attachment I have to shed. My doctor knows I abuse them and take more than prescribed and she increased the amount I'm allowed ro take when I told her.

Sometimes my mind really wants to fit the pieces together like a puzzle and understand how things fit together, and it leads me into some really weird places trying to, which I can't really help.

 

[Aeternus]

@pixel_fortune I have ADHD and I can say that it helps me quite a lot in my magical practices and understanding.

My ADHD helps me to understand how fast light colorful energy works in specific aspects for example, or how fast I can circulate energy at times I believe it is impossible.

My problem is that I don't necessarily focus on the thing I wish and that is a downfall in my magical practice. Can't have only the spikes after all.

The idea is that, for example, I memorize a lot about Kaballah, Alchemy etc. but I often happen to misplace the subjects related to their practice. For example, I was focused on Planetary magic and then I was instantly thinking about the Sophia Aeon, which didn't necessarily have any connection to what I was studying.

It is kinda painful for me to deal with it, but I often have good luck in doing it.

Another problem would be that I often forget to write important ideas because of fast writing and that is why some posts of mines are continuously merged.

But, as hard as it may sound at the first reading, my ADHD still is a good part of my life and helps me evolve both in the magical and physical plane. You can be sure that I won't be late at work , for example.

And, as for magical techniques for managing it, well... void meditation (to stop the rampant thoughts), Earth element meditation, balancing Air and Fire element, and sometimes even Water element, trance and in order to deplete the leftover energy I would still have, lucid / profound dreaming.

Post automatically merged: Tuesday at 11:35 AM

I don't take meds as my ADHD is manageable

Post automatically merged: Tuesday at 11:37 AM

I can also say that I perform well in IT, meditation, spirituality, occultism but I really have a downside at being somewhat patient and I get too excited about some subjects I am interested in and I kinda lose focus on managing the excitement

 

[Wildchildx11]

I'm still taking my ADHD meds, I've trying to get off my meds, and I somehow have more energy going off my SSRI meds that the fatigue no longer feels like an issue. When I run out, I probably won't refill.

I abuse the ADD medications so it's time to go off. It sometimes actually decreases my ability to focus.

 

[beardedeldridge]

ADHD complicates magick similar to how it complicates any other endeavor.

Not sure there is any real benefit per se but I agree with the sentiment that’s it easier for me to get into grand plans/goals.

Meds make it easier to do the dailies but make the actual work far less effective/beneficial.

-Eld

 

[stratamaster78]

I struggle with ADHD pretty badly.

It makes everything difficult and Magick is no exception whether it comes to performing Rituals or Reading and Studying Magickal topics.

It may or may not have been noticeable but I haven't been very active here lately because I've been especially struggling since I ran out of my RX medication a few weeks back and have no way to get anymore for personal reasons.

So a lot of my free time lately has been invested in researching OTC solutions to manage my ADHD symptoms.

It's been extremely time consuming because almost everything that actually works either becomes an RX med or it becomes Illegal.

I'm currently down the Black Hole that is experimenting with Research Chemicals.

I have never found any type of Magick that helps tbh.

But the whole thing for me in plain speak is that having ADHD for me is basically the complete inability to properly focus on a single task because something in my Brain is constantly making me seek out some type of mental or physical stimulation that a single activity doesn't provide.

Man I don't even know if I'm making sense right now because my mind just jumps around too with scattered thoughts and especially like now where I'm just raw dog unmedicated.

I've been sort of embarrassed to even post here because I feel like I'm not really myself right now when the truth is probably I'm more myself now because I'm not on Meds for this condition.

It's a super frustrating condition to deal with and only other people who have ADHD can understand what it's like.

 

[pixel_fortune]

You're making sense, don't worry <3

I find buproprion (Wellbutrin in the US I think, Zyban in Australia) helps. Not as much as dex but it's much much easier to get because it can't be used recreationally (you have to take it for 2-3 weeks before it starts working, it's a selective dopamine and noraephsomething reuptake inhibitor. You can get at Inhouse Pharmacy (a completely legal pharmacy in Vanuatu that will send you prescription meds, so long as it's nothing hardcore, you can't get ritalin there). if you google inhouse pharmacy vanuatu, you'll find the site. The legality is: if customs seizes it (which they never have for me, but it's technically possible), then you will get a letter saying "you bought prescription medication, come and show your prescription to claim it" which you won't be able to do, so you'll lose the shipment/money. I mean check the schedule it's set at in your country, but that's how it is here.

 

[Romolo]

Do you have any magical techniques for managing it or working with it?

I have never found any type of Magick that helps tbh.

I have one technique (or methodology) that helps me to keep “it” all together when I am overwhelmed by tasks. I call it a stacking technique (like the game Mahjong), some tiles I can only touch when previous ones are dealt with. For instance: I want to invoke a spirit or pray to a God, which I can’t do in front of a dirty altar, so first I have to clean, after cleaning I need to wash myself, put on a clean shirt, etc. This principle I then apply in real-life situations. It helps me to visualize my tasks, sometimes like tiles, sometimes like flags on a ski slope.

Another technique I developed I call “the dome”. I use it when I am overstimulated (or feel social anxiety coming up), for instance while walking crowded street or taking public transport. Ideally I first search for a plot of barren earth where I can draw a circle around me with a branch (it can also be done on the pavement). I then conjure the actual dome around me. It is a strong veil of air. Nothing outside the dome (except traffic lights and other vital information) is registered inside the dome. No noises, no faces, no advertisement. While looking ahead of you, your eyes are not allowed to fixate on anything beyond the veil. When done properly, everything will become very calming. Walking at 0.8x ratio of your normal speed also helps to maintain the dome.

 

[beardedeldridge]

Techniques that help:

About 18 months of a hard fought practice of forcing myself into trances multiple times a day and when needed clawing tooth and nail to hold onto a state I had reached or even dragging myself into a deeper trance state. Several techniques of self hypnosis helped with the above. The more passive meditation styles often pushed by people could often prove difficult for me.

After becoming effective with the above, getting started often proved the hardest part with rituals. The more elaborate and demanding the ritual the easier it is for me to continue once I get it started. One reason I favor trad grimoire magick.

-Eld

 

[stratamaster78]

You're making sense, don't worry <3

I find buproprion (Wellbutrin in the US I think, Zyban in Australia) helps. Not as much as dex but it's much much easier to get because it can't be used recreationally (you have to take it for 2-3 weeks before it starts working, it's a selective dopamine and noraephsomething reuptake inhibitor. You can get at Inhouse Pharmacy (a completely legal pharmacy in Vanuatu that will send you prescription meds, so long as it's nothing hardcore, you can't get ritalin there). if you google inhouse pharmacy vanuatu, you'll find the site. The legality is: if customs seizes it (which they never have for me, but it's technically possible), then you will get a letter saying "you bought prescription medication, come and show your prescription to claim it" which you won't be able to do, so you'll lose the shipment/money. I mean check the schedule it's set at in your country, but that's how it is here.

I think I actually use to be prescribed Wellbutrin a long time ago before I was diagnosed as having ADHD.

I want to say it was a secondary RX for Depression.

But yes I will look into it if it has an application towards ADHD symptoms.

I’m currently trying various ‘Nootropics’ like Racetams, Huperzine A (Causes very vivid dreams btw) Alpha GPC and a few othere.

I’ve also been cycling Caffeine w/ L-Theanine and even Ephedrine.

I was on Dex for YEARS so it’s been hellish going cold turkey and having no suitable replacement so far.

Hopefully I can land on 3-4 options that I can cycle through to reduce tolerance and solider on somehow.

As an aside some of those Noots really do improve memory recall and mind imagery so I can see some of them having good use for Ritual and for Dream recall for journaling.

Post automatically merged: Yesterday at 8:09 AM

Hey @pixel_fortune I wanted to return and Thank You for the Tip on Wellbutrin and a Vendor to look into.

By just a crazy amount of Serendipity I was looking at some other RX options today during my research and I found some other Options that I have been trying to find Vendors for (for over 6 Weeks now) and got linked to a Master List of Inhouse Shops and Boom your Rec just happened to be on the short list....lol

I trusted you anyway but that was just crazy to get a double confirmation today along with finding the entry gate to other places I've been trying to find.... like REALLY HARD.

Reddit has been one of my main research sources but for some items the Subreddits and Mods are tight lipped as HELL for Vendor sources and especially RX stuff.

Just for transparency I've been looking for non-sketchy places for the 'Dafinils because I tried a couple like 10 years ago and they did help some with Focus and Alertness and Attention etc.

I've also been researching some different RX CNS Stims that are not in the same type of class as Amps because you just aren't going to find those on Clearnet anyway.

There is a lot of crossover with Nootropics, Research Chems, and Various Stims that have actions that help with ADHD symptoms.

I'm trying to be really diligent and safe because none of what I'm looking at is supposed to be a 1st Line of Defense so to speak but more of an Off-Label 'Oh hey this just happens to affect the same Receptors or Reuptake actions as Dex but in a less intense way of course'.

I'm also trying to really nail down about 3-4 serviceable options that I can Cycle to prevent Tolerance and Avoid Addictions etc.

Luckily I don't have whatever the condition in the Brain is that causes Addiction anyway.

I lost my Insurance during the Beginning of the Pandemic and just ran out of Dex from my RX's like 6 months ago because I had effing Gallon Ziplock bags FULL of Full Bottles left because I actually took it less that I was prescribed for years.

I do miss it though because what can you say but.. It Works.

I'd talk ONE XR a Day and have Laser Focus for 10-12 Hrs and just GET F***ing SH*T Done....Lol.