Before I started taking Adderall, I always felt very big emotions, and felt emotions all of the time. I could be very happy sometimes and I could also be very, very sad othertimes, often over every little thing that didn't work out the way I expected, but now that I'm on Adderall I don't really feel much of anything. This is especially prominent with the sadness. I take 20mgXR in the morning ad 10mg regular at 4 pm. Things that would have made me feel horribly sad before now don't really have an effect at all. It seems very strange and I can't tell if normal people feel like this and I was just over-emotional before, or if I've become a monotonous dead-beat!

Has anyone else on Adderall experienced something similar to this?

No, you're absolutely alone on this and you should talk to a doctor immediately about getting a personality transplant.

j/k. The adderall makes you emotionless, and feel somewhat less human. Especially (in my experience) if I'm concentrating on something or trying to get something done. I feel very much like a robot.

I think that the real problems arise indirectly from this because you're unable to relate to other people. Its hard for me to concentrate on tasks and also be personable. Sometimes, I almost feel like a robot who's pretending to be human when I have to interact with people. I have memorized certain things to say, etc. and engage people just enough to get by without people thinking, "wow, this guy is a real jerk."

If the adderall is preventing you from being sad when you would normally cry, well, thats a big upside then...unless of course people think you're being an insenstive jerk.

I really did not find that Adderall affected my emotions. I could postulate that perhaps you are less "touchy" because your ability to regulate emotions and your ability to determine social cues, ie "what is an actual affront", have improved and that's a good thing! :)

No, you're absolutely alone on this and you should talk to a doctor immediately about getting a personality transplant.

j/k. The adderall makes you emotionless, and feel somewhat less human. Especially (in my experience) if I'm concentrating on something or trying to get something done. I feel very much like a robot.

I think that the real problems arise indirectly from this because you're unable to relate to other people. Its hard for me to concentrate on tasks and also be personable. Sometimes, I almost feel like a robot who's pretending to be human when I have to interact with people. I have memorized certain things to say, etc. and engage people just enough to get by without people thinking, "wow, this guy is a real jerk."

If the adderall is preventing you from being sad when you would normally cry, well, thats a big upside then...unless of course people think you're being an insenstive jerk.
Wow, how strange. I too have noticed that when I am concentrating/supposed to be concentrating, I cannot socially respond at all, neither verbally nor physically, as if my brain forgot to signal me to do something other than concentrate.

I was curious since I know quite a few on Adderall and none of them seem to have this problem. I was thinking that I might possibly have some other disorder along with ADD, but after actually thinking about it realized how since this started with Adderall, the likelyhood of developing some disorder at the same time is somewhat low, thus it must be related to the Adderall and not "emotionless freak syndrome" or that I'm turning into a robot-zombie person.. :)

I also felt something similar...but I welcome it as before all my life was directed almost exclusively by my very "sticky" emotions. Putting a little bit of gray matter in my decisions was almost impossible. With adderall on the contrary I now manage to think a little before taking an action instead of reacting as I allways did. This also hepls me to understand others better..I now can see why they do things (before I used to think that everybody was acting as impulsively as me).

Maybe if you are feeling totally emotionless, it's not the Adderall itself but too high of a dosage for you. It's only a thought b/c I have not taken Adderall or had symptoms like yours before. It hit me when I read CrazyFeet's comment about Adderall giving you the ability to regulate your emotions better. Maybe your brain is over-regulating to the point that you don't feel anything. Just a thought.

Its not the dosage IMO, because the lack of social ability is only noticed when I'm trying really hard to get the work done. If for example I take medication and then talk on the phone to a family member, there isn't a problem.

If I take the medication, then were to study something intently for a couple hours, then had to talk on the phone with a family member, that's when the problem is exacerbated. Mind you, it all depends on what I was studying, how hard it was, and how much of it is still dominating my thinking.

I'm not in school anymore, but used the studying as an example because its something that requires a lot of critical thinking, and isn't routine. If I were doing routine tasks on the medication that didn't require much thought, I'd be extremely bored, but my social abilities would be more available to me.

Maybe your brain is over-regulating to the point that you don't feel anything. Just a thought. I think I'm hearing you on this. I think that statement has some truth to it. For me to concentrate, I think my brain has to shut down in certain areas. That's the best way I can put it. When going from an activitiy that requires a certain type of thinking, its really hard to shift gears into an activity that requires me to think differently.

Going from school to kickboxing, or work to kickboxing. A lot of times my brain is still in work mode. So when that happens, I get my butt kicked. My movements aren't smooth, I'm not as connected to my body as I would normally be. I'm still stuck in my own head.

The vice versa can be said true as well. If I've undergone a really hard training session that pushed me hard physically and made me reach deep down so I could do 10 more pushups....I can't focus on work for **** the next day. Part of that is the physical fatigue. But I know that most of the blame lies with my head.

Okay...well then, here is my next thought:

You said:
When going from an activitiy that requires a certain type of thinking, its really hard to shift gears into an activity that requires me to think differently.
If I'm not correct someone please tell me, but isn't that a trait of ADHD? Don't feel that I am minimizing in any way...I'm just thinking that maybe the Adderall isn't affecting that part of your ADHD. Is this something that you only notice when on the Adderall? Or have you always struggled with it?

I don't think the inability to relate socially to others means you have some other disorder, I think a lot of ADDers struggle with this. I've often read that the more a person with ADD tries to concentrate the harder it is for them. To me your symptoms sound pretty ADDish, and maybe a med change would help. I don't know, I'm starting to confuse myself in trying to help you!! :) LOL Sorry if I haven't made any sense!

Okay...well then, here is my next thought:

You said:
When going from an activitiy that requires a certain type of thinking, its really hard to shift gears into an activity that requires me to think differently.
If I'm not correct someone please tell me, but isn't that a trait of ADHD? Don't feel that I am minimizing in any way...I'm just thinking that maybe the Adderall isn't affecting that part of your ADHD.
It is a trait of the ADD. I doubt if a normal person were taking adderall that they would experience this (or at least to my degree). But adderall is what gets my brain so wrapped up into my work in the first place.

The deeper I get involved in something, the harder it is to get my brain out of that mode of thought. The adderall is what allows my brain to go deep.

I can commit more of myself mentally when on the medication. This goes for work, and for kickboxing.

Is this something that you only notice when on the Adderall? Or have you always struggled with it?
Only on adderall.

okay...I guess I am out of thoughts! I'm getting confused. I really hope that someone more helpful comes along with better suggestions for you. Not that the ones before mine weren't helpful. I don't know...I'll stop before I keep rambling and getting myself even more confused. Maybe when I find the right medication I can come back here and read all of this with a little more clarity! :o Good luck to you!

What are you confused about so perhaps I can explain better...

loserinamailbox is the one who was requesting suggestions, not me. Even though we appear similar, his situation may be different.

edit: I wouldn't understand anything I wrote without medication either so dont sweat it.

I'm not even sure anymore! HA! I can tell my Ritalin is worn off...headache, foggy ect... I don't usually have this much trouble.

OOOOHHHH!!!! I just noticed the last part of your post! I wasn't paying any attention to the actual names of the posters! I thought I was talking to the original poster! I was having a hard time connecting her original question of numb feelings to now what I realize as your post about switching into social mode after concentrating! I did see that she agreed with you on that aspect, but my original suggestion about too high a dose was in regards only to the unemotional zombie she mentioned. I thought that if Adderall gives one's brain the ability to regulate emotions better, then too high of a dosage could be causing over-regulation of her emotions and rendering her emotionless. Sorry for any confusion I have caused you, loserinamailbox, or anyone else reading this thread!