Adderall and anti-social

[Reese269]

I've been on adderall now for about a month and I've noticed that it makes me a lot more quiet. Like I am focused more and am able to do my day to day things a lot better than before, but I don't really want to talk to anyone. It's not so much that I get anxious at the thought of having to talk to others, it's more that I just don't have or want to say anything.

Does this happen to anyone else? Is this a common side effect?

[ODLS1]

Yea I was the same way on Adderall.

[echo1]

Same with me and Concerta. I realized that my sleeping pattern was out of control so I wrote down a plan for my self and stuck with it, so now I usually get good nights sleep, feel a lot better and get more social.
I have to get ~7 hours sleep per night, max 9... If i sleep more than 9 or less than 7 I get cranky and boring.

Hope that helps in any way, else I'd reccomend just talking to your doctor.

[fruitsalad2005]

I've heard a lot of people say adderall makes them more social than they normally would be... like they'll start conversations/approach people when they normally wouldn't, speak up in class etc. I have always been very shy, I am in my 4th year of college and still freeze up if a teacher calls on me... so I was hoping adderall would help me out with that, but it really hasn't. I am definitely friendlier and more talkative with people I know, and even more willing to be talkative with people I dont know too well.. but they have to approach me first. Oh well... if you're really shy there's really no magical way to make yourself be outgoing/social.. like I said I was hoping adderall would help me with my anti-social tendencies, but I'm still the quiet girl who almost never talks in all my classes.

[Ruby85]

It's common. Adderall made me hate everyone, so yeah, I didn't feel like chatting. Even when I'm in a good mood, I'm still quiet just because that's who I am. Like you, it has nothing to do with social anxiety. I just don't have much to say, usually. I'm more introspective.

[dntel]

I've only been taking adderall for a few weeks, but I find that it doesn't really change my desire to talk to people or be more social. If anything, it maybe makes me a little more willing to socialize. Ritalin on the other hand, did exactly what adderall did for the OP. Has anyone else had this experience? I felt no need to really reach out to people I didn't know or even my friends on ritalin. In some ways I liked that because I often speak without thinking, and regret it later on.

[Grasshoppaa]

I am in college as well, and I do find that it makes me a little anti-social. I think (at least for me) adderall makes me more relaxed, I enjoy doing schoolwork, watching tv, reading, playing xbox (sometimes all at once lol), etc. when I take adderall and that makes me a little unsocial. I have found myself turning down nights at the bar to sit at home and get schoolwork done, which is a good thing, but didn't used to happen before I took adderall.

[tlhengel]

Just a personal theory here...

I think that a big reason many of us on Adderall get more social is because it's helping our ADD.

For me, I tend to be very introvert without my medication because I'm afraid of saying something really stupid or inappropriate. Unmedicated, I am aware enough of my ADD that I realize when someone is offended by something I said, the problem is that I never know what might offend someone before I say it. I blurt things out as they come to my mind without really thinking about what I'm saying.

My way of coping with that is to just not speak to anyone. When I am on medication, especially the Adderall b/c is works well for me, I am much more aware of what I am about to say and can more clearly judge what is inappropriate. I now think before I speak, which is great. I have more confidence in myself and feel more comfortable talking to people. I'm still self-conscious, but not nearly as much.

It's funny, my husband always used to joke that I was missing a filter for my mouth. We both always thought it was a personality defect of mine. Now, he's amazed at my self control. I no longer embarrass him in public and I don't come off as rude like I used to.

Just an observation of mine.

[Ruby85]

I think that a big reason many of us on Adderall get more social is because it's helping our ADD.

Maybe that's why people who are naturally introverted become even more so on Adderall. You said without meds you were less social, but only because you forced yourself to keep quiet, out of fear that you would blurt out something stupid. So you weren't naturally inclined to be reserved; it was only anxiety made you that way. Adderall gives you that self-awareness, so you feel safer talking to people.

But with someone like me, who is painfully self-aware even without meds, Adderall makes me less social since it makes me too self-aware. I never had a problem with blurting things out impulsively; it just wasn't a symptom of mine. Sometimes I wish it was, because many people see me as aloof instead of reserved. They just think I'm not friendly, and Adderall intensifies that for me because it makes me more calculating than before.

[supahdupah]

I would guess that Adderall is presenting very mild anxiety. It has taken me a while to pick up on that for myself. At first it just felt like I didn't want to interact. The more I paid attention to it the more I realized it was very subtle anxiety. I would guess that those who become more social don't have the anxiety present. Just a theory.

I am on RItalin btw, so take what I am saying with a grain of salt.

[adhdseeker]

supahdupah -- i thought the very same as well. It's only recently that i realized it was a degree of anxiety that made me less social as opposed to simply a lack of interest. now that i recognize it is anxiety, i am painfully aware of it and find it uncomfortable to be with people on the drug. I am seeing my psychiatrist tomorrow to see if i can try something else. I thought i would try concerta. i suppose its an individual thing, but do others know of drugs that don't have this anxiety-producing effect?

Vyvanse is great for social things -- it actually makes me completely extroverted -- but it doesn't give me the kind of focus that i need for school. i feel like any kind of drug that could make me focus as much as adderall would necessarily cause me to be neurotic and weird in social situations. i have a hard time imagining the focusing effects WITHOUT the social weirdness. hopefully i'm wrong. what's worked for others who have had this same problem?

thanks for any help!

[itsanADHDthing]

Im the same when Im sober.
Sometimes ill go into talking binges.

On adderall, i can be a mute, but i tend to be extremely sociable. But in a good way. If I'm going to say something stupid my pill says "wait, that's really, really dumb"

[pushlimit]

Your dose is probably too high. Try lowering it a little bit to see if you're more social.

[meadd823]

I have been on adderall a long time and I often talk less when working because I am more focused on work - if I need to talk I can though but I am better able to keep my talking productive - Being able to shut up when I need to be working instead of talking is a plus for me.

[adhdseeker]

thanks for your comments.

pushlimit -- i've tried lower doses but when i do that, my focus seems to suffer. i do think it lowers the anxiety to a certain extent, though.

meadd823 -- i;m glad it helps you stay focused. talking too much has never been an issue for me, but i also find with adderall the thigns i say are more "productive." i don't really like that part of it, though. i feel too focused on work and can't seem to loosen up even when i'm don't have work to do. i feel serious. bleh. hopefully i'll have a better reaction to concerta?? i don't like feeling like i'm loosing who i am.