Comment by Aurornis

> The dramatic difference in how it feels to do something that previously seemed to require insurmountable effort

Be careful about reading too much in to the early effects of stimulant treatment. The short, medium, and long term effects of stimulant treatment on perceived effort are different, so this will change as your brain adapts to the medication.

Reduction of perceived effort after taking stimulants isn’t unique to people with ADHD. It’s why people have used caffeine, nicotine, or harder stimulants for centuries. As everyone discovers eventually, those early effects are not durable for years.

The attention-promoting effects of stimulants are more durable. That’s why people with ADHD can derive benefits for a long time. However, people who get hooked on the ability for a pill to make it easier to do unpleasant work can get into a tough spot when that effect wanes over time and those tasks are back to requiring a lot of effort again (although concentrating on them is still easier). Consequently, the discontinuation rate for stimulant treatment is much higher than people would guess after their first few doses.