Common myth. ADHD medications used as prescribed by people with ADHD in typical therapeutic doses don’t cause the high that neurotypical people experience from recreational doses. When I’ve taken those (yes by proper prescription for ADHD), my experience has been nothing like what I’ve heard neurotypical people describe.
What’s more, plenty of people with ADHD are unmedicated, and performing well under stress - sometimes even better than people without ADHD in such situations - is a common ADHD pattern even without medication. This pattern is widely self-reported in ADHD peer support communities.
One theory I’ve heard is that the stressful situation causes the body to produce more of the neurotransmitters for which ADHD often causes a deficit, and so neurotypical people sometimes produce too much to focus calmly in that circumstance whereas ADHD people can have the rare experience of functioning more like neurotypical people normally do.
What’s more, plenty of people with ADHD are unmedicated, and performing well under stress - sometimes even better than people without ADHD in such situations - is a common ADHD pattern even without medication. This pattern is widely self-reported in ADHD peer support communities.
One theory I’ve heard is that the stressful situation causes the body to produce more of the neurotransmitters for which ADHD often causes a deficit, and so neurotypical people sometimes produce too much to focus calmly in that circumstance whereas ADHD people can have the rare experience of functioning more like neurotypical people normally do.