I've read a number of forums on this topic but most seem to be older in nature and I wanted to see if there was any more recent advice out there. I'm a 30 year old male who has been off Adderall for more than 2 months now. The last pill I took was 12/26/11. I started taking 20mg 2x a day in the fall of 2009 and revved up to 30mg 2x a day a year later. This drug ruined my life, no doubt about it. When this drug was working it's best I felt invincible. That I had no faults or problems and that everything in my life was going perfectly. This drug got me in the best shape of my life, had me as productive at work as i'd ever been and made me feel smarter, stronger, funnier and more confident. All things that I felt prior to the drug but were enhanced with it.
Last summer, it came crashing down. Taking adderall made me feel like I was better than I really was, it made me behave in ways that I'm incredibly embarrassed about. I spent money and drove up my credit card debt like a fool, I lashed out at friends and family for what I thought were good reasons but weren't at all. I made extremely poor decisions that lead to me leaving my job and burning a lot of bridges in an industry that I had built a career in for 6 years. I continued to take the adderall in the fall of 2011 and into the winter but I found myself to be very depressed and needing more and more adderall to get through the weeks.
I decided to stop taking adderall cold turkey in November but the lethargy was so intense that I went back for another prescription which was my last. In December I realized how much this drug really altered my life and how I wish I'd have never heard of it. Because it was prescribed to me, I never thought twice about the potential side effects or the repercussions. Those warnings don't come with the prescription.
Now, nearly two months later I'm unemployed as a result of going from a very stable job to sales position that I thought would be a great fit. I have very little motivation to leave my house. I have a tattoo of music notes on the inside of my right bicep b/c last summer music was all that mattered to me and now I never pick up the guitar. The depression and lethargy after two months is still crazy and my confidence and personality are non existent. In fact, my friends would have described me as one of the more sociable, entertaining, friendly people they know in the past. Now I find myself making excuses to not go out with them because I'm embarrassed of my lack of ability to bring anything to the table in the way of conversation. I know I should be working out but I have an incredibly hard time bringing myself to do it. I used to enjoy playing basketball but am embarrassed by my lack of ability and so try to avoid it.
I know many of these problems I'm facing right now are directly tied to a lack of confidence. Did anyone else experience adderall withdrawal of this nature? Are there any suggestions for how to accelerate the recovery process? I'm starting to feel as thought I'll never be the funny, happy go lucky guy that I once was and that is incredibly disheartening.