Ritalin and Depression: What Users Say

• Jad...
• June 28, 2019

For ADHD "First off, it was horrible for me. I will never go back to Ritalin ever again. I was on 10mg of Ritalin and it lasted around 2 hours. It was the weirdest experience. I felt simultaneously euphoric, jittery and stimulated, but also lazy and just wanted to sleep (???). It did give me a strong boost of energy which lasted throughout the day. After 2 hours was when things got really bad. I guess this is the 'crash'. It made me horribly depressed, anxious, and filled with rage. The anxiety was so bad that every single thing I set eyes on would trigger me, like looking at the laundry basket filled with laundry. I also felt extremely anti-social and didn't want to talk to anyone, not even my husband. Finally towards the end of the night I would return to my normal self again, but you can imagine the emotional roller-coaster I experienced the entire day. I tried to brush it off and chalked it down to stress. But looking back now, I am 100% certain that it was all due to the Ritalin."

• ele...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• November 13, 2019

For ADHD "22, Male, ADD, Anxiety disorder. Ritalin (Methylphenidate) is amazing. However, there's a catch: it enhances focus but does not direct your focus towards a subject that you're not interested in. I experience extreme euphoria, confidence, and optimism for about 1 hour (it builds up gradually, peaking at the 2-hour mark with 10mg). If you use this daily, tolerance builds up quickly after every 2 weeks (for me). When I stop taking it, I feel depressed for days but it will wear off as 'naturally occurring chemicals' reach equilibrium again. I suggest cycling it according to your productive days: 3-4 days a week and the rest off (avoiding tolerance and dependence). It enhances your current focus, so start working/studying for 15-30 minutes THEN take it. I've researched the most irrelevant topics which excite me the most for hours, only to find that within 30 minutes the Ritalin's effects are going to wear off."

• mar...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• May 13, 2023

For ADHD "I had ADHD for many years. It already saved my life. Clarity, concentration, memory, work, focus, I stopped drinking, began to work, be stable, organized, serious, focused, had good work, and could pay my bills. A month ago, a doctor I didn't know removed my lifesaver, saying I didn't have ADHD and never had... which is false, multiple doctors in the past have confirmed I have ADHD. This random doctor ruined my life. I'm not functional, have apathy, anhedonia, memory loss, depression, can't drive, can't concentrate, can't focus, trouble paying things, narcolepsy, feel depressed, can't work, can't find initiative. I look forward to finding my Ritalin back. Depression sucks. Just need it to live. It was my lifesaver. Good luck."

• mar...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• May 13, 2023

For ADHD "I had ADHD for many years. It already saved my life. Clarity, concentration, memory, work, focus, I stopped drinking, began to work, be stable, organized, serious, focused, had good work, and could pay my bills. A month ago, a doctor I didn't know removed my lifesaver, saying I didn't have ADHD and never had... which is false, multiple doctors in the past have confirmed I have ADHD. This random doctor ruined my life. I'm not functional, have apathy, anhedonia, memory loss, depression, can't drive, can't concentrate, can't focus, trouble paying things, narcolepsy, feel depressed, can't work, can't find initiative. I look forward to finding my Ritalin back. Depression sucks. Just need it to live. It was my lifesaver. Good luck."

• Anonymous
• January 24, 2010

For Narcolepsy "I have taken this medication for over 5 years to help me stay awake due to a narcolepsy diagnosis. The drug is very effective, and I have not become addicted in any way, although I have developed a tolerance to the medication and have had to increase my dosage to now the highest amount available. I will most likely have to change to another medication. The side effects have also increased, including mood swings and feelings of depression when the drug wears off, and now I am convinced that it is time to switch medications. Even with these increased side effects, without this drug, I wouldn't have been able to function as a normal human being, and now I am nervous that I won't be able to find another medication that was this effective."

• Ali...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 23, 2020

For ADHD "I'm a 20-year-old woman, 179 cm and 61 kg, who just got diagnosed with ADD for the first time in my life, after living with it untreated for so many years. So, my doctor wanted to prescribe me Ritalin, though in small doses, so I didn't just go all in from the start. I started with 10 mg, which didn't have an effect. Then I took 20 mg, I felt a little more energized, but nothing else. Then I tried 30 mg today. I felt extremely fresh in my mind, instead of the weird slump I'm usually in. Very happy, which suggests that what I lacked before was dopamine. Still no difference with anything else, like my poor concentration and focus, but on the other side, there are no side effects as of late. Other than the things that I've already struggled with, like depression and anxiety. Not a bad experience thus far, but I'm still a little bit nervous about how 40 mg and 50 mg will affect me."

• Kev...
• June 18, 2009

For ADHD "Well, my experience with Ritalin really changed my life, and I really mean really. This medication has a lot of pros as well as cons. Without Ritalin, I could not do anything in school, I was literally paralyzed. Everyone did better than me, but I tried the hardest, and I just couldn't do it, there was no way. So, when I got Ritalin, it made a huge impact on my life, I mean huge. This substance really changed me, the way I acted, the way I thought. It was amazing, I fell in love with it. I took the proper amount every time: 40 MG - 60 MG. Now, I have been taking Ritalin for 7 years. The only cons are it makes you very still after a while, and depression, but I can deal with it."

• Rey...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 10, 2019

For ADHD "(18 M) I recently got diagnosed with ADD and was given Ritalin. 5 mg per day as a start-up dose. I have dabbled with other drugs in the past, like cannabis, LSD, mushrooms, and morphine. I took Ritalin for two days before deciding to quit. Never in my entire life have I ever felt this level of addiction, nor have I ever crashed this bad on any drug. I have suffered with severe depression, OCD, and anxiety for some years. The crash gave me a rebound to my past psychosis."

• law...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• June 16, 2015

For ADHD "Ritalin has changed my life for the better. Family and friends could see how happy I was. I was able to finish what I started instead of 20 projects. A fill-in doctor said he would not prescribe me my Ritalin because I was 61 years old, that I was too old. My regular doctor is out of town. I am withdrawing and very tired and depressed, and I want to die, or I will if. These thoughts of the afterlife will be painless, live alone, and no one will find me for days."

• law...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• June 16, 2015

For ADHD "Ritalin has changed my life for the better. Family and friends could see how happy I was. I was able to finish what I started instead of 20 projects. A fill-in doctor said he would not prescribe me my Ritalin because I was 61 years old, that I was too old. My regular doctor is out of town. I am withdrawing and very tired and depressed, and I want to die, or I will if. These thoughts of the afterlife will be painless, live alone, and no one will find me for days."

• 34F...
• August 9, 2022

For ADHD "Made me feel so horrible, even at its lowest dose. Didn't help, just made everything weird, and then when it starts wearing off, depressive and anxious. I have all symptoms of ADD, but I have anxiety under control through diet and exercise, and I've never struggled with depression, but Ritalin literally made me ADD PLUS anxiety and depression. No thanks."

• Luc...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 25, 2019

For ADHD "After trying Dexedrine and having a few unpleasant side effects, my doctor had me try Ritalin. I was on it for about 2 weeks before I decided I wasn't going to take it anymore. Severe depression, increased anxiety, and worsened general ADHD symptoms were the norm on this drug for me."

• Ash...
• November 15, 2016

For ADHD "I wanted to update about my medication. I am now 20 mg of Ritalin twice daily and 50 mg of Zoloft generic once daily. Having suffered bipolar depression, PTSD, ADD/ADHD throughout different periods in my life. I also have Borderline/Mild General Learning Disability, a labeling in terms that is least offensive to Mild Mental Retardation or Borderline/Mild Intellectual Disability. In my case, the GLD is extremely least severe in the slightest degree. Ritalin actually works very well for me, while Zoloft treats the anxiety, depression, and some mild obsessive-compulsive behavioral thoughts, but nothing extreme, severe, or serious. In some people, depending on DNA and how generics affect medication, the effects might be very different, etc."

• Not...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• September 7, 2020

For Narcolepsy "I was diagnosed with excessive daytime sleepiness in the '90s. I took Ritalin twice a day for more than a decade. I found it was like being on a roller coaster. My first dose was mid-morning, and it would take at least 30 minutes before it started kicking in. It 'peaked' about 2 hours after consuming the dose, where I felt awake, alert, and full of energy for a very short time. Then its effects slowly wore off, leaving me feeling completely out of it, depressed, slow, and unmotivated. I took the 2nd dose mid-afternoon, and its effectiveness ran the same course. It was a struggle getting through every day."

• Sky...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 19, 2022

For ADHD "Just got diagnosed with ADHD and prescribed Ritalin (10 mg 3 times a day, starting with 1 and increasing it every few days). It’s my 6th day taking it, and it feels like it’s doing the complete opposite of what it should be doing. It’s worsened my anxiety and depression, I feel robotic and numb, my moods fluctuate more than usual, I can’t focus, I feel tired and lethargic, irritable, nauseous, dizzy, racing heart, and none of my usual coping mechanisms that I had before I started meds are helping at all. It’s helped so little and made me feel so much worse. I've started dreading having to take them. I called my doctor today and am waiting for him to call back so I can speak to him about it."

• Ros...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• January 15, 2021

For ADHD "I am a 20-year-old woman, 145 pounds, and have been diagnosed with ADD since I was 8. I had tried numerous medications to try and help over the last 12 years, but it always seemed the side effects outweighed the good it was doing. I wouldn’t eat and felt depressed/zombie-like on other medications. I take Ritalin 10 mg twice daily. It usually lasts around 3-4 hours. I have to stop and tell myself to eat something sometimes, and my heart rate becomes faster, but other than that, those are my only side effects. I feel great at the end of the day and am very productive during those hours. Ritalin is the first one that works for me, and the side effects don’t outweigh the good it’s doing for me."

• Eri...
• October 27, 2011

For ADHD "I found Ritalin increased my alertness and concentration. I rate Ritalin 2/10 as I find it increased my depression, from which point I stopped taking it. Unsure whether the Ritalin interacted negatively with my usual small dose antidepressant Cymbalta or if increased depression is an unreported side effect."

• Car...
• February 13, 2018

For ADHD "I've been on Ritalin for a little over a week now, and I have noticed that the mornings in first period are much easier to get through. But throughout the day, when I'm on it, I'll experience these low points of depression where I'm literally just sitting at my desk and not able to do anything. It works for calming me, and I'm a lot less restless, but once it wears off, it feels like a wave of ADHD hits me, and I start running around out of control, doing things like yelling and jumping."

• Nor...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 11, 2022

For ADHD "I'm not sure if I got prescribed a dose that was too high for me, but while I was on the medication, I experienced derealization, severe depression, anxiety, panic attacks, absolutely no appetite at all, and stayed in bed most of the day. One of the worst medications I've been on."

• Har...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 26, 2022

For ADHD "The 5 mg tablets are okay. The first month on it, it wasn’t bad at all, very productive, a few side effects like hunger and sadness. I would say a 6/10 for the 5 mg tablets. The XR/LA was absolutely the worst experience, though. Headaches, stomach aches, constantly frantic feeling, gassy, bathroom trips every time I ate, bloating, anxiety, extremely irritated, I always felt on the verge of a mental breakdown, poor digestion, poor sleep. I would sleep for 10 hours on XR and wake up feeling like I never slept. This should be used to torture people. I have a month supply, and I will be throwing away the medication, I actually can’t take these. I normally run 3x a week and work out 5x a week for my job. I have barely done any physical activity on XR. My life has gone very downhill, very fast. They really aren't addictive, at least the XR isn’t."

• Hds...
• September 18, 2021

For ADHD "I was using Ritalin for the first time when I was in third grade. It was great at first, but only for a few months. So I started using other medicines, but sadly none of them really helped much. I used it for the rest of elementary school. I stopped after that because of the side effects that did more harm to me than good. Now, after three and a half years without Ritalin, I still can't work properly at school, and I don't know what to do. Yesterday, I took Ritalin again after a long time, and it is just horrible. I don't like the feeling of it. In the first hour, I feel kind of enthusiastic, but then it changes into depression. I just feel... dead. I don't want to do anything or speak to anyone, and even if I'm super hungry, I can barely get anything into my mouth, and I end up starving myself until the evening. At the end of the day, all it does is to make me starve myself and give me a bad feeling that doesn't help me."

• msl...
• April 10, 2016

For ADHD "I am an adult female. I was prescribed 10 mg once a day. My counselor advised my behavioral health MD to treat me for possible ADD/ADHD. I'm also taking Klonopin and Ambien, which might account for my reaction-Ritalin made me sleepy and kind of depressed! I was really surprised, as I'd never heard of that reaction. Also taking Lamictal and Trileptal for bipolar. Hm... I sure would like to know if others have this reaction or if upping the dose would possibly make me not so depressed."