[thomastjeffery]

Continuing your ADHD example, the mood-boosting effects may very well be secondary, not directly caused by the drug itself. It feels great to finally have the balance of stimulation you always needed, but never had. The experience also has novelty, which is known to be very important to ADHD brains; because novelty is stimulating.

After some time, the novelty of the experience wears off, and you start to get more familiar with the limitations of medication. That's disappointing. Disappointment feels bad. Again, this is not caused by the drug itself, but by the surrounding experience.

ADHD itself is riddled with secondary experiences: they make up the name itself! People with ADHD do not struggle to pay attention, we struggle to direct it. Hypoactivity is a reaction to living without enough simulation. Neither is a direct symptom of the disorder, but they are ubiquitous enough to

People who live with undiagnosed/untreated ADHD are likely to end up with a lot of trauma. That trauma is unaffected by medication.

So if you start taking ADHD medication, you need to know what it does and doesn't help with. Medication can't make up the entirety of treatment, just like cognitive behavioral therapy can't replace medication.