# I'm pretty sure I have ADD/ADHD



## slothpop (Mar 19, 2014)

LostFavor said:


> Nah, it's not so much a matter of sources, as it is a personal choice. I've never liked the idea of substances that alter my mind. And you'd be hard-pressed to find something in my life that contradicts that. I don't drink caffeine, don't drink alcohol, and have never even touched drugs.
> 
> I'm already taking thyroid medication for hypothyroidism, which isn't a mind thing, but it's something I have to take consistently or my thyroid gets unbalanced. The last thing I want is another pill to watch over.
> 
> ...


While I do respect whatever you so choose to do, I would like to offer my input one last time, as I felt the same way you did before I began my medication.

Initially, I felt that medication was sort of 'cheating' my way through life. But then as I learned more about how DRI's (short for dopamine reuptake inhibitors, the kinds of drugs used to medicate ADHD) worked, I realized that this wasn't the case. The medication works on a per-person basis, such that those without ADHD would gain a stronger overall effect from the medication than someone with ADHD. However, while the medication has shown little ill effects for those who struggle with the disorder (and who take the medication at prescribed doses), there is evidence that taking the medication without having ADHD can be harmful.

I no longer consider it cheating once I thought about it this way: consider eyesight. Some people are lucky and have been born with near-perfect vision. They will never need glasses in their lifetime. Other people are not so lucky, and they need glasses in order to do simple tasks, like read a book or drive a car. It's not that these things are difficult for them -- it's that they have a physical condition imposed on them, such that they cannot physically do these things without unnecessary strain. Imagine that you have horrible vision, but you refuse to get glasses because it is 'cheating'. You can imagine how frustrating it would be to see those with perfect vision effortlessly do the things you cannot seem to do, and it isn't until you try glasses on for the first time that you realize how much more effective you are with them. We are reluctant to think of ADHD the same way, because we are more likely to take ownership of our 'mental' conditions (considering them to be a part of us). However, we freely admit to our own 'physical' shortcomings (e.g. bad eyesight, need for braces) and willingly fix them so that we can function better in society. What we don't realize is that even our 'mental' problems are 'physical' shortcomings, and we need to willingly fix them in order to function better in society.

For someone who does not need glasses, they certainly aren't harmful for that person. But the cost of the glasses (and the inconveniences that come with them -- carrying them around, breaking them, etc.) -- aren't worth it for someone who doesn't need them. But for someone with terrible vision, it is almost crucial that they get glasses.

You also say this:

'I also know that medicine is not a one-size-fits-all thing. I appreciate your input and I imagine the studies you're linking are probably legitimate, but it's no guarantee that pills would have a positive impact on me, specifically.

Trust me, I'd love for it to be that simple and work like magic, but I generally don't make a habit of trusting answers that seem too simple. It could help or it could not help, but I'd rather see what else I can do before I resort to playing games with my brain.'

Resorting back to the glasses example, it'd be like me telling you that buying glasses may not benefit you, despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary, so you may as well not buy them. It'd also be like you telling me that you don't trust glasses, because it 'seems too simple' to just put on a wearable item and your vision is perfect. Yet we have grown so accustomed to glasses in our culture, that we forget how inconceivable people found them back when they were invented.

I think that medication is similar. Even though over 70% of medicated ADHD patients reportedly find their ADHD symptoms almost completely manageable with their medication, there is still a stigma against it -- much like there was a stigma against glasses at one point in time.

Anyway, that is just my opinion. I wish you the best of luck, and let me know if you'd like different advice. I didn't start medication until only recently, and so I've worked on developing a few helpful habits over time.


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## Belzy (Aug 12, 2013)

@LostFavor do you eat sea food?

Because I used to never eat that, and since I do my concentration issues became less of an issue.

So eating healthy, including sea food, sleeping well, excisizing well, and reasons to enjoy live (friends, activity), and getting rid of unnecessary stress are a natural way to improve your life. I don't know how well all of these things are done by you. 

Anywho, I support your decision to not take mediciation. I'd say only take it as last resort (which was for me the case because I was deeply depressed, hopeless and so on ans so on - and with the help of medication I could get out of that, just to eventually stop taking them to even improve my life even more - not saying this works the same way with everyone).

Knowing a lot about ADD has been very helpful to me. It made me understand why I struggle with things others don't. It made me more aware of my weaknesses staying my weaknesses or at least very difficult to improve, but at the same time also about my strengths are; compared to others. And then finding where I can use my strengths, and where my weaknesses won't hold me back, helped me growing a lot (confidence and so on). I also have people close to me with AD(H)D, and also that I really like.

I'm taking a very slow step-by-step approach to develop/get where I want to be eventually, because I know I can grow into something I like to be, just didn't figure out what and how earlier in my life.


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