Does your child have trouble with fitting in? Do they act up in class? Do they find it hard to do mundane boring school work chained to a desk for 6 hours a day? Are they bursting with energy? The solution is to Drug 'em!!!
Millions of people have been miss diagnosed with the bullshit disease, ADD or ADHD. Millions more are to come. Are we all sick in the head? How did this happen to us? Doctors don't even know. They don't know what starts it. They don't know what it is. They can't do any testing on you to find out if ADD is really the case. And yet they know how to treat it. Many doctors will push drugs onto you these days without looking for the real problem. They often get kick backs from the pharmaceutical companies to do so. Their only human you know. People would often have more money then less.
Why do so many of us have ADD? Other then the fact that bullshit makes drug companies money, lets look at the symptoms.
Hard time focusing, starting tasks but never finishing them, a feeling of restlessness, over organizing things. Sound like you. Well it should. We as human beings are not machines. We're imperfect. We don't like to be bored. Boredom usually brings about these symptoms. They should start callin BD instead. Boredom disease.
It's the school systems that need changing. You've got kids of all kinds, squished into one classroom. Years ago, kids with energy would work at an early age and wear themselves out. Now adventurous kids need a full education to get a decent job. they're also inside playing video games. Also, some kids think with the right side of their brains. Which means they're more creative and emotional then most people. But the school systems are set up for logical, organized, mathematical kids. Anyone who doesn't fit into this system shouldn't be drugged. They should try an alternative education.
I read in a fashion magazine, that ADD sufferers (adults and children with energy) are more likely to grow up and be alcoholics, gamblers, divorcees etc.
So you better get drugged by pharmaceutical companies or it's the bottle for you. (Fashion magazines aren't that great for reading material, but they sure do make great kindling for a fire.)
The writer in the magazine went on to say that people in the past may have had ADD as well. Like Da Vinci and Thomas Edison. That might have been the reason behind their eccentric behavior and starting things without finishing them. Or maybe Da Vinci found it difficult to invent the airplane in the 16th century by himself. If these mad scientists were on Ritalin a drug which represses the chemical dopamine in the brain, (gives people energy), they would be to doped up to invent anything.
Just because some poeople aren't productive over achievers doesn't mean there diseased. You can't fix everything with a magic pill.
If your kid is rolling around on the carpet yelling and screaming for your attention, don't drug them. Play with them outside at least. See what they're like after wearing themselves out.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
ADD drugs are killing your kids
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2 comments:
I certainly agree that most schools are not set up well for the ADD type person, and I do believe ADD or ADHD is a real type. And I do believe that in the extreme it is a disorder, and that a good combination of medication plus education and therapy help most people a lot.
ADHD has been around forever, without a name, expect "black sheep of the family," but these people have gone out and chopped wood and milked the cows, and if they didn't have that outlet, they went to sea or went West or joined the circus or the military. But it's harder to find these unconventional outlets now when you have to have a regular job to survive or when you have to have 16 years at a school desk to be employable. It takes a lot of freedom of choice to find a life that suits a person with ADHD, a lot more freedom of choice than most people have. So ADHD is a lot more noticeable and problematic now than it used to be. The person with mild to moderate ADHD sometimes finds a great life doing what works for him, sometimes he is miserable not finding what works and not doing well in what he's trying to do.
ADHD is probably overdiagnosed, but it is even more often underdiagnosed. When it is properly diagnosed, medication is an almost miraculous help. Many adults have been so grateful for the diagnosis and treatment because finally they can do what they have been wanting to do, instead of floundering moment to moment from one unfinished task to another. They do prefer to be able to choose what to focus on. With ADHD they cannot choose for more than a few minutes or seconds at a time.
As a coach, I've had clients with ADHD whose first issue they want to work on goes like this: I have ADHD and the meds really help but I keep forgetting to take them. So that's the first thing I need to fix." IT's easy to fix that one, and then all the other goals such a client has is easier to achieve. I keep the sessions short for such a client and, while I do most coaching on the phone at a distance, I walk with the ones in town to keep the feel=good chemicals flowing in their brains enough for them to attend to the coaching session.
I don't expect you to like my blog ThePowerofBoredom.com but I was struck by your line that there is a boredom disease because there is and it is ADHD. I only have a few posts on my blog, so take a quick look and see what's there.
Letitia
We live in a society with too many distractions. Television has faster editing then ever. On most commercials and action movies, one scene usually lasts a maximum of 3 seconds. I wish there was a more concrete reason for what causes ADHD other then a lack of dopamine in the brain. The chemicles in the brain react to the stimuli of ones "feel good chemiclas" can be restored natural ways through dieting and exercise. Most people are told to take pills as a first step. I don't think boredom is a disease at all. People find it hard to be entertained by things because we are so used to entertainment. We don't have the thrill of the hunt, we just walk to the fridge. We don't have the adventure of journey, we just hop in the car. We want to do everything quicker because we have so little time. I was a day dreamer in school. This is often what people say about girls that fly underneath the ADD radar because boys are more hyper active. But my daydreaming is what gives me the abbility to be a creative artist. If I wasn't bored all that time in class I would pay attention and be obedient. But in being obedient it's hard to be creative. I've been labeled for having ADD becuase I'm so eccentric at times and I hate being obedient and working a "normal" job. But I love my crazy life. I wish other people wouldn't be so scared of there individuality.
"Brain Chemicals and Modern Life
It all comes down to our chemistry. Fidgeting, concentration, sleep, energy levels, mood swings, even the ability to sweat are controlled by the chemicals lurking about our bodies. Serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine, melatonin, insulin, and prostaglandins are some of the more important ones...and these in turn are influenced strongly by stress, diet, exercise, sunlight, sleep and other life style factors. Of course the life style of today is radically different than it was 20,000 years ago. Consider how these factors from modern life commonly influence us:
Being indoors (lack of sunlight): Reduced melatonin
Stress: Reduced serotonin
Modern food processing: Fatty acid imbalances and chemical sensitivities
High sugar/carbohydrate and low-fat diet: More insulin; prostaglandin imbalance
Lack of exercise: Decreased serotonin and dopamine
Lack of sleep: Reduced serotonin
Poor nutrition: Reduced serotonin
Boring classes/job, lack of activity: Reduced dopamine & norepinephrine.
Deionized air: Reduced serotonin
Reduced serotonin levels from stress, lack of sleep & exercise, poor nutrition, and lack of sunlight are connected with ADD, irritability, depression, aggression, anxiety, lack of concentration, chronic pain, restlessness or fatigue, nausea, obsessive-compulsive disorder, weight gain or loss, fibromyalgia, arthritis, chronic fatigue syndrome, heat intolerance and other syndromes. Fluctuating serotonin levels are connected with bipolar disorder (manic depression) and hypomania. You don't have to feel depressed or anxious; symptoms may be purely physical.
Reduced dopamine/norepinephrine caused by boring surroundings and lack of exercise may manifest as ADD, impulsivity, lack of concentration, restlessness, and depression or loss of pleasure. Dopamine is the "feel good" chemical which illegal drugs mimic (such as cocaine, heroin, marijuana) as well as cigarettes, coffee and alcohol. Ritalin and other ADD drugs are thought to increase dopamine activity.
Modern food processing has completely altered the types of fatty acids we consume. Since our brain is composed largely of fatty acids, we are missing the "bricks" needed for normal brain development and repair. In addition, we are eating lots of man-made chemicals. Food colors, for example, are mostly made from petroleum.
Reduced melatonin from lack of sunlight may disturb the sleep cycle and cause seasonal depression (called SAD).
Lots of sugars and carbohydrates lead to increased insulin levels. High insulin tells the body to store what you just ate as fat, thereby dropping your blood sugar concentration. Your brain can burn only sugar, so it is deprived of food. Poor concentration and depression can result. Hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) can lead to diabetes. Also, the low blood sugar make you hungry, which causes you to eat more sugar or carbohydrates, and the cycle is repeated. Finally, insulin levels affect serotonin levels and many systems throughout the body.
Poor nutrition can result in lower levels of chemicals like serotonin. Vitamins B6, C and E (the stress vitamins) are especially important.
ADDers, as a group, seems to be more sensitive in general and may therefore be more sensitive to the effects of modern lifestyles. Some people, for example, may be born with inherently lower serotonin levels, which causes the neuroreceptors to become more sensitive. This in turns may result in higher highs and lower lows, and an increased vulnerability to depression and other related syndromes. The same may be true of dopamine, insulin and other chemicals."(http://borntoexplore.org/neurochem.htm)
We evolved as hunters as being destracted by sights and sounds. It's only been the last 200 years since we've had machines that do everything for us and food that isn't real. Just because people haven't adapted to a suddenly fast paced society, doesn't mean they need pills to counteract the negative outcome of not living healthy in it. I do agree with the fact that there are rare cases of people that are exceptionally troubled and should seek help. But even those individuals should seek drug therapy as a last resort. There is a lack of testing in the so called ADD sufferer.
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