First Post

    I plan to use this forum to alleviate from myself, thought-worms. Basically just trains of thought that repeatedly hog my attention and reach the same conclusion. I don't really care who reads this, it's more for my own benefit than anything else. But don't leave right away, it may be interesting to hear what I have to say. 

    Recently I've been thinking a great deal about my generation, those people born roughly between 1990 and 2000 (aka the net generation) and how this correlates to cases of ADD/ADHD and the resulting prescriptions. 

    At it's core, having symptoms of these disorders is not a cause for alarm, but rather entirely natural considering the environment we were born into. Individuals may have difficulty concentrating or remaining still, but that's as a result of being raised in an age when stimulation is everywhere. Patience is an outmoded term at best when someone of my generation can pull out their closest internet access and know anything at a moments notice. A shift towards repetetive electronic music (soothing stimuli), instant gratification in every form, and video games has resulted in many younger people becoming accustomed to constant stimulation. When a brain is young, it adapts to it's surroundings and changes permanently to increase it's chance of survival. In the information age, that means being able to keep up with changing modes of communication and rapidly cycling trends. The positive traits associated with such conditions make perfect sense considering the human brain's natural propensity for adaptation. Though the negative side effects can be difficult to manage in a society that hasn't quite caught up, there are ways to balance an individuals need for stimulation without drugs.    

    I am diagnosed with ADHD, but I don't believe in it. I took the drugs for a short while because they helped me to focus and study on things that required patience, but it led me to the conclusion that I neither want, nor need them. I can make up for my adapted brains need for dopamine in many healthy ways that many parents of kids with the disorder fail to realize. It shouldn't even need to be said, but medication is warranted only in extreme cases, but doctors and pharmacies hand them out like candy! The pills I got were fluorescent orange and tasted like fucking sweet tarts! I take issue with doctors and pharmaceutical companies shoving labels and pills down innocent kids throats that do more harm than good in the long run. After 20 years of being hooked on amphetamines, signs of manic depression set in, and another type of pill is prescribed, anti-psychotics. So in addition to being dependent on harmful stimulants for the slightest modicum of pleasure, so too are they reliant on harmful meds to keep them from going totally schitzo and killing people! All this forced on people at a young age who are not abnormal, but are absolutely totally normal! Being able to adapt to a changing world are not signs of abnormality.  

    (totally tangential) Another sign of adaptation in todays society are those with accelerated metabolisms. Being able to eat a regular high-fat, high-carb diet and remain skinny is not normal in the sense of gene preservation, if you exhibited this type of behavior in the wild, you would die in weeks. It serves a purpose in a modern world though, being skinny is hot -> hot people find mates -> ergo, skinny people reproduce.

    As I burrow down to the bedrock of my thought process I would like to illustrate the different lines of defense one can take in order to stave off negative symptoms an adaptive mind would take on in a changing age. These are just my own findings.

1) Exercise

    Reasoning: While it's true that learning things and stimulating one's mind will help produce neurotransmitter chemicals that improve focus and attention (happy chemicals), it's nothing to what a short run can produce. Even just a ten minute jog can have the same dopamine release as 1/4-1/2 of a dose of adderall. (my own experience) Many kids do not get enough exercise, and doctors skip right to drugs before recommending this most fundamental asset to anyone's physical and MENTAL health.

    http://www.additudemag.com/adhd/article/3142.html

2) Diet

    Reasoning: Missing nutrients can have a myriad of affects on someone's mental and physical health. It doesn't help that kids are subjected to boisterous ads for pizza and cheeseburgers since very early childhood, but healthier foods often do not provide the same pleasure response, and are thus avoided on general principle. 

    http://www.webmd.com/add-adhd/guide/adhd-diets

3) Sleep

    Reasoning: Sleep is not stimulating, it is very common for a cycle of racing thoughts caused by lack of sleep to cause lack of sleep exponentially. It is important to treat this as soon as possible as the benefits of a regular nights sleep can help immensely with focusing problems.   

   http://www.additudemag.com/adhd/article/757.html

4) Partial drug stimulation

    Reasoning: After all these alternatives have been exhausted, or if a case of ADHD is severe, I personally think a short dose of adderall or ritalin can help. In individuals old enough to make an informed decision about what they want to put in their body (16+), then I think a drug kickstart can really help. I certainly helped me with my depression :)

5) Semi-Regular drug stimulation:

    Reasoning: Alright, by now 95% of all ADHD cases have been solved in those willing to step up and fight their condition the natural way, but in those who've exhausted all other options then I think regular medication is justified. There should be a period of drug "holidays" in their schedule however to stave off tolerance and addiction. I would think something like "weekends off" or a week off every two months would suffice.

6/Wild Card) There are lots of healthy supplemental herbs and chemicals that can help with concentration that aren't harmful to the body and are by far just as effective. These are all totally legal and available over the counter w/out a prescription.

5-HTP or 5-Hydroxytryptophan, the chemical precursor to serotonin (the neurotransmitter that provides feelings of well-being and happiness)

L-tyrosine, the chemical precursor to dopamine. Drugs like Ritalin and Adderall do not produce dopamine, but they cause the brains natural stores of it to release and become depleted if not given a chance to refill. L-tyrosine helps fuel the brain with extra dopamine when something else like strenuous exercise or achievement warrants a release of it.

St. John's Wort. A curious little herb I've become quite fond of in the past. It acts as an antidepressant, and is well known for it's ability to cure mild depression. But it actually helps with concentration too! Use of this herb is counter-indicated while taking stimulants due to it's classification as a MOA inhibitor (mild though it is). 

Magnesium/Calcium/Zinc. Magnesium helps keep nerves healthy, Calcium helps inhibit neurotransmitters where necessary. Zinc is good for the immune system. I'm not entirely sure on how it works, but I think magnesium is absorbed better in the presence of calcium? In either case, I take this supplement a couple of times a week, and it seems to really help :)

Melatonin. A naturally produced chemical in the brain, helps initiate sleep. My favorite sleeping potion is a cup of chamomile tea, two capsules of Valerian root, and a chewable melatonin pill :)

Caffeine. Strangely, caffeine has the same sort of effect on me as Adderall, in that it calms my raging tornado of thoughts and allows me to concentrate, and actually sort of makes me sleepy...

Binaural Beats. Research them, I enjoy listening to the higher alpha wave ones, they are kind of trippy and help with concentration :D http://www.i-doser.com/

There are others, but these are the ones I take.

All in all, I hope this is coherent illustrates the point I am trying to make, holy shit it's long! -_-

I need more coffee. I am in the midst of a sleeping cycle where I crash around 5AM and wakeup at 5PM, this happens seldomly, but when it does the only way to change it is to forcibly keep myself up until the following night in order to fall into a more "normal" schedule. If I could live my live by night, I would, but most people are awake during the daylight hours, so I must comply :P