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this post was submitted on 09 Jun 2024
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This. Way too many people these days are confusing burnout or addiction with ADHD. Literally seeing YouTubers state they are burned out and then declare it's ADHD, and how Adderall helped them be productive magically.
No shit the METH analogue is making you productive, it's fucking meth. It'll perk up anyone no matter how burned out you are. There's a reason it was commonly used by students who hadn't slept and could only afford ramen while finishing their thesis back in the day.
It sucks how that's being over diagnosed and causing a shortage in people who actually need it. Psychologists in the USA have way too much power - how can you basically prescribe meth to someone without even a blood test or further testing to rule out other non-focus causes, but a nurse can't even get you some heart medication over there?
Edit: very late, but let the record show Adderall was indeed being over prescribed in the USA:
https://arstechnica.com/science/2024/06/up-to-50k-patients-face-adderall-disruption-amid-telehealth-fraud-indictment/
Actually what's harmful is misinformation about drugs, which you are ironically spreading.
Not all drugs give feelings of high or rushes or such. What causes that in most cases is how the drug is taken, and the dosage. That's why there's a lot of functioning addicts in society as well. Caffeine for example weight give you jitters of you take a very small amount, but drink 8 cups of coffee and you'll feel something really different. Thinking that an addict looks and acts a certain way is way more harmful to society, because
A) it causes a stigma to addicts that doesn't lead to them seeking help, because they don't experience that stereotype, and B) hinders a societies willingness to explore potential medical uses in illicit drugs. Cannabis is a huge example of this.
Yes, Adderall is an Methamphetamine analog. It works on the same receptors. Part of the discovery for drug treatments for ADHD came about when it was noticed that people who had ADHD and took Meth ended up calming down rather than becoming energetic like just people would (known as a paradoxical effect). It is essentially Meth when it comes to biochemical interactions in the human body.
Now like all drugs, if you need it, then yes you should take it, much like someone with a broken leg will need opioids (that doesn't change that for most, opioids are addictive, does it?). The problem is there are many people who DO NOT need Adderall, because they have not been properly evaluated for ADHD. They get prescribed after a single visit to a psychologist. That's not enough data to determine if someone should be taking such a powerful drug. Society (well, USA especially in this case because feigned ignorance from money in the first place) has figured out that giving opioids without much effort was a terrible idea, yet the exact same mistake is being done with Adderall. Adderall definitely is addictive. But needing to take medication daily to function because of an external factor is different than being addicted to it.
And many are instead overworked, burnt out, and/or beyond exhausted, and telling people "oh I couldn't do anything or focus and then Adderall fixed everything!" without people realizing what Adderall is, is far more dangerous. Not saying this is what you're doing btw, I'm referencing more younger (well, 35 and under) people who have a wide reach and influence who equate symptoms of absolute exhaustion and stress, and then with no research at all say it's ADHD. If lucky they see a psychologist a single time and instantly get a prescription (which I think is also very irresponsible, considering the lack of actual medical knowledge psychologists have). It's reminiscent of those chiropractors who could give prescriptions for opioids during the onset of the opioid epidemic.
I literally wrote a whole detailed comment specifically towards you? How's that ignoring? You on the other hand have literally just ignored what I said in my comment.
Speaking of topics you shouldn't write on that you don't understand, Naloxone is a receptor antagonist and not an analog to opioids. Opioids are agonists. Naloxone binds to the same receptors, but doesn't latch (hence the very short effect duration) or active the receptors. Adderall does - that's literally why it helps. Both Adderall and methamphetamine are agonists on the same receptor sites, and on someone with ADHD that's a good thing, much the same way opioids are for someone hurting, or lithium is for certain mental illness.
Yes, you take a powerful drug that's basically meth. It's a meth analog. That doesn't change that it's medicine for you, even if it was literal meth rather than a refined analog created to get around dumb drug laws (well, and to improve efficacy for your condition as well in this case). That doesn't change what it is. Ignorant people will always remain ignorant, but downplaying the dangers of something isn't the solution to combating ignorance either. I will call a spade a spade, and in this one it's one that's definitely being overused as well because the reality is the majority see it as "just harmless medicine" rather than what it actually is. If anything, with how recommended it is to take Adderall by most on social media, the issue you brought up to me seems to be in the minority rather than the majority.
The issue isn't the meth, it's how people view it - whether that be extremely dangerous of its the drug or harmless if it's an analog you get from a pharmacy. The reality is it's in between like all drugs.
Psychologists do not prescribe medication. No one is being prescribed Adderall after one visit to a psychologist, because all the psychologist can do is refer to a psychiatrist who then might make a prescription after confirming the diagnosis.
Stop repeating your opinion as fact. You are confidently incorrect.
Depends on the state. They can in some states (5: Louisiana, New Mexico, Illinois, Iowa, and Idaho), and in others they can just call a psychiatrist and the psychiatrist will then write it without the patient having to see the psychiatrist, or some other loophole (such as having an advanced psychiatric nurse on staff write the prescriptions for them). And there's a trending push in more states to allow psychologists to prescribe directly. I don't have an issue with psychiatrists giving Adderall, but with psychologists doing it, as I confidently stated for a reason. So yes, you should, quoting you;
So Adderall is an amphetamine salt. Not a methamphetamine. Not that they don't have methamphetamine drugs that are prescribed for ADHD. But they are drastically different drugs.
I do think their prescriptions are over dosing, but to say that over prescribing is preventing those that need it is the wrong conclusion. If there is that much need, then there should be increased production. However the federal government restricts the productions to a certain level.
Like most drugs to treat mental illnesses, it's a lot of "try this and report" to determine the effectiveness and the dosage. We don't truly understand the neurotransmitters or how they affect mood and mental health. We work on correlation. It's only by how the patient self reports the effects that they can adjust the dosage and potentially change to different drugs.
Meth analogue. It's not straight up meth but works on the same receptors, much how synthetic opioids do. It'll still perk up and focus a normal burnt out person too.
Two things can be true. If it's being over prescribed, then technically production meets need, but need has also been artificially raised. That said, there at least was a shortage due to over prescription, and in some places still are.
Except a lot doesn't try basic things first when unsure to rule out other possible causes. Not even blood tests in many cases to see if it's not some other illness or deficiency. Or just overwork. I know correlation isn't causation but that Americans especially seem to be diagnosed much higher than Europeans with ADHD despite the healthcare not being socialized seems to correlate with the extreme work culture Americans have. There's basically no vacations, a consumerist culture that encourages debt, and high work schedules. When you work that much, it's not unreasonable your brain starts to complain about not having fun and refuses to easily concentrate anymore and instead prefers seeking dopamine. Combine that with dopamine hitters that require a short attention span like TikTok or much of social media in general and that's a recipe for a burnout very similar to ADHD. But giving Adderall to someone burnt out is the same as giving coffee to someone sleep deprived - it's only getting you through the symptoms but not actually fixing the problem. And the American mental health system seems to extremely easily give drugs rather than figure out if you actually need them first, or if there's another way to actually fix the problem.
Actually, that's the American health system in general. Mild hypertension? Don't bother encouraging the patient to just go for an evening walk every other day for some mild exercise first to see if that helps, just take some calcium ion channel inhibitors! A bit overweight with some slightly elevated blood glucose levels? Let's not get them to consult a nutritionist first, just go straight for the ozempic.
To me the current over diagnosis of ADHD and over prescription of medication in general is more a sign of the private healthcare system and runaway capitalism in general in the USA, rather than extremely significant prior under-diagnostics.
Then there are also people who drink or used to drink a lot or use lots of recreational drugs in higher than safe doses and call it adhd when they experience memory or attention problems… When I finally admitted I needed help, it was after years of positive lifestyle changes not having any effect. That’s very bad too because I pretty much tortured myself for too long, most of my potential went down the drain and I became a person who pretty much no longer trusts themselves and is always scared of pursuing opportunities because of inevitable spiraling into dysfunction. That scenario is something nobody should end up in and people need to feel supported to seek help to minimize such damage, but those making zero effort and completely jumping over so many first steps in helping the typical and very common symptoms is really irresponsible. Having people claim to have adhd just because they have memory problems, or attention problems from spending unrestricted and unmonitored amount on apps designed to break the brain, or a textbook burnout… It’s not just insensitive to those who are suffering from the disability, it is also detrimental to give amphetamines to a body that needs care, rest, or exercise.