ADHD meds and glasses
Over the last few days, I’ve gotten a surprising number of emails from folks who are against the idea of ADHD medication.
Often, the undercurrent is the idea that medication is “conforming to neurotypical norms” or that “I’m not broken and I don’t need fixing.”
You don’t need to conform to neurotypical norms. You’re not broken. You don’t need fixing.
That’s not what medication is for.
Important and hopefully obvious caveat: I’m not a doctor, and this isn’t medical advice. Talk to your own doctor.
You’re still you
I’ve been on Adderall for about two weeks now, and I’ve seen people I care about deeply before-and-after medication. I can confidently say: you’re still you. If you’re not, the medication isn’t working like it should.
Back in the 80’s and 90’s (and early 2000’s), choices in medication were much more limited, and doses were often too high. That’s where a lot of this perception around ADHD meds comes from, in my opinion.
It’s different today. You have stimulant and non-stimulant options. Doctors start you on very low doses and work up to one that’s the right fit for your personal chemistry.
ADHD meds are like glasses for your brain
I have terrible vision.
Before I got glasses in third grade, I could still read all of the same stuff my friends could, but I had to work a lot harder it. Squint. Get really close to the blackboard. Guess at certain letters.
When I got my glasses, I wasn’t reading anything new. I just didn’t have to work as hard at it.
In my personal experience, ADHD meds are like that. I’m still my loud, enthusiastic, weird, “wow you’re a lot” self (ask my friends and family)!
But I don’t have to work quite so hard to direct my creativity and energy where I want.
Eye glasses aren’t “conforming to neurotypical norms,” and neither are ADHD meds.
Interested?
ADHD meds don’t work for everyone.
I have some friends who disliked them or found they didn’t really help. I have friends who hated stimulant-based meds, but found non-stimulants worked really well. For some of my friends, the non-stimulants made them nauseous, but stimulants worked great.
Everyone’s chemistry is different. Everyone’s ADHD is unique.
If you think you might benefit from medication, the first step would be to talk to a licensed psychiatrist authorized to prescribe ADHD meds.
There’s a lot of considerations around prexisting health conditions, other cognitive conditions, and your specific ADHD symptoms that affect ADHD medication choices.
They might not be the right choice for you, and that’s totally fine! But as someone who used to be skeptical of them myself until a friend of mine had this same exact chat with me, I also don’t think we should demonize them, either.