Archive for the 'College' Category

Tired of the Media

Thursday, May 12th, 2005

I am tired of reading news stories about college kids staying up all night on ADHD drugs. I am sick of hearing about it on TV as well.

There is so much attention given to the abuse of stimulant medication. The media just loves these types of stories. They love scandals, and they love being the heroes who expose the wrongs of our society.

Unfortunately, most people listen to these types of news stories without really understanding the full issue. People think of medications such as Ritalin and Adderall as overprescribed drugs that are abused by college students, rather than as real medications that actually do help so many college students pay attention in lectures and maintain good enough grades to graduate.

Posted in College, Medication, Ritalin, Adderall, Abuse, Stigma, Stimulant, Media | No Comments »

Finally Being Diagnosed with ADD

Tuesday, April 19th, 2005

For the longest time, I didn’t have the courage to see a doctor about my concentration problems.

Then I became desperate. I started failing my classes. The funny thing is, I was trying harder than ever to pass them. While my friends went out and enjoyed a normal social life, I stayed in to catch up with work.

Nobody understood. They all thought I was a straight-A student who spent all her time worrying about grades needlessly. They never understood that I just wanted to pass my classes so that I wouldn’t get kicked out of school.

I was struggling so much that finally I gave in and walked into the doctor’s office. He agreed that all my symptoms pointed to ADD and suggested some books about it. He gave me a prescription, which I was embarrassed to use but which helped me significantly. And then my life began to improve.

Posted in Uncategorized, College, Medication | No Comments »