ADHD and Stimulants: Medication Fears, Debunked
www.additudemag.com
ADHD and stimulants stir up medication fears about the safety of rigorously studied treatment. Why?

[N]o other class of medications in virtually all of medicine inspires more baseless fears, intentional disinformation, and wild beliefs as do the stimulants used to treat ADHD.

Interestingly, these fears are almost entirely an American phenomenon that hardly exists elsewhere in the world.

[H]aving ADHD lowers a person’s estimated life expectancy by 12.7 years.

From other articles on the site:

  • ADHD medication use lowers risk of death by 19%, risk of overdose by 50%, and it reduces hospitalizations

  • [T]he risk of substance abuse decreases substantially when [ADHD] patients are treated with stimulant medication

  • PapaEmeritusIII [any]
    ·
    6 hours ago

    I think a lot of people’s fears come down to some combination of these silly reasons:

    • Drugs bad
    • Drug name is similar to methamphetamine and meth is bad
    • I know someone who abused stimulants and it didn’t go well for them, so that’s what’s going to happen to you too, even if you just take them as prescribed
    • ADHD is fake and you’re just taking drugs because you’re lazy
    • ADHD is real, but if you can’t overcome it through sheer effort of will, you’re lazy. And a drug addict. And that’s bad
    • ADHD is fake; it was invented by big pharma to peddle addictive drugs. So you’re being taken advantage of and you should stop taking your medication
    • TankieTanuki [he/him]
      ·
      5 hours ago

      Sadly, the last sentiment is somewhat common among leftists, such as the Hampton Institute.

    • TankieTanuki [he/him]
      ·
      5 hours ago

      I'm beginning to worry I may be one of those ADHD adults who needs a dosage higher than than the conservative limit set by the FDA. If that's the case then I'm fucked.

      Maybe I should ask about combining it with a non-stimulant drug.

      • iie [they/them, he/him]
        ·
        4 hours ago

        I keep my tolerance low by only taking meds 3–5 days a week. If not for tolerance I would take it every day.