Sum it up.

For my final post I thought it would be a great idea to sum up the inside look in to my life with ADD. Negative stigmas almost held me back from achieving what I was capable of achieving. But with this risk factor I learned to stand on my own two feet and stand up for myself and what I know to be true. This will end up being a major protective factor for me as I go through my life course. As many of y'all can tell with my screen name Yes I am a republican and this will make me a minority in this field. However, because I have already learned to cope and deal with being an outsider I will be able to stand up straight and move forward in this field. As for the distractions this is not something that I have not dealt with my whole life and will continue to struggle with for the rest of my life. The risk factor for this problem would be that most employers do not want to deal with having to make accommodations for me. This is hard to believe knowing what field I am working in but it is a fact of life that I hope this will change in the future. I know that the place where I am currently working does not want to give me my accommodations but then reprimands me for getting behind in my paperwork. But how can an individual who has ADD and is so easily distracted complete their work when there is no set schedule for seeing clients and doing paperwork. As far as the doctor problem I hope to find a psychiatrist who is willing to accept new patients. There are not enough doctors who are willing and able to treat adults with learning disorders are stretched to thin. This is a major risk fact for individuals who have a disability. The anxiety and depression that comes along with ADD has not been researched enough and how the medications for ADD affects these problems. I hope that those of you who bothered to read my blogs and leave a comment learned a little bit about the daily difficulties adults with ADD go through. Most adults take vacations to get away from their stress and frustrations but adults with disabilities even when on vacations still carry these stresses with them. By not being able to get away from themselves depression and suicide become major risk factors for adults with ADD. These adults often do not have anybody to vent to because unless you have this disorder you will never completely know what it is truly like. The majority of society has a negative view on this problem and think that adults with ADD use this as an excuse for not accomplishing things. Or they will think that they should just take some medication and get over it. Either way you are stuck in your own world wishing that you were just normal. It is hard to live as an outsider and even more difficult to learn who to talk to about the stresses from your illness. My hope for all who read my blogs is for all of the future social workers to have a better insight into some of the life course problems with this disorder. I hope that everybody has a great Thanksgiving and a wonderful Christmas. See y'all next year...

Medication vs. no Medications that is the question???

There are several different forms of medications for the treatment of ADD. After weighing the facts it really comes down do if you want to put up with the side affects. Yes taking the medications makes it allot easier to function at work and school but it does not come with out risk. The most common medication is Ritalin. This is the medication that I was on from the beginning until it was just to much so I stopped in high school. The main problem with trying to go it alone with out medication is your professors and your employers have to be extremely patient. It is sad to say that this is not always the case. Some side affects from most ADD medications are as follows Dizziness; headache; loss of appetite; nausea; nervousness; stomach pain; trouble sleeping. One more uncommon side affect is depression. This is a problem that I faced once I discontinued my medications. The loss of appetite is probably the most common side affect. The one thing that the drug company does not inform the users of the medications is the impending crash that comes at the end of the day. Most individuals take the medication by 8am and by 6 or 7pm there is a huge crash in you energy. This problem is similar to being stuck between a rock and a hard place. When making the decision you are faced with have large problems with focusing and other symptoms or take the medication and face the side affects from the medication. This is a difficult decision for an adult but an even more difficult decision for parents to decide for their children. Yes more children are being diagnosed then in previous years but there has been a direct link between ADD/ADHD and to much TV and video game use. With the majority of American children spending their days in front of a TV or playing video games there will be an increase in ADD/ADHD and childhood obesity.