
Exercise Is ADHD Medication - ALee
http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/09/exercise-seems-to-be-beneficial-to-children/380844/?single_page=true
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sonthonax
Unpopular opinion time: I am sure that 90% of people with ADHD do not have an
actual neurological disorder that prevents them from focusing. They simply
lack the skills to do so.

Focusing is a difficult skill, if you do not have it, it takes a degree of
awareness to learn it again.

I went though a serious period of stress when I was 15-18, cancer, unstable
home life, near homelessness. And I asked a psychologist for ADHD drugs
because I was a seriously smart kid who had troubles focusing. Ironically I
lacked the focus to chase a psychologist into ticking the various ADHD boxes
and just started buying plain old street speed of the Silk Road, which I
responded very well to, and was able to study again.

Eventually those problems in my life began to dissipate, and I started to
focus again on sleep, eating, exercise and importantly controlling anxiety. I
run about 35 miles a week right now (50 minutes to work a day, plus ten
minutes to stretch off) and my focus is very good.

Personally, I do not know anyone who takes ADHD drugs and takes care of their
sleep, diet and anxiety. Those that try to address their anxiety take
benzodiazepines.

I do not think that ADHD as diagnosed in most people is a real disorder. You
are an outlier if you do not focus better on controlled dosages of stimulants.
_You are not special if you focus better on stimulants._ Doctors just do not
have the time to find out what is actually causing a child to have issues
focusing. So they just prescribe stimulant drugs.

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zkms
> I do not think that ADHD as diagnosed in most people is a real disorder.

Undiagnosed and untreated ADHD (which is underdiagnosed and untreated in
adults and especially in women) can be a debilitating condition that will fuck
your life up deeply, and there's ample evidence about this from peer-reviewed
medical journals
([https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4195639/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4195639/),
among others, look at the "The Impact of ADHD During Adulthood" section). Just
because _you_ managed to "sleep / eating / exercise" your way out of your
situation doesn't mean that everyone else with ADHD is able to do the same
thing.

I’m willing to be critical of psychiatry, and there definitely are people who
are diagnosed with it who don’t have it / don’t benefit from / don't need
medication, but the "overdiagnosis" moral panic
([https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/labs/articles/17709814/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/labs/articles/17709814/))
causes real harm to people who actually end up needing medical access.

~~~
bitexploder
Also you will find people with ADHD vastly overrepresented as alcoholics. To a
shocking extent. It is insidious and easy for many to scoff at.

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LifeQuestioner
Exercise over an hour a day because it helps my adhd. But i still have it and
still have multiple things i have to do daily to manage it!

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serguzest
such as?

~~~
kolinko
Not the parent, but for me - stimulation of senses helps a lot. Music, chewing
stuff, moving a lot to focus. (some ADHD people go the other way and need
absolutely zero distractions)

Headspace/meditation helps with anxiety. So does getting adrenaline pumping,
and a proper diet, For example, for some people ADHD is related to problems
with Tyramine processing, which blocks proper interaction with Dopamine, and
switching into a tyramine-free diet helps.

Finally, of course: Ritalin, caffeine, sugar, nicotine. The first time in my
life I tried nicotine and Ritalin (in lieu of sugar/caffeine and stressing
myself), at the age of 33, it was crazy. The calmness and clarity. Finally
could understand how people can sit at the desks for 8 hours a day!

As for exercise - it's quite easy as a kid, but imagine having to do 1h of
serious exercise every single day for the rest of your life. Because, for me,
that's the level that kind of calms me down. And no excuses, no "oh, I've got
a deadline and a kid is sick, I'll skip it today". If you skip it, you cannot
work. Period.

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karmajunkie
This is from 2014.

