Ritalin, ADD, ADHD and Your Kid
Like everything in life it really boils down to what you want. Ritalin helps to "calm down" children and help make them more controllable. But there is a hidden price you have to pay for doing this.
Every parent whose kid is on Ritalin is very familiar with the benefits Ritalin offers. But they ignore or pretend the price they are paying is "not that bad". Most parents are aware there are possible "side effects" to the drugs use. But what many don't realize is that just because they don't notice any side effects, doesn't mean there are none.
One of the major obstacles people face with truly being healthy and healing is the faulty thinking that all people with the same label or diagnosis have the same problem. Just because we as humans created a specific label for a similar group of symptoms has no bearing what so ever on why those symptoms are there. And more importantly, what you need to do to heal.
What is ADD and ADHD? A made up label that groups specific symptoms together. The Doctors literally have a checklist of symptoms and if a child has enough symptoms on the list, they get the label of ADD or ADHD. Part of the actual sample list is:
- Often fidgeting with hands or feet, or squirming while seated.
- Having difficulty remaining seated.
- Being easily distracted by extraneous stimuli.
- Having difficulty awaiting turn in games or group activities.
- Often blurting out answers before questions are completed.
- Having difficulty in following instructions.
- Having difficulty sustaining attention in tasks or play activities.
- Often shifting from one uncompleted task to another.
- Having difficulty playing quietly.
- Often talking excessively.
- Often interrupting or intruding on others.
- Often not listening to what is being said.
There is a whole bunch of questions that come to my mind right about now.
How many different things could cause just one thing on that list, say having difficulty remaining seated? For 100 different kids with that same symptom, I bet you would get at least 98 different reasons why those kids have difficulty remaining seated. And if you have 98 different reasons causing them difficulty to remain seated, how many different ways is it going to take to address the problem? 98, that is right.
Now what about the list of 35 symptoms that they use to diagnose ADD and ADHD? How many different causes for all these symptoms do you think there could be for all the children diagnosed with ADD or ADHD? And do you really think that 1 medication is going to actually help the children heal the reasons why they have the symptoms they have? With all those different causes for each child, that is why medicine is failing to actually help people heal and be healthy.
They look for the 1 label they can put on some one, then they try and find the one cure to fix all the people in that group. And at best, if they come up with anything at all, is help to suppress the symptoms.
And there is always a cost to suppressing symptoms. Often it is a hidden price that when known, never makes it worth it in the long run.
What are some of the hidden prices of taking Ritalin to cover up the symptoms of ADD and ADHD?
To begin with Ritalin is a class 2 narcotic. Cocaine is a class 2 narcotic. That means that Ritalin has the same effects as Cocaine. While cocaine may have some positive benefits like feeling good, the long term affects are just not worth the short term benefits of feeling good.
The long term affects of Ritalin, whether or not you notice them right away, are never worth the immediate effect of having a "calmer" kid.
Another major downfall of modern medicine is the use of the words "side effect". Just because it is an effect that was not desired it is still a direct effect of the medication.
If your kid is taking a class 2 narcotic, say cocaine or Ritalin, there is definitely an effect. And although the "side effect" might be a calmer kid, the real effect is similar to that of sustained cocaine use. That is why they are in the same drug classifications.
So what can you do?
See my article How to naturally, safely and "easily" Help Kids with ADD and ADHD
To begin with Ritalin is a class 2 narcotic which should be stored in a locked medicine cabinet. Cocaine is a class 2 narcotic. That means that Ritalin has the same effects as Cocaine. While cocaine may have some positive benefits like feeling good, the long term affects are just not worth the short term benefits of feeling good.
The long term affects of Ritalin, whether or not you notice them right away, are never worth the immediate effect of having a "calmer" kid.
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