A recent article in NYmag.com brings up an important point about drugs people take for Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. The author Timothy Denevi, actually makes the point in his headline in that “We’re Missing Something Big In The Way We Talk About ADHD”.
The article tells the story about the famous American author Hunter S. Thompson, who took a stimulant called Dexedrine to help him finish the manuscript of a book he was writing by the imposed deadline. The Dexedrine helped him focus and stay awake, without taking away from his natural spontaneity that was his writing strength.
Although Mr. Thompson took this drug in the 1960’s, it’s a startling example of the bargain millions of people enter into today with drugs like Adderall: Whenever something is gained, something is also lost. And more than half a century later, Americans continue to replay the same sort of trade-off this author made — and they’re doing it on a wider scale than ever before.
The article goes on to address the topics of overdiagnosis and overmedication in America, rather than getting to the root causes. Often legitimate medical conditions are treated with drugs to help overcome the issue, but unfortunately the cure to one problem often become another serious (drug) problem.