Reply To: Drugs Abuse and ADHD

[sdwa]

I think Gabor Mate says something similar about dopamine and addictions in his book “Scattered.”

I don’t think addiction is automatic for people with ADHD, because I have tried a few things in my life that I didn’t become addicted to. I didn’t like cocaine or marijuana. There are some things I used to use (alcohol and nicotine one) because I got into a habit, a routine, despite being aware that I felt worse, not better. If I was “self-medicating” I didn’t experience it that way consciously – and was not helped in any way by substance abuse. My mood did not improve. My state of mind did not improve. There was no advantage. I do like caffeine – but so does everyone else.

Making impulsive decisions to try something stupid might be automatic, but I’m not convinced addiction is. There could be higher rates of addiction among ADHDers because we are impulsive and suggestible – which I think has more to do with the social environment that the effect of the drugs.

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