Sorry! I got distracted. ADHD. Stress can cause ADHD. Many drug companies and family physicians blame ADHD on a chemical imbalance. It is so common in the US to simply get drugs to pacify children’s hyperactivity. In fact, kids as young as “4-year-olds can be diagnosed and medicated with amphetamines like Ritalin

6296020485_1130d59586_m.” (Huffington Post) This is great news for the drug companies… but is this idea that ADHD is solely form a chemical imbalance completely true?

Many people are starting to oppose this idea. Marilyn Wedge, family therapist, found in her cases that a lot of times children’s crazy or abnormal behavior can be attributed to stressful or changing situations. More times than not we forget that everyone from infancy to retirement is affected by stressful situations. Whether they show it or not, or are conscious of it or not, people’s actions are known for being dependent on situations. Though this can be the situation at any age, my article refers mainly to children. Family therapists found that children are like sponges, they soak up the feelings and emotions in any situation and reproduce them in their actions. Marilyn said “Some people may be amazed that a 4-year old child could be so tuned in to his father and have behavior problems because of a father losing his job. To a family therapist, however, this kind of situation is business as usual. We see it every day.” (Huffington Post) So, rather than a simple chemical imbalance, ADHD might be from a stressful environment, and there is no pill to fix that.

This debate brings us back to the nature versus nurture argument. The nature versus nurture argument can be applied to every situation, and it is; and there is almost always people fighting for both sides. The truth is, we may never have a clear answer. In fact, I would argue that most situations are influenced by both nature and nurture. In relation to ADHD, a child could truly have a chemical imbalance or have lack of blood flow to certain regions of the brain. Or, he or she could just as easily be immersed in a stressful situation and have “learned behavior”  from their parents, siblings or anyone that they are near. Do you find that it is much harder to work when you are stressed or something else is enveloping your mind? Do you maybe work best in these situations? Do you, in whatever situation, feel hyperactive and count it as part of your personality? Maybe you don’t have ADHD, or maybe you do. Regardless, you can look at yourself and see the effects of stress on you.

 

Here are some websites for further research:

http://www.additudemag.com/adhd/article/3995.html

http://www.webmd.com/add-adhd/guide/adhd-and-stress

http://www.healthcentral.com/adhd/c/849319/112416/stress-affects-adhd/

 

 

 

Print Friendly, PDF & Email