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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I think it is BOTH real and over medicated. Bear with me for a minute. It is like depression - some people can handle it with cognitive therapy and behavioral changes while some people require hospitalization and medication. I so not want to belittle people who are really suffering and need medication, but that is not my story.

I wasn't diagnosed with ADD until I was 27 - but all the flags were there my whole life. I was always talking in class, acting up in the library, I didn't get a single good behavior star for all of 1st-3rd grade. I was always told I was gifted and just bored. I behaved better as I got older. I also did more and more sports and I got older until I had 3 varsity teams and summer swim team in HS. I grew up with "hippie" parents we would now call crunchy in a liberal college town. I ate locally farmed hormone-free meat, eggs, and dairy. Local organic produce and a lot of spelt, barley, etc. I rarely had refined sugar before school age and was not allowed caffiene. I also went to bed early because of before school sports practice and had a very full, structured schedule. My mom taught me how to make lists and prioritize my tasks. Basically without knowing it, my parents did all of the behavioral modifications you should make for a kid with ADD and I graduated in the top 10 of my class, went to a great school, and have succeeded in life.

My ADD flared up combined with depression my sophomore year in college. My grades slipped to a 2.3 and I almost quit engineering. I lost my merit scholarship and started drinking irresponsibly and smoking. Besides poor eating choices in college, I also injured my knee and had to stop running daily. I was also staying up late and not keeping a regular schedule. I muddled through until my late 20s when I saw a TV commercial for ADD meds and realized what was wrong.

I took Adderal for 4 years, but probably only needed it for 18-24 mo. After that it was addiction and laziness. Now I follow the behaviors I grew up with and am feeling much better - no caffiene, balanced diet of whole foods, daily exercise, regular exercise, and meditation to calm my mind. [/quote]
Seems like your Mother worked pretty dilegently with you. [/quote]

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