October 12, 2016

"The very next day, I was sitting in exactly the kind of place I had envisioned, an impersonal room with gray walls and black leather furniture..."

"... describing to the attractive young psychiatrist in the chair opposite me how I had always had to develop elaborate compensatory strategies for getting through my school work, how staying with any one thing was a challenge for me, how I was best at jobs that required elaborate multitasking, like waitressing. Untrue, all of it. I was a focused student and a terrible waitress. And yet these were the answers that I discovered from the briefest online research were characteristic of the A.D.H.D. diagnostic criteria. These were the answers they were looking for in order to pick up their pens and write down 'Adderall, 20 mg, once a day' on their prescription pads. So these were the answers I gave. Fifty minutes later, I was standing on San Vicente Boulevard in the bright California sun, prescription slip in hand."

From "Generation Adderall/Like many of my friends, I spent years using prescription stimulants to get through school and start my career. Then I tried to get off them," by Casey Schwartz.

23 comments:

Sydney said...

Hope this article puts an end to the ADD madness. Especially since they have been marketing aggressively to adults for ADULT ADD.
PS - is "blizzarding" a word? Is it in the OED?

gspencer said...

"So these were the answers I gave."

Isn't that basically what students are being taught to do with high-stakes testing?

Michael K said...

They will not get in the military but I doubt any of them are interested.

"Gender Studies" is more like it.

Sprezzatura said...

The images associated w/ this piece weren't as hot as those associated w/ Wurtzel's writing.

Also, it's hard to write more insightfully than when Liz pointed out that some women learn that the best way to hold on to a man is w/ their legs wrapped around him.

Anywho, based on this comparison it seems like Prozac nation is sexier than Aderrall nation.

Are there these sorts of pieces for meth-heads? I'm guessing those are the least hot of all.

Achilles said...

Here is a video of some people on adderal.

Boring huh.

mccullough said...

Popping bennies

Harold said...

I'm not sure what this person was taking but it's effects don't resemble the 20mg that I take daily. Mostly it makes it easier to stay focused and makes me less prone to wander off in the middle of conversations. If I stop taking it, I may get a minor headache after a day or two and I become a lot more distractable, but that's it. I think I've had more effects from giving up caffeine for Lent than I've had from not getting my prescription refilled for 3 or 4 weeks.

Earnest Prole said...

You mean the Dangerous Narcotic Diet Pills, Mr Neidermeyer?

Big Mike said...

Back in the 1960's the trick was to convince the psychiatrist that you were a manic depressive entering depression. Guaranteed to keep you out of the army.

wildswan said...

Th article hints that this is the pill of choice for people who have given up on doing what they love but who still want to be high achievers. Perhaps that's the group that becomes Adderall addicts - the push no longer comes from within but they know they need the push to do better than average work. So - the Adderall addiction option. Another option is just settle for being average in the same way as one settles for not doing what one truly likes. But - I know that's very hard for Americans. It's OK to give in to necessity but American college students usually aren't ruled by necessity and they feel very accountable for all their choices.

Side note: Every article I read these days by a woman has a burst of tears somewhere in it - someone is leading a great life when she starts finding herself crying, sobbing - then into the meat of the article - what ever happened to my happiness? The snivel moment is becoming predictable and boring. I was selfish, hysterical and on drugs - why was I unhappy. Hmmm.

Etienne said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Michael K said...

Guaranteed to keep you out of the army.

Still does but now they want to get in.

Bad Lieutenant said...

I don't see why you shouldn't be able to get this stuff if you want it.

Bad Lieutenant said...

Yes it can be abused, lalala. Not candy.

Freeman Hunt said...

Sheesh. How much was this person taking? Certainly a lot more than the prescription called for.

Sebastian said...

The zillionth addiction blues article. Unhappy addicts are all unhappy in the same way. So why would an educated person delude herself when starting down the slippery slope?

MacMacConnell said...

"Also, it's hard to write more insightfully than when Liz pointed out that some women learn that the best way to hold on to a man is w/ their legs wrapped around him."

I once overheard two women "locker room talking" in the hallway at a party. One women says to the other,"The best way to get over a man is to get underneath another".

William said...

Does smoking pot help you get off ADD? I've heard that pot smoking cures or relieves most human ills. A truly amazingly substance.

MacMacConnell said...

" I've heard that pot smoking cures or relieves most human ills. A truly amazingly substance"

Almost as good as Dream Catchers or crystals.

Zach said...

I'm not sure what this person was taking but it's effects don't resemble the 20mg that I take daily. Mostly it makes it easier to stay focused and makes me less prone to wander off in the middle of conversations. If I stop taking it, I may get a minor headache after a day or two and I become a lot more distractable, but that's it.

From what I've heard (I haven't read any original sources), Adderall works fine for people who actually have ADD. For people who don't, it acts like speed. Reading the article, the author likes that the drug gives her a lot of energy and focus, and helps her lose weight. She's a tweaker, basically.

Taking her at her word, the drug effect she's seeking has perverse consequences. She uses it to power through work she finds dull -- so that she can take on more of that kind of work!

She even goes to grad school in a subject she doesn't really care about. But the only good thing about grad school is the opportunity to geek out about a subject you really enjoy! That's the type A version of a pothead who gets stuck in a dead end job.

tim in vermont said...

What in the world ever became of sweet Jane?
She's lost her sparkle, you know she isn't the same.
Livin' on reds, vitamin C and cocaine.
All her friends can say is ain't it a shame.

Achilles said...

W3C organization website

Test

MaxedOutMama said...

So what's wrong with coffee??