ADHD Part 2 - Treatment Considerations`

All right, folks, we're back with another live stream, and I believe it was two weeks ago, if I'm not mistaken. We did a live on. I say we because there's a lot of participation from fellow viewers, but we did a conversation about ADHD, and I called it the ADHD industrial complex. And I just say that because there has been so much talk about ADHD, and it's been one of the most popular topics on mental health, social media, some of the amount of views, different creators that specialize in ADHD, the amount of videos.

So we'll talk about that in a little bit. But this is part two because I didn't really plan on doing a part two, but there was just so much to talk about, and so many people popped in, asked some incredible questions. So I figured, hey, let's do a part two and talk about some of the issues I didn't get to cover on the first one. So let's just do a little recap about what we talked about last time. And so we'll just do, like, a basic breakdown, you know, of what ADHD is, and it is a neurodevelopmental disorder.

You'll find it real at the beginning of the diagnostic and statistical manual because it's an order of when disorders are typically diagnosed, and it's early because it is a disorder of brain development, and it's thought to be innate, meaning that this is like your brain structure. We don't know exactly why people develop ADHD or connection, and likely it's genetic. You know, there is a huge genetic component, like many other disorders, but it's not something like depression. At least we don't think that it's something you, like, develop based on your environment, that there's no really environmental causes.

I mean, there's a lot of situations that lead children to have symptoms like that, certain types of trauma where it very much looks like ADHD, and they have a lot of the same symptoms, but maybe not the same type of brain structure differences. So basically, it's a disorder of the prefrontal cortex. The part of us that's human that thinks, that thinks ahead, that self regulates, and it is often under activity. Not just under activity, but it's also how the brain shifts, lighting up different parts of your brain, meaning sometimes we go from attention to something else.

That's not a great way of explaining it, but basically, you know, these different pathways in our brain that we use to sustain attention, to think ahead for impulse control, some of these things that make us uniquely human. Right. There's it's more of a dysregulation of that system, not just an underdeveloped. It's almost like it being an overdrive or almost seemingly not at all. So that leads to issues with attention, hyperactivity, impulsivity. And I think there's a lot more than just, like, the straight up diagnostic criteria.

If you read the symptoms, I mean, we're learning how many more issues symptoms are correlated and some of the unique things people struggle with. And I think that the social media interest has really brought about more interest in the topic, but also people being able to share their experiences. And so I think from that, we're actually learning a lot more about ADHD and what it's like to have it. So, you know, ADHD, there's a dopamine regulation, and, you know, we hear about dopamine as, like, a reward chemical, but it's basically a chemical that's released in the brain when we anticipate reward coming, not necessarily when we do it, but it's like this anticipatory.

And we know that drives a lot of our behavior. And in the ADHD brain, there is a dysregulation of the dopamine system. And I like to think of it like a stoplight where, you know, usually a stoplight has the red and then the yellow and then the green and then the red. And it happens at these appropriate times where in the ADHD brain, it's like the green light is there for, like, 20 minutes, and the cars are honking on the other side, being like, we want to go, but then it turns red, and then it's red for an hour, right.

So it's like this dysregulation of the stop and go of our brain telling us to do a behavior or to cease doing a behavior, right? It's kind of like. It's like living in different extremes. And so that creates a lot of issues in the life of somebody with ADHD, right, when you are not able to sustain attention on certain tasks. And, you know, some people, you know, everyone could probably relate to, like, I don't love doing laundry. I don't like opening mail. I don't like paying bills. I don't like having to pick an insurance plan or some of these, like, you know, what 1 may call adulting activities.

Nowadays, there's just certain activities that, you know, for someone with ADHD, it's like an allergy starting. It's more like starting some of these tasks almost feels impossible. And again, that's that red light, green light, like, hitting that red to green on a task like that is like, it's just so much more difficult. And, you know, it piles up. Right? So there's a lot of anxiety, depression. We talked about this last time associated with ADHD. We don't know exactly why, but a lot of people report, like, having these difficulties in life.

Sometimes that anxiety piles up. Like, if you haven't done your bills in months and people have a hard time, let's say, managing money, some of these more abstract concepts, anything involving impulse, like, let's say, your impulse shopping. So people with ADHD are often very prone to addiction at a much, much higher rate. Now, it's not all bad, because, again, we could think of it as a disorder, and I think it's appropriate to do that because of just how many struggles there tends to be in the life of someone with ADHD.

But it's also just like a different brain structure. So different also means that some of the strengths are weighted in different areas. So you may have these, like, profound weaknesses or difficulties, but then in other areas, you have profound strengths. Like, for example, folks with ADHD tend to be more creative, creative thinkers, artists tend to be able to be good problem solvers. And like I said, creative problem solvers. People with ADHD can process information pretty quickly. They could think fast, think on their feet, do good under pressure, certain types of information, take it in and understand it, maybe be a quick learner in some areas, and then in other areas doesn't sink in much at all.

There are some distinctive advantages for ADHD. A lot of entrepreneurs have ADHD, you know, similar, like is with dyslexia, right? Which is also like a neurodevelopmental, I believe, but close to it, where they're just, you know, it's like, yeah, they have struggle with reading and, like, spatial recognition, I believe you would say. But, you know, there are just, it appears to be like a different brain structure, at least different neural activity. Right. Maybe it's not how the brain is structured, but, you know, where the.

Where the circuitry is wired within it, right? So it's not just like, okay, this person has a problem with reading. Folks with dyslexia also have a lot of problems similar to ADHD and often wind up in prison at a higher rate, but then also are higher rates of CEO's. Right. So it's like, if it was just a reading disorder, you know, then, like, you wouldn't have these, like, really profound correlations, you know, same thing with ADHD. So we know that it. There's it's a double edged sword. However, for most folks with ADHD is.

It's very burdensome, right. And some people get diagnosed very young. It's pretty obvious, you know, very disruptive in the classroom. And the parents are, you know, the teachers are just can't manage them. They can't sit still, can't sit in their seats, interrupting and that kind of thing. So people get diagnosed early, however. I mean, there's different presentations of ADHD that maybe aren't so obvious. You know, maybe someone who's a little more introverted. A lot of times, people who are, like, really gifted intellectually are able to skirt under the radar.

A lot of times, women are able to skirt under the radar a little bit more. There's some controversy there. Now, for example, autism. There are some similarities. Some people would say neuro atypical, a dyslexia, an ADHD, an autism maybe would be more extreme example. But let's say someone with a lower lying autism, similar people are able to skirt by because the outward symptoms may not be as obvious. So these people can struggle and not get the treatment they need because it was never diagnosed.

Right. Maybe they never sought Helford or maybe no one ever noticed. Right. It's, you know, not everyone has a trained clinical eye. Oops. So. Right. So we get diagnosed at different times. And, you know, like, if you look at the research, the number one most efficacious, what they call it, the first line treatment for ADHD would be medications, and that would be stimulant medications. Right. Originally like a Ritalin Vyvanse, which is like an extended Ritalin. Adderall. Extended Adderall. And there's other medications that are non stimulant based that are shown to be effective.

Probably not as effective like a strattera. Perhaps. There's other medications, even like supplements that have been shown, or don't quote me on it, but there are some brain supplements that actually help people, and some other medications people may take that folks find to be beneficial for their ADHD symptoms. But that is the frontline is medications, however. Right. These medications can be really powerful. A powerful medication can have some powerful side effects. And as a stimulant medication basically lights up the system in your brain.

It helps stimulate these areas in the prefrontal cortex, which may be understimulated, which causes. So you think, like ADH, you have hyperactivity. Why are you giving them stimulants? Well, it has the opposite effect, because what's happening is that it is stimulating the part of your brain to put a red light there. Okay. So, right. If I'm always at. My green light is always there, and my red light's not coming on to slow it down, the stimulant stimulates the red light. Now, this is just a very broad overview, but it stimulates the prefrontal cortex, which is regulating.

So that's why it often has a different effect for people with ADHD who kind of have the opposite light system. But it's a very powerful medication, and people could have, like, mood instability with it sometimes, maybe someone who's, like, bipolar, it could have a negative effect on their mood balance, appetite. It suppresses appetite to a high degree. And some of them, I would say, particularly Adderall, tends to have a rewarding effect. It is different, even though it'd be a form of amphetamine, you think, like methamphetamine?

Well, it's a. A very different chemical structure, but still in a similar family. And so it can, for some people, be very rewarding. And things that are rewarding often are more addictive. Right. So some people there. Now, there's a lot of controversy around a lot of this stuff, and people have varying opinions, and opinions are changing, but just, you know, know that that is the front line. However, some people choose not to do it. So. Okay, well, how do you treat ADHD if you're not on stimulants?

A lot of treatment, let's say, for ADHD, it's all about symptoms. I have these symptoms, and that's what ADHD, or any disorder is, is a cluster of symptoms. What do I do to mitigate or manage those symptoms? Particularly in this case for ADHD, when I'm struggling with, you know, the red light, green light, meaning an attention. It's like sometimes I'm too sustained. They call it hyper focus. And this is where people with ADHD could get some good work done, but it gets taken too far, right, where they could sit for hours at a time on a task that they're just zoned into and become very good at it.

But, you know, it's like they don't eat or have to pee. They do. They just don't know it, right? So it's like, you get so sucked in, right? So it's less about I can or I can't. It's about switching. It's about the light switching. So how do I find ways to better be able to transition between tasks to, like, doing things like, you know, so it's like forming new habits. I'm doing one, you know, of doing one thing at a time. Okay, so I'm someone who has ADHD, right? And I didn't realize until much later in life or really accept it.

I kind of always knew I was like, you know, maybe in the spectrum somewhere of it, but not until later where I'm like, oh, yeah, I got this thing, and I got it. I got a dose, a big old dose of ADHD. And we tend to be funnier. I mean, you can see how funny I am. We have a good sense of humor. Now with that. I'm looking over here. Why am I looking over here right now? Is because I have a list, and this is a discipline, a practice I've had to beat into my d*** head. I should have been doing it for a long time, but needing to have a list and doing, like, a practice of anything I ever need to do, the only time I ever stop.

Thanks, Zach. The only time I ever stop doing a task is if I think, and this doesn't happen, like, too often, but if I think of another task that I have to do, I stop, write it down, I go right back. Otherwise, I focus on that task. I try to do that before switching to another, because then all of a sudden, something else comes in my brain. Boom, I switch to something else, and I never complete that. So basically, the ADHD person, let's say I have all these tasks I have to do. It's like you do it in a circle.

It's like I do it a little. Little. Imagine you clean your house, like I said, wiping down my table. Oh, look over the desk to be put away, and it's like you go into a circle doing, like, a little bit. A little bit. A little bit eventually gets done, but, you know, because of all these transitions, it's not done very effectively. Versus. I do one, boom, do the other, versus having to do, like, three times the amount of transitions. Right. Drive a man crazy or woman. So, yeah, so, like, things like having a list, things like, you know, mindfulness, and you hear that all the time, but, you know, really being able to sustain focus, you know, being mindful, doing meditation practices, trying to slow the mind down, trying to bridle.

It's like the. The mind of someone with ADHD is like that of a wild horse. It's beautiful, it's powerful. It's what? But then if it's all over the d*** place, you can't utilize it, you know? So it's like, it's practices like these, and really they're under. They're under discussed because it's so medication focused. But I spoke to a doctor, this brilliant guy who specializes in ADHD, and he told me once, he said the medications are what make you able to do the practices you need to do to manage your ADHD.

It's like a prerequisite. Now, I would argue that if you have, you can still do these things with ADHD. It just makes it more difficult than if you're on stimulants. It makes kind of these things come more natural to you. But even though you're on the medications, you still need to practice these different disciplines and, you know, find different ways and tricks. And, you know, people like to gamify things of like, okay, how fast can I do my laundry? I don't want to do my d*** laundry. But if I could make a game out of it, right?

Make it fun, anything to start. Because usually once you start a task, no matter how crappy you hate it, then you kind of get locked in, even if it's a s***** task, where you're like, okay, boom, it's again. Because it's the starting and the stopping. So that's just like a brief overview of kind of the basis of ADHD. Some things to think about. If you have it, maybe you have it. So some really great creators out there. I'm a TikTok guy, so there's some good creators. You got to be a little careful because again, it's like, I could relate with all this.

So therefore I have it in self diagnosed. That was actually going to be a big part of this. So maybe we'll do a part three where I talk about some of the content creation side of it, and we talked a little bit about that and how, you know, you can maybe over relate and then self diagnose. And so there's a lot of considerations there. But yeah, if you know you have it or you think you may have it, right, you always want to get a professional diagnosis. So there's some things to consider. Do some more research, check out some of the great resources that we have online.

A lot of it is very entertaining and funny, but people have some really good suggestions. Some of these ADHD creators, coaches, clinicians, I'd say I'm one of them. I do a lot of content on ADHD, mostly comedy, just so a lot of hilarity within the disorder of ADH, even though it could be very detrimental. But sometimes there's just, we do funny stuff and the symptoms kind of create a certain type of chaos that could be darkly humorous. Anywho, it's been real, folks. I hope you got something out of that.

And stay tuned for part three. Maybe next month. All right, y'all take care.