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Topic: ANY RESEARCH THAT TIES ADDICTION/ALCOHOLISM TO ADD/ADHD?
Topic Posted by: lESLIE RANSDELL (LELILU@AOL.COM )Date Posted: Mon Mar 30 10:15:55 1998
Topic Description: I AM A RECOVERING ALCOHOLIC WITH 7 YEARS OF SOBRIETY. I HAVE A 13 YR OLD SON, WHO IS IN TREATMENT. HE WAS DIAGNOSED WITH ADHD 2 YEARS AGO. SINCE THEN I HAVE READ EVERYTHING I CAN ABOUT THIS DISORDER. THE MORE I READ, THE MORE IT SEEMS THAT THE TRAITS OF ADD SUFFERERS ARE INCREDIBLY SIMILAR TO THE TRAITS OF ALCOHOLIC/ADDICTS. IT ALMOST SEEMS LIKE WE (ALCOHOLICS) SELF-MEDICATE OURSELVES TO RELIEVE THE SYMPTOMS OUR BRAIN PRODUCES.
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Posted by: Anonymous
Date posted: Mon Mar 30 17:51:00 1998
Subject: ADD & Addictions
Message:
I think that there *has* been research showing that ADD is a risk factor for substance abuse. There was, I believe, a study suggesting that a surprisingly high proportion of cocaine abusers (recovering) meet the criteria for ADD also. I am a recovering alcoholic who also has ADD. It seems incontrovertibly clear to me that my drinking was indeed a way to self-medicate the distress of untreated (& undiagnosed) adult ADD--the overactive mind and "babble" in the head, and the chronic but indefinable restlessness/boredom that didn't seem to respond to any behavioral changes or therapy. What I remember most clearly from my first experiments with alcohol, in college, was how marvelously focused, clear, and *grounded* it made me feel--very different, and a tremendous relief, from the way I normally felt. It was like putting cool calomine lotion on a constant itch. Or putting on glasses after being nearsighted all one's life. Once I started trying to get sober, I kept relapsing, despite constant AA attendance, until I (almost acidentally) had my ADD diagnosed and treated properly, with the medication Wellbutrin. Suddenly my cravings to drink diminished markedly; I was walking around thinking, "Well, no *wonder* 'normal' people don't need to drink--because they don't feel edgy and restless every minute of the day!" It was quite the revelation.
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