Medication or Meditation?

 Why Meditation is Better For ADHD/ADD Than Medication

Photo from https://www.denver-eval.com/blog/differences-between-add-and-adhd/

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, mainly known as ADHD or ADD, is a chronic disorder that consists of difficulty paying attention, hyperactivity, and sometimes just one or the other. They are viewed as a subtypes of the same diagnosis. This typically starts at a young age and can continue into adulthood. A lot of children are diagnosed after being in school for a few years, their parents or teachers notice that they struggle to pay attention or have an abnormal amount of energy. In most cases, these children were put on a medication, and likely have to take it for the rest of their lives depending on if they can control it better. 

I do not have ADD or ADHD myself, however I have interviewed two close friends of mine who were diagnosed with it at young ages. Alexus is 20 years old and she has ADD, which means she has trouble paying attention, minus the hyperactivity part. Additionally, Simone who is 17 years old, has ADHD. Although they don't share all of the same symptoms or experiences, they have similar answers. I started my interview by asking both girls the same questions, individually. 

First and foremost, I asked them if they could explain how their parents and teachers comprehended that they had ADD/ADHD. 

Alexus said, "When I was younger my teachers noticed I would always be looking around instead of paying attention to them. However, I did that because every time I'm in a new Environment I like to look around, especially when they decorate the room. I still do it now, It's just that I don't do it as much as I did when I was little."

I asked Simone the same question, and she said, "My mom realized before my teachers ever did. She disguised it as me having a lot of energy, and having a super fast brain. At parent teacher conferences, my teachers would explain that I would finish my work early, and often said that I had a lot of energy. Ever since that conference, my teachers came up with ways to distract me, such as; trips to the front office, helping teachers, and being a TA".

I then proceeded to ask them my next question, which was: Given the chance to participate in Mindful Meditation to help with your ADD and/or ADHD, would you take that chance or still take medication for it and why?

Alexus answered, "As a kid meditation wouldn't work for me because I would have been distracted, it would only work now since I'm an adult. As a kid I feel medication works better."

I explained my question more thoroughly, "So you don't think that if your teacher took the time with your class, and made sure everyone was participating, and did breathing exercises daily it still wouldn't have helped?" 

She then said, "It wouldn't have helped me, however, I had helpful teachers that would take me to a separate room, and do challenges and activities with me that best suited my condition at the time". 

I asked Simone the same question, but to my surprise she was never put on any medication. Instead I asked her which one she felt would've worked the best for her, meditation or medication. She replied, "Meditation would've worked better because I personally feel medication takes a toll on you over time. Even though the medication can help with a certain issue in your body, it can possibly have side effects that will mess up something else in your body." In short, she said that taking medications can help you, but can cause other issues as well, and that's why she deals with her ADHD in a more natural unharmful way. 

Now that we've seen the views of two people who have dealt with ADD/ADHD head on, ask yourself this: do you think children/teenagers should be put on medication for their ADD/ADHD or are you willing to integrate Mindful Meditation into your daily lesson?