ADHD medications are supposed to help behavior. However, a new study states otherwise. The study shows that amphetamines and methylphenidates increase the risk of psychosis, which can cause delusions and hallucinations, mood swings and bipolar behavior, and separation from society.
A study assessed 221,846 thirteen to twenty five year olds who began taking ADHD stimulants from 2004 to 2015. The exact medications they studied were amphetamines and methylphenidates. The results: approximately 1 in 660 patients had an episode of psychosis that required treatment (Moran et.al, 2019). Some symptoms of psychosis include hallucinations and delusions, in which case the person will experience seeing things that aren’t there and have false beliefs.
Some other symptoms of psychosis are mood swings and bipolar behavior, which means that the person’s mood can change instantaneously and/or the person is really down and depressed a lot of the time, making it worse than ADHD by itself.
Finally, psychosis causes a distinct isolation for the person experiencing it. Being confused and almost changing their whole personality encourages them to separate from the people around them, the people who don’t understand or are even afraid.
Although those few unlucky people will have to deal with something worse than they already had, everyone is different. Certain ADHD treatments may not work, ADHD can affect people differently, the risk of psychosis is low, and treatments affect people differently.
The study that Harvard Medical School and McLean Hospital conducted only shows that people taking certain medications had a higher risk of psychosis. The study didn’t show the little details that pinpointed what caused the higher threat. In the future, it is possible that the details will be found and the medications will be altered and improved to adjust to everyone’s different minds and requirements.
Sources
Moran, L. V., Ongur, D., Hsu, J., Castro, V. M., Perlis, R. H.,
Schneeweiss, S. (2019, March 21). Psychosis with
Methylphenidate or Amphetamine in Patients with ADHD.
Retrieved April 01, 2019, from
(2019, March 22). Study: ADHD Amphetamines Linked to Higher
Risk of Psychosis. Retrieved April 01, 2019, from
Lord, D. (2019, March 20). ADHD Drugs can Lead to Psychosis in Some
According to New Study. Retrieved March 25, 2019, from
Comments