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[5and5torm]

so as some of you may know, school has not been going well for me. I've been placed on academic probation twice (after 2nd semester of freshman year and after last semester) for having a semester GPA of less than 2.0 (1.92 and 1.94). This semester isn't looking too bright either except for one thing; I got prescribed adderall in early November (

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[5and5torm]

yeah i only took 14 credits this semester but because i was pretty much at an all time low in the motivation department, i didn't do shit for about 70% of the semester. i might have gone to about 20% of my classes for the first month and 40% for the second month and studied a total of maybe 4 hours for my first round of 5 exams and maybe 5 hours for my second round of five exams. since the adderall, i've gone to around 80% of my classes and already i've studied close to 20 hours for my finals and i still have two full days of studying that i know i'm going to utilize until for my first final and then more studying. if i had done this from the start of the semester, there's no doubt i would have ended up with at least a 3.3 or something for this semester. but this is not the case and ill probably get something in the 1.8-2.3 range as a result. i'm not sure i have the time to keep taking 14 credits a semester (i'd be here for 6 years if i did) but i'm definitely going to do better going forward no matter how many classes i have to take. and yea i've been doing a lot of research on ADD for a long time now and basically came to the conclusion that it's just about as real as depression or anxiety. This is my take on it: some people would think classifying ADD under this category doesn't really say a lot about its legitimacy since none of these "disorders" were taken seriously way back in the day and people still got by without treatment. however, others would argue that either (1) there were just as many people with these problems back in the day, they just weren't recognized or taken seriously. or (2) competition 100 years ago wasn't even close to being on the same level as it is today and as a result, there is more stress, both physically and mentally(this is what i believe). The increase in stress has led to this whole new spectrum of disorders/diseases or at least amplified the number of people found to be struggling with these disorders/diseases. now, because humans are so smart and competitive, we are constantly finding ways to equalize these issues in order to feel as good as possible both physically and mentally. research is finding new ways to fix these imperfections, whether they be in our DNA or have been caused by damage done by our environment. That's just the way it is and there's really no way or reason to stop it. These discoveries also serve to level the playing field, preventing the intense increase in competition from almost irreversibly separating people in a similar way the social classes in the U.S. have been separated into the hierarchical distribution present today. It's sort of like how no one drove a car 150 years ago, but nowadays everyone at least tries to get their license so that they can drive one. just like driving makes life easier, so do these new drugs and that's what humans are always striving to do; make life easier. again, just me spewing out my thoughts via LJ.

[tig_bitties]

I agree. I actually find this concept very interesting. The massive level of technology is incredible compared to the minuscule amount that existed in previous decades/centuries. That fact alone contributes to occupying a large amount of of brains every day. That is why most of our grandparents can't even begin to fathom how to utilize a computer or other hand held electronics that exist today. If you really feel that Adderall is the solution to your academic problem, then you should definitely continue to take it. However, you should decide whether you're going to take it only during exam time(like I do), or if you are really going to take it everyday. I'm not positive on what I'm saying, but I think it's also really interesting that most people feel that people with ADD and ADHD actually have too much activity going through their brains. It's actually sort of the opposite. People with ADD/ADHD lack specific neurons?(again, not positive of the terminology) to satisfy themselves with the correct amount of stimulation, and because of that, they seek external stimulation in a way that appears like they are hyperactive. Cool shit yo.