Childrens ADHD Prescriptions Increase Nine-fold, Ages Three and UpHeather Callaghan Recently, child psychologists gathered at a summit in Manchester to discuss the rising medicalization of childhood. Ritalin methylphenidate hydrochloride is considered safe by allopathic standards and time-tested, but is a serious drug with the ability to cause nausea, mood swings, fatigue, insomnia, loss of appetite, heart problems and heart attacks and is linked to suicide. It is considered comparably safe to hardcore self-medicating like alcohol (think: quick dopamine shot), cocaine, and Speed. But for kids?? Three-year-olds?? The education and child psychology department of the British Psychological Society pointed out a nine-fold increase ADHD prescriptions for children. According to the NHS, in 1997, there were around 92,000 prescriptions. Compare that to nearly 800,000 prescriptions last year! This is only in the UK the U.S. is a different story.Over here,salesof ADHD stimulants more than doubled between 2007 and 2012, from $4 billion to $9 billion.Englands and Wales own guidelines recommend a comprehensive program to help struggling children such as counseling and educational tools, among others. Vivian Hill, chairperson of the BPS, finds that a comprehensive program does not always come into play. She estimated that hundreds of children under age six are given ADHD drugs, and that the drugs are of no use absent other support. A study last year by the Association of Educational Psychologists backed Hills claim. The study found that more than one hundred children under age six were in fact prescribed drugs like Ritalin, in just one locale, and affirmed the trend was more than regional. A spokesperson from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence believes that drugs have a small role compared to psychotherapy for ADHD management. He said: A Cambridge professor echoed the thought believing that most cases werent severe enough for drugs and that therapeutic tools could suffice, saying: On a personal note, I observe that it is much more difficult for adults to obtain ADHD drugs than children, with the exception of the increase of middle-aged women on ADHD meds. Working at a school, one of my jobs was to dole out this medication, and it filled me with dread. They were on the highest dosage, 20mg, and some took it multiple times. Out of desperation and haste for my own struggles, I sought help for ADHD and was treated like an addict. Ive lost jobs for the way that I think and function and thought there was something wrong with me. I didnt know in my early 20s that there really wasnt anything inherently wrong (maybe a wrong job fit) and that nutrition and homeopathy are just a couple ways to excel. After getting diagnosed three times with ADHD, all the psychiatrists and doctors wanted was for me to go to anti-depressants, without even taking time to study the issues. I thought that would be disastrous. When I finally proved that I needed it and was healthy enough to take it, the initial results on the lowest dosage, 5mg, were astounding (like in the movie Limitless) but just like that movie, they didnt last and there was a price to pay. An increase in just 5mg once more during the day helped a bit but led to serious heart issues, sometimes pain and numbness. I lost the desire to eat and the ability to sleep even after quitting them. So it is baffling that 20mg can be given to little children and it shouldnt surprise anyone that every year, some of them die from heart attacks. Drugs like Ritalin take up dopamine receptor sites that then weaken the brains ability to produce dopamine on its own. Thus, crippling dependency and continued self-medicating. It creates a debt in the body that is difficult to overcome. Even though the man who first labeled ADHD later said it was fake, does not make the symptoms any less real to those who struggle with what feels like an insurmountable burden. There are a variety of promising and even inexpensive ways to approach ADHD-like symptomology that add to ones life if one takes some time to look. *ADHD: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Note: recently both types, non-attentive and hyperactive were rolled into one acronym, ADHD. General modern consensus finds that it is not a deficit of attention, but more so an inability to concentrate among other keynotes. Image: Wikimedia Commons Source: Heather Callaghan is a natural health blogger and food freedom activist. You can see her work at NaturalBlaze.com and selfnewsPost.com. Like at Facebook. Read Other Articles by Heather Callaghan 