Coffee. Adderall. Red Bull.
Set for another study session. Enhancing my focus and ability to stay awake so that I can do better in my classes. The truth of the matter is that with the drugs and energy supplements I can push myself to study longer and work more than someone not taking the supplements. Basically I'm taking steroids for my brain to help me achieve a goal. Unlike steroids however there's no long lasting side effects and my reward is knowledge besides just a good looking body. The question then is why is there no outcry about the mental edge that students are getting by using these mental enhancers? Is it morally better to cheat in the world of academia than in the world of sports? Or should we consider these enhancements as cheating as their not speeding up teaching of material only prolonging the studying ability of a student? The thing with steroids is that they don't themselves build muscle, you have to be willing to put time in to lift weights and practice to see improvment. In the same way though Adderall or Ritalin let you stay awake to study but you have to actually open a book and learn the material. So is it any different from physical enhancers?
Personally I've used Adderall which has been prescribed to me to help me study and stay focused when I need a boost or have a heavy workload. It helps me from being distracted by the things in our world which are supposed to improve our life yet seem to provide only more distractions. Facebook, AIM, and the air conditioning clicking on are suddently a lot less intresting when I've taken my medication as I can't come unglued from the article I'm reading or the paper I'm writing. The new age drugs that I take help keep me focused and away from the new age distractions in life.
I guess what I'm trying to ask is two fold. Should students be allowed to use Adderall to mentally push themselves longer? And are the drugs now more prominent on campus because of the number of distractions we're open too?
Update:
After posting I found this article on BBC which focuses on the same question.
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5 comments:
I myself am prescribed Aderall. I decided recently to stop taking it. I hated the effects, the feeling of being on it, and the lack of emotion that it caused me to not feel. I had taken it for 4 years, and I decided recently that it is unhealthy. It made me feel sick at sometimes, but it was necessary for me to get my work done. Some people abuse it though. I feel that most people prescribed these "brain steroids" do not actually need it. The medical companies are set on making money, and Aderall is one of their biggest opportunities for profit. I think that anything is fine, but to an extent,
I think that "Steroids for your Brain" was a very good title for this post. The similarities between steroids and drugs like Aderall are kind of unbelievable. I've never really thought about how they work in so much the same way. I've actually always been against drugs like Aderall. I think that ADD and ADHD are "disorders" that were created by drug companies with the sole intentions of making some money. Mission accomplished. Suddenly it seems like everyone has ADD and is prescribed to something to "help them stay focused." If you think about fifty years ago or a hundred years ago - before we had these kinds of medical advances - kids still went to school and paid attention. They were just forced to pay attention. People made themselves focus. Now that these drugs are so readily available I feel like they are mistreated. I get distracted SO easily, but when I have to get things done, I turn off my phone, go to the library, or do whatever I need to to do what I have to do.
I think that Adderall and Ritalin can be dangerous drugs that enhance your brain. Steriods are bad because they give an unfair advantage to people when it comes to their strength. Adderall basically does the same thing. It allows people to focus on one thing at a time, and use their brain for longer time than others. My mom has never believed in ADD or ADHD but I have made some friends over the years who definitely need something to calm them down. If this medication is the only way to do that, then I think that it is fine for it to be distributed. But, for the illegial usage of most students around times when their academic performance is necessary - such as the SATs or to focus on a hard test - I think that this drug should be harder to get your hands on. I know plenty of people who use it when they need to get something done. It doesn't seem fair to those of us who use our own will power and determination to get things done. I think that soon an awareness for those abusing the medication will and should come about.
Are the side effects of Aderall cumulative? I mean do you have to take it for some time before you start to feel that emotional dullness that Andrew describes. I ask because one of my former studnets said the same thing--he'd rather deal with the problem than stay on the meds. But on the other hand my nephew started taking an ADD drug last year, in his senior year of high school, and it really helped him turn his grades from C's to A's. And he seems emotinally OK so far.
I hope this link works. Scientists argued in Nature Magazine in favor of taking drugs to enhance your brain:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/lifestyle/health/chi-brain-pillsdec08,0,4622431.story
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