Work, housekeeping, picking up kids, playing sports by yourself, getting kids to calm down. Ritalin can be used for all sorts of things besides reducing the child's ADHD symptoms. More and more mothers are therefore becoming addicted to their children's ritalin. This is of course very annoying, because the mother becomes addicted and therefore the child has less medication or a "worse" form of ADHD because "he has to take so much ritalin now." Very annoying all around...
Therefore, in this article I will discuss what ritalin is and what you can do about ritalin addiction.
What is ritalin?
As early as 1960, ritalin was used to help children with "hyperactivity" become calmer, and especially since the 1990s, ritalin has been going fast. Ritalin stimulates the central nervous system and is therefore also called an "upper." By comparison, sleeping tablets are "downers." This stimulation makes you more alert, more focused and also makes you less tired.
The substance methylphenidate, which is the scientific term for ritalin, blocks the transporters of dopamine and norepinephrine. This inhibits the reuptake of these substances. Because of this blockade, your body has more dopamine and norepinephrine than it normally does. So this will give you more energy again if you don't suffer from ADHD or ADD.
Ritalin is also prescribed for people suffering from narcolepsy and can be prescribed off-label to people with bipolar disorder or severe depression.
How does ritalin affect people who do not have ADHD or ADD?
So if you don't have ADHD or ADD you should be able to focus on tasks at hand in a normal way. If you don't suffer from this, ritalin mainly gives you more energy and allows you to delay the moment you fall asleep.
Why is ritalin addictive for healthy people?
In the introduction, I actually still gave the most obvious way to get ritalin pills and so I acted like it's a housewife's problem, but a drug dealer really does know that there are people who just want a little more energy and more sense of focus and so sells ritalin even for the people who don't necessarily want to be completely off the planet during a night out.
German research shows, for example, that ritalin abuse, in Germany, in 78% of cases, that is almost 8 out of 10 cases, is committed by a man and the average age is 29. So housewives and students really don't have to be at the top of the "suspect list."
For example, Ritalin is also a drug that can be used by students when a deadline needs to be met, or perhaps someone with an office job uses it when they need to work overtime (1). Nice and easy right? And if children get it how bad can it be?
In modern society, we live under tremendous time pressure, and the only way to create more time is to sleep less. In the end, that's not healthy at all, but for some people this does sound very appealing to work through the night so you at least get that mountain of tasks off your plate. Or finally having time and energy to clean up your house.
The problem with an upper is that you are figuratively borrowing energy from the future. So after using ritalin, you inevitably get a moment when you are actually super tired and down. This may not be quite the same as the Tuesday dip with XTC or cocaine use, but this can cause you to use ritalin more often or in a different way to regain energy anyway.
It can even cause you to turn to heavier drugs, such as coke or speed, to still get that feeling of energy back. Taking more ritalin can eventually lead to headaches and even hallucinations yourself!
It is precisely the convenience and the idea that it can't be super bad because children are given it for ADHD that makes ritalin addictive for some people. Besides, you have to remember that children under the age of six are not allowed to take ritalin! So then how good can it be for a normal person?
So it is a fable that ritalin is not addictive, you may not become physically addicted to it like alcohol, but habituation does occur and you can become addicted to it just as you do to XTC.
Treating Ritalin addiction with hypnosis
Ritalin is a substance you can't really become physically dependent on, so in principle you can quit it overnight. However, due to mental addiction, this is easier said than done. Hypnotherapy is a good solution for anyone who is really looking for a way to kick ritalin and never want to take it again.
Hypnotherapy can help you get off ritalin precisely because it is a mental addiction. To stop a ritalin addiction, it is important to address the causes. For example, if you use ritalin because you want to perform well at work, it is important to find out why this is so important to you and why you think you cannot do this without ritalin.
The decisions you make in your life and the behaviors you have are often largely determined by the beliefs you hold. With hypnotherapy, you can figure out what beliefs are causing you to grab ritalin for that extra job, rather than saying no or otherwise getting that job done.
If it's not clear to you why you're taking ritalin, regression therapy can help pinpoint the cause. Especially if a particular moment has created beliefs that don't actually help you move forward.
Breaking rituals with ritalin
In addition, when abusing medication, there is often a ritual for using it. Something triggers you to use it and the use also happens with a certain routine. During hypnotherapy, that routine can be totally overturned to give you the insight that the routine is not healthy. In its place, a new routine can be given to the subconscious that is actually healthy, such as drinking a cup of green tea while working overtime or something else that suits you better. These are also called post-hypnotic suggestions. These may include:
"You live your life the way you always do, but every time you get triggered to take ritalin you actually go drink something healthy."
Other rituals that are somewhat less literal are thought patterns. As an addict, you can also develop all sorts of thought patterns that maintain your addiction. Hypnosis can help you figure out and break the thought patterns. A negative thought spiral then no longer has to lead to the use of ritalin. A positive thought spiral may even lead to not taking ritalin at all.
Increasing self-confidence
Addiction also often does not have a good effect on your self-esteem. Hypnotherapy can help you regain your self-confidence and bring it to a normal point. This can be done, for example, through ego-boosting suggestions such as:
- I am good at my job.
- I don't need ritalin.
- I can go out without ritalin.
- I am strong.
Now that you are reading this you may be thinking, "Yes you will.", but the beauty of the hypnotic state is that you are more open to these kinds of suggestions and therefore your subconscious will absorb them better. In the process, a hypnotherapist also gives suggestions that are applicable to the person and are less general than what is written here.
Self-hypnosis to enhance treatment
Ego-strengthening exercises can also be performed during self-hypnosis. Performing self-hypnosis at home can enhance the effects of hypnotherapy. If you find it difficult to repeat the suggestions yourself during self-hypnosis, you can get an audio recording from your hypnotherapist repeating the suggestions that apply to you.
In short:
Ritalin is a medication designed for people with ADHD and ADD to help them concentrate better and is also used against narcolepsy.
People who do not suffer from ADHD get temporarily more energy from ritalin, and as a result, it can be addictive to have just a few extra hours of energy a day to perform tasks you otherwise think you don't have time or oomph for.
Hypnotherapy can help in multiple ways, such as with breaking rituals and boosting self-confidence to make sure you are no longer dependent on ritalin.
Want to learn more about the benefits of hypnosis and hypnotherapy? Then check out Hypnosis Institute Netherlands' seminars and trainings.
Sources:
http://www.drugfreeworld.org/drugfacts/ritalin/how-ritalin-abuse-starts.html
http://www.psy-journal.com/article/S0165-1781%2813%2900739-7/abstract?cc=y=
