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I mean look, I can see it with my own two eyes. The gauntness in their face, the effect it has on their emotions over years of use. Knowing someone and seeing them go down hill and struggle, and then be better during the summers when they are off it.

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I'm not asserting stimulant medications have no side effects.

I am asserting that decades and decades of peer-reviewed medical literature indicates that stimulant medications are a net benefit for people with ADHD.

This is not a controversial perspective among informed researchers or clinicians.

I agree but I also acknowledge that the approach psychiatrists use can be damaging by over-relying on medications. I have adult-diagnosed ADHD and are aware on how easy it is for a psychiatrist/parent to up the dose just to make the person more "compliant". These medications are powerful but also need other kinds of supports, such as socially and intellectually. These supports can be a nurturing environment, intellectual group to bounce ideas off and feel belonging there.

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