The Addictive Nature Of Ritalin And Dealing With Withdrawal

What Is Ritalin?

This article is about struggling with Ritalin withdrawal and the addiction that causes it. This can be fairly serious and detrimental to your life if allowed to continue for too long. If you’re looking to kick your Ritalin addiction, read this article from start to finish. Then re-read it, and then re-read it again. The methods to kick the drug in this article have been used by SWIM (Someone Who Isn’t Me if you’ve ever checked out drug forum’s…basically I’m telling you I’ve kicked it successfully with this…without formally admitting to it ;).

These methods are strange, and they’re difficult, but they work. If you really want to quit Ritalin, study the content under the subheading “An Unorthodox Way to Beat Ritalin Addiction” in this article. It discusses the topic of Sexual Transmutation, which can work wonders in letting you beat your addiction, as well as the lagging depression that can last for what seems like months after you’ve quit. When Ritalin withdrawal strikes, it should not be taken lightly, and nootropics such as L-Tyrosine can work wonders for addiction recovery!

Ritalin is a modern-day psychostimulant composed of methylphenidate that, chemically, is very similar to an amphetamine. As a result, it has very similar effects when taken either in the long-term or randomly on an as-needed basis. When you take a Ritalin, it can be very easy to get hooked if you’re an overachiever if once you begin to use, you start to bite off more than you can chew right away, and if you take more than the recommended dosage. Addiction will also hit you much faster than not if you don’t actually have ADHD, and if you’re just using your prescription in order to improve school performance, or for personal gain. If you actually have ADHD, take the medication as prescribed, yet are feeling an excess of side effects (and tolerance, as even with ADHD you can get addicted to Ritalin), this article may be extremely relevant to you.

Why Does Ritalin Addiction Occur?

Ritalin addiction occurs from a vicious cycle of being overworked, and from a desire to either make more money, do better in school, and/or to stave off withdrawal symptoms due to a combination of the above. In the brain, on a biochemical level, Ritalin addiction occurs because of the development of tolerance, which causes the drug to have a lessened effect compared to what it once did on the user, and of which is caused by the downregulation of critical activation receptors, such as Dopamine, Seratonin, and Norepinephrine. If addiction occurs, supplement with Nootropics, alternatives, herbal supplements, adaptogens, and other supplements such as L-Tyrosine and Phenylalanine that can and will have a benefit on improving one’s dopamine stores in the brain. Amino acids such as Phenylalanine and L-Tyrosine are the building blocks of dopamine in a long chain that makes the neurotransmitter, and when these are mega-dosed (supplemented in bulk) the withdrawal symptoms quickly subside, and recovery becomes swift and painless.

Why Do People Use Ritalin?

People take Ritalin because it is a fantastic drug (when used in moderation or for legitimate ADHD) for improving focus, mood, memory and energy levels. In short, Ritalin is taken for one of two reasons, for treatment, as a method of functioning better at work due to an illness-or for abuse, either recreational or brought on by work-related pressures, in which users snort, inject, smoke or chew the pills in an effort to get a kind of “speed high” and get more work done, or party all night. This is common among college students, AP students in high school, Start-up entrepreneurs and those in high-level executive positions looking for a boost.

What Happens To The Brain With Ritalin Use?

In the human brain, Ritalin acts by increasing the flow of dopamine, Serotonin, and norepinephrine to critical regions. It blocks the reuptake of these critical executive functioning neurotransmitters, causing them to build up, in bulk, in areas of the pre-frontal lobe cortex, and synapses between neurons. This results in an increase of the neurotransmitters (for a short period of time) and in-turn creates the “medicated” state that the user is looking for in Ritalin. This process also has a downside, however, in that it causes withdrawal, temporary brain damage, and until withdrawal is fully undergone and the brain has been allowed time to entirely recover, a depression and a “fog” will encompass the user for months or years at a time, until the process is fully complete. Nootropics are a fantastic way to not only deal with the depression and anxiety of the withdrawal process but also to supplement the brain with the amino acids that it needs in order to recover quickly and properly. When Ritalin withdrawal strikes, it should not be taken lightly, and nootropics such as L-Tyrosine can work wonders for addiction recovery!

How Long Does It Take Before Addiction Occurs?

Addiction can occur relatively quickly (within a few weeks or months if high doses are used or abuse…no matter what the reason for). The higher the doses used, and the less time taken in between doses (when the drug is taken consistently) the faster and more severe addiction will occur/become.

What Is Tolerance?

Tolerance is the phenomenon that occurs in the brain when a drug has been taken for a long period of time.

How To Respond To Ritalin Addiction And Withdrawal

So…you’re addicted to Ritalin. You might tell yourself, your friends, your parents, and your cat that you’re not, but the fact is if you’re snorting it constantly and/or tripling up on your dosage, then this issue needs to be taken seriously. To give a layman’s perspective of some of the side effects that can be caused by Ritalin addiction and can affect your health:

  • Nosebleeds/Septum Deviation (from snorting)
  • Headaches
  • Constant anxiety and sweating
  • Withdrawal symptoms including increased appetite and extreme depression
  • Paranoia
  • Temporary, and in long-term use, chronic psychosis
  • Weight-loss
  • Excess water intake, leading to kidney issues
  • Kidney pain
  • Loss of Pleasure in all activities
  • Cravings for Alcohol, nicotine, and pornography

An Unorthodox Way To Overcome Addiction To Ritalin

Here’s an unorthodox way to beat Ritalin addiction:

  1. Eat foods high in protein – Protein contains amino acids such as Tryptophan, L-Tyrosine, Phenylalanine, and a host of others that the brain needs in order to cure itself of Ritalin addiction.
  2. Mega-dose amino acids – The best amino acids to mega-dose are L-Tyrosine, Phenylalanine, 5-HTP, and other herbs that can help the brain heal such as CDP Choline, Ashwagandha, and Bacopa Monnieri, which have been known to have restorative properties.
  3. Exercise, Exercise, Exercise – Exercise means you’ll eat more food, equating to more proteins. Exercise also helps to keep you in shape, helps you to sweat out toxins, creates a flow of endorphins in the brain that can help ease withdrawal pain, and has a host of other benefits on the human brain.
  4. Supplement, Stimulants, and Anti-Depressants to get through the depression – Drugs such as Adrafinil, Piracetam, and Noopept can help to improve cognitive function, without the nasty addiction/withdrawal side effects of Ritalin. Good anti-depressant nootropics include 5-HTP, N-Acetyl L-Tyrosine, Acetyl L-Carnitine, N-Acetyl Carnitine, and Aniracetam.

Final Thoughts

Ritalin addiction, and the ensuing withdrawal because of it, is incredibly painful-but guess what, IT’S BEATABLE! And with the help of proper supplementation, you can get off of Ritalin without going through utter hell due to withdrawal. Help your brain get back to homeostasis faster with the help of nootropics!

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