My son was diagnosed with severe ADHD at age 6. One of the first things the child psychiatrist said to us, without knowing my own history of substance abuse, was “we need to treat this now, or he will be much more susceptible to addiction and substance abuse in his teens.”
According to the NIH, children with ADHD are three times more likely to develop addiction issues later in life. Their dopamine levels are lower, and achieving dopamine highs through screens, sex, or substances affect them even more than others.
We are all addicted to something at this point, aren’t we?
If it’s not sugar or caffeine, it’s our smart phones, exercise, work… and these are just the tip of the iceberg.
Listening to an NPR interview with the author of Dopamine Nation, psychiatrist Anna Lembke states that humans are programmed to approach pleasure and avoid pain. And while this helped us survive for thousands of years, now we live in an age where most of our basic needs are provided for many of us. The pursuit of pleasure is to our own detriment. It is what kills so many of us each year.
I’m grateful I was able to tackle my own addictive patterns around alcohol, but I will probably always be working on moderating my pleasure pursuits around my smart phone, food, and reality television (gah! That’s so embarrassing to admit).
To hear the doctor tell me my child is even more susceptible to these dopamine triggers leaves me overwhelmed and frightened. But it also leaves me even more driven to show him healthy ways to cope, how to live a deeply satisfying life that is sober, in passionate pursuit of mental health, and constantly learning and growing.
I’m more determined than ever to work with my child and get him the help he needs, start talking to him about mental health and feelings without shame or stigma, and continue to educate myself on how to parent him effectively. Now. Before little problems become big problems. And before he starts to push me away.
I believe watching my own father’s battle with addiction instilled in me a sense of carelessness in my own health and life growing up.
It didn’t feel like it mattered so much as I watched my father’s pursuit of pleasure seemingly trump everything else. I don’t want my kids growing up feeling that way.
I want them to know the beauty and bliss of feeling alive, taking care of ourselves, and regulating our emotions naturally. And I can teach them that through my own life. Through my own actions.
(Image via Mom is Drawing)
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