Adderall Addiction Symptoms: When the Pill Becomes the Problem

Adderall is a prescription stimulant used to stimulate the central nervous system of people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). However, some people have realized the sound effects of brain stimulation that the drug provides, and people have started to abuse it. 

Adderall is a prescription drug, and doctors are careful about how they prescribe it. Without that filtering process, the person can use it, which makes them addicted to it. Here’s how to know when Adderall consumption is problematic.

What is Adderall?

Adderall is a mixture of amphetamine and dextroamphetamine. It’s a stimulant used to treat people with ADHD and narcolepsy. When a person takes it, it stimulates their central nervous system, releasing dopamine and norepinephrine.

The person would feel more awake and aroused, allowing them to focus on their daily tasks – at school or work. It also improves a person’s endurance and reaction, which was perfect for sports until regulators banned it in players.

While Adderall is primarily intended for people with ADHD, people without that disorder and who have no prescription have been abusing it because they believe that it improves their cognitive function. Sports players and college students tend to abuse it. The effects have been proven harmful to sports, but regulators have banned the use of it because it’s dangerous and gives an unfair advantage.

On the other hand, for college students, Adderall does affect cognitive function, but it usually lasts in the short term. Cognitive impairment would start to manifest in the long run. It’s reported that college students with no ADHD who abuse Adderall have decreased grades.

Moreover, the abuse of Adderall leads to tolerance. This means the person must take a higher dosage to get the same effect. 

Withdrawal symptoms are also present where the person experiences adverse effects if they stop taking it. 

Is Adderall Addictive?

Yes, Adderall is addictive. It restructures the brain to make the person seek it even more. The brain tends to habituate to a specific dosage that the person ingests. A higher dosage is needed to get the same effect when that happens. That makes the person want to consume it even more.

How Does Adderall Work?

Adderall is a stimulant that consists of amphetamines and dextroamphetamine. Once the person ingests it, it activates and increases the level of dopamine and norepinephrine, which leads to the release of epinephrine, serotonin, and histamine.

It’s absorbed in the small intestine, and urine eliminates excess. The drug can be detected in a person’s urine for up to 48 hours.

The effect of those neurotransmitters makes the person feel more awake and aroused, which leads to goal-motivated behaviors. It also improves cognitive functioning such as memory and attention control. That’s particularly helpful for people with ADHD because they focus better when that happens.

Common negative side effects of Adderall include restlessness, difficulty sleeping, headache, dizziness, hoarseness, slow speech, visual change, problems with sexual performance, seizure, nausea, and vomiting.

Signs and Symptoms of Adderall Addiction

An intense craving for Adderall consumption is already a huge symptom that the person is addicted to Adderall. The drug can restructure the brain in a way that would make a person seek it even more.

Another good symptom is that the person has multiple failed attempts at stopping Adderal abuse. This is a good sign that drug use has already been out of control.

Effects of Adderall Addiction

The effects of Adderal abuse can leak into a person’s school and work functioning. While it’s proven that the drug can improve cognition, it doesn’t necessarily translate well to academic performance. It’s been reported that people who have taken Adderall start to lower their grades. 

Despite that, users who abuse it without a prescription have testified that it’s been helpful when it comes to studying. But the data says otherwise. It seems like the good effects are purely placebo. 

Adderall has also been used for people who play professional sports due to its good effects on the mind. It makes them more quick to react to the chaos of the game. That’s why regulators have banned it because the drug has been proven to have harmful effects in the long run, and it gives the player an unfair advantage over the competition.

Adderall Withdrawal Symptoms

Withdrawal symptoms of Adderall can include paranoid delusion, psychosis, hallucination, panic attack, tremor, and suicidal ideation.

Options for Adderall Addiction Treatment

Rehabilitation

Adderall detoxification and ensuring that the recovering person is safe during the withdrawal phase is important. That’s what inpatient treatment centers are good at. It allows the person to go through the recovery and withdrawal phase while being monitored by mental health professionals.

Therapy

The most effective therapeutic techniques for Adderall addiction are contingency management (CT), community reinforcement approach (CRA), and cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT).

CT aims to reward the person who shows evidence of stopping substance abuse. A food voucher can be exchanged for a drug-free urine test that proves they have stopped using Adderall.

CRA is pretty similar to CT. However, the reward for CRA is approval and appreciation of a community about sobriety. This also helps the person remove themselves from the group of people that approves of Adderall abuse. This is mainly used with people who have alcohol use disorder and other substance use disorders, but it’s also effective with people struggling with Adderall.

CBT aims to challenge and change a person’s automatic assumptions and core beliefs about the world. It’s proven that a person’s attitude towards the world results in a certain behavior. In the case of Adderall addiction, there tends to be a maladaptive belief that fuels the behavior. The therapist’s goal is to challenge those beliefs and lead the person toward healthier behaviors.

12-Step Programs

In a 12-step group, the recovering person is encouraged to practice 12 steps that are believed to help a person achieve sobriety. Despite its scientific evidence for effectiveness, this approach is more of a spiritual practice rather than a scientific one. 

The program can be divided into three sections. The first one is to help the person surrender the control of their addiction towards a higher power. That’s helpful because a tendency with people who are suffering from Adderall addiction is they tend to fight the addiction and withdrawal symptoms. Fighting it usually makes those symptoms worse. As an alternative, members are encouraged to let go and surrender it to a higher power.

The second section encourages people recovering from Adderall addiction to review past mistakes and make amends to those people they have wronged. The context for this is that people with addiction problems tend to bury a strong negative emotion. Usually, it’s shame and guilt towards previous transgressions.

As a solution, they are encouraged to know those mistakes and make amends so that the negative emotions go away, and as a result, there will be less urge to continue the addiction.

Lastly, members are encouraged to help people who are also struggling with Adderall addiction. That’s why it’s common for people who have recovered from the addiction to take part in 12-step programs and help those who are currently struggling.

We Provide Treatment for Adderall Addiction 

While Adderall has proven beneficial effects that improve function, it can still lead to problems when not used properly. The Resilient Recovery Center has been helping people with those problems. It accepts a maximum of six people so that mental health professionals can dedicate their time to each person.

It has a great environment and amenities that make the person relaxed and comfortable throughout their recovery process.