A Deeper Look Into ADD/ADHD and Stress
My son’s early years of school were filled with aggravation and frustration with the school and the doctor. You see, they tried to tell me that my son had ADD because he wasn’t paying any attention in class. I felt like I was the only person fighting to keep my son from being labeled, and nobody believed me when I told them that he didn’t have ADD. The classrooms were filled, the teacher’s had more to teach the kids, and it was easier to just label my son than to actually find out what the problem really was. I knew my son better than they did. He could pay attention when he wanted to.
The problem was that he didn’t want to in school! He didn’t like his teachers, nor did he care about learning. He wanted to be sociable more than learn. We took him to the doctor when the school said we had to, but the doctor only had 10 minutes to question my child. In that small amount of time, he said my son had ADD and he would write a prescription for Ritalin. I told him no, and he got upset with me. He said, “Can you tell me what you have against this medication”? I told him that he didn’t have enough time scheduled to hear my arguments against this medication. I flat out refused the prescription. Of course, he wrote in his notes that I was being unreasonable, and he diagnosed my son with ADD. It got to the point that my husband wanted me to go along with everyone else and give him the medication.
After telling my husband all of my reasons for not believing this diagnosis, and giving him all the side effects that the medicine could cause, we decided to have our son take second grade over the next year. If he wasn’t paying attention during school, he wasn’t getting the material. Third grade would be that much harder for him. He wasn’t happy with our decision, but did it. He received straight B’s the next year with no medication or herbal supplements! I was overjoyed! During parent-teacher conferences, I shared my joy with his teacher. She told me, “He only got these grades because he remembered the material from last year”. Well, I’ve heard enough from her! I said, “But that is impossible. The teacher’s and the doctor told me last year he had ADD and wasn’t paying attention. If he wasn’t paying attention, how could he remember the material? Could it be possible they were wrong?” I realized at this time, he didn’t exactly receive support or encouragement from his teachers. He had to get extra support at home. Every year afterwards, he succeeded without interference from us. He now understands the consequences if he doesn’t pay attention. I can sympathize with parents who are going through this process. It is ten times worse if the child really does have ADHD or ADD. Not every child is misdiagnosed, and many parents are forced to make the decision of putting their child on medication or using a more natural approach. Natural healing doesn’t need to cost an arm or a leg to work. I want to introduce to you a different approach using herbs called Adaptogens along with diet and other herbal supplements called nervines.
First, I would like to explain how adaptogens benefit the adrenal glands specifically. The adrenal glands are part of the endocrine system and are located on top of the kidneys. They are responsible for the fight-or-flight response in the presence of danger by secreting adrenaline, for controlling inflammation in the body, along with regulating blood pressure and metabolism. Adrenal glands help with issues such as hormonal imbalance, immunity, stress relief, thyroid imbalance, fatigue, and lack of concentration. Adaptogens are wonderful herbs to help cope with stress, increase memory, and increase energy and stamina. Many health problems today can be caused by an adrenal imbalance or adrenal fatigue. Adrenal imbalance consists of too little or too many hormones being produced while adrenal fatigue is where the adrenal glands are wearing out due to too much stimulation for a long period of time. This usually happens with chronic stress. Children with ADHD/ADD are stressed and they could use the extra benefit of better concentration, increased memory, and reducing inflammation in the body.
What does inflammation have to do with ADHD/ADD? Recently, science has shown a common thread between inflammation and ADHD/ADD. As a matter of fact, inflammation is now considered a main cause in mental health issues and many other health problems. Studies have shown that children and adolescents with ADHD/ADD have a higher rate of immune dysfunction (immunity not functioning well) and inflammation in the digestive tract. This imbalance causes cellular inflammation that affects the function of the brain. How can you reduce inflammation in the body? Adaptogens will help the body, but they can’t do it alone. Diet is the key! Reducing sugar in the diet (or eliminating completely) is fantastic, but that alone won’t do the trick. You have to control the inflammation with a diet rich in anti-inflammatory foods, herbs, and supplements along with eliminating food (or what some consider food) that can cause inflammation. Food that is processed or refined, or can trigger allergies should be eliminated completely. Fast food, excess dairy, and excess red meat could also contribute to inflammation. Reducing or eliminating these types of food is a must.
If there are allergies to consider, it will take a little more time to figure out the culprit in the diet. I would first start off with eliminating dairy then try gluten. Increase the amount of whole food in the diet consisting of nuts, seeds, vegetables (all different colors), grains, and fruit. Make sure to increase the omega-3 essential fatty acids found in fish, flax seeds, hemp seeds, chia seeds, pumpkin seeds, walnuts, or cashews among others. Nutritional deficiencies can also be linked to ADHD/ADD. Balancing your diet will have a lasting effect on the gut, nerves, and inflammation in the body.