ADHD IS OVER!

ADHD MEDICATION & VIOLENCE is an episode designed to make parents aware of the dangerous effects of stimulant drugs for ADHD. In 2006, the FDA’s ADHD psychiatric review team called for stronger warnings on ADHD drugs after a safety review found almost 1,000 case reports of psychosis (including hallucinations) or mania related to Adderall, Concerta, Ritalin and Strattera submitted to the agency by drug makers between January 1, 2000 and June 30, 2005. These symptoms came in children with “no identifiable risk factors, at usual doses of any of the drugs used to treat ADHD.” There was a “complete absence” of these ADHD medication side effects in children treated with dummy pills during clinical trials and in many children the symptoms stopped when the drugs were withdrawn and resumed when they were restarted. In addition to the case reports submitted by manufacturers, there were 560 reports of psychosis or mania submitted to the FDA via its MedWatch reporting system. It is estimated that only about 1% of adverse side effects are reported to the FDA. This suggests that over 100,000 children diagnosed with ADHD may have become psychotic or manic while taking ADHD drugs during this five- and-a-half year period. The same safety review reported “numerous postmarketing reports of aggression or violent behavior during drug therapy of ADHD.” In approximately 20% of the cases the behavior was considered life-threatening or required hospitalization. The majority of the reports of ADHD violent behavior were for children and adolescents, most of whom had “no specific risk factors for aggression or violent behavior.” According to the report, “a striking majority (80 to 90% overall) of patients … had no prior history of similar events.” Drug makers submitted over 1,400 reports of ADHD aggression or violent behavior, with over 700 additional cases reported to MedWatch. The FDA report establishes an unmistakable tie between ADHD medication and violence. In 2010, Thomas Moore, a senior scientist at the Institute for Safe Medical Practice (ISMP) and Joseph Glenmullen, a Clinical Instructor in Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, published a joint study on prescription medication-induced violence, finding that 31 prescription medications are disproportionately linked to reports of violent behavior. In the study, Moore and Glenmullen extracted serious adverse event reports from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Adverse Event Reporting System, searching for any drugs with 200 or more case reports received from 2004 to 2009. They selected any reports that indicated homicide, homicidal ideation, physical assault, physical abuse or violence-related symptoms, and then used mathematical and statistical methods to identify drugs that were significantly more associated with those reports compared to other drugs. Out of 484 medications they evaluated, 31 (6%) were significantly more associated with violence. All but seven of the drugs were psychiatric drugs. The medications below were the most strongly associated with violent adverse events: Varenicline (Chantix, Fluoxetine (Prozac, Paroxetine (Paxil, Amphetamines, Mefoquine (Lariam, Atomoxetine (Strattera), Triazolam (Halcion), Fluvoxamine (Luvox), Venlafaxine (Effexor), Desvenlafaxine (Pristiq) Parents and the public have a right to know what psychiatric drugs do in the brain, the side effects of taking and withdrawing from these medications, and the medical basis — or lack thereof — behind the skyrocketing numbers of children being prescribed these drugs. Resources: https://www.baumhedlundlaw.com/medication-induced-violence/ https://www.druginjury.com/druginjurycom/2006/03/adderall_cardia.html https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1345/aph.1P172 For more information on this podcast, please visit www.adhdisover.com

ADHD IS A RESPONSE TO STRESS is a powerful episode with renowned NYC psychoanalyst Erica Komisar. Erica is also a parent guidance expert and author of Being There: Why Prioritizing Motherhood in the First Three Years Matters as well as her most recent book ‘Chicken Little the Sky Isn’t Falling: Raising Resilient Adolescents in the New Age of Anxiety.' Erica is a psychological consultant who brings parenting and work/life workshops to clinics, schools, corporations, and childcare settings including The Garden House School, Goldman Sachs, Shearman, and Sterling and SWFS Early Childhood Center and she has appeared on major media networks such as CBS, ABC, FOX, and NPR. She is a regular contributor to the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, New York Daily News, and FOX 5 NY as well as a Contributing Editor to the Institute for Family Studies. Erica and I talked about ADHD over diagnosis, over-medication, the possible real causes of ADHD behaviors and the theory that ADHD is a response to stress in our environment... For more information on Erica, please visit https://www.ericakomisar.com To purchase Erica's latest book, got to https://www.amazon.com/Chicken-Little-Sky-Isnt-Falling/dp/0757324002/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2SLOD8FQD64TQ&keywords=erica+komisar&qid=1640034022&sprefix=erica+komisa%2Caps%2C340&sr=8-1 Erica's infamous Fox & Friends appearance I mentioned during this episode: https://video.foxnews.com/v/6011977753001#sp=show-clips For more information on our podcast, go to www.adhdisover.com

ALL BRAINS MATTER is an exploration of the terms 'Neurodiversity' and 'ADHD as a Superpower' and how many ADHD adults and/or parents of children with ADHD might be hiding behind such alternative labels or perhaps that those terms might be misused? Listen in for yourself to see if you agree, disagree or if this sparks any other potential topic. Feel free to reach out to us anytime if you have a suggestion for a topic or if you'd like to be a guest on the show. For more information on this podcast, please visit www.adhdisover.com

THE ADHD DIAGNOSIS SURVIVAL GUIDE IS HERE! is a quick episode to announce the release of our interactive PDF Survival Guide that's now available on our website. It was designed to help parents navigate the first few confusing and overwhelming weeks or months after an initial ADHD diagnosis. We've been there and we know how important it is to think calmly and clearly. There is so much information out there and unfortunately most of it is skewed, incomplete and one-sided. We wanted parents to get a glimpse of both sides before choosing what's best for their child. You can download the FREE INTERACTIVE GUIDE directly at www.adhdisover.com. Let us know your thoughts, we'd love to hear from you. hello@adhdisover.com

MOMMA KNOWS BEST is a heartfelt episode with Lauren Thomas, a community health educator who builds greenways and trails in her local community. Lauren is also a mom of an 8-year-old son who has been recently diagnosed with ADHD by her own pursuit. 

Through the journey of this diagnosis process, Lauren began to reflect on how it isn’t her child who has a disorder, but instead that he’s a participant of a disordered, attention-sucking cultural environment. Lauren offers a perspective on how the natural world can teach us about human development, including celebrating phenomenology in plants and in minds, and considering childhood as a greenhouse. 

Lauren and I are going to talk about how a long term work project kept her away from being present with her son, why she started to question the main stream narrative around ADHD and what’s next for her son and her family after the initial diagnosis. For more information on this podcast, please visit www.adhdisover.com

GOOD SCIENCE OR GOOD MARKETING is my reading and interpretation of Jonathan Leo's 2000 SKEPTIC magazine article entitled 'Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder - Good Science or Good Marketing.' In this article Leo asks the most important questions that are simply not to be ignored if we're really after the discovery of the true causes and the most effective treatments for ADHD. There simply aren't enough valid and applicable studies to prove the points that the main stream experts are making around ADHD. Unfortunately, those incomplete and one-sided narratives have most parents quickly turn to stimulant medications as the quick fix solution for their children. Listen in and hear for yourself how Big Pharma's ADHD marketing departments are clearly putting the [marketing] cart before the [science] horse. For more information on Jonathan Leo, please visit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Leo To get Jonathan Leo's book 'Rethinking ADHD: From Brain to Culture' (co-authored by Sami Timimi)visit https://books.google.com/books/about/Rethinking_ADHD.html?id=oJlMDwAAQBAJ For more information on our podcast, please visit www.adhdisover.com

DOPESICK is a short episode about the Hulu show of the same name, telling the true story of Purdue Pharma and the release of their pain killing opioid 'OxyContin'. I wanted to explore a healthline article that talks about the same pharmaceutical company pushing a time-released ADHD medication called 'Adhansia XR'. Could it be that when it comes to ADHD medication that Purdue cleaned up their act in just a few years? Could we count on them not to use the same shady tactics they used on their Oxycontin release for Adhansia? Listen in and judge for yourself... we think it's worth a listen and a reflection. For more information on Hulu's Dopesick, visit https://press.hulu.com/shows/dopesick/ To read the Healthline article mentioned, got to https://www.healthline.com/health-news/adhd-medication-now-available-to-young-children#High-potential-for-abuse For more information on this podcast, please visit www.adhdisover.com

THE BIG CONTRADICTION is about... well, a really big contradiction that the National Institute of Health here in the US shows on their own website when it comes to the science around ADHD. On one hand, they answer the question 'What is the cause of ADHD?' with: "“Finally, after years of clinical research and experience with ADHD, our knowledge about the cause or causes of ADHD remains largely speculative.” On the other hand, when referring to the ACE study on their website, they state: "“Children with ADHD have higher Adverse Childhood Experiences exposure compared with children without ADHD. There was a significant association between ACE score, ADHD, and moderate to severe ADHD.” So, it seems that while their top scientists and experts are still 'largely speculating' the science has already been in since the early 1990's... This sort of contradiction at the highest level by our mental health science experts & agencies certainly doesn't give us parents any kind of peace of mind that could trust them, does it now? Listen for yourself and make up your mind along the way... and remember to always question what the so-called experts tell you - on both sides! For more information on this podcast, please visit www.adhdisover.com

FINISH WHAT YOU START is a wonderful and intricate episode with French-Canadian Hypnotherapist Meggie Houle.   Meggie is a certified master hypnotist and member of the National Guild of Hypnotists. She is certified as an energy medicine practitioner who helps people with ADHD get things done. After overcoming her own set of trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder with hypnosis and self-hypnosis, she not only found relief from her past experiences, but also from the blocks that were causing her own ADHD to be mismanaged.   Meggie has trained with many experts in the field of trauma and inherited family trauma. She bases her approach of healing the symptoms of ADD on proven neuroscience methodology. While working with her one-on-one hypnosis clients, she was able to not only resolve her clients’ main issues by restoring their ability to focus and follow through, but also to help them create a life they love and thrive in.   She has a passion for understanding the human perception of being and living and creating new connections. She lives her life with curiosity and believes that everyone has a right to healing, diagnosed or not, by addressing the root of the real underlying issues and helping her clients feel in charge of their life.   Meggie has moved across Canada, to and from the United States a few times, and traveled the world. She loves the outdoors, tiny living and paragliding. She currently resides in beautiful Okanagan Valley in British Columbia. For more information on Meggie's work, please visit https://navigationhypnosis.com You can get Meggie’s book here www.adhdbookgiveaway.com For more information on this podcast, please visit www.adhdisover.com

A FICTITIOUS DISEASE is an episode on how researching the 'father' of ADHD Dr. Leon Eisenberg deathbed statement "ADHD is a prime example of a fictitious disease" led me to Harvard professor Dr. Jerome Kagan (RIP 2021) and his critique on ADHD being an invention. Jerome Kagan was not only a tenured professor at one of the most prestigious universities in the world; he was also considered one of the world’s best psychologists. In fact, his fellow academics ranked Kagan the 22nd most eminent psychologist of the 20th century. This ranking put the good professor ahead of Carl Jung (Yes – THAT Carl Jung), who was ranked 23rd. So, if anyone has earned the right to critique one of the most diagnosed mental health conditions in existence, it’s Jerome Kagan. And critique the condition, he did. Kagan didn’t believe that ADHD is a real condition. That’s right, Kagan’s position was that Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is a complete hoax. Needless to say, Kagan’s proclamation has ruffled a lot of feathers. Psychologists and other medical professionals have gone on the offensive, attempting to discredit Kagan’s statements. However, Kagan stands firm in his position. See and hear for yourself what Dr. Leon Eisenberg and Jerome Kagan think of ADHD as a mental disorder: https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/work-of-fiction/ https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/culture-mind-and-brain/201804/if-adhd-is-not-real-why-do-so-many-kids-struggle https://www.powerofpositivity.com/harvard-psychologist-adhd-doesnt-really-exist/ https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2021/05/remembering-jerome-kagan-towering-harvard-psychologist/ For more information on our podcast, visit www.adhdisover.com