Her Campus Logo Her Campus Logo
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at UFL chapter.

Adderall is a stimulant that helps treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, as well as narcolepsy.

Living with ADHD is incredibly hard. You read a page and have no recollection of what you just read.

You forget things five seconds after someone told you information.

It takes you five times longer to grasp a concept compared to someone else who doesn’t have ADHD.

For this purpose, ADHD has a terrible stigma to it.

The stereotype that people with ADHD are lazy and unmotivated is incredibly disheartening because it is so far from the truth.

Adderall can be incredibly beneficial for people who have daily struggles with their ADHD.

However, many people think Adderall is this magic pill that can solve all their problems by helping you get all your tasks done in the span of an hour.

While Adderall may help in many areas for those with ADHD, it is not a pill that should be taken by just anyone.

People tend to glorify this pill, but what they don’t know are the side effects that some people experience while taking Adderall.

You don’t sleep for days at a time.

Your appetite is non-existent.

Because you have no appetite, you get up after doing homework all day only to fall right back down because you feel so dizzy that you nearly pass out.

You are drinking water and going to the bathroom like crazy because you have cotton mouth from Adderall.

Your jaw is sore from clenching it so hard without even realizing it.

For some individuals, it makes them more depressed than anything else.

Coming from someone with diagnosed ADHD, I’m grateful to have the resources that help me succeed in my life.

Unfortunately, there is so much abuse when it comes to Adderall, especially in college towns.

People seek out Adderall with hopes that it will benefit them in their lives, but the fact of the matter is that no one needs to be taking it who doesn’t already have a prescription.

This is how Adderall abuse starts. People take this pill, thinking it will make them focus for hours on end to help them ace their exams, and then it switches to wanting to take it for other purposes.

Some people take it to help them lose weight.

Some even take before a night out to up their alcohol tolerance (even though this is a myth).

It is only a downwards spiral from there.

Adderall addicts don’t always look like an average drug addict.

However, the actions of an Adderall addict can lead to heart attacks, strokes and even liver failure.

While Adderall is something many people want to get their hands on, it’s not something that should be glorified by any means.

People handle their ability to focus in many different ways.

Adderall works for some patients with ADHD, and that’s great.

However, people without ADHD should resort to other treatments and not someone else’s Adderall for their own sake and well-being.

Olivia Trejo is a 3rd year public relations major at the University of Florida. With a strong passion for people and music, she hopes to pursue a career in the music industry after college.