Available ADHD Medications for Teens
ADHD medications for teens has long been a controversial subject among medical and mental health professionals. ADHD is technically not classified as a mental illness, but is instead considered to be a developmental disorder. With this in mind, ADHD cannot be cured, but with proper treatment, symptoms can be managed.
Sometimes this is done with counseling and treatment methods that involve the development of new learning methods, but at other times, prescription medication may be necessary to keep attention deficit symptoms under control. ADHD medications often pose a considerable risk to children, teens, and young adults due to the addictive nature of these types of drugs.
Medications commonly prescribed to treat attention deficit symptoms are stimulants-more specifically, amphetamines. While stimulants have been shown to benefit people with ADHD by decreasing brain activity and allowing for greater focus during the day, there is still a considerable risk of dependency, which could serve as a gateway to addiction to more dangerous and powerful substances.
In addition, many drugs prescribed to treat attention deficit disorders often include a host of side effects. In some patients, the risk associated with side effects can potentially outweigh the overall benefit of the medication itself, leaving many people feeling hopeless and without options.
In teens and young adults, the risk of dependency is even greater. Teens are also more susceptible to anxiety and depression that erupts out of the frustration associated with ADHD and other learning problems.
In order to help teens cope with emotional issues, tricyclic antidepressants are also commonly prescribed as an alternative form of treatment. However, the actual benefit of antidepressants in treating symptoms associated with ADHD in both teens and young adults is still debatable among many professionals and medical researchers.
It has been shown that these types of ADHD medications for teens can help slow brain activity in people with ADHD, leading to increased concentration levels, but in some cases, antidepressants have been shown to lead to greater risk of suicide in people among this age group.
Doctors now use extreme caution in prescribing any type of prescription medication for teens and people in their early twenties with attention deficit disorders. Antidepressants are seldom prescribed for teens at all anymore, due to the increased risk of suicide.
For this reason, people in this age group that are prescribed either stimulants or antidepressants should be monitored closely by parents and medical professionals.