Can Adderall cause anxiety for recreation abusers? Can Adderall cause anxiety for those with legal prescriptions? We’ll answer these questions and so much more. Most importantly, we’ll provide solutions for those problems and alternative treatment options. Here is everything you need to know about the relationship between Adderall, anxiety, addiction, and other dependency-related battles.
What is Adderall?
Adderall is a prescription medication for individuals with ADD, ADHD, or other attention disorders. These medications increase focus, maximize attention span, and improve productivity in people who have attention and learning disorders. These medications are accessible through strict physician approval at local pharmacies. These strict guidelines are implemented due to the significant addiction risks associated with this amphetamine-based drug.
How Does Adderall Work?
Adderall’s effectiveness in ADHD and ADD sufferers is found in how it affects dopamine cells. While dopamine is known predominantly as the “pleasure cell”, it serves several vital functions beyond inducing happiness. One of its functions is aiding focus and attentiveness. An ADD or ADHD-affected mind absorbs dopamine at a rate that leaves an individual dopamine-deprived, therefore affecting focus. Correlatively, Adderall stimulates dopamine-related neurotransmitters specifically related to those attention-focused properties, improving overall productivity and focus.
Can Adderall Cause Anxiety and Worsen Mental Health Conditions?
If Adderall is used within the legal parameters of prescribed use, it usually does not increase anxiety significantly. However, individuals with pre-existing mental health disorders can have exacerbated anxiety and stress disorders in conjunction with Adderall use. To clarify, this is the case for both people adhering to doctor-recommended dosages and for addictive purposes. That’s why it’s of the utmost importance to consult a physician for prescription before using Adderall for any reason.
Common Adderall-Induced Anxiety Symptoms
Adderall, as is the case with any medication, has side effects that differ per individual, including potentially diverse anxiety manifestations. Some of the most common symptom descriptions are as follows.
Anxiety, especially stemming from Adderall side-effects, can suppress hunger. Depending on anxiety levels, anxiety-induced appetite suppression can range from mild to severe. Any level of decreased appetite due to anxiety is a cause for concern and should stir an immediate response. If left unattended, this can trickle over into potential eating disorders. Seek immediate therapeutic consultation and treatment if this symptom describes you.
Restless leg syndrome or other involuntary body shakes are an apparent symptom of Adderall-specific anxiety. These can arise without warning, after use, or as an addiction-induced anxiety withdrawal symptoms. If you experience these bouts of tremors in conjunction with Adderall use, speak to a doctor immediately about changing prescriptions. Sometimes something as simple as lower doses can also resolve the issue.
Mental unrest in conjunction with Adderall use can cause persistent sleep disruptions or make it difficult to fall asleep. This is often described as an inability to turn your brain off. This degree of anxiety can overtake your thought processes and end up affecting other priority aspects of your life. If you struggle keeping your mind clear, leading to sleeplessness, you may battle anxiety struggles exacerbated by Adderall use.
Adderall can help you focus, but it can also cause energy-draining anxiety. This is never a necessary trade-off so always keep open-ended communication with your doctor how medications like Adderall make you feel. Some side effects are expected, but anxiety-induced fatigue should not be one of those side effects. If you begin feeling anxiety and/or drained energy levels, seek alternative treatment methods.
Stomach problems from mild to severe can occur as a result of stress. This can include stomach pains, diarrhea, weight gain, weight loss, and other gastrointestinal distresses. Stomach problems stemming from anxiety happens because stress plays a vital role in digestion disruption. Over time, these distresses can progress into other more long-term stomach problems such as irritable bowel syndrome.
Who is At Higher Risk of Adderall-Induced Anxiety?
We’ve passively gone over attributes that lead to a higher risk of Adderall-induced anxiety. However, more specific descriptions of those risk factors are included in the following details.
People with underlying mental health conditions are at the highest risk for worsening or creating elevated anxiety levels. Depending on your disorder, your doctor may seek alternative medication methods to treat your ADD or ADHD symptoms. In the case of addiction sufferers, this can be even more dangerous as it will peak anxiety levels. Professional medical assessment can determine any underlying mental health struggles and how Adderall may interact negatively or positively with your disorder.
Addiction induces severe anxiety by itself. Whether Adderall or other substances are involved, taking Adderall in conjunction with any addiction disorder will likely heighten anxiety battles. This can occur due to withdrawal symptoms, natural use, or other personal factors. Make sure you are open with your physician about any substance abuse problems before being prescribed for Adderall.
People leading high stress or anxiety jobs pose a much higher risk for Adderall-causing anxiety. This also goes for people dealing with difficult life circumstances or other strenuous situations. In these situations, stress or medication management treatment may be necessary to take in conjunction with your Adderall prescriptions. Utilizing these training methods are the key to independently overcoming stress and anxiety in any form.
Some families pass down high anxiety and stress mentalities from their genetics. This means that Adderall is most likely to exacerbate these pre-existing anxiety levels without proper medication management. Most people who suffer from stress don’t realize that it can be passed down from your family history. Our top-notch assessment team can pinpoint the underlying cause of your stress, whether from genetics or otherwise. This is important because it enables physicians to approach your stress management treatment in the most personalized effective way possible.
Physical ailments, especially of the serious variety, understandably causes significant stress for anybody. However, our anxiety training techniques can help you deal proactively with physical ailments and concerns in a positive manner. This is achieved through helping instill a positive outlook and approach to your physical health problems. In turn, we serve a dual-purpose of helping you deal with your anxiety and health occurrences simultaneously.
How to Manage Anxiety While Taking Adderall?
Sometimes it takes doctor-implemented training techniques to help you manage your anxiety symptoms.
Here are just a few ways to manage your anxiety while taking Adderall.
Going for a walk, jog, or doing other exercise activities are a natural reliever of stress, regardless of the underlying cause. The scientific explanation of this is because of the endorphins that are naturally released during periods of physical exertion. Endorphins, which are mood and stress regulators, as well as a natural pain relief chemical, improves mood and diminishes stress.
When our mind is experiencing high anxiety levels, it tells our body how to react. Our breathing dictates one of the key respiratory reactions to stress. Contrarily, you can modify your breathing in such a way that induces your brain into a complete calm. These specific patterns are methods you can implement independently when learned from a trained professional. We’ll teach you how simple calming breathing exercises can keep your anxiety at bay.
As obvious as it may seem, it’s vital to underline that none of the to-be-mentioned are possible without proper treatment. The first and most important way to properly implement stress management techniques is to begin your stress therapy journey. Our superior treatment staff will equip you with everything you need to independently manage your stress battles. This also goes for potential Adderall-induced elevated anxiety levels.
While stimulants like Adderall leave many prone to greater anxiety risks, there are non-stimulant medications that may be better for you. These alternatives are no less effective, given your specific needs and goals. In order to get the right prescription and treatment plan, we need to get to know you. Reach out to us today for a more in-depth look at medication-assisted treatment options excluding Adderall.
What are Alternatives to Adderall for People with Anxiety?
Adderall is not for everyone, especially for anxiety sufferers. In those with stress factors to be considered, your doctor may recommend any of the following alternatives to help you gone your focus:
- Meditation Practices: Yoga, Tai-Chi, and other meditation methods are extremely effective in channeling focus on important priorities. Speak to a therapist to see if meditation is the correct alternative for you.
- Holistic Treatment: an exceptional alternative, and in many cases a better natural solution, holistic treatment involves dietary and exercise methods for focus. You’ll feel refreshed, focused, and attentive on the tasks at hand with the discipline instilled by holistic therapy treatment.
- Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy: in attention disorders, the inability to focus stems from pattern-formed thought processes deriving from chemical deficiencies. CBT treatment’s versatile approach can even help you untrain negative thought processes related to ADD and ADHD deficiencies.
California Healing Center is Your Start to an Anxiety-Free Life
Can Adderall cause anxiety? Yes. Does that mean there’s a shortage of options to relieve your anxiety? Definitely not, and California Healing Centers specializes in mental health and addiction solutions to help you rise above any such struggles. Start your journey to a better quality of life with peace of mind you’ve always dreamed of at California Healing Centers.
