Why I Stopped Taking Ritalin

And what is helping me now.

This one has been a long time coming, and it explains why I stopped sharing so much on this topic. As much as I've sat with it, there's a part of me that feels responsible after shouting from the rooftops that I'd found this thing, this magic pill that was going to save me. I thought it was going to save me from something I'd experienced my entire life but could never quite put my finger on. Well... that's exactly how I felt the second I started taking Focalin. Saved.

Let's start with the backstory of it all. This all came about after having Doc Amen on my podcast, where he dove into the importance of getting your brain scanned. This made me really want to take a look inside and have this data proven, so that I could understand it better myself.

After one of my children was diagnosed with ADHD, it made me realize, for the first time in my life, like, "Oh my god this is actually me. This is exactly what I've been going through my entire life." Growing up in the '80s I think there were so many of us struggling but it was just unfortunately overlooked and not tested like it is today.

I followed through with the process of getting my brain scan, and immediately broke into tears on the zoom call with Doc Amen as he gave me my results. I wasn't upset with what I heard, but rather felt this sense of relief, because my whole life I thought something was wrong with me, and was never explained the why behind it. I grew up thinking for most of my life that I was stupid and anything school related was all so swallowing for me. When you're the kid in class who can barely keep up, it crushes your confidence.

Doc Amen saying, "it is so clear that you have ADHD," was so freeing for me to hear.

I began testing a bunch of supplements, and took it upon myself to try one of my children’s medications… I fully own that this is not advised by doctors and im not telling you to do the same but just here to share the real shit . I also didn’t want to put my kid on something that I didn’t understand how the body responded to.

The second I tried Focalin, the lights came on for the first time in my life.