Adderall question!

<p>FWIW, I don't have anything against people using it if they ARE PRESCRIBED it. And Leah377, I can see your point. I just think that generally people start falling into the cycle of overusing it.</p>

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but also you have to consider that adderall doesn't write papers for you. it doesn't study for your exams for you. it'll help you concentrate for a few hours to you can maximize your time better.

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<p>Here's the thing. Being able to concentrate better? A BIG advantage, esp. on tests or during exam periods when everyone has a ton to study. So, if you take adderall without a prescription, you are getting an advantage over people who don't, and since what you're doing is illigal, I don't think that's fair. I'd love to be able to concentrate better when studying, but I'm not going to break the law to do it, and I don't like that other students ARE. (This esp. matters when a test is graded on a curve).</p>

<p>Laws are just constructions. Unless you're directly harming someone, who really cares unless you're caught? The other people on the curve, but so what? Go ahead and call it cheating; but if you ain't cheating, you ain't trying hard enough. Being smarter is an unfair advantage. What did he do to deserve being a genius?</p>

<p>Another thing. Concentration isn't easily divided into people who have ADD and people who don't. There's a spectrum of concentration ability and the dichotomy that people make isn't really accurate.</p>

<p>In addition to risking your own health but taking a prescription drug without benefit of evaluation and management by a doctor, you are potentialy making the prescribing doctor liabel for prescribing without an exam, or the person who gave it to you liable for distributing without a license.</p>

<p>Russell will find out the error of his ways when he is forced to do something without his drugs, until then go right ahead, as you say you're not harming anyone but yourself.</p>

<p>Yeah, I've never done anything requiring concentration without using drugs. How stupid can you people be? I've only used it once, for the record.</p>

<p>And actually, I never mentioned that I was harming myself. I said that I was benefiting myself.</p>

<p>Using a drug as a crutch is harming yourself, sorry I don't live in a dream world like you seem to.</p>

<p>I'm using it as a performance enhancer. Using it as a crutch would be using it daily, maybe weekly; not a few times per year. You're the one who's detached from reality.</p>

<p>Exactly you're using it to artificially enhance your performance rather than learning/adapting on your own to handle the stress and do well. Doing this just deprives you of the opportunity to better yourself and, as I mentioned before, there will come a time when you are forced to rely only on your own abilities and you will fail because in the past you have taken the easy way out rather than doing what is necessary to prepare yourself. Anyway, as I have said before, continue to do so, you are only harming yourself in the long run.</p>

<p>did you guys see Boston Legal Monday evening?</p>

<p>Thanks for the tip, phade, but I'm not going to accept advice from a. As I've said, I've used adderall once in my life and only plan to use it a few times a year during finals. I get enough "preparation" in the 99% of days that I don't plan to use it. Are you saying that people who don't even write finals are ill prepared for the big bad world? Give me a break; you're such a , it's unbelievable. Millions of students use coffee to "artifically enhance" their performance, rather than learning and adapting on their own. I better myself in enough ways and I'm not self-righteous enough to care that I've taken the "easy way out."</p>

<p>Just to note, I'm studying for my mechanics final at the moment without the aid of adderall. But I'm using caffeine, an artificial enhancer, so I guess I'm screwed.</p>

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Exactly you're using it to artificially enhance your performance rather than learning/adapting on your own to handle the stress and do well. Doing this just deprives you of the opportunity to better yourself and, as I mentioned before, there will come a time when you are forced to rely only on your own abilities and you will fail because in the past you have taken the easy way out rather than doing what is necessary to prepare yourself. Anyway, as I have said before, continue to do so, you are only harming yourself in the long run.

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+1
But at the same time I don't really care what other people do with their bodies. However it does **** me off when I work harder and someone else does better because they can study for 48 hours straight. But in the long run I am able to prioritize things more effectively and not procrastinate.</p>

<p>Since you are clearly unable to have a mature discussion I'll leave you with one final piece of advice before abandoning this thread: wake up and learn to take constructive criticism instead of rationalizing your behavior and lying to yourself, its going to come back and bite you in the ass.</p>

<p>I'm above you; it wouldn't even be logical for me to take your criticism seriously.</p>

<p>Rationalization takes place during every decision that we make, so telling me to stop rationalizing is pretty dumb. </p>

<p>Are you psychic, phade? You seem to know more about my life than I do. Like I said, your advice is useless.</p>

<p>You know what, now I feel guilty. I apologize for rude remarks. I just get irritated when people impose their beliefs on others.</p>

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I'm above you; it wouldn't even be logical for me to take your criticism seriously.

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<p>hahahahaha... I'm definitely submitting this to collegehumor's "stupid things students say"....</p>

<p>if you don't like the idea of adderall, don't use it.
if you don't like the idea of premarital sex, don't do it.
if you don't like cottage cheese, don't eat it.</p>

<p>it's uneccessary to condemn someone for making a relatively harmless choice. yes, it's technically illegal to use adderall if it's not prescribed to you, but i don't really understand why anyone on an internet forum cares if someone thousands of miles away does. take it up with your roommate if he's stockpiling ADHD meds in your common areas and selling them to all your hallmates, but if the issue doesn't affect you, why bother?</p>

<p>also, if you counter that it's an unfair advantage academically, perhaps you should consider taking advantage of it, too, like millions upon millions of americans who are not prescribed (or are overprescribed) these types of medications.</p>

<p>i do think that it's a personal problem when you begin relying on ADHD drugs to succeed in school, but using them infrequently is no big deal.</p>

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hahahahaha... I'm definitely submitting this to collegehumor's "stupid things students say"....

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<p>Oh, I get it, you're implying that I'm stupid. You got me here! </p>

<p>You're a chump.</p>

<p>leah, it's a public health issue. psych meds, including adderall and other stimulants, are very powerful drugs with long-lasting effects that can result in a variety of negative and positive, life-long symptoms. if a student is struggling with concentration issues, it would be advisable for him or her to seek out the help of a professional psychologist or psychiatrist. If the problem is not major enough to pay for such services, then it is not major enough to merit taking mind-altering drugs. (public health issues do matter to us on a national level seeing as they cost taxpayers a huge amount of money each year)</p>

<p>You're missing the point, apumic. Why should people like me, or leah, care about it being a public health issue? That's given the hypothetical situation that it is. I haven't read anything about adderall having permanent side effects. Maybe in adolescents, which I'm not.</p>

<p>I don't care if you think that my decision has merit. Like I've been saying in this thread, all of these value claims that you guys are making are subjective. I don't share them, so I don't care about them. And in the end, it's my choice to take it.</p>