The Link: Alcoholism and ADHD

I have been considering the impact ADHD has with alcoholism. In some cases, is it true alcoholism or is it just someone self-medicating with alcohol and/or drugs due to a neurological disorder? (I know there are other reasons as well, such as trauma). And like someone on a daily medication plan, they drink daily instead, as that has become their form of medication. I know several individuals who have self-medicated prior to discovering they had ADHD or before being on an effective ADHD medication plan. An effective medication plan is the key along with good counsel and coaching. Below are some quotes from an article of a man who had entered into AA only to find out later that he had ADHD. Here is some of what he says

"I was nine months into sobriety and learning how to handle life without alcohol. He told me a little about ADHD, enough that I could recognize myself; disorganization, procrastination, lack of impulse control and, of course, substance abuse."

"And so, I began to see how ADHD affects me as a result of my journey in recovery from alcohol. I have been learning about how my alcoholism and my ADHD dance with one another in the neurobiology of my brain. I know not everyone with ADHD has substance-abuse problems and not every addict has ADHD, but I also understand the combination is not uncommon. And, for me, they tango quite well with one another."

"A realization I came to early in my recovery process was that there is something about the way my brain is wired that makes it unwise (understatement) to drink. Alcohol hits me differently than it hits non-alcoholics, or "normies" as they say in meetings. Once I admitted that that my brain is different in its relation to alcohol, I was primed for the idea that it may also be different in the way blood flows through it."

And another individual responds to this man's article

"I have also just discovered my ADHD, having been in AA and sober for 21 years! I wondered why I never quite got the programme. People said I would stop fidgeting and would be able to control my depression, disorganisation and procrastination if I worked the programme properly, but it never happened.?"

The link. Properly diagnosing and putting on a proper medication plan can stop someone from drinking or drugging. I know individuals who drink very heavily like an alcoholic when they are not on the proper medication plan, but when put on the correct meds. their desire for drink goes away! ADHD brains have a different wiring. They want to do, but they just can't! Their wiring is different. (Paul speaks of his issue of not being able to do what he wants, only to do what he does not want to do Romans 7). An ADHD person has this problem, multiplied, especially when not on the proper treatment plan.

If there were greater awareness and understanding of this neurological disorder in the medical (yes medical, it is my understanding that some physicians are lacking in knowledge of ADHD and it's treatment) centers, and perhaps more importantly elementary through high school education where if education professionals had some kind of knowledge (a yearly workshop would be a start) for assessing or at least awareness of this condition they could then watch for signs of it in children who fall behind or have 'behavioral issues'. With proper screening methods being put into place, this would have a great impact in the not only short term, that is their education, but the long term outlook for these individuals, where someone take for instance a 29 year old man I talked with last week who floundered through school, just barely graduating, was thought of as lazy, has drank for years (self medicating) to as he put it 'to just feel right'. Very recently he found out he had ADHD as he was listening to a radio program with someone talking about ADHD. He told me how he said 'that sounds like me'. 'Thats my life!' 'That sounds just like me.' He later called a therapist who put him on Concerta and he has since seen improvement in just this short-term!

Imagine, a neurological disorder that was never caught all throughout his childhood even through his years of joining the military, and the impact it has had on his life. If diagnosed and treated early, there could be many spared of a life in AA or a whole lot worse, when you consider the comorbidities and statistics of a shorter lifespan. Is help on the way? Yes, help is on the way!

There are different types of ADHD ( as many as 7 types or more according to the Amen clinics) and not all are prone to needing medication or self-medicating. Many are very, very successful and extremely gifted. And, yes like this 29 year old and others I know, they do not fit the 'classic' characteristics and are therefore very often overlooked and found out to have it many years down the road of life.

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