Why is my brain so scattered and unable to focus on simple tasks? When I take my medications, I feel a lot better, but I’m so curious why this happens in the first place. Am I missing something in my brain? Are neurotransmitters not working? plz.
In: Biology
Dopamine is a chemical in the brain that is associated with motivation and reward. It makes you happy. Various things can cause your brain to release dopamine. Completing a difficult task, being rewarded/praised, even eating.
The brain needs dopamine to function effectively, but people with ADHD produce less. This means they are very hungry for dopamine similar to food. They are starving and fatigued from a lack of the dopamine so have trouble focusing on things that people would normally find rewarding because other people get the adequate amount of dopamine.
Now, if something is able to break through and excite them enough, it’s like they get a big feast after being starved. And they want more and more. So they will be able to focus very intensively on something, but otherwise, they are usually just trying to find something more interesting to think about and so their brain just goes everywhere.
ADHD meds stimulate the brain so that it is not always super hungry for stimulation and you are able to prioritize tasks you might not have motivation otherwise to do.
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