eli5 Why do stimulants calm and bring focus to people with ADHD?
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ADHD brains cannot produce normal levels of self-stimulating chemicals, so the ADHD brain finds or creates ADDITIONAL stimulation in other ways.
Some ADHD people are easily distracted by things. Others, like me, can focus but constantly have many many thoughts rapid-firing in our heads (I usually bounce between 4-6 thoughts, one past conversation, 2-4 work projects, and play a constant barrage of songs in my head – all involuntarily.)
Stimulants, like Adderall, force the brain to have more self-stimulation, so it has no need for these other sources of stimulation and the need for those external sources slows down, quiets, or stops entirely.
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