--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I was diagnosed with ADHD in my mid…" description: "\"“I was diagnosed with ADHD in my mid fifties and I was given Ritalin and Dexedrine. These are stimulant medications. They elevate the level of a chemic..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c0/gabor-mat-1410_addiction_i-was-diagnosed-with-adhd-in-my-mid-fift_1833907.jpg" --- # I was diagnosed with ADHD in my mid fifties and I was… ![“I was diagnosed with ADHD in my mid fifties and I was given Ritalin and Dexedrine. These are stimulant medications. They elevate the level of a chemical called dopamine in the brain. And dopamine is the motivation chemical, so when you are more motivated you pay attention. Your mind won't be all…” quote by Gabor Maté](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c0/gabor-mat-1410_addiction_i-was-diagnosed-with-adhd-in-my-mid-fift_1833907.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c0/gabor-mat-1410_addiction_i-was-diagnosed-with-adhd-in-my-mid-fift_1833907.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c0/gabor-mat-1410_addiction_i-was-diagnosed-with-adhd-in-my-mid-fift_1833907.jpg) > ““I was diagnosed with ADHD in my mid fifties and I was given Ritalin and Dexedrine. These are stimulant medications. They elevate the level of a chemical called dopamine in the brain. And dopamine is the motivation chemical, so when you are more motivated you pay attention. Your mind won't be all over the place. So we elevate dopamine levels with stimulant drugs like Ritalin, Aderall, Dexedrine and so on. But what else elevates Dopamine levels? Well, all other stimulants do. What other stimulants? Cocaine, crystal meth, caffeine, nicotine, which is to say that a significant minority of people that use stimulants, illicit stimulants, you know what they are actually doing? They're self-medicating their ADHD or their depression or their anxiety. So on one level (and we have to go deeper that that), but on one level addictions are about self-medications. If you look at alcoholics in one study, 40% of male adult alcoholics met the diagnostic criteria for ADHD? Why? Because alcohol soothes the hyperactive brain. Cannabis does the same thing. And in studies of stimulant addicts, about 30% had ADHD prior to their drug use. What else do people self-medicate? Someone mentioned depression. So, if you have been treated for depression, as I have been, and you were given a SSRI medication, these medications elevate the level of another brain chemical called serotonin, which is implicated in mood regulation. What else elevates serotonin levels temporarily in the brain? Cocaine does. People use cocaine to self-medicate depression. People use alcohol, cannabis and opiates to self-medicate anxiety. Incidentally people also use gambling or shopping to self-medicate because these activities also elevate dopamine levels in the brain. There is no difference between one addiction and the other. They're just different targets, but the brain systems that are involved and the target chemicals are the same, no matter what the addiction. So people self-medicate anxiety, depression. People self-medicate bipolar disorder with alcohol. People self-medicate Post-Traumatic-Stress-Disorder. So, one way to understand addictions is that they're self-medicating. And that's important to understand because if you are working with people who are addicted it is really important to know what's going on in their lives and why are they doing this. So apart from the level of comfort and pain relief, there's usually something diagnosible that's there at the same time. And you have to pay attention to that. At least you have to talk about it.”” [Gabor Maté](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabor-mat/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Explains that many addictions stem from self‑medication of underlying mental health issues, with various substances and behaviors raising dopamine or serotonin to alleviate symptoms. **In simple terms:** Addictions often mask untreated mental health problems. Key Takeaway Address root causes, not just symptoms. Themes addiction mental health self‑medication neurochemistry Mood empathetic analytical Type clinical educational When to use this quote - therapy - medical treatment - support groups - mindful activities Key Concepts dopamine serotonin behavioral coping Questions to Reflect On - What unmet needs drive your habits? - How can you seek healthier coping? A Different Perspective Treating addiction without addressing underlying conditions can fail. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Addiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/addiction/) [Anxiety depression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anxiety-depression/) [Bipolar disorder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bipolar-disorder/) [Drug use](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drug-use/) [Pain relief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain-relief/) ## Related quotes > [“In the cloudy swirl of misleading ideas surrounding public discussion of addiction, there’s one that stands out: the misconception that drug taking by itself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabor-mat/in-the-cloudy-swirl-of-misleading-ideas-surrounding-public-discussion/) [Gabor Maté](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabor-mat/) > [“The hardcore drug addicts that I treat, are, without exception, people who have had extraordinarily difficult lives. The commonality is childhood abuse. These people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabor-mat/the-hardcore-drug-addicts-that-i-treat-are-without-exception-people/) [Gabor Maté](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabor-mat/) > [“Despite what appears to be a low risk of addiction in naïve, chronic pain patients, it is reasonable to ask how much harm is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-l-fields/despite-what-appears-to-be-a-low-risk-of-addiction-in-na-ve-chronic/) Howard L. Fields > [“I currently take Lortab, which is a combination of acetaminophen and hydrocodone. I’d rather not take this medication, or any medication for that matter,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-moore/i-currently-take-lortab-which-is-a-combination-of-acetaminophen-and/) [Alison Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-moore/) > [We were shooting an outdoor scene where I run to get into a car. As I did so, someone closed the door on my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mimi-chakraborty/we-were-shooting-an-outdoor-scene-where-i-run-to-get-into-a-car-as-i/) [Mimi Chakraborty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mimi-chakraborty/) > [“the media, at least in the U.S., tends to focus on pain pill use, abuse, and addiction by people who do not have chronic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-hamilton/the-media-at-least-in-the-u-s-tends-to-focus-on-pain-pill-use-abuse/) Anna Hamilton > [I think the way we think about cancer, the way we treat cancer, has dramatically changed in the last century. There is an enormous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siddhartha-mukherjee/i-think-the-way-we-think-about-cancer-the-way-we-treat-cancer-has/) [Siddhartha Mukherjee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siddhartha-mukherjee/) > [“Sexual health is as achievable and reasonable a goal for patients in palliative care and hospice care as pain relief, but few hospice and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimberly-d-acquaviva/sexual-health-is-as-achievable-and-reasonable-a-goal-for-patients-in/) [Kimberly D. Acquaviva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimberly-d-acquaviva/) > [“the media coverage of the ‘opiate epidemic’ as driven by pill pushing-doctors and by pain patients worries me a lot, and I think it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-gupta/the-media-coverage-of-the-opiate-epidemic-as-driven-by-pill-pushing/) Anita Gupta > [I was always kind of finding humor to be an access point to the conversation, to a pain relief, if you will. My mother…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-shadyac/i-was-always-kind-of-finding-humor-to-be-an-access-point-to-the/) [Tom Shadyac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-shadyac/) > [We can have hope even while maintaining a negative--or sometimes simply realistic--attitude. For instance, if you're dying of cancer, you can still hope for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lori-hope/we-can-have-hope-even-while-maintaining-a-negative-or-sometimes/) Lori Hope > [“Warmth flooded her body and she felt her skin flush, sweat prickling her hairline. Pain dissipated to nothing but a numb, hollow feeling. Some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-foehner-wells/warmth-flooded-her-body-and-she-felt-her-skin-flush-sweat-prickling/) [Jennifer Foehner Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-foehner-wells/) > [“Gout Every single year, thousands upon thousands of people are diagnosed with, and suffer from a condition known as gout. Gout is basically a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-haley/gout-every-single-year-thousands-upon-thousands-of-people-are/) James Haley > [Pete Egoscue has totally changed my life. Never have I experienced such complete pain relief as I have by following the Egoscue Method.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicklaus/pete-egoscue-has-totally-changed-my-life-never-have-i-experienced/) [Jack Nicklaus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicklaus/) > [And, as long as you can make yourself go on choosing the pain over the relief, you can keep going.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-block/and-as-long-as-you-can-make-yourself-go-on-choosing-the-pain-over-the/) [Lawrence Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-block/) ## More by Gabor Maté > [“As parents who make every effort we can to raise our children in loving security, we do not need to feel more guilt than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabor-mat/as-parents-who-make-every-effort-we-can-to-raise-our-children-in/) [Gabor Maté](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabor-mat/) > [“The fact is, we in this society are often quite removed from our own emotional reality.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabor-mat/the-fact-is-we-in-this-society-are-often-quite-removed-from-our-own/) [Gabor Maté](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabor-mat/) > [“Shame is the deepest of the “negative emotions,” a feeling we will do almost anything to avoid. Unfortunately, our abiding fear of shame impairs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabor-mat/shame-is-the-deepest-of-the-negative-emotions-a-feeling-we-will-do/) [Gabor Maté](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabor-mat/) > [“Many adults have not attained maturity — have not mastered being independent, self-motivated individuals capable of tending their own emotional needs and of respecting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabor-mat/many-adults-have-not-attained-maturity-have-not-mastered-being/) [Gabor Maté](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabor-mat/) > [Autonomy is impossible as long as one is driven by anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabor-mat/autonomy-is-impossible-as-long-as-one-is-driven-by-anything/) [Gabor Mate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabor-mat/) > [“If a mother has eight children, there are eight mothers. This is not simply because of the fact that the mother was different in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabor-mat/if-a-mother-has-eight-children-there-are-eight-mothers-this-is-not/) [Gabor Maté](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabor-mat/) > [“Without attachment, the parent succeeds at most in cowing a child into obedience, at the price of grave damage to the relationship and to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabor-mat/without-attachment-the-parent-succeeds-at-most-in-cowing-a-child-into/) [Gabor Maté](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabor-mat/) > [“Attachment is our connection with the world. In the earliest attachment relationships, we gain or lose the ability to stay open, self-nurturing and healthy.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabor-mat/attachment-is-our-connection-with-the-world-in-the-earliest/) [Gabor Maté](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabor-mat/) > [“So what you've actually got is traumatized children. When children are traumatized that affects how they feel about themselves, which is deeply ashamed because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabor-mat/so-what-you-ve-actually-got-is-traumatized-children-when-children-are/) [Gabor Maté](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabor-mat/) > [“Even without world wars, revolutions and emigration, siblings growing up in the same home almost never share the same environment. More accurately, brothers and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabor-mat/even-without-world-wars-revolutions-and-emigration-siblings-growing/) [Gabor Maté](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabor-mat/) > [“We think that there are people who are normal over here, and then there’s the pathological ones who have depression, anxiety, addiction or schizophrenia…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabor-mat/we-think-that-there-are-people-who-are-normal-over-here-and-then/) [Gabor Maté](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabor-mat/) > [“One cannot get much more vulnerable than to expose oneself psychologically. To share oneself with another and then be misunderstood or rejected is, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabor-mat/one-cannot-get-much-more-vulnerable-than-to-expose-oneself/) [Gabor Maté](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabor-mat/) > [“The areas of the cortex responsible for attention and self-regulation develop in response to the emotional interaction with the person whom we may call…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabor-mat/the-areas-of-the-cortex-responsible-for-attention-and-self-regulation/) [Gabor Maté](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabor-mat/) > [“Peer-oriented children live in a universe of severely limited and superficial attachments. The quest for sameness being the least vulnerable way of attaching, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabor-mat/peer-oriented-children-live-in-a-universe-of-severely-limited-and/) [Gabor Maté](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabor-mat/) > [“The United States contains less than 5 percent of the world’s population but houses nearly a quarter of the world’s prisoners.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabor-mat/the-united-states-contains-less-than-5-percent-of-the-world-s/) [Gabor Maté](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabor-mat/) [Explore all 244 Gabor Maté quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabor-mat/) ## More Addiction quotes > [What has drug addiction done for me? It's cost me my career, my fortune and basically my sex life when I found out I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robbin-crosby/what-has-drug-addiction-done-for-me-it-s-cost-me-my-career-my-fortune/) Robbin Crosby > [“The idea that creative endeavor and mind-altering substances are entwined is one of the great pop-intellectual myths of our time... Creative people probably do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-idea-that-creative-endeavor-and-mind-altering-substances-are/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [I really think the disease aspect gets lost when you're talking about alcoholism and addiction; it's not like you're battling leukemia or a heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-irsay/i-really-think-the-disease-aspect-gets-lost-when-you-re-talking-about/) [Jim Irsay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-irsay/) > [I had an addiction to artificial points of success. Like being able to run for this or run for that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruben-gallego/i-had-an-addiction-to-artificial-points-of-success-like-being-able-to/) [Ruben Gallego](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruben-gallego/) > [“Addictions are just symptoms of underlying issues, and in my view Nikki self-medicated the emotional pain of his childhood, and being away from his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-sixx/addictions-are-just-symptoms-of-underlying-issues-and-in-my-view/) [Nikki Sixx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-sixx/) > [“Oil. The great addiction of the civilized world”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-warren/oil-the-great-addiction-of-the-civilized-world/) [Andrew Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-warren/) > [“They say when you fall in love in love with someone that person becomes like a drug,an addiction you don't want to live without.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/they-say-when-you-fall-in-love-in-love-with-someone-that-person/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Addictions - Run to Jesus instead of running to your addiction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-meyer/addictions-run-to-jesus-instead-of-running-to-your-addiction/) [Joyce Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-meyer/) > [Music is my personal addiction. So much of everything I've done has only been to open more doors for the music itself. It all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dolly-parton/music-is-my-personal-addiction-so-much-of-everything-i-ve-done-has/) [Dolly Parton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dolly-parton/) > [“I am made of a thousand ghosts. Only you can shoot me down.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bella-james/i-am-made-of-a-thousand-ghosts-only-you-can-shoot-me-down/) Bella James > [Religious work is one of the best ways to keep from facing your reality if you are Christian, if you are using it to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-miller/religious-work-is-one-of-the-best-ways-to-keep-from-facing-your/) [Keith Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-miller/) > [Cold sweats, hallucinations I wanna speed to stop. The hell I'm going through The addiction's taking you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bullet-for-my-valentine/cold-sweats-hallucinations-i-wanna-speed-to-stop-the-hell-i-m-going/) [Bullet For My Valentine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bullet-for-my-valentine/) > [As addictions go, reading is among the cleanest, easiest to feed, happiest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/as-addictions-go-reading-is-among-the-cleanest-easiest-to-feed/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [“Alcoholism is a choice... not a life sentence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-norman/alcoholism-is-a-choice-not-a-life-sentence/) David Norman > [“Suckers think that you cure greed with money, addiction with substances, expert problems with experts, banking with bankers, economics with economists, and debt crises…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/suckers-think-that-you-cure-greed-with-money-addiction-with/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) [Browse all 2,134 Addiction quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/addiction/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I was diagnosed with ADHD in my mid fifties and I was given Ritalin and Dexedrine. These are stimulant medications. They elevate the level of a chemical called dopamine in the brain. And dopamine is the motivation chemical, so when you are more motivated you pay attention. Your mind won't be all over the place. So we elevate dopamine levels with stimulant drugs like Ritalin, Aderall, Dexedrine and so on. But what else elevates Dopamine levels? Well, all other stimulants do. What other stimulants? Cocaine, crystal meth, caffeine, nicotine, which is to say that a significant minority of people that use stimulants, illicit stimulants, you know what they are actually doing? They're self-medicating their ADHD or their depression or their anxiety. So on one level (and we have to go deeper that that), but on one level addictions are about self-medications. If you look at alcoholics in one study, 40% of male adult alcoholics met the diagnostic criteria for ADHD? Why? Because alcohol soothes the hyperactive brain. Cannabis does the same thing. And in studies of stimulant addicts, about 30% had ADHD prior to their drug use. What else do people self-medicate? Someone mentioned depression. So, if you have been treated for depression, as I have been, and you were given a SSRI medication, these medications elevate the level of another brain chemical called serotonin, which is implicated in mood regulation. What else elevates serotonin levels temporarily in the brain? Cocaine does. People use cocaine to self-medicate depression. People use alcohol, cannabis and opiates to self-medicate anxiety. Incidentally people also use gambling or shopping to self-medicate because these activities also elevate dopamine levels in the brain. There is no difference between one addiction and the other. They're just different targets, but the brain systems that are involved and the target chemicals are the same, no matter what the addiction. So people self-medicate anxiety, depression. People self-medicate bipolar disorder with alcohol. People self-medicate Post-Traumatic-Stress-Disorder. So, one way to understand addictions is that they're self-medicating. And that's important to understand because if you are working with people who are addicted it is really important to know what's going on in their lives and why are they doing this. So apart from the level of comfort and pain relief, there's usually something diagnosible that's there at the same time. And you have to pay attention to that. At least you have to talk about it.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Gabor Maté" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabor-mat/i-was-diagnosed-with-adhd-in-my-mid-fifties-and-i-was-given-ritalin/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Addiction" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabor-mat/i-was-diagnosed-with-adhd-in-my-mid-fifties-and-i-was-given-ritalin/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c0/gabor-mat-1410_addiction_i-was-diagnosed-with-adhd-in-my-mid-fift_1833907.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c0/gabor-mat-1410_addiction_i-was-diagnosed-with-adhd-in-my-mid-fift_1833907.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c0/gabor-mat-1410_addiction_i-was-diagnosed-with-adhd-in-my-mid-fift_1833907.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I was diagnosed with ADHD in my mid fifties and I was given Ritalin and Dexedrine. These are stimulant…” — Gabor Maté", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Gabor Maté", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabor-mat/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I was diagnosed with ADHD in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabor-mat/i-was-diagnosed-with-adhd-in-my-mid-fifties-and-i-was-given-ritalin/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabor-mat/i-was-diagnosed-with-adhd-in-my-mid-fifties-and-i-was-given-ritalin/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```