According to the National Council of Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder, young people with ADHD are at significant risk of misusing drugs and alcohol..

ADHD –diagnosed psychotherapist Tom Creaven, who was to speak at the national conference, said that restlessness is a key aspect of ADHD – a sense of not being able to settle to anything or keep concentration or attention going.

A common drug treatment for ADHD is Ritalin. Ritalin is a stimulant. This might sound strange, as ADHD sufferers are often seen as being ‘hyper’ and overstimulated already. Somehow the Ritalin can help a person to settle and be less restless. Could other stimulating drugs, like cocaine and amphetamines do the same? Might that explain the rates of substance misuse among people with ADHD?

Depressive drugs, on the other hand, like alcohol, heroin, codeine and cannabis, might allow the person to switch off for a while in a different way, giving some relief from symptoms. What do you think?

Regardless of what contributes to or ‘causes’ substance misuse, using certain drugs does provide (temporary) relief from physical, emotional and psychological states that are distressing – whether this is pain, anxiety, depression or a feeling of restlessness. Wouldn’t it be interesting if instead of looking at the drugs, we looked at the ‘benefits’ the person gets from using them? That way, maybe we could find other, healthier ways of getting those benefits, and that might bring about a long-term change in the person’s behaviour.

Do you have ADHD and have problems with drugs or alcohol? Or are you a person with ADHD who doesn’t use drugs or alcohol? What do you think of this suggestion from the National Council of ADHD?

Many people in Ireland have successfully used Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, Cocaine Anonymous and Gamblers Anonymous to help overcome problems in their lives. The model works for lots of people. What about the people it doesn’t work for? Is there any alternative when you want to get clean?

There is now. Dennis Stefan has just started the first LifeRing group in Ireland. Dennis is from the U.S.A. but moved to Ireland when he retired. He is a former alcoholic who felt that there was little choice available to Irish people who wanted to deal with addiction issues but felt that the AA model didn’t suit them.

LifeRing has three guiding principles: sobriety, secularity, and self-help. It is open to people of all religions and none, but God or a higher power is not called on as part of the process, which might make it more approachable for some people, and more self-directed for others.

Like AA, NA etc., LifeRing holds meetings where people can talk to each other about their experiences. People are encouraged to talk about where they are now and asked not to talk too much about their drink and drug histories. They are invited to work on their recovery from the bottom up – to take responsibility for themselves and develop their own ways of feeling better and staying away from problem substances.

One way doesn’t suit everyone, and the more choices people in recovery have, the more successful they are likely to be.

For meetings in Dublin, e-mail lifering.dublin.irl@gmail.com or tel: 085-1837444. For information on Belfast meetings, e-mail liferingni@ gmail.com or tel: 00-44-7908-489522.