ADHD

Should Christians try to enhance our brains with stimulants?

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the faster growing mental health diagnoses of our age. More and more people, including those well into adulthood, are seeking out and being diagnosed with ADHD. And the typical treatment plan involves taking powerful amphetamine-based stimulant medication, effectively turbocharging parts of the brain’s cognitive capacity. In this episode, we’re joined by Christian psychiatrist Daniel Maughan to discuss how ADHD works, what impact it has on people, and why diagnosis rates seem to be rising. Should we share concerns around over-diagnosis or the supposed rise of ADHD as a ‘fashionable’ lifestyle or identity? And how should Christians in particular think about taking cognitive enhancing drugs to aid concentration or work faster, rather than to just to treat medical conditions?

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