ADHD treatment prescriptions such as Adderall, Ritalin, and other stimulants are at an all-time high in the country. As of 2020, more than 16 million prescriptions have been written for the medications. With this rise, however, comes an increase in recreational use, a problem that is being seen most commonly in adolescents and college students. Today at Close to Home, we sit down with David Hensel, a youth counselor at York County’s Keystone Substance Abuse treatment facility. David joins us to talk about the rise in this issue across the country, their place in the lives of adolescents who are more commonly prescribed the medications, the dangers of recreational use, and what he thinks can be done to start reversing this issue on a broader level. David acknowledges that prescription medications have their place in the lives of people who need them for mental conditions that require them. He says that in those situations those individuals struggle to find the ability to pay attention or stay still, therefore the imbalance in that individual’s neurotypical standings require a stimulant such as Adderall to function. During his time at Keystone, David has worked with several people that have struggled with substance abuse problems with stimulants. In his experience, he has seen that these stimulants increase heart rate, feelings of attention and concentration, as well as increasing dopamine, which deals with our motivation and our brain’s pleasure-reward centers. For those that use stimulants recreationally, they begin to increase these chemicals from what is already a healthy range. Therefore, the brain enters survival mode and decreases to a normal, “healthy,” level of those chemicals. Once the drug is no longer increasing those levels, a tolerance has been built up and your brain’s levels of these chemicals are depleted, and a dependency or possible addiction has been developed to the stimulating drug. David shares that the attitude surrounding these stimulants is a more lackadaisical one, as most people think “at least I’m not doing anything worse,” or “well it’s something that’s prescribed by doctors.” However, there are genuine concerns to be had with stimulants, especially when they are abused. Among other factors, David believes that recreational use of stimulants and the lukewarm attitude surrounding them are caused by the overall attitude of Americans. This country is a society that constantly pushes for better, faster, more, and higher levels. Many people compare themselves to others, placing goal posts at everything that’s “more” than what they are or currently have. Stimulants play a role in this because they essentially give you a boost to be “more,” so most people place a positive spin on what these pills do. If you or anyone you know are showing signs of stimulant dependency or abuse, please contact our local Keystone Substance Abuse treatment center, your local substance abuse treatment facility, this National Helpline (1-800-662-HELP), or reach out to someone you trust to get help.