People who have never needed particular drugs often struggle to understand how important they are to those who actually need them. It's incredibly hard to empat

People who have never needed particular drugs often struggle to understand how important they are to those who actually need them. It's incredibly hard to empathise with someone's plight if you've never experienced it yourself. I have far too many people who aren't doctors telling me that I don't really need stimulant medication to manage my ADHD and I'd be fine without it. Often they'll go on to describe how, as someone without ADHD, Ritalin or dextroamphetamine gets them all wired up. Ritalin literally just straightens me out and makes me feel normal (unless I eat a handful). I can certainly manage without it, I did for over 20 years, but life is a lot easier when I have the option to use it. It's a tool in a toolbox of management strategies. I'm an adult and am capable of giving informed consent, I had a discussion with my doctor about potential side-effects and long term use, including dependance and what would happen if I stopped taking medication. I have a fairly comprehensive understanding of ADHD and stimulant medication, more than your average moon worshiping hippie, that's for sure. I've gotten the same in regards to using benzos (Xanax, Valium) for anxiety. If you need them, you need them. Breathing exercises or trying to distract yourself won't work. If you've never experienced a panic attack or had serious anxiety, you can't understand how bad it is. If you take an appropriate dose, you don't become a sleepy zombie, you become a functioning human. I have friends who are on anti-depressants and I've seen exactly the same thing happen to them. Positive thinking and yoga won't cure clinical depression. It's demeaning and condescending to assume that someone hasn't considered actually trying to solve their mental health issues without medication or drugs. It's actually incredibly insulting to have someone with no qualifications or subject knowledge tell me how I should manage my mental health and that I shouldn't be taking medication. It's like telling someone who needs glasses, which I also do, that they should try opening their eyes and looking harder (I've actually had people tell me I should try exercising my eyes), or telling someone with asthma that they should just breathe deeper. You wouldn't tell someone in a wheelchair that if they simply think about walking hard enough they'll be be able to stand.