I have been diagnosed with ADHD, OCD and Tourette's syndrome. For fifteen years of my life, I had eaten nothing but complete and total junk.

By fifth grade, I was put on Ritalin (by my choice, what a mistake), and my OCD and TS skyrocketed (although the "negative" effects of ADHD had been eliminated in schooling), I couldn't stop "ticing" (obsessive motor movements caused by TS), I couldn't get through a day without jerking my neck around. Then I was put on meds for TS, and it totally eliminated tics for a couple years after only a couple uses.

Then I decided to stop taking my Ritalin because I forgot to take it one day and my friends said I was "cooler" off of it (possibly a conforming effect of Ritalin, lol, ironic). My tics felt better, and although my schooling performance dropped from all A's and B's to C's and D's, I felt liberated. My OCD had gotten much better, too. I could think for myself for once and make abstractions in my head, not just regurgitate facts and words. I also started questioning authority figures and rules, finding much of them to be "stupid". I still had pretty bad tics, though.

Then I decided to "get healthy". I started reading food labels, eating more fresh fruits, etc. After a gradual three-month-transition to a whole foods diet, I only eat fresh fruits, vegetables, non-animal protein sources (besides salmon with no color added for vitamin b12), and the like. Although my school performance still declined (which I have concluded to be a side effect of my learning style, not a disorder), my TS had minimized to the point where it practically vanished, I can actually sit still for a long time now! My OCD had also been greatly reduced, I no longer have compulsive thoughts and don't obsess nearly as much.
On top of that, my ADHD has gotten better (the negative effects of it anyways), since I can pay better attention, I am more charismatic, witty, humurous and I can think quicker about things I could care less about. People can't push me around like they used to. I feel more in tune with people while still retaining (and even increasing) my mental capacity.

Diet, exercise and sleep are absolutely huge. If these three basic needs aren't met (like by our total processed junk fed to our students in schools) problems and disorders are bound to either show up or be magnified (as in my case). If we continuously poison ourselves with things like processed food and Ritalin, we can never reach our full potential, for our bodies' energy wil be spent on recovering from these blows rather than enhancing ourselves.

I agree with you completely Individualist. Thanks for sharing your story and congratulations on your liberation and new healthy lifestyle

Originally posted by the_individualist
Diet, exercise and sleep are absolutely huge. If these three basic needs aren't met (like by our total processed junk fed to our students in schools) problems and disorders are bound to either show up or be magnified (as in my case). If we continuously poison ourselves with things like processed food and Ritalin, we can never reach our full potential, for our bodies' energy wil be spent on recovering from these blows rather than enhancing ourselves.

Thats an excellant statement. This should be the goal of every single person, it's sad that some people don't understand what real food is. I can't count the number of times i've tried to convince my friends to ditch the processed crap. My father has preservative sensitivities so i've always been aware of the damage processed foods have on the body. It's a curse and a gift at the same time, it's forced my family to eat strictly healthy foods which is the positive aspect.

Originally posted by Uber Fr0g
One of them who is my best friend can sleep through class, study for an hour and ace a test. I have always believed it was the medicine that did it,

Actually, it could more likely be attributed to the sleeping in class. And I'm serious. Do a little research on that particular facet of this and get back with me.

It Never fails to amaze me. The amount of Bragards on the internet. (Well my IQ Blah, Blah, Blah.

Its Funny. If you have a problem with a Heart Valve, You go get it fixed. If you have a problem with your Brain, You wish it Away.

I hate to Be the Bearer of "True" news to you all. But The Brain Can have disease's as Well. And no matter of Right Diet\Exercise is going to change that.

Go ahead, And tell a Parkinson Victim. That it all in his\Her Head. By just merly "Eating right, having Proper Exercise, meditating, etc" And stop Taking his Dopamine pill. And He will Cure his parkinson's. And he\She will tell you, "Go to Hell". He lives in Reality, others don't.

I Suffer from OCD With borderline ADHD. Like most ADHD people. I excell in "creative" aspects and Have the old. "Mensa IQ stories". About myself. Which I am sure would bore you to tears.

But like somebody stated Before. I need somebody else to "dress" me. Many times, I will show up to work. With different colored socks on, Hair uncombed, etc. And to be honest. I am mostly Blind to "normative Reality".

I can't Remember Dates of Birthdays, I can't even Remember a simple Demonstration. Like How to tie a knot.

But I can tell you. The History of the knot, Why it exists, and why it matters. In perfect detail. But I still Can't Tie the freaking Knot.

I'm a Educated idiot to the nth degree. I can Tell you the Mystery's Of life. But I still Can't Tie the Freaking Knot.

Perhaps this Forum needs more Truthful Honesty and humbleness. I see many Boast of thier Superiority over others. Others Like Me. Are more Honest. And state Truthfully, Why I might be better in some things. I am most definitly not better in "most" things.

And Could somebody please help me Tie a Knot.

Lecture Mode off:

Originally posted by msnevil

Perhaps this Forum needs more Truthful Honesty and humbleness. I see many Boast of thier Superiority over others. Others Like Me. Are more Honest. And state Truthfully, Why I might be better in some things. I am most definitly not better in "most" things.

And Could somebody please help me Tie a Knot.

Lecture Mode off:

I haven't seen anyone on here boast of superiority and i'm sorry for you that you would react in this manner to those who have shared stories of improving their condition through natural means. This is an honest talk about a disorder and others related that affects a great number of people in our society. If you indeed did find something that would work for you and improve your condition, wouldn't you want to share it. Of course everyone has areas they are better at then others, this is not the debate here and I have seen no dishonesty. Only a discussion about a very important topic. Please lighten up before you blow a gasket.......and perhaps if you removed the word CANT from your vocabulary.....just maybe you would be able to overcome some of your challenges.

PS I had a client who improved the symptoms of his parkinsons through diet......and although I have no time this moment to dig up links for proof. (I have never felt the need to prove my opinion anyway) I believe that Parkinsons in some cases along with most other deseases are attributed to the poison we put in our bodies beginning with infant immunizations. There are many others that believe this way and there is documentation out there for any of you who have time to look for it.

Originally posted by ChristyZ
I haven't seen anyone on here boast of superiority

Did you not read the title of the thread?

Please lighten up before you blow a gasket.......and perhaps if you removed the word CANT from your vocabulary.....just maybe you would be able to overcome some of your challenges.

CAN'T?
Thats like telling a paraplegic that not being able to walk is merely in their attitude. Yeah I can completely understand why someone would object to these kind of low blows.. especially when it's directed at someone who has admitted to having very poor hand eye co-ordination.

When I was younger.. and having repetitive chronic bouts of depression.. idiots kept telling me to 'just get over it'. I still battle chronic insomnia that has me wide awake till almost dawn everyday and idiots tell me "Maybe you should just got to bed earlier or do more during the day." Yes some may have symptoms diminish or even cured with adjustments to diet etc. [possibly allergies to preservatives] but for some.. nothing works. I have been searching for the last twenty years for magic cures. "Why don't you just eat better?" is akin to "Why don't you just ask god for help?" It is naive and presumptious.

BTW. Yes I do eat well yet it has not cured my symptoms.

[edit on 14-12-2005 by riley]

Riley, Stated it Best.






[edit on 14-12-2005 by msnevil]

Although I still hold that diet has a major impact on diseases and disorders, there is a point where it really is too late and the condition is set, like the Parkinson's example stated above. But maybe if they improved their diet earlier, they might not have had full blown Parkinson's.

As far as environment goes: I don't have proof or any links to back this, but I remember hearing that several other co-workers of Michael J. Fox who worked on the same set for a movie got Parkinson's too. Just a coincidence? Doubt it. It was most likely the environment in or around the set.

And msnevil, I can dress myself just fine, it sounds like you're just used to being babied.

Riley, you may think you're eating well, but are you eating all natural? Just wondering. It also could have been from chemicals ingested in your system before you were born in your mother's womb, which could have a permanent effect at such a crucial stage of development.

[edit on 14-12-2005 by the_individualist]

The majoraty will rule in saying that they are the 'right' and stable kind of Humans.

So anyone differant will obviously have a sickness, or problem.

I'm sorry if my original post sounded, self-absorbed or "I'm better than all of you, har har". That was not my intent. I merely wondered if something which, to me, appeared to be a powerful natural tool once harnessed, could in fact become wide-spread amongst the populace because it may be evolutionarily better for the species.

However, this does not mean that people with ADD are better than or worse than people without for two reasons:

1. Harnessing one's power when you have ADD (honing the good, and eliminating the bad) is very difficult - as we have seen, but can also be influenced by diet. In some cases, ADD is in fact paralyzing (I mean the person with it can barely function as a person) - something which is definitely -bad-. This is a good arguement against the evolutionary theory I proposed, but could also be said to be learning curves. Maybe it's the chicken and the egg debate? Why would human kind start cooking food, when our stomachs could already eat things raw? Nowadays we can't eat some food raw, because it'll make us sick - we have evolved out that part of ourselves. But why? Which came first? Perhaps something like what we see here started happening - a few people who could only eat certain things when cooked, because we had discovered how to cook, but also discovered how to make certain things taste better (perhaps, at least, to eliminate poisons and bacteria).

2. According to regular evolutionary theory, changes like this seem to come out amongst entire populaces of species - because the changes are usually so minor that it's unnoticeable. Thus, everyone already has ADD to some degree more than we did "back in the day". There are some people that would simply display more pronounced traits of it, sometimes for better, sometimes for worse, of something that's already happening to the majority of people.

Anyways, I'm trying to look at it from a purely scientific point of view - no ubermeichen (sp?) involved. I am not superior. But we are also not inferior for the condition. Question everything. That's what I'm doing. And so far, the jury's still out from this end of the court.

Originally posted by Yarium
Anyways, I'm trying to look at it from a purely scientific point of view - no ubermeichen (sp?) involved. I am not superior. But we are also not inferior for the condition. Question everything. That's what I'm doing. And so far, the jury's still out from this end of the court.

Understood. Why ADD specifically though? The majority of artists, musicans, writers.. well basically creative people in general are a bit around the twist. It goes with the territory and the 'insanity' is probably the thing that gives them that 'edge' opposed to the norms. I was born an artist.. yet there's a price. I percieve the world differently and more [too]intensly than some.. it can be very painful but I guess others benefit [I hope] from viewing what I create and so do I. I suspect that it may not be so much an evolutionary thing but a human progressive thing [Is there a difference?]. Every generation has a sub group that pushes the boundaries; Bill Gates is a bit on the odd side but the internet certainly has progressed the species. Society is continually fighting itself to become more 'structured' and organised like an ants nest.. but when not everyone fits in, they will try make society fit them instead. Revolutions are the same. When things become structured [oppressed] for too long the ones that are uncomfortable will start kicking and screaming and trigger revolts. Whole empires are built and crumble this way.. even if the NWO was real it would still be doomed because we can only behave like sheep for so long.

Fits in beautifully with fractel theory.. humanity isn't completely hopeless. .

[edit on 15-12-2005 by riley]

Exactly. Humanity does evolve by leaps and bounds as portrayed in the movies. Nothing evolves like that. The "next generation" of humans will not be so superior that the old generation is wiped out. We won't even know that we have changed until a thousand, ten thousand, a hundred thousand years past the event. Evolution is a slow, gradual process - almost invisible. I'm just thinking, we see so many diseases and symptoms that we chalk up to being bad, when perhaps they're evolution in process (and evolution is by no means a forward process).

Like Cancer. Why is it coming up more and more often? Is it because we can diagnose it now? Or is this some kind of evolutionary change? A sort of inbred population control mechanism? A kill-switch of types. Or perhaps it's the rough edges of something that's happening to us as a species. Perhaps our bodies are aging faster, or growing more, and sometimes this goes out of control.

Does this mean we let cancer take it's course? Of course not. We should try to save people - but who knows, maybe we're becoming programmed to die sooner, in order to keep our own population under control?

Originally posted by Valhall

Originally posted by Uber Fr0g
One of them who is my best friend can sleep through class, study for an hour and ace a test. I have always believed it was the medicine that did it,

Actually, it could more likely be attributed to the sleeping in class. And I'm serious. Do a little research on that particular facet of this and get back with me.

I searched for something relating to this but couldn't come up with much. Could you elaborate? It's a little off topic here so you can pm it to me if you wish.

Originally posted by RedDragon
haha keep telling yourself that

ADD people actually do have smaller brains on average and their inability to focus stems from that fact. You're just lucky like some other ADDs to have some good neural pathways along with your defects so you're good at some areas and bad at things ADD detracts from. Sorry, it has nothing to do with ADD lol

Size of the brain doesnt matter, synaptic activity, dendrytes, and neuropathways do. You dont see elephants doing algebra. What if ADHD folks find many subjects too easy and trivial and all it really amounts to is selective attention thus they tune out the social dominant knowledge. Goes for Bipolar folks as well.

riley i can understand where your coming from since i had a similar art. more so in writting though, i did very creative poetry but because of my surroundings quickly changed into rap music. i dont mean new rap but stuff where it was expression of the mind and thoughts. but yea everything is more intense as far as feelings go. emotional to say the least. does have its advantages though. evolution of the brain and mind can happen. i couldnt tell you how, maybe just a gene that mutated and causes a serious change in the way the brain functions (this isnt my area of expertise so i have no clue) but i know i think very differently from everyone i know in a positive way. im often reminded of this because the countless times im asked for advice, and people just asking me for help when they run into a problem. im usually the person thats able to solve it for them. the math league offered me to join the team because the questions involving logical proccess (not the actual math, only because i havent learned it yet) i can figure the problems even the teachers couldnt. not sure why or how, but depending on certian things i have extrodinary memory. memory games i do wonderfully but i cant remember homework or what i did half the time, or at least have a hard time. its got its ups and downs. im very optimistic though and happy with the positives while trying to overcome the negatives by identifying and utilizing my positive capabilities against them.