This video for middle school students describes prescription stimulants, why they are prescribed, and how they can affect the brain and the body when misused. Check out the Mind Matters Series with other drugs and the body related videos and other teaching tools.
Video length: 1:14
Transcript
Transcript:
[Music]
Narrator speaking:
Prescription stimulants are a type of medicine that doctors give people to help them with attention deficit hyperactivity disorders (adhd) or serious sleep problems.
You might have heard of adderall® and ritalin®.
If you have adhd, prescription stimulants can help you feel more alert, increase your attention span, help you focus, and give you more energy.
But some people misuse these stimulants to get high, feel more alert, or to try to get better grades.
There are no studies to show that these medicines will improve grades for someone who doesn’t have adhd.
Can you become addicted to prescription stimulants?
Over time, misusing stimulants can change the way your brain works, and you can become addicted.
You can also go into withdrawal if you stop taking them suddenly. This can be unpleasant, painful, and make you feel really bad.
This makes it hard to stop taking the drug.