Ritalin and Anger? (Or lack thereof)!

[2Easy2Forget]

Hi all....another post . I will probably do this alot for the next few days as things come to my mind.

I am recently diagnosed ADHD. In the recent past, being mouthy and defensive, especially to those closest to me, was an almost every day occurance for me. My doctor said this can be charachteristic of ADHD.

Since last Saturday when I began taking Ritalin, I am SOOOO much of a nicer person! Today I even find myself feeling bad and wanting to apologize for my nastyness of recent months. Is this normal? Anyone else out there who was a *not so nice* person that the ADHD medications have seemed to really help??

Thanks,
Jean

[KMiller]

Hey there!

Yes, Ritalin can improve mood. While it is not in and of itself mood enhancing, and in fact many times too high doses and other factors can cause it to make people more irritable and angry, Ritalin does sometimes have the effect of making someone less prone to anger. It certainly does so in me, and it also removes the ODD edge I tend to have all the time.

This is because Ritalin allows time for impulse inhibition. People with ADHD oftentimes act immediately on impulses "as they come." This means that when a person gets angry, they lash out, acting based on that anger, without hesitating to rationalize, calm down, and remove any aggressive thoughts. Ritalin, by allowing for inhibition time, allows individuals to take time to think through their actions, without acting immediately.

Furthermore, Ritalin acts as a frontal lobe stimulant. The frontal lobe controls rational thought and impulse inhibition. By stimulating the frontal lobe, it allows one to be less angry, because they will rationalize stimuli more than if they were not medicated. This, again, allows for greater impulse control, as well as preventing the individual from becoming angry in some cases where they would become angry otherwise.

Hope this was helpful to you, and glad to hear your medication is working!

[ryry301]

That was the first thing I noticed with ritilan. I felt way more in control of my emotions.

[FoggyPhil]

Same here. I noticed I was more patient with myself as well as others right away. I also notice that I experience "positive" emotions more fully now, like the description for wanting to apologize to everybody about past behavior. I think it is somewhat due to being able to stay with the emotion for more than a second, instead of being distracted away. For example, I have amazing kids, and I've always enjoyed them greatly. Now that I'm on ritalin I actually "feel" how much I enjoy them, and I think I experience them much more deeply.

[woodsman]

I am also new to ritalin. I am still trying to absorbe the change in thinking. My self have never been prone to anger but know that with ADD I could have been very easly (about every second of the day). I was on edge all day every day. Quite easy to be set off if your already there. Now that I have the meds to get my mind working correctly I am no longer on edge. So I am much more sociable. I am able to interact without getting confused and befuddled.
Chris

[oldbutnew2add]

I am new to Ritalin (weeks) and while internally I don't feel that I am a nicer person, my entire family tells me it is true.

The feeling I have internally is of quiet. The hurricane of thoughts is much quieter.

My theory is that it is the quiet that allows me to be less angry.

oldbutnew2add

[Stuck]

Er...

My experience (I am on Concerta) is that I have been a little more abrupt and a little less tolerant on meds than I was off meds.

I'm not sure why.

[i300zxtt]

Same for me...I'm happier on amphetamines then ritalin

[Pigeon]

I'm ADD not ADHD and I find that Ritalin actually helps me express my feelings and be intune with them. I never had outbursts of anger, and don't now, but before when I was angry I'd just lock it away, now I confront it... which I'm learning is healthy ok, so now instead of having no feelings, and never letting any emotions show, Ritalin has helped me become a "whole" person again

[murried2]

I've also found that since starting Ritalin I don't fly off the handle like I used to. People around me have commented that they definitely notice a difference when I'm not medicated.

I've also noticed that I'm not as easily frustrated while medicated. Once my medicine wears off it's another story...I become very frustrated easily and can be quite irritable and difficult to be around.