To Medicate or Not Medicate, That Is the Question

I’ll start by saying this plainly: I’m pro medication. I’m also pro natural options. I’m pro no options at all. What I believe most strongly is that we each get to find our own way.

My decision to try ADHD medication wasn’t about “fixing” myself. It was an experiment. I wanted to see if treating ADHD directly might allow me to come off the anxiety and antidepressant medications I’d been on, on and off, for years.

And to be fair, I came by my anxiety honestly.

Between the ages of 16 and 24, I lived through the loss of grandparents, a best friend, my first husband, and a year-long battle with mono. That’s a lot of grief and disruption at a young age, so it made sense that anxiety became part of my story. I did the work. Counseling, yoga, exercise, medication, essential oils. All of those things had a place in my journey, especially before I knew ADHD was part of the picture.

By 28, I was remarried and pregnant with twins. I was thrilled… and terrified. Becoming a parent has a way of cracking open fears you didn’t even know were there. Around that time, I had my first panic attack. The kind where you’re convinced your heart is about to burst out of your chest. They’re awful. And while panic attacks look different for everyone, for me they were my body’s way of saying, “Something isn’t being processed here.”

Fast forward a few more years, and my husband and I decided to relocate to Arizona so our kids could grow up near family. The move itself went well enough, until COVID arrived and flipped the world upside down. We adjusted. We unpacked. The kids swam while everyone else wore sweaters. On paper, things were fine.

But once life slowed down, the panic attacks returned. Sometimes they’d wake me out of a dead sleep. What made it harder was realizing that I increasingly needed my husband’s presence to get through them. His support was a gift, but it also became a source of fear. I started worrying about what would happen if I lost him. When things were good, my brain waited for the other shoe to drop.

Back to counseling I went. More tools. Mindfulness. Awareness. Acceptance. And eventually, a pretty solid emotional toolbox. I was doing the work.

Then came ADHD testing.

My husband and I did it together. We already had two kids with ADHD and one on the spectrum, but I truly didn’t expect my own diagnosis. Looking back, though, many of the “recommended strategies” were things I’d already figured out through sheer effort. The missing piece was medication.

So I tried it.

My goal was simple: if managing ADHD helped regulate everything else, maybe I wouldn’t need the anxiety and antidepressant meds anymore. And so far, that’s exactly what’s happened. I’ve come off two medications and stayed on one, with better results overall.

I’m more focused. I handle change better. I have more realistic expectations of myself. And perhaps most importantly, I’m kinder to myself when plans need to shift.

Recently, I restarted an old project: repainting the inside of my house. I ambitiously planned to paint three rooms in one day. Turns out, that was too much. Instead of spiraling into frustration, I adjusted. I painted two rooms well and left the third for another day. No rushing. No self-criticism. Just progress.

That alone felt like a quiet victory.

So if you’re just beginning your ADHD journey, or you’ve been on it for years, know this: it’s okay to choose medication. It’s okay to choose therapy. It’s okay to try mindfulness, essential oils, systems, schedules, or none of the above. Just be honest about what’s working and what isn’t.

For me, what I was doing worked… but not well. I got things done, but never felt like I was doing my best. I gave every task about 65 percent of my attention. I was productive, but not fulfilled. And that matters.

There are resources out there. For adults. For kids. For families. In our house, one child uses medication during the school day and it’s been incredibly helpful. Another doesn’t like medication, and we’ve found other strategies that work for him. There is no single right answer.

As always, be kind to yourself. You’re not behind. You’re not failing. You’re learning how your brain works, and that’s powerful stuff.