Thank for all the replies!

I'll join the OCD forum to get further advice on anxiety management (specifically the anxiety of hitting my head), in addition to CBT treatment of course.

I know ADHD medications can worsen anxiety, but I'm anxious of hitting my head also when I don't take my medication. The anxiety is always there.

mrsD,

I understand what you say about the dopamine system, but I disagree with you.

First of all, Ritalin is not a dopamine agonist, it's a dopamine reuptake inhibitor (reuptake inhibitors makes the neurotransmitters stay more time in the synapse so they can activate the receptors for longer time). So we can say it's an indirect dopamine agonist, but still, not a direct one.

Second of all, dopamine is absolutely involved in addictions. It is the neurotransmitter which is responsible for cravings, to be specific. Ritalin does boost dopamine to high levels, but it's not the same as other strong stimulants (such as Cocaine, which is addictive), mainly because Ritalin is taken orally. Taking a medication orally means that it hits the brain slowly, and there's a proven correlation between how addictive a substance is, to how quickly it reaches the brain from the moment of consumption. So taking pills is not nearly as addictive as snorting drugs like Cocaine.

Of course, Ritalin is still a drug and it still greatly boosts dopamine, even if it's taken in pill form. But studies have actually shown that Ritalin can prevent addictions - people with ADHD are more prone to drug addictions because they naturally have low levels of dopaminergic transmission. For this reason, ADHD people tend to seek different things (unconsciously) to help compensate for their brain abnormalities. That seeking sometimes ends in compulsive drug taking, which is much worse than taking an ADHD medication on a daily basis. By taking medication that boosts dopamine, ADHD patients don't have to do risky things to fix their abnormalities, because Ritalin does that too.

In any case, I'm heading into my senior year in high school. In my country, senior year is quite easy (easier than the 11th grade, which I'm currently at), so I'll start the school year without Ritalin. If I'll see, though, a decline in my grades and difficulty studying, I'll return to the Ritalin.

Thanks again to everyone,
-ProAgonist