Dr. Erica Komisar

And that's causing ADHD, behavioral problems that are... hugely rising in children in school, a lot of aggression and violence. And so that's what's happening. This is a stress response. And again, instead of asking the right questions like, where is this coming from? What's causing the stress? Instead, we silence the children's pain.

And that's causing ADHD, behavioral problems that are... hugely rising in children in school, a lot of aggression and violence. And so that's what's happening. This is a stress response. And again, instead of asking the right questions like, where is this coming from? What's causing the stress? Instead, we silence the children's pain.

We tell parents, we'll medicate it and we'll just relieve the symptoms. For me, that's malpractice. The way we treat ADHD is malpractice. A child develops, goes into fight or flight when they are under stress. It could be psychosocial stressors at home, in the family. It could be at school. It could be with their friends. It could be a learning disability.

We tell parents, we'll medicate it and we'll just relieve the symptoms. For me, that's malpractice. The way we treat ADHD is malpractice. A child develops, goes into fight or flight when they are under stress. It could be psychosocial stressors at home, in the family. It could be at school. It could be with their friends. It could be a learning disability.

There are so many things that can cause kids stress. So instead of medicating them, why don't we figure out what's happening to that child deeply that's causing them to go into fight or flight?

There are so many things that can cause kids stress. So instead of medicating them, why don't we figure out what's happening to that child deeply that's causing them to go into fight or flight?

Yes, there's the inconvenient truth.

Yes, there's the inconvenient truth.

Yes. That's the inconvenient truth. It's not so simple. Sometimes it's the family. Usually it's the family, particularly with small children. But when children get to school, it could be social. As I said, you know, you can't control whether your children are exposed to social issues or bullying or there's many things that can cause stress in children. But when they're very little –

Yes. That's the inconvenient truth. It's not so simple. Sometimes it's the family. Usually it's the family, particularly with small children. But when children get to school, it could be social. As I said, you know, you can't control whether your children are exposed to social issues or bullying or there's many things that can cause stress in children. But when they're very little –

You are their environment. So the inconvenient truth is that when your child gets an ADHD diagnosis, the first thing you should do is go to a therapist who will do parent guidance with you. Don't rush that child to a psychiatrist to medicate them. You go with your partner or spouse and talk to a parent guidance expert about what could be causing this child to feel such stress.

You are their environment. So the inconvenient truth is that when your child gets an ADHD diagnosis, the first thing you should do is go to a therapist who will do parent guidance with you. Don't rush that child to a psychiatrist to medicate them. You go with your partner or spouse and talk to a parent guidance expert about what could be causing this child to feel such stress.

And look at the psychosocial stressors, look at the influences and the dynamics in this child's life that would be causing them to go into a state of stress like this.

And look at the psychosocial stressors, look at the influences and the dynamics in this child's life that would be causing them to go into a state of stress like this.

Well, again, let's start at home. At home, the stresses might be that they were handed over to a daycare center at an early age, which turned that amygdala response on, which turned the stress-regulating part of their brain on too early. Now you have that hypervigilant reaction, and they can't turn it off, right?

Well, again, let's start at home. At home, the stresses might be that they were handed over to a daycare center at an early age, which turned that amygdala response on, which turned the stress-regulating part of their brain on too early. Now you have that hypervigilant reaction, and they can't turn it off, right?

It could be a divorce situation, 50% of couples divorce, which means that divorce is an adversity. I have a book coming out in a year about how to divorce and mitigate. the impact of the divorce on the child, but no matter what, a divorce is an adversity on a child and a stress.

It could be a divorce situation, 50% of couples divorce, which means that divorce is an adversity. I have a book coming out in a year about how to divorce and mitigate. the impact of the divorce on the child, but no matter what, a divorce is an adversity on a child and a stress.

When parents fight dramatically in the home, if there's tremendous sibling rivalry issues in the home, if there's the birth of another child that's stressful, If you have a sibling, believe it or not, that's a very stressful thing. If parents are sensitive about that, then it can be mitigated.

When parents fight dramatically in the home, if there's tremendous sibling rivalry issues in the home, if there's the birth of another child that's stressful, If you have a sibling, believe it or not, that's a very stressful thing. If parents are sensitive about that, then it can be mitigated.