ADHD

1. ADHD stands for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
2. Some of the common symptoms include impulsiveness, hyperactivity, and short attentions spans. These kids can't sit still, they have to do something all the time. But even if they find something fun to do, they will probably not do it for a very long time. They are very good at starting things but not as good at taking the time to finish it. 
3. The cause of ADHD is not completely known but most of the time it seems to be caused by genetics. One-third of all parents with ADHD get children who has it too. Studies shows the neurotransmitters and nerve pathways regulating behaviors, functions abnormally in people with ADHD. Also parts of their brains can be smaller or less active. 
4. There is no simple way to diagnose ADHD. What psychologists do is that they gather evaluations of the child from parents, teachers, and sometimes from friends and relatives as well. To be diagnosed with ADHD the child has to show that their behavior is consistent in all environments. 
5. The worldwide prevalence of ADHD is 5.29%. 
6. There is no real cure for this conditions but there is medication that will reduce the symptoms. Ritalin is a stimulant that normally speeds up your system, but for people with ADHD it is very calming and it makes their brains work like the brains of people without ADHD.   
7. The prognosis for someone with ADHD is that about 50% of the children with ADHD will continue to have symptoms as adults while the rest seem to outgrow it. The positive news is that the adult can easier control and hide there problems. Most children with ADHD have great difficulties in school and with social interaction and that can cause low self-esteem. Some of these children also develop other problems like conduct disorder. And 25% of these adults develop antisocial behaviors and they have a higher risk or committing crimes and abuse drugs and substances. The rates of anxiety, depression, and suicide attempts are also much higher for people exposed to comorbidity. 

Stress and cortisol

Cortisol is produced in the adrenal cortex and then it gets released into the blood where it gets transported to all parts of the body. Almost every cell in the body contains receptors for cortisol. Cortisol can have many different effects on the body depending on the type of cell that receives it. It helps control blood sugar levels, regulates metabolism, acts as anti-inflammatory, controls salt and water balances, and it influences our blood pressure. When a woman is pregnant and ready for childbirth, cortisol can also help to trigger the process.
The release of cortisol is liked to your daily activity patterns, and the cortisol levels are highest when you are most active and working. The main thing that causes additional releases of cortisol is stress. Stress can be anything from worrying about a test that you have the following day, to having to run for your life. In our ancestors this was mainly to help them survive life threatening situations but nowadays we do not have a lot of those situations. We are however exposed to stress more frequently. Our daily life is filled with all kinds of stress. First we go to school or to work, and then as soon as we get home we have a million things to fix. There are very few days when we aren't exposed to stress.
Cortisol helps the body to deal with stress but to much of it can be harmful. Too much cortisol over a long period of time can lead to a condition called Cushing's syndrome. The symptoms are rapid weight gain mainly in the face making it flushed and round, high blood pressure, muscle weakness, increased thirst an frequency of urination, and also big mood swings. Women can have some further symptoms like a lack of sex drive and irregular periods.

Charles Whitman

It is no surprise that abuse has a strong influence on children but what we did not know earlier was how much abuse damaged the brain physically. Since the greatest impact on the brain comes from the experiences from the childhood, child abuse will have a big effect on how a child will turn out as an adult. Studies have shown that abused children have a smaller corpus callosum. The corpus callosum is in the center of the brain and it connects the right and left hemispheres of the brain. This means that if it's smaller it might effect how well the brain communicates between the two halves. But it is not only physical abuse that will affect our children. Sexual and verbal abuse can have just as big of an impact. A study showed that these patients had a smaller amygdala and hippocampus. This means that kids that have been abused or sexually harassed often have behavior problems and they have a harder time controlling their emotions and they can't handle them properly which can lead to them being more aggressive. Because of their behavior problems abused children are more likely to commit crimes and abuse drugs, get depressions and post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or other health problems. Scientists have done experiments with brain activity and patients with history of abuse are twice as likely to show abnormal electrical activity and they also think about suicide 4-5 times more frequently than people with normal brain activity.
Charles Whitman was born in 1941 in Florida. His father would regularly abuse both his wife and his children and he also taught his sons how to shoot and take care of weapons. Charles often went on hunting trips with his dad when he was young and he was also a very smart and talented kid who did great in school. His parents encouraged his academic accomplishments but whenever he failed he immediately got punished physically by his father. He was described as a well-mannered and polite kid but the way people though of him quickly changed in 1966. On July 31, 1966 Whitman drove to his mothers house and stabled her to death. He covered her in sheets and left a handwritten note that said "I have just taken my mothers life. I am very upset over having done it. However, I feel that if there is a heaven she is definitely there now... I am truly sorry...Let there be no doubt in your mind that I loved this woman with all my heart". Later when he came home to his own house he stabbed his wife to death, and as with his mother he covered her in sheets and left a note saying that he loved her dearly. In this note he also said something very interesting. "I do not understand myself these days" and he also clearly stated that he knew that something was wrong with him and that he was different. Therefore he wanted to donate his brain to a mental health foundation with the hope that "Maybe research can prevent further tragedies of this type". The next day, on August 1, he went to the University of Texas at Austin and went up the big tower in the middle of the campus. On the way up he shot 3 people and when he got the the top of the tower he brought up his guns and started shooting people on the ground. He shot 11 more people and injured 32. Whitman was killed by a police officer and as he has asked his body was examined after his death. They found a tumor in the brain that was pushing on the part controlling impulses but they could not prove that it was the cause for his actions.