I wish I was told the following when was 15 years old. It may have made me feel a bit less self-conscience of my ADHD life. I hope I explained it in a way you will understand.

ADHD is a misunderstood mental health condition. About 5 to 8% of the population has this condition and it carries a variation of subtypes. (If you want more on subtypes just ask and I'll share). ADHD children are more hyperactive, impulsive, and inattentive than non-ADHD children within their developmental age. ADHD is life-long which means there is no cure. The older we get, our condition changes except for the consistency of inattention and impulsiveness. Sometimes hyperactivity will disappear or lessen in late adolescence and well into adulthood. In my case, I'm still on the hyper side but running helps release my hyperactivity while medicine helps balance my brain chemicals.

Medicine treats the imbalances in our neurotransmitters because the chemical substances called dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin are supposed to release at the end of a nerve fiber by the arrival of a nerve impulse causing a transfer to another nerve fiber to move messages from part of the brain to another. Except that our brain uses the dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin faster than a non-ADHD brain which creates inattentiveness, impulsiveness, and hyperactivity.

There is something called 'Blood Brain Barrier' that protects the brain and spinal cord which allows the neurotransmitter to move messages back and forth. (It's kind of like ADHD having its own nervous system because it regulates attention and emotions in different ways than the nervous system of non-ADHDers). Medicine increases our brain chemicals for thinking and attention (dopamine and norepinephrine) then tricks the brain into allowing dopamine, and norepinephrine to last longer in the brain. Since medicine is short lasting it's considered treatment because there is no cure for ADHD.