CAN YOU EAT YOUR WAY TO BETTER FOCUS?

When our writer couldn’t get his ADHD medication in the midst of a global shortage, he turned to an unexpected solution: his diet. What he learned could transform your own attention, too.

- WORDS BY DAVID RS TAYLOR

A global shortage of ADHD drug methylphenidate (street names include Ritalin, Concerta and Delmosart), caused by an unprecedented upturn in demand, had brought about a minor personal crisis.

I was diagnosed in 2021, after a life of getting by on brief spurts of focus. My parents, both psychologists, were pretty certain I was born with an inclination to attention deficit, but there was never an immediate need to mitigate it.

It was when I foolishly decided to become a writer - and, even more foolishly, a freelancer - that the need became crystal clear. Any chance of making a good go of a career depended on organisation. These days, writing is less about relying on the muse, more learning to use spreadsheets. A life where poor organisation meant no income was going to be... tough. I decided to finally settle the internal debate: was I just lazy, or was there more to it?

Diagnosis came nine months later - a mercifully short process, considering that waiting lists for ADHD diagnosis and treatment are now stretching towards a decade in some areas of the UK. An hour's chat followed, where it was decided which medication strength, taken daily, I would receive every month, and I was sent on my way with biannual checkups.

The lack of holistic care is an article for another day, but three years later, I found myself looking for a pharmacy that might have the drug I needed to calm the noise in my mind and force me to open Excel. One pharmacy had three pills. Everywhere else - at least 20 other places - was fresh out.

I didn't tell my parents for a while, but when I began to feel the effects of a lack of methylphenidate - the telltale buzz, the flitting, the mood swings - I turned to them for advice. How could I fill the gap while the world's labs revved up production?