Hello thanks for asking from HCM for your health related queries I can understand your concern. Cortisone is steroid hormone and it can cause mood swings and this result in calming effects. Ritalin is amphetamine and the drug is a stimulant drug. The drug helps to control symptoms of ADD and result in improvement of concentration and reduction of hyperactivity. The inability to stay in conversations, impatience, fidgeting etc could be sign of attention deficit but need proper evaluation and treatment. Cortisone would result in temporary calming effect. So just to sum up cortisone have actions different than ritalin. In fact long term use might worsen depressive symptoms and steroids are known to cause depression. Thanks, hope this helps you.