Is ADHD diagnosis getting out of hand?

I have noticed how adhd diagnosis has skyrocketed these past few years, which is extremely odd. It seems like the moment someone does academically poor or has "trouble" focusing, we automatically assume they have ADHD. For example, I visited a psychiatrist, and it was incredibly easy to get my hands on adderall. After the moment, I realized this entire "ADHD" thing is a complete joke. Is trouble with focusing not also dependent on discipline as well? Why do we immediately start assuming someone has ADHD?

36 Comments
 

Duh. this is America. drugs drugs drugs & poor health outcomes. Also young people think it is some sort of "cheat code" like you don't just end up becoming hyperdependent on addy all the time and crash out when you're off. 

 

It's not just trouble focusing—it’s so much more. I was diagnosed last year, but funny enough, I actually went in thinking I was depressed lol

Wl
 

I mean when you look at the data - 30% increase in "ADHD" in two years. That is incredibly alarming. So all of a sudden more people realize they have ADHD or people have horrible discipline in focusing and getting things done? Alot of these people tend to be those doing poorly in school.

 

Bobby Murdocks

I mean when you look at the data - 30% increase in "ADHD" in two years. That is incredibly alarming. So all of a sudden more people realize they have ADHD or people have horrible discipline in focusing and getting things done? Alot of these people tend to be those doing poorly in school.

What data?  Get this bullshit out of here.

Anything asserted in such a lazy, unsupported manner can be dismissed in just as lazy a manner.

 
Most Helpful

No one here is a doctor, including you. You have no idea if ADHD is a “complete joke” or not. You’re just another kid on the internet with an unsourced and non-researched opinion. 

“Trust me bro” 

Commercial Real Estate Developer
 

Do you know how you get an ADHD/ADD diagnosis? 

You fill out an "Easily distracted?" "Difficulty waiting your turn?" Not True --> Somewhat True --> Very True questionnaire then go on your way. 

If you are a kid, your doctor will have your parents & teachers fill out the form too and maybe you have to wait 6 months.

You don't need to be a doctor to understand how easy it is to get some Vyvanse. It's insanity.

 

Yeah, in agreement with margin_calls here. You don't need to be a doctor to understand that ADHD diagnoses aren't very scientific. 

People say depression and ADHD are due to hormone imbalances, but the process for actually diagnosing these cases has nothing to do with your physiological condition (no hormone testing, no brain scans, etc.). You're asked a few vaguely-defined behavioral questions, and voilà, here's your amphetamines prescription. Not denying that people have varying levels of difficulty focusing, but these disorders are massively overdiagnosed.

 

Exactly - ADHD does exit, but the process of diagnosing is extremely flawed. It is incredibly hard to distinguish ADHD from shitty attention span from electronic use. The questionnaires are a complete joke. If you check a bunch of "Very True". The physchiatrist will be like you have "ADHD". I went through the process myself, and I have realized how BS it is.

 

I mean I walked in and explained how I have trouble focusing and asked me basic questions. Don't you think discipline and how your parents plays a role in this as well? Like if you gave your kid an ipad since the age of 4, no shit they will have problem paying attention.

 

Dr. Rahma Dikhinmahas

Won't go so far as to say I know if ADHD is a complete joke.  But I do know that:

  • Drug/medical industry has a huge incentive to turn various aspects of the human condition (depression, lower energy with age, difficulty focusing etc etc) into diseases that they can then treat
  • ADHD diagnosis is almost always driven by someone walking into the doctor's office looking for a drug, which is very different from the vast majority of other medical diagnoses
  • Prescriptions have skyrocketed contemporaneously with competitive pressure on kids also skyrocketing.  
  • Whether or not the condition itself is a joke, the questionnaire they give the patient for diagnosing the condition is undeniably a joke.  

Agree with you in the end, non-doctors need to know their limitations.  But there are good reasons for skepticism about this spike in people saying they have ADHD.

There was actually an interesting article in the Economist about this several weeks ago.  Their conclusion was that in the US, the diagnostic process for ADHD was about 15 minutes long (versus many hours spread over many weeks in other rich Western countries) and thus basically any kid who gets examined on their birthday will be so excited that they'll be positively diagnosed.

 
Funniest

Dr. Rahma Dikhinmahas am not actually a doctor

whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

"If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them." - Bruce Lee
 

Americans & their obscenities (& they wonder why Arabs/Islamists hate them so much); for the longest time, I'd assumed he was an Indian PhD holder in finance or something, who loved to use his real name (& picture?) as his WSO profile (& didn't have to fear lack of anonymity), until he explained the sad truth one day.

 

The COVID-19 lockdowns triggered the recent spike in ADHD diagnoses.

We had two years where people doomscrolled on the internet with their cameras off during zoom meetings. Once you get in the habit of losing focus like this, it's hard to stop. I personally felt my attention span deteriorate significantly during the lockdowns, and have not recovered to my level pre-COVID. I'm sure a lot of people are on the same boat, especially children who spent their formative year like this.

 

ADHD is way overdiagnosed imo. Social media and excess screen time caused this. Not everyone needs medication but what helped me was Strattera, it didn't make me hyperactive like Adderall did but it made me insane at studying & its the preferred treatment in other countries. Also cutting out sugar and exercising everyday helps too.

 

ADHD diagnoses are a complete joke and have been for decades. It's overwhelmingly attributed to young boys who are not in fact hyperactive, they are just normal boys trapped in a school system where lazy teachers fail to engage them and give them proper physical outlets. It's just an excuse to push pills. Our grandparents all knew the real cure:

Traditional Medicine : r/southpark

"If you don't have any enemies in life you have never stood up for anything" - Winston Churchill | "It's a testament to the sheer belligerence of the profession that people would rather argue about the 'risk-adjusted returns' of using inferior tooth cleaning methods." - kellycriterion
 

PrivateTechquity 🚀GME🚀

ADHD diagnoses are a complete joke and have been for decades. It's overwhelmingly attributed to young boys who are not in fact hyperactive, they are just normal boys trapped in a school system where lazy teachers fail to engage them and give them proper physical outlets. It's just an excuse to push pills. Our grandparents all knew the real cure:

Traditional Medicine : r/southpark

How is that a cure?  By your own admission, shouldn't the cure be to hire better teachers (aka pay them more) who will engage the "normal boys" and give them proper physical outlets?

Amazing that you diagnose a problem, implicitly suggest a solution, and then veer off into "well the ack-shew-ul answer is child abuse".

 

Ozymandia

PrivateTechquity 🚀GME🚀

ADHD diagnoses are a complete joke and have been for decades. It's overwhelmingly attributed to young boys who are not in fact hyperactive, they are just normal boys trapped in a school system where lazy teachers fail to engage them and give them proper physical outlets. It's just an excuse to push pills. Our grandparents all knew the real cure:

Traditional Medicine : r/southpark

How is that a cure?  By your own admission, shouldn't the cure be to hire better teachers (aka pay them more) who will engage the "normal boys" and give them proper physical outlets?

Amazing that you diagnose a problem, implicitly suggest a solution, and then veer off into "well the ack-shew-ul answer is child abuse".

It's obviously a joke you complete weenie. It's like you're allergic to sarcasm or too simple-minded to perceive it. 

"If you don't have any enemies in life you have never stood up for anything" - Winston Churchill | "It's a testament to the sheer belligerence of the profession that people would rather argue about the 'risk-adjusted returns' of using inferior tooth cleaning methods." - kellycriterion
 

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