ADHD is massively over diagnosed in the US. No shit stimulants make you concentrate better, that doesn’t mean you had ADHD. Concentration is like a muscle, you have to actively invest effort into making it better. It’s hard to concentrate and scrolling through posts and flicking through shorts is atrophying this ability. It’s like someone who doesn’t work out or eat well thinking they have a muscle development disorder, taking anabolic steroids, and since they gained muscle it confirms their suspicions that they had a disorder. Concentrating is difficult, it takes active effort, and you will hit walls when your brain is tired. It can be trained, however. This should be the focus and stimulants should be the absolute last option and only for people who truly meet the definition of disorder, i.e. it greatly impairs their relationships, work, or daily life.
I’m not saying it doesn’t exist at all, but I do think it’s way over diagnosed. Doctors want those high patient satisfaction scores, which is another issue in medicine in general.
Your opinion is unpopular because it’s clear you don’t know what ADHD is. It’s not just “trouble concentrating”. It’s not even primarily that. It’s a slew of issues, physical, mental, and emotional.
Yeah, a really surprising effect of finally getting diagnosed with ADHD and starting meds is that I’m actually able to emotionally regulate and self-soothe. A lifetime of depression and anxiety could have been managed so much more easily.
Also I find it odd that people say “ADHD is over diagnosed” but everyone I know that has an ADHD diagnosis had to FIGHT to even be screened for it. I think there’s definitely more self-diagnosis than there used to be and a decent amount of that is bullshit, but I don’t think it’s particularly easy to get an official ADHD diagnosis.
My psych got me on Buproprin and it’s amazing how much impact it’s had on my impulse control and depressive phases. Like, the feelings are still there, but I only have to say “no” to them once instead of every two minutes for days at a time.
I know the DSM isn’t perfect but inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity are the main criteria, and those are all issues that I believe stem from poor concentration or focus.
My opinion still remains the same; I think many have these traits but few have it to a level which is appropriately classified as a disorder. Stimulants are performance enhancing drugs for your brain and they have side effects. People hear from a friend or post online that it helped someone and go get evaluated - by a for profit industry that stands to make money by getting more patients. Pretty easy to cut someone a script and bill that CPT code.
I’m not saying this disorder doesn’t exist, or that some people have no option but medication. I do think it’s over diagnosed by an industry relying on patient satisfaction scores.
This is my unpopular opinion. I don’t believe taking a medication for life as the first line treatment is appropriate, especially when they’re directly affecting reward pathways. ADHD is just one of many areas in medicine I see this happening.
My maybe unpopular opinion is that it sucks that my meds, which are like my “glasses” correcting focus, motivation and emotional self-regulation, which are much safer than any antidepressants and at high dosage have about the same side effects as too much coffee, are being framed as dangerous stimulants and abused by idiots who snort them in their noses, and have to be so heavily regulated.
I got late diagnosed and since I got my meds I overcame my overthinking and anxiety issues, have no more of what I thought to be depressive episodes (caused by severe under stimulation and the burn-out of chronically forcing myself to do stuff against the strong child tantrum-like inner resistance with raw will power as you ADHD “expert” and all of my family suggested all of my life), and finally can feel and function like an adult and at the same time am much more zen and balanced.
Yes, having some symptoms does not qualify. Just as being sad sometimes does not qualify for depression. But every mental disorder is a matter of severity. You cannot feel how things feel to others. If a diagnosis and meds help a person, why would you not want them to get that help? It’s like saying that people who are short-sighted should just try harder and train their eyes and do not need glasses.
I think the more likely reason it’s “over diagnosed” is because it’s a far more common type of brain than we previously recognized. The whole hunter vs gatherer theory. It’s really just that many people, and modern day stressors plus a better ADHD understanding are resulting in more positive diagnosis.
A lot of my opinion also hinges on that last D, disorder. For example, many people have autistic characteristics, but few have autistic spectrum disorder that severely impairs their normal functioning in life. Likewise with ADHD; just because you can’t concentrate well doesn’t mean you have a disorder. Pills shouldn’t be the first line response.
In general I see this as an issue with healthcare in general; few want to put in the hard work, everyone wants pills or injections. This is also seen in fat loss (GLP-1 drugs rather than a healthy diet and being active) or how the VA treats disabled servicemembers (pills first, skimp on the mental health treatment or physical therapy). I’m not sure where to place the crazy rise of testosterone replacement therapy but I also believe it fits in this general “drugs first” approach. We love our drugs.
The fact doctors rely heavily on patient satisfaction scores exacerbates the issue. Sometimes the best medicine is not at all what the patient wants to hear.
What I’m hearing here though is a greater critique of capitalism than anything. Medicine attempts to resolve situations with drugs first because it’s cheapest and keeps the lights on, and people can’t afford non-drug therapies because they’re poor and overworked. The VA skimps because it’s underfunded and America wants people to fight its imperial wars and then fucks them for doing so. Peoples’ hormones are disordered because of unprecedented levels of environmental pollutants.
This is an overreaction. Drugs do fix problems and sometimes hard work just isn’t actually enough and if anything my experience has been mostly just humouring doctors until I get to the drugs and that actually fixing the issue I had.
No matter what I could try I simply cannot fix my ADHD, and concentration is really the least of my worries, but amphetamines fix it like magic, and the way I even found out I have ADHD is by getting amphetamines from DNMs long before getting them prescribed legitimately.
There are no “healthy habits” I could form when I’m literally unable to form habits without the background dopamine needed for executive function, which is something vyvanse provides for me. Similarly there was no amount of gender non-conformity or societal change that would have fixed my crippling gender dysphoria and I’m glad I just on blockers and HRT as a teen and later got surgery because that was just very literally the fix and I’m just fine now.
Similarly, We’re just now finding out that not only does exercise nor a “healthy” diet have a causal relationship with weight, but that some people are just genetically wired to be more hungry and we have meds that fix that and from then on the “hard work” becomes actually doable, and whaddaya know - being less hungry makes you eat less.
Just as you are saying doctors are incorrect for jumping to the conclusion of using drugs first, you are incorrect by jumping to the conclusion that the individual is to blame for their condition and that they should have to do some kind of work to get better, which is a touchstone of ‘Christian work ethic’ framework where bad/lazy people do bad/lazy things because they are lazy/bad.
I know it’s annoying to accept sometimes that miracle cures exist because it feels unsatisfying, but I think when it comes to skepticism of medicine it is best to be specific rather than draw broad conclusions from a preference for “holistic” vibes and a healthy distrust of capitalism and privatised medicine.
I would not lay it on the patients. My wife is on GLP-1 but she begs my doctor to raise her thyroid supplement instead. Her tests come back as the bottom of normal and she has thinning hair, dry skin, constipation, and feels cold all the time. She does have other medical issues but I mean common lets use a little common sense and factor in symptoms along with the blood test. I firmly believe there is some sort of kickback scheme going like with the opiods because thyroid is super cheap.
ADHD is massively over diagnosed in the US. No shit stimulants make you concentrate better, that doesn’t mean you had ADHD. Concentration is like a muscle, you have to actively invest effort into making it better. It’s hard to concentrate and scrolling through posts and flicking through shorts is atrophying this ability. It’s like someone who doesn’t work out or eat well thinking they have a muscle development disorder, taking anabolic steroids, and since they gained muscle it confirms their suspicions that they had a disorder. Concentrating is difficult, it takes active effort, and you will hit walls when your brain is tired. It can be trained, however. This should be the focus and stimulants should be the absolute last option and only for people who truly meet the definition of disorder, i.e. it greatly impairs their relationships, work, or daily life.
I’m not saying it doesn’t exist at all, but I do think it’s way over diagnosed. Doctors want those high patient satisfaction scores, which is another issue in medicine in general.
Your opinion is unpopular because it’s clear you don’t know what ADHD is. It’s not just “trouble concentrating”. It’s not even primarily that. It’s a slew of issues, physical, mental, and emotional.
Yeah, a really surprising effect of finally getting diagnosed with ADHD and starting meds is that I’m actually able to emotionally regulate and self-soothe. A lifetime of depression and anxiety could have been managed so much more easily.
Also I find it odd that people say “ADHD is over diagnosed” but everyone I know that has an ADHD diagnosis had to FIGHT to even be screened for it. I think there’s definitely more self-diagnosis than there used to be and a decent amount of that is bullshit, but I don’t think it’s particularly easy to get an official ADHD diagnosis.
My psych got me on Buproprin and it’s amazing how much impact it’s had on my impulse control and depressive phases. Like, the feelings are still there, but I only have to say “no” to them once instead of every two minutes for days at a time.
I know the DSM isn’t perfect but inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity are the main criteria, and those are all issues that I believe stem from poor concentration or focus.
My opinion still remains the same; I think many have these traits but few have it to a level which is appropriately classified as a disorder. Stimulants are performance enhancing drugs for your brain and they have side effects. People hear from a friend or post online that it helped someone and go get evaluated - by a for profit industry that stands to make money by getting more patients. Pretty easy to cut someone a script and bill that CPT code.
I’m not saying this disorder doesn’t exist, or that some people have no option but medication. I do think it’s over diagnosed by an industry relying on patient satisfaction scores.
This is my unpopular opinion. I don’t believe taking a medication for life as the first line treatment is appropriate, especially when they’re directly affecting reward pathways. ADHD is just one of many areas in medicine I see this happening.
My maybe unpopular opinion is that it sucks that my meds, which are like my “glasses” correcting focus, motivation and emotional self-regulation, which are much safer than any antidepressants and at high dosage have about the same side effects as too much coffee, are being framed as dangerous stimulants and abused by idiots who snort them in their noses, and have to be so heavily regulated.
I got late diagnosed and since I got my meds I overcame my overthinking and anxiety issues, have no more of what I thought to be depressive episodes (caused by severe under stimulation and the burn-out of chronically forcing myself to do stuff against the strong child tantrum-like inner resistance with raw will power as you ADHD “expert” and all of my family suggested all of my life), and finally can feel and function like an adult and at the same time am much more zen and balanced.
Yes, having some symptoms does not qualify. Just as being sad sometimes does not qualify for depression. But every mental disorder is a matter of severity. You cannot feel how things feel to others. If a diagnosis and meds help a person, why would you not want them to get that help? It’s like saying that people who are short-sighted should just try harder and train their eyes and do not need glasses.
I think the more likely reason it’s “over diagnosed” is because it’s a far more common type of brain than we previously recognized. The whole hunter vs gatherer theory. It’s really just that many people, and modern day stressors plus a better ADHD understanding are resulting in more positive diagnosis.
You’re right, but I think it’s also massively underdiagnosed in certain groups like women, immigrants from countries with shit views on mental health.
A lot of my opinion also hinges on that last D, disorder. For example, many people have autistic characteristics, but few have autistic spectrum disorder that severely impairs their normal functioning in life. Likewise with ADHD; just because you can’t concentrate well doesn’t mean you have a disorder. Pills shouldn’t be the first line response.
In general I see this as an issue with healthcare in general; few want to put in the hard work, everyone wants pills or injections. This is also seen in fat loss (GLP-1 drugs rather than a healthy diet and being active) or how the VA treats disabled servicemembers (pills first, skimp on the mental health treatment or physical therapy). I’m not sure where to place the crazy rise of testosterone replacement therapy but I also believe it fits in this general “drugs first” approach. We love our drugs.
The fact doctors rely heavily on patient satisfaction scores exacerbates the issue. Sometimes the best medicine is not at all what the patient wants to hear.
What I’m hearing here though is a greater critique of capitalism than anything. Medicine attempts to resolve situations with drugs first because it’s cheapest and keeps the lights on, and people can’t afford non-drug therapies because they’re poor and overworked. The VA skimps because it’s underfunded and America wants people to fight its imperial wars and then fucks them for doing so. Peoples’ hormones are disordered because of unprecedented levels of environmental pollutants.
This is an overreaction. Drugs do fix problems and sometimes hard work just isn’t actually enough and if anything my experience has been mostly just humouring doctors until I get to the drugs and that actually fixing the issue I had.
No matter what I could try I simply cannot fix my ADHD, and concentration is really the least of my worries, but amphetamines fix it like magic, and the way I even found out I have ADHD is by getting amphetamines from DNMs long before getting them prescribed legitimately.
There are no “healthy habits” I could form when I’m literally unable to form habits without the background dopamine needed for executive function, which is something vyvanse provides for me. Similarly there was no amount of gender non-conformity or societal change that would have fixed my crippling gender dysphoria and I’m glad I just on blockers and HRT as a teen and later got surgery because that was just very literally the fix and I’m just fine now.
Similarly, We’re just now finding out that not only does exercise nor a “healthy” diet have a causal relationship with weight, but that some people are just genetically wired to be more hungry and we have meds that fix that and from then on the “hard work” becomes actually doable, and whaddaya know - being less hungry makes you eat less.
Just as you are saying doctors are incorrect for jumping to the conclusion of using drugs first, you are incorrect by jumping to the conclusion that the individual is to blame for their condition and that they should have to do some kind of work to get better, which is a touchstone of ‘Christian work ethic’ framework where bad/lazy people do bad/lazy things because they are lazy/bad.
I know it’s annoying to accept sometimes that miracle cures exist because it feels unsatisfying, but I think when it comes to skepticism of medicine it is best to be specific rather than draw broad conclusions from a preference for “holistic” vibes and a healthy distrust of capitalism and privatised medicine.
I would not lay it on the patients. My wife is on GLP-1 but she begs my doctor to raise her thyroid supplement instead. Her tests come back as the bottom of normal and she has thinning hair, dry skin, constipation, and feels cold all the time. She does have other medical issues but I mean common lets use a little common sense and factor in symptoms along with the blood test. I firmly believe there is some sort of kickback scheme going like with the opiods because thyroid is super cheap.
Absolutely 100%