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I (F) actually just got recently diagnosed with ADHD myself, and it is very frustrating seeing those kinds of articles. I get my work done on time and the quality of my work is good so many people working with me wouldn't think that I have it, but the reality is that I HAVE to get my work done on time and do it well so that I don't get fired. But it has taken YEARS of finding workarounds to manage my symptoms. My symptoms have been present since childhood and I was a pretty good student overall because I made my own workarounds. I have a sibling with much more severe ADHD than I do and as a child I was always the one who was overlooked because it seemed like I was "fine" in comparison to my sibling but the reality is I had to and still do work SO hard just to keep up with what others could/can do with minimal effort. I battled years and years of telling myself I was just being lazy and feeling so mad at myself. ADHD is not overdiagnosed, if anything it is still UNDER-diagnosed, especially in girls and women, and I wish there was more support for people dealing with this than just being told we're lazy.
ADHD isn’t overdiagnosed—people are just realizing that “chronically struggling with basic tasks” isn’t normal. The fact that some folks would rather believe ADHD is fake than accept that millions of us needed help decades ago says more about them than it does about us.
I've struggled with ADHD myself. Articles like the one you shared are unfortunate. While I don't think it hurts to advocate and educate in response to misleading literature, I think it's more effective and worthwhile to be proactive and promote positive advocacy.
Being someone who did actually go through university medical testing for ADHD/ADD evaluation (which I did at UVA behavioral science and psychiatry - it literally took a full 8hr day) to be formally diagnosed with ADHD, I do think there are a fair number of people who are possibly misdiagnosed but moreso a lot of people who seek a diagnosis from their regular PCP doc to get stimulant meds (whether they actually need them or don't) which contributes to some of the negative stigma of ADHD. Having more widely available evaluation practices and procedure would be a big improvement.
There's a ton of research opportunities out there to identify better treatments (for example, at different ages), therapies (i.e. for working professionals, K-12 students etc) that can complement or in some cases possibly replace medications, and of course the greatest failure of our health care system in the US - finding interventional cures or identifying root causes of ADHD that would correct the underlying chemical imbalances and allow people to not have to be on pharmaceutical drugs their entire working lives.
My 2 cents
The scary thing in the US is that ANY consideration for people straying from “normal” and mid bell curve, are going to have a rough time more than ever.
Modern day science and medical thinking that was expanding our understanding and appreciation/acceptance of human variance to address trauma and increase quality of life and productivity for all, is currently being eradicated by the current administration.
I truly fear for where we’re headed. Will we have to start hiding, masking, and keeping quiet to survive, no longer with any open support?
What a HUGE step backward for humanity and society, particularly where the United States used to stand as a beacon for the world, the standard-setting example and leader.
It’s so unbelievably sad and scary and will likely become more so, exponentially, for any community of people desperately needing support: learning challenges, domestic abuse, disabilities, personal financial crises, workplace gender disparity, those suffering discrimination, those who hoped for a more evolved public healthcare insurance solution separate from one’s employment.
It’s what I’m seeing—I don’ t think I’m overstating it?
Does anyone agree/disagree?
I used to argue with people about ADHD misconceptions, but now I just don’t have the energy. If someone genuinely wants to learn, I’ll educate them. But if they’re just out here posting bad takes, I let them live in their ignorance. My time and mental energy are too valuable to waste on people who don’t want to understand.
I would say to anyone that says this “it must be nice to be smarter than 99% of the doctors in this world.”
The sad part is, ignorant people actually do think they’re smarter. Look at who heads HHS today…
To bring it around to education/knowledge/critical thinking and how THAT is the difference—I suggest saying “What are your thoughts on 99% of doctors in the field disagreeing with you?”
It’s a smack in the face, like “wake up!”, we’re talking data, facts, studies, quantitative and qualitative analysis (like they’ll even appreciate what it all means…) but coming from a place of knowledge and critical thinking shines the flashlight on their stupidity.
It’s so sad, really.
These days we can’t even say, “It’s a good thing people like you aren’t running the country.”
Ugh this is frustrating but its pretty typical. I hear people say stuff like this all the time and it irritates my soul. Nobody with a brain that works like it is supposed to could ever understand how frustrating it is to have ADHD. I would give anything not to have it lol.
Didn’t Andrew Huberman do a session on his podcast and mention ADHD being over diagnosed?
Ignore the noise. These types of articles are written by people who want hits/comments and controversy so don’t take the bait. Find me an article published by someone with relevant credentials in the field of psychology or psychiatry, then maybe it’s worth reading.