ADHA - Real or just an excuse?

[Popadoo]

Even if it does exist, which I doubt, we are treating them wrong. If we want them to act normal, don't treat them different. There was a kid in my school a few years ago that had it who pushed a kid with a broken arm into a wall, severely damaging his arm FOR FUCKING LIFE, and he goes into a separate room and is given a laptop to play around on. Fucking justice please?! Fuck ADHD.

 

[Stasisesque]

I've met a girl with ADHD, she seemed perfectly normal... then I found out she was taking the max dose of Ritalin.
She then proceeded to ingest sugar without realising it until she had done so and started motor-mouthing.

I think it's real, but as with Asperger's there's probably a lot of self-diagnosed and misdiagnosed patients, as well as some fakers out there.

This is another thing that makes people doubt its existence. Sugar causing hyperactivity is widely believed to be a myth in the medical field, there is no evidence to support sugar or any other foodstuff can cause any chemical changes in the brain.

Have you looked for scientific evidence that discusses sugar's interaction with stimulants? Because stimulants DO affect the brain and they seem to be playing a large role in this case.

Then it would be the stimulant affecting the brain. Sugar's only a bad guy in the sense it rots your teeth and gives you diabetes*.

*Note: I am being facetious, I am aware the risks aren't extortionate.

 

[Atmos Duality]

Most cases of ADHD are just excuses for boredom, laziness or the result of terrible parenting.

First of all, I actually am hyperactive and was treated for ADHD growing up. But by no means would I say that I'm incapable of focusing my attention when I want to.
For me, the "hyperactive" part is undeniably true. I love being in motion, moving around, etc. There are some days where I want to do nothing more than just run around aimlessly, climb, or jump. I routinely test my reflexes jumping snow piles, counting steps and distances, and doing generally silly things with the environment while walking around (mostly between classes).
In short: I have sufficient evidence/experience to suggest that "hyperactivity" is real.

It's the "attention deficit disorder" part of ADHD that I have a problem with.

Based on my own experiences, the drug treatments (Ritalin, Clonazapam, Prozac, etc) are largely ineffective and seem to do little other than introduce new problems.
As a comparison, I noticed no change in my bodily behavior/function (apart from the lack of side effects) once I went off the drugs back in 03'. The only thing that I gained from those stupid drugs is that Prozac made a great sleep regulator.

If something interests me, nothing, (no proverbial "passing butterfly") will divert my attention. Yet the condition as described suggests that anyone with it is mentally compelled to divert their attention for even the slightest of causes.
Given the context of my actions, desires, and general mental processes during periods of both boredom and interest, a contradiction arises wherein my alleged "Attention Deficit Disorder".
When I'm bored, I obviously do not want to focus, but I am able to if I want to.
When I'm interested in the subject, nothing compels me to pay attention to anything else (beyond the extraordinary, like a fire alarm or someone making a ruckus).

The only difference between my fidgeting now and when I was in grade school is that I'm more consciously aware of it and much less overtly competitive with my peers (because I'm an adult, duh).

There probably are real cases out there of people who are mentally incapable of focusing their attention on anything for even short periods of time ("chronic distraction" is the best I can describe it), but most of the many, MANY people I've met who claim to have ADHD (Usually ignorantly opening with "I am ADHD", rather than "I have ADHD") do not seem to exhibit any of the usual symptoms.

That is, there is no consistency within these people aside from "I got distracted"; which doesn't say much when it can(and does) happen to everyone.

I'm sure the drug companies that made Ritalin, Prozac, etc loved the 90s though.

 

[Ice Car]

My younger brother has ?ADHD? I personally think that this is just and excuse my mum uses when he is out of control. He can get what he wants and act how he wants no matter what she or anybody says. (I have some pretty mind-boggling stories about his ridiculous behaviour if anyone?s interested.) I?ve spoken to several people about ADHD, including Doctors who don?t believe it exists.
So I was wondering what you guys think. I?d love to hear your thoughts on this and any experiences you may have had.

No, it is not an excuse. I have ADHD. Trust me, I've tried doing that when I was 7 and it didn't work. It's not an excuse if you have it under control. ADHD may make it harder to stay still, concentrate, whatever, but it doesn't mean things are out of your control and it's a proper excuse.

 

[Ninonybox_v1legacy]

[link]http://www.adha.org/[/link]

If your brother is a dentist, cut him some slack. They have the highest suicide rate of all professions.

Edit: Multi-pun, didn't even see it.

you sir made me lol

 

[thethingthatlurks]

Personal experience tells me it is just an excuse, and the people claiming to have it are just in dire need of a spanking to get them back in line. It seems, however, that I was wrong, and that ADHD is not systematically over diagnosed. A quick pubmed search yielded this: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17709814
It is just the abstract, of course, and while it clearly states that ADHD is not systematically over diagnosed, I won't deny that there are exceptions. 'course, given an accurate diagnosis is not everything. Proper treatment is also necessary, but that's a whole other rant entirely...

 

[Ranchcroutons]

I believe I am a misdiagnosed case of ADD. My mom believed I had it because instead of listening to my boring teacher I would drift off into my imagination. The pills were great though. They made me focus and were an appetite suppressor so I went from being chubby to slim. I just now went off the stuff and quickly gained about 35 pounds.

 

[CheesusCrust]

Might exist; probably does, I'm not a psychiatrist so I don't know. What I do know is it is way overdiagnosed and overmedicated. At this point it's a synonym for energetic child. People buy Ritalin which makes the pharmacists happy and parents can avoid responsibility by drugging their kids until they're quiet. Everybody wins, so why not diagnose every kid without an indoor voice? I feel sorry for the kids who's parents shovel pills down their throats for nothing more than behaving like children.

 

[SilverUchiha]

I heard somewhere that there was a study done that shows sugar doesn't actually cause people to get hyperactive. Can't remember where for the life of me.

About 20 posts up the page.

Nope I skipped most of those. I heard it somewhere on Tv. But, hey, thanks for playing.

 

[xWestie]

I think it does exist, but as many people have said it's over-diagnosed.
Someone I know was diagnosed with it, and I do notice they do have "hyper" moments. They're 19 and sometimes act quite childish out of the blue.

I do think though that sometimes people do use it as an excuse to be lazy. =/

 

[Stasisesque]

I heard somewhere that there was a study done that shows sugar doesn't actually cause people to get hyperactive. Can't remember where for the life of me.

About 20 posts up the page.

Nope I skipped most of those. I heard it somewhere on Tv. But, hey, thanks for playing.

I didn't mean I'd told you, I was referring you to the links - the information comes from the British Medical Journal and made the news at the time of its release.

 

[orangebandguy]

In my experience people use "mental illnesses" to justify their stupid behaviour.

Personally I just have no more patience for mentally ill people, real or fake. It's physically draining to be around people like that. Dementia and more serious things like that are actually very upsetting. But alas I am going off topic a bit.

 

[Ice Car]

Might exist; probably does, I'm not a psychiatrist so I don't know. What I do know is it is way overdiagnosed and overmedicated. At this point it's a synonym for energetic child. People buy Ritalin which makes the pharmacists happy and parents can avoid responsibility by drugging their kids until they're quiet. Everybody wins, so why not diagnose every kid without an indoor voice? I feel sorry for the kids who's parents shovel pills down their throats for nothing more than behaving like children.

Hey, I was diagnosed at 7. It's not impossible to diagnose a child at a young age for... Being a child. I was diagnosed with Bipolar at the same time. I can't really think up a good argument here, but I don't much like what is being said...

And I have ADHD and Bipolar. I don't use them as an excuse for ANYTHING I do. It's not a fucking excuse for people with said illnesses to be tossed around.

 

[sulld1]

My younger brother has ?ADHD? I personally think that this is just and excuse my mum uses when he is out of control. He can get what he wants and act how he wants no matter what she or anybody says. (I have some pretty mind-boggling stories about his ridiculous behaviour if anyone?s interested.) I?ve spoken to several people about ADHD, including Doctors who don?t believe it exists.
So I was wondering what you guys think. I?d love to hear your thoughts on this and any experiences you may have had.

It's a spectrum really, so he might be a little towards the ADH side of this spectrum but the word gets banded around so much these days and the lines between hyper active/badly behaved and a child who genuinely has some kind of disorder are not black and white. i think as you say it may just be a way of excusing bad behaviour and giving a normal kid who happens to be a little bit out of control an excuse... what kind of discipline did you and him get?

 

[Jonci]

I got diagnosed with ADD when I was in the fourth grade. I don't know by what criteria the doctor judged me by, beyond the most obvious being the inability to focus my attention in class (there were a few things wrong with me back then, and I was seeing a counselor about it). I took Ritalin for a couple of weeks, which cleared out the random garbage flying through my head, but I stopped taking it because I just felt empty without those random images in my head.

I've never had any severe psychological issues, and most of my minor ones I learned to control through self-discipline and willpower. I once had a discussion with an author that was an expert on ADD and ADD-like psychological issues. We came to an agreement that people that suffer from it suffer because they aren't held up to their mistakes. You can't depend on medications alone and you can't let it be an excuse for bad behavior.

I used to do a lot of things on impulse without thinking. It would get me in trouble. This was back in the 80s before anyone could use the ADD/ADHD excuse. When I took myself off the Ritalin, I decided to learn to control those random ideas and images flooding my mind. I took awhile and things can slip sometimes, but I've broken a lot of bad habits and learned to organize my thoughts into an effective pattern. I still can't focus on a single thing, but I've figured out how to focus on multiple things or ideas at one time. I can keep my main train of thought working while keeping my brain occupied with a couple minor trains of thought. It's been a very useful skill at work. I'm still working on focusing better during conversations, as I keep finding myself examining everything in sight when talking to someone.

I don't know if using current day medications would improve my life, but I've stayed determined to handle my own issues rather than depend on meds. Some people don't have that option, but people should still learn to control their illnesses and behavior whether or not they require medication to get through them. If they don't try, they are as responsible for their actions as their illness is, because they let it control them.

 

[Fidelias]

My mum and I were dropping him and his sister off to school one morning and we got there a little early. My mum got out and pulled her seat forward so my sister could get out. While she got her bag together, my brother tried to barge his way out. My mum stopped him and pushed him back into his seat and told him to wait. He was having no of it and continued to trying pushing his way out. When my sister was ready, she got out, had hugs and kisses from mum and went. As my brother leapt out of the car, my mum grabbed him and told him off. He couldn?t care less and kept kicking and slapping her. When he went, he ran after my sister, grabbed her by the neck with both hands and throttles her, swearing at her as he did. Needless to say, my sister came running back to the car crying.
This is one of many?

ADD doesn't cause that. Not even ADHD. Your brother's just an asshole.

ADD and ADHD exist, it's just that a lot of people are diagnosed with it that really shouldn't be.

 

[Palademon]

I have ADHD and Aspergers. I hate seeing them being used as excuses. When anyone hears I have ADHD, their first reaction is "No you don't, you're not hyperactive."

I also refuse to take medications or extra help (eg. extra time in exams), becuase I see it as something that makes me me. I don't need any cure, I don't want any help, I'm an intelligent person. Whats the point of accomplishing something if I need help to do it? ADHD or Aspergers doesnt mean I need help, but I find that even with people who know I'm intelligent, find out, they still assume I require it.

It's annoying to have a label for something that just makes you who you are. Whenever people find things with similar traits you end up with generalisations and mocking. Just like social groups. The only difference here is nearly no one is a part of it so you don't even have the support of them, and the people who are are barely a part of it, so people only see the bad side. Like a nerd who inspires bad opinions of all his kind just because he happens to be very pretentious.