AkJay said:
ADD, along with OCD, is the most common "Self-Diagnosed" illnes (i.e Oh-Em-Gee I can't pay attention in History, IM SO ADD >_<. Along with, I always flush after I pee, IM SO OCD!!!)
^ This.
It's also one of the most misunderstood conditions.
I have ADD and yes, I am actually, rightfully diagnosed. I take 10mg of Ritalin 2-3 times a day. I am also a 28 year old lawyer, so I'm pretty far from the stereotypical spastic preteen that people think of when they hear ADD.
That misconception began back in the early 90s when we were first figuring out what ADD was. Because it was misunderstood, it got WAY over-diagnosed for bad parents with children who were simply undisciplined. (Just look at how many people on this site alone are claiming to have been diagnosed with ADD which is only ACTUALLY present in about 5% of the population) Those kids never *really* had ADD in the first place. The Ritalin (which is a stimulant) only made them worse. Anyone who says the medication didn't help them, just didn't need the medication to begin with...they were misdiagnosed.
I am the "predominantly inattentive" type. That means that I am not hyper. If I don't take the pills, I have a harder time paying attention than other people depending on how bored I am. If I am not bored at all, then I am not much different than anyone else. But when I am bored, I *cannot* force myself to focus for very long at all. Everyone has a harder time paying attention when they would rather not, but there is a big difference between being able to pay attention when you try hard and not being able to pay attention no matter how hard you try.
So when I am doing something that isn't boring but is actually very engaging, like playing a video game, there is no problem. (That might even be a large part of why I like videogames come to think of it.) But when I am doing some tedious legal reading or writing for long periods of time, I am very glad for the help from the pills. I would still get the work done without them, but I will be constantly drifting off so it will take me at least 3 times as long to do it...and time is money.
