I recently made a post here trying to decode my ADHD diagnosis. Unfortunately my post got flagged. Somehow a lot of people have internalised the “ADHD” label without ever sincerely questioning if it’s the environment that’s the problem.
I think I made a mistake asking this question here. I am appalled to read so many comments with variations of “Does it really matter whether it’s real if medications help you?”
Yes, it does to me. I don’t want to pop pills all my life. Anywho, I am logging out and won’t be engaging with anyone further.
Did you read the actual article? The way you've written in this thread, you come off as a guy who thinks that he's the only one that did his homework about medication, and that those who take it are your moral inferiors. Why did you even start this thread?
Yes, I read the entire post in detail. He clearly mentions that there’s significantly increased risk of parkinson’s with long term medication use.
I don’t believe anything blindly without reading both sides of the argument. Don’t know about HN crowd, but I don’t want to commit to lifetime of stimulant medication without researching the potential side effects first.
You aren’t committing yourself to a lifetime of medication. You can stop whenever you want.
Honestly, you should be having all of these conversations with your therapist without thinking you’re smarter than it all. ADHD is a journey of discovery that you can’t pontificate about without maintaining a relationship with someone qualified to help you out.
Thank you. This is precisely my concern. A lot of medications that were given away like candies for depression are now turning out be harmful over the long term. So, I am not sure why HN is being so hostile to a sincere question I asked
It sucks to grow up and see people trivialize your condition. While its effect varies by person, I think most people on this side of the fence would agree that, had their family (and society) was aware of and acknowledged their condition much earlier in their life, it would have saved them a _lot_ grief, anxiety, depression, self doubt, and unnecessary failure.
Please don't receive parent as hostile, I can assure you they are not. We've all grown up being told we're lazy, overstimulated, and lacked discipline. Please understand that your question "Is ADHD Real? [..] I am still wondering .. this is a real disorder [..] ?" can be perceived as a gaslight, as it seemed less an earnest question and more of a comment, really.
Yeah, like I haven’t heard these things. For someone who’s diagnosed and asking questions to understand the disorder better, it seems to me there’s a lot of thin skinned people on HN.
Thank you for your response. Just to let you know, Dr. Russell Barkeley, who is a famous ADHD expert seems to disagree with “Hunter in a farmer’s world” analogy. In a recent podcast appearance he mentioned that it is quite false and misleading. I cannot seem to find which podcast it was. Will link it here if I find it.
Yes, there is some limited evidence both against and in favor of this theory.
Regardless, I found it helpful to see my neurodivergence not as a medical condition or "weirdness". I have trouble living "normal" life, but am still a valid person, be it "brain damage" or "ancestor of night guard / hunter-gatherer".
And here I am, both loving and hating my job as software dev.
Got here because of hyperfocus and easy dopamine from quick iteration.
Sometimes hooked on being in a different world all day, sometimes dying from being stuck in office chair for 8+ hours a day. Go figure :D
Thank you. I appreciate your response. I am not sure why some other comments are being hostile towards a genuine question.
I had internalised my lack of structure and focus as a moral failure. It’s hard to uproot it. I still feel like a fraud (as in trying to escape my moral failure with an ADHD diagnosis)
With all due respect, I have done my research on ADHD and still couldn’t come to a conclusion.
The opioid crisis was a manufactured crisis by the greedy big pharma, right? Looking at how anyone and everyone is being prescribed stimulant medicines these days, I have my reservations about this disorder
Signed, someone with ADHD in a country without an opioid crisis and who out of necessity manages to live without medication but who definitely benefitted from them when they had them.
Your username is literally "DestroyADHD". That doesn't sound open-minded and questioning. But let's leave that aside.
A psychological disorder is a set of symptoms that negatively affects several areas in the life of the person experiencing them. That's about it. We group symptoms that often coincide and give the groups names. Getting a diagnosis is a trained professional confirming that you 1) have the symptoms and 2) confirming that it negatively affects your life. That's it. The cause of ADHD -- whether it's caused by the hustling modern world, a multitude, or any other cause -- is entirely irrelevant to a discussion about the "real"-ness of the disorder.
And of course, finding a root cause for ADHD would be incredibly useful for preventing it and helping people with it. But if the cause was found to be the modern overstimulated world that doesn't change anything about the disorder -- it's just as real as if humans have been dealing with it for 200,000 years.
Ah! Yes. Trying to fish out “intention” from a random username.
If you really wish to know my intention behind choosing that username, here you go - DestroyADHD as in destroy the symptoms and negative effects of ADHD in my life.
Anywho, didn’t expect HN to be this hostile and over-analyzing a genuine concern. So, I won’t waste my time trying to reason with anyone further.
The solution to every issue isn’t medication, and many people deal with adhd without medication. In fact, adhd meds are some of the hardest to get due to laws restricting their distribution (in us at least).
Just because a medicated opportunity exists doesn’t mean it’s an exploit on the population or that it doesn’t help people using it.
Every time when I hear or read "I have done my research", but one does not mentioned even a Wikipedia page (let alone a publication, textbook or metastudy), it is the same story.
