The diagnosis of ADHD is not overstated

Here is the bitter truth. Sometimes when I tell people I have ADHD… Caution(ADHD), I’m embarrassed. And it’s not because I’m ashamed of ADHD itself, which, being a disease of the nervous system, negatively affects my executive functioning, my impulsivity, I don’t think this nervous condition should be a cause for shame for sufferers.

But being a bad activist is because when I tell people I have ADHD, I know exactly what they’re thinking. I see a smirk, a quick roll of eyes, and I resign myself to the fact that they might think all I want is to feel different from other people: like reading a tweet or watching a short video on TikTok saying brushing your teeth it’s a sign that your mental functioning or nervousness is different, so I drove fast and joined the influencer train.

By all indications, it should decrease Discrimination against people with disabilities in 2022. We know that some disabilities are not visible and that generic derogatory terms such as “learning disabilities” and “need “special” was replaced by the term “neurodiversity” to explain the fact that while many brains function differently, whether due to autism, dyslexia, ADHD, or one of many other neurological differences, that doesn’t make us in any way failing or lacking A fit for people whose brains function “neurtypically”.

But, coupled with an astute awareness of neurodiversity, especially on social media, is growing skepticism about who “fits” with a diagnosis of the condition. Thoughtful articles, hypothetical tweets and opinions from self-proclaimed “professionals” are brimming with groans about how everyone suddenly has ADHD: but what are all those bumbling critics missing while shaking their fists at the goddamn TikTok app, the fact that There are many factors fund contributing to the so-called ADHD “boom” we are witnessing today.

First, we need to consider how the old reductionist diagnostic model of ADHD has left more than a million adults with ADHD unmonitored, ADHD has found. ADHD Action UK says that out of 1.5 million adults in the UK with ADHD, only 120,000 have received a formal diagnosis of the condition. This chronic underdiagnosis is due to the fact that, until recently, the diagnostic model of ADHD recognized only the “hyperactive” form of the disorder, which, in addition to being more common among young males, constitutes (here Trauma, also mourning ) is the only type of person that researchers looked at in determining diagnostic criteria for ADHD in the 1970s.

So, and note with me, medicine’s disregard for women has once again prevented women with varying mental or neurological function from getting the needed diagnosis, because 50 to 75 percent of women with ADHD are not monitored. In this neurotic state, while the “inattentive” type of ADHD, ie in which the hyperactivity is more inward than outward, has only recently been identified as part of this neurotic state: the same is true for the ADHD, the condition as a mixture of internal and external hyperactivity. There’s also the fact that ADHD in adults is itself viewed as a very different condition from ADHD in childhood, so when it comes to catching up, we have a lot to do.

When it comes to our health, especially invisible disabilities, we’ve been told that we need to be proactive and seek help for ourselves. But even when people get to the point where they realize they have ADHD, they have to wait seven years on the NHS waiting list in Britain, or they save money. the private healthcare sector, in the midst of the biggest living crisis we have seen in years, and the next round of recession. Even then, when private ADHD diagnostic services like Psychiatry UK were faced with unprecedented demand, they created their own waiting lists.

Trust me, I know. I was diagnosed with ADHD and had to battle and discuss every step of my journey with general practitioners, mental health services, clinical teams, nurses and god knows who else. Even now, 18 months after my diagnosis, I still struggle to navigate treatment options such as medications, due to the overwhelming demand for these services and the lack of available information on ADHD, even in the private medical services sector. In fact, it’s a grueling day-in and day-out struggle to get the bare minimum while being slammed every step of the way — and that’s all before we get into how ADHD brains make life such a difficult path in the first place.

This is why, when I see posts, articles, or jokes circulating in cyberspace about how “ADHD” is nothing more than a funny Internet rant, I find myself weighed down with shame and frustration. I don’t understand why anyone would choose to struggle with ADHD. This condition leaves a profound impact on your life, your relationships and your mental and psychological health, and even reaching the stage where you see you have this disorder does not come from watching one of the short videos on ‘Tik Tok’, but rather from intense searching that lasts months, and failures and meltdowns, like trying to find an explanation for what’s wrong with you, and why you can’t do the things that other people seem to do normally.

TikTok is certainly overflowing with ADHD content, and yes, many are seeking diagnoses and even self-diagnoses, but both of these issues reflect systemic issues including a crumbling health services system and historically ingrained biases in medical research against women. that some do not have the money to get a diagnosis or treatment through the private health sector for ADHD. If the major financial system and healthcare system are doing what they should, people won’t rely on social media for comfort and information about ADHD.

So instead of crying that “everyone” on TikTok has ADHD, I’d advise you to stop and think about what got us to this point in the first place — and here’s the story, partly due to behavior like this .