3 ms·

As another ADD-diagnosed person, my understanding is the current consensus is that ADD is simply a different manifestation of ADHD. That is to say, same underly

by rtpg 10y ago

As another ADD-diagnosed person, my understanding is the current consensus is that ADD is simply a different manifestation of ADHD. That is to say, same underlying root cause, so treatment can be similar. Didn't know about the nicotine angle though, kind of interested in the research on this.

agentgt 10y ago
Yes that is correct. The only reason why I sort of take issue with it is being grouped with people that are bouncing of the wall. That is during elementary school I was grouped with kids that had ADD/ADHD for some counselors/teachers/doctors to learn about us. There was clearly two groups. The kids like me (ADD) staring at the ceiling fans, flowers, whatever and the other kids (ADHD) who were running around trying to tear apart the fans, flowers and whatever. The problem with getting the label of ADHD is that all of the sudden people suddenly think they observe hyperactive behavior with you. That is they associate hyperactivity with you. So anytime you express an idea excitedly or thoughts come quickly and you are trying to express them to some one (which is challenging particularly if you are an introvert) people call it hyperactive behavior.... the same word for behavior such as running around punching kids, tearing shit up and acting like a 2 year old. Hopefully you understand why I don't like the association even it if is academically correct.
angry-hacker 10y ago
I'm sorry for this rude person but are there, or why, so any Americans with adhd. I don't know anyone having it here and I meet a lot of Hackers... The population should be similar. Here it feels like everyone has it or knows about it.
- nerflad 10y ago
  I don't argue with my diagnosis (in high school), but I disagree very much with the immediate decision to medicate. I felt very strongly at the time that the whole point was to sell medicine to my parents (Vyvance in my case). It was just, "oh, his GPA's low? Seems like he can't focus? Here are some amphetamines, have a nice day!", with zero follow up about whether the medication was doing its job (didn't matter -- I never took it anyway).
- rtpg 10y ago
  I think it's more a perception because America is more progressive about mental health care than most countries (maybe thanks to big pharma, I don't know though). It's extremely likely for ADHD to be under-reported in other countries because of the lack of screening for this sort of thing. In my experience in other countries, the primary difficulty for ADHD support groups is that many country's medical institutions do not even acknowledge ADHD as a thing. Some of these institutions acknowledge, but seem to believe that the condition disappears when you turn 18. Many of the regulatory institutions don't allow stimulants to be used for treatment, either. This is mostly an anti-scientific position. ADHD is extremely well-researched. Its (medication-based, not CBT) treatment is the most effective of any mental illness, more so than "understood" things like depression. I'm biased, but I think a lot of places are still in denial about ADHD. There's way too much research around the illness and its effects and treatment.

by rtpg 10y ago

agentgt 10y ago

Yes that is correct. The only reason why I sort of take issue with it is being grouped with people that are bouncing of the wall. That is during elementary school I was grouped with kids that had ADD/ADHD for some counselors/teachers/doctors to learn about us. There was clearly two groups. The kids like me (ADD) staring at the ceiling fans, flowers, whatever and the other kids (ADHD) who were running around trying to tear apart the fans, flowers and whatever. The problem with getting the label of ADHD is that all of the sudden people suddenly think they observe hyperactive behavior with you. That is they associate hyperactivity with you. So anytime you express an idea excitedly or thoughts come quickly and you are trying to express them to some one (which is challenging particularly if you are an introvert) people call it hyperactive behavior.... the same word for behavior such as running around punching kids, tearing shit up and acting like a 2 year old. Hopefully you understand why I don't like the association even it if is academically correct.

angry-hacker 10y ago

I'm sorry for this rude person but are there, or why, so any Americans with adhd. I don't know anyone having it here and I meet a lot of Hackers... The population should be similar. Here it feels like everyone has it or knows about it.

nerflad 10y ago
I don't argue with my diagnosis (in high school), but I disagree very much with the immediate decision to medicate. I felt very strongly at the time that the whole point was to sell medicine to my parents (Vyvance in my case). It was just, "oh, his GPA's low? Seems like he can't focus? Here are some amphetamines, have a nice day!", with zero follow up about whether the medication was doing its job (didn't matter -- I never took it anyway).
rtpg 10y ago
I think it's more a perception because America is more progressive about mental health care than most countries (maybe thanks to big pharma, I don't know though). It's extremely likely for ADHD to be under-reported in other countries because of the lack of screening for this sort of thing. In my experience in other countries, the primary difficulty for ADHD support groups is that many country's medical institutions do not even acknowledge ADHD as a thing. Some of these institutions acknowledge, but seem to believe that the condition disappears when you turn 18. Many of the regulatory institutions don't allow stimulants to be used for treatment, either. This is mostly an anti-scientific position. ADHD is extremely well-researched. Its (medication-based, not CBT) treatment is the most effective of any mental illness, more so than "understood" things like depression. I'm biased, but I think a lot of places are still in denial about ADHD. There's way too much research around the illness and its effects and treatment.