4 ms·

Maybe a long time ago, but ADHD is in the DSM-5 and the ICD-11 now, which are the main references for diagnosis of mental illnesses. ADHD has a direct impact o

Maybe a long time ago, but ADHD is in the DSM-5 and the ICD-11 now, which are the main references for diagnosis of mental illnesses. ADHD has a direct impact on abilities like emotion regulation and impulse control, it makes much more sense to classify it as a mental disorder than a learning disorder (or whatever other misconceptions used to exist).

zepto 5y ago
> which are the main references for diagnosis of mental illnesses. They are also references for the diagnosis of neurological disorders. ADHD may be a neurological disorder but that doesn’t make it a mental illness.
- caddemon 5y ago
  DSM-5 literally stands for "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition". It does not include things like epilepsy, migraine, cluster headaches, stroke, or brain tumor. It doesn't even really include diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's - notice that the coding is "neurocognitive decline due to" AD/PD/etc. It is not meant for primary diagnosis of these diseases. It is meant for diagnosis of mental health issues, which can result from a variety of causes we understand to varying degrees. All psychiatric diseases will likely fall under neurology some day, probably split into many more different disorders. Although you could make a case they should already be considered neurology, I think that needs to be an all or nothing decision. People that try to split out a handful of the psychiatric disorders are just perpetuating stigma. At this very moment there is more scientific evidence linking Schizophrenia to brain abnormalities than there is for ADHD (mostly as a result of more Schizophrenia neuro research occuring), yet I don't see anyone trying to call Schizophrenia neurological and ADHD not. I wonder why... So if you think they are all neurological disorders fine, but ADHD is absolutely more similar to the disorders we would cluster under psychiatry than the disorders we would cluster under neurology. It is diagnosed purely via behavioral assessment, not biomarkers or brain scans. It directly impacts motivation levels, self control, and emotion regulation. If that's not mental I'm not sure what is. It's also directly covered by NIMH funding, so pretty clearly it is considered a mental illness by the medical community, yet your original claim was that it is not - not that it shouldn't be.
  - zepto 5y ago
    > It is diagnosed purely via behavioral assessment, not biomarkers or brain scans. It directly impacts motivation levels, self control, and emotion regulation. If that's not mental I'm not sure what is. Nobody is arguing it’s not mental. I haven’t said it’s not a disorder. You seem to address everything except the fact that nowhere does the DSM call ADHD a mental illness. That is something you are saying and has nothing to do with the DSM. If you are determined to call people who have ADHD, “mentally ill”, you are free to do so, but is isn’t supported by the DSM.
    - deleted 5y ago
      [deleted]
    - caddemon 5y ago
      I think you're just not familiar with psychiatry terminology. Mental illness and mental disorder are largely used interchangeably. The word illness is not a strictly defined word in medicine in general (whereas disease versus disorder is a legitimate distinction, but it has to do with identifying causes, not with severity). Everything in the DSM is a mental disorder by definition. I'm also not sure how you can say that it is a disorder and it is mental but somehow it's not a mental disorder? That must require some mental gymnastics to justify. Also, I literally have ADHD my dude. It's offensive "neurodiversity" garbage to suggest it's not a mental illness. To both people with ADHD and people with other illnesses - "mental illness" is not a dirty word. Maybe we should stop stigmatizing mental illnesses instead of trying to carve out exceptions. You might want to study a bit more psychiatry before you spew more outdated information on here.
      - zepto 5y ago
        > I think you're just not familiar with psychiatry terminology. Mental illness and mental disorder are largely used interchangeably. If this was true you’d be able to quote from the DSM where they use the term mental illness. > I'm also not sure how you can say that it is a disorder and it is mental but somehow it's not a mental disorder? That must require some mental gymnastics to justify. No, you are just representing what I said dishonestly. If I’m wrong, you will be able to quote where I said it wasn’t a disorder. > You might want to study a bit more psychiatry before you spew more outdated information on here. Speak for yourself. There is a reason the DSM doesn’t call ADHD a mental illness, which is that it is not considered one by the psychiatric profession in modern times.

zepto 5y ago

> which are the main references for diagnosis of mental illnesses. They are also references for the diagnosis of neurological disorders. ADHD may be a neurological disorder but that doesn’t make it a mental illness.

caddemon 5y ago
DSM-5 literally stands for "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition". It does not include things like epilepsy, migraine, cluster headaches, stroke, or brain tumor. It doesn't even really include diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's - notice that the coding is "neurocognitive decline due to" AD/PD/etc. It is not meant for primary diagnosis of these diseases. It is meant for diagnosis of mental health issues, which can result from a variety of causes we understand to varying degrees. All psychiatric diseases will likely fall under neurology some day, probably split into many more different disorders. Although you could make a case they should already be considered neurology, I think that needs to be an all or nothing decision. People that try to split out a handful of the psychiatric disorders are just perpetuating stigma. At this very moment there is more scientific evidence linking Schizophrenia to brain abnormalities than there is for ADHD (mostly as a result of more Schizophrenia neuro research occuring), yet I don't see anyone trying to call Schizophrenia neurological and ADHD not. I wonder why... So if you think they are all neurological disorders fine, but ADHD is absolutely more similar to the disorders we would cluster under psychiatry than the disorders we would cluster under neurology. It is diagnosed purely via behavioral assessment, not biomarkers or brain scans. It directly impacts motivation levels, self control, and emotion regulation. If that's not mental I'm not sure what is. It's also directly covered by NIMH funding, so pretty clearly it is considered a mental illness by the medical community, yet your original claim was that it is not - not that it shouldn't be.
- zepto 5y ago
  > It is diagnosed purely via behavioral assessment, not biomarkers or brain scans. It directly impacts motivation levels, self control, and emotion regulation. If that's not mental I'm not sure what is. Nobody is arguing it’s not mental. I haven’t said it’s not a disorder. You seem to address everything except the fact that nowhere does the DSM call ADHD a mental illness. That is something you are saying and has nothing to do with the DSM. If you are determined to call people who have ADHD, “mentally ill”, you are free to do so, but is isn’t supported by the DSM.
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
  - caddemon 5y ago
    I think you're just not familiar with psychiatry terminology. Mental illness and mental disorder are largely used interchangeably. The word illness is not a strictly defined word in medicine in general (whereas disease versus disorder is a legitimate distinction, but it has to do with identifying causes, not with severity). Everything in the DSM is a mental disorder by definition. I'm also not sure how you can say that it is a disorder and it is mental but somehow it's not a mental disorder? That must require some mental gymnastics to justify. Also, I literally have ADHD my dude. It's offensive "neurodiversity" garbage to suggest it's not a mental illness. To both people with ADHD and people with other illnesses - "mental illness" is not a dirty word. Maybe we should stop stigmatizing mental illnesses instead of trying to carve out exceptions. You might want to study a bit more psychiatry before you spew more outdated information on here.
    - zepto 5y ago
      > I think you're just not familiar with psychiatry terminology. Mental illness and mental disorder are largely used interchangeably. If this was true you’d be able to quote from the DSM where they use the term mental illness. > I'm also not sure how you can say that it is a disorder and it is mental but somehow it's not a mental disorder? That must require some mental gymnastics to justify. No, you are just representing what I said dishonestly. If I’m wrong, you will be able to quote where I said it wasn’t a disorder. > You might want to study a bit more psychiatry before you spew more outdated information on here. Speak for yourself. There is a reason the DSM doesn’t call ADHD a mental illness, which is that it is not considered one by the psychiatric profession in modern times.