4 ms·

> Essentially I was trying to find out why I procrastinate, beyond "it's just the ADHD lol" Along this vein, I think the internet (Reddit especially) has been

> Essentially I was trying to find out why I procrastinate, beyond "it's just the ADHD lol" Along this vein, I think the internet (Reddit especially) has been spreading an idea that "ADHD explains everything" in recent years. Every year I feel like I see more and more people self-diagnose with ADHD and then stop looking further for any explanation for their psychological situation. In some cases, people seem to get worse after receiving the ADHD diagnosis and medication and then hyperfocusing on their distractions even harder. From my position I see a lot of people with anxiety issues, perfectionism problems, or even textbook depression becoming convinced that ADHD is the explanation for everything in their life. Not all ADHD patients, mind you, but largely the recent influx of people who start with self-diagnosis via internet memes and TikTok (mis)info about ADHD.

corobo 4y ago
Oh absolutely. I'm open to it being something else but as it currently stands two people trained in the field reckon it's ADHD so I'll go with it for now. In any case being diagnosed with ADHD was just me finding a missing edge piece of my jigsaw, it helps to know what I'm working with but there's plenty still to do. I actually started the CBT because of that, I realised ever since I got diagnosed I was leaning into ADHD as an excuse (welp that's just me, can't help it!) and doing less overall than when I didn't know, which I thought was lame. Like that's it, I get a diagnosis and then give up trying to live? Lol no.
CadmiumYellow 4y ago
Absolutely, and the problem is that amphetamines will make most people feel better regardless of their underlying issue, because that's what they do to the human brain. If you're depressed and you start taking Adderall you will feel happier and more energetic in a way that will convince you that you just had ADHD all along, when it's simply not true at all. You can insert so many other conditions in the place of "depression" in that sentence and it will be true. I know because I went through this whole cycle myself: adult ADHD diagnosis that seemingly explained so many things in my life -> prescription for low dose amphetamines that gave me that "wow is this how normal people feel" moment and validated that ADHD must have been my problem all along -> eventually hit a ceiling with medication effects and begin having terrible comedowns such that when I skipped them for a day I felt essentially lobotomized and incapable of getting out of bed. Eventually I came to accept that my attention and motivation problems were a combination of screen/social media addiction, drinking too much, poor sleep caused by the two previous behaviors, poor diet, lack of exercise, and the stress of pandemic isolation and working from home. Addressing those issues was much more difficult than getting diagnosed with ADHD but in the long run it has completely changed my life for the better. I do think the ADHD thing was an important detour on my path to a healthier life, but I wonder how many people who are in the same boat will move beyond the "ADHD explains everything" stage and actually solve their real problems?
98codes 4y ago
Yes, this is definitely a thing. I was one of those that self-diagnosed after seeing a long twitter thread about ADHD symptoms and every single tweet fitting to an absolute T. It wasn't until I found a psychologist that had an opening 90 days(ish) later that I was able to get fully diagnosed that I was even mentally able to think about myself differently. That said, I had the resources to see a doctor, I'm in my 40s, so there was no family to tell me I was making things up, and the only pressure I felt was from myself to address the issue. If I couldn't do that and was stuck in a world that acknowledged ADHD was a thing, felt I had it, and yet felt disempowered to do anything about it, I could see myself easily falling down the rabbit hole you describe.

corobo 4y ago

Oh absolutely. I'm open to it being something else but as it currently stands two people trained in the field reckon it's ADHD so I'll go with it for now. In any case being diagnosed with ADHD was just me finding a missing edge piece of my jigsaw, it helps to know what I'm working with but there's plenty still to do. I actually started the CBT because of that, I realised ever since I got diagnosed I was leaning into ADHD as an excuse (welp that's just me, can't help it!) and doing less overall than when I didn't know, which I thought was lame. Like that's it, I get a diagnosis and then give up trying to live? Lol no.

CadmiumYellow 4y ago

Absolutely, and the problem is that amphetamines will make most people feel better regardless of their underlying issue, because that's what they do to the human brain. If you're depressed and you start taking Adderall you will feel happier and more energetic in a way that will convince you that you just had ADHD all along, when it's simply not true at all. You can insert so many other conditions in the place of "depression" in that sentence and it will be true. I know because I went through this whole cycle myself: adult ADHD diagnosis that seemingly explained so many things in my life -> prescription for low dose amphetamines that gave me that "wow is this how normal people feel" moment and validated that ADHD must have been my problem all along -> eventually hit a ceiling with medication effects and begin having terrible comedowns such that when I skipped them for a day I felt essentially lobotomized and incapable of getting out of bed. Eventually I came to accept that my attention and motivation problems were a combination of screen/social media addiction, drinking too much, poor sleep caused by the two previous behaviors, poor diet, lack of exercise, and the stress of pandemic isolation and working from home. Addressing those issues was much more difficult than getting diagnosed with ADHD but in the long run it has completely changed my life for the better. I do think the ADHD thing was an important detour on my path to a healthier life, but I wonder how many people who are in the same boat will move beyond the "ADHD explains everything" stage and actually solve their real problems?

98codes 4y ago

Yes, this is definitely a thing. I was one of those that self-diagnosed after seeing a long twitter thread about ADHD symptoms and every single tweet fitting to an absolute T. It wasn't until I found a psychologist that had an opening 90 days(ish) later that I was able to get fully diagnosed that I was even mentally able to think about myself differently. That said, I had the resources to see a doctor, I'm in my 40s, so there was no family to tell me I was making things up, and the only pressure I felt was from myself to address the issue. If I couldn't do that and was stuck in a world that acknowledged ADHD was a thing, felt I had it, and yet felt disempowered to do anything about it, I could see myself easily falling down the rabbit hole you describe.