Does it really matter if you have or don’t have ADHD? It seems like what should matter most is if taking the medication improves your overall health and well-be

Does it really matter if you have or don’t have ADHD? It seems like what should matter most is if taking the medication improves your overall health and well-being (after accounting for any side-effects). I could only imagine it being a negative if it masks some other underlying phenomenon which left unaddressed prevents you from attaining your global maximum of life satisfaction. It seems likely the amount of harmful abuse prevented by stricter policies would be overshadowed by the amount of positive treatment which is no longer dispensed. If you’re diagnosed and you don’t find medication helpful, you’re not obligated to continue taking it. You discuss it with your provider, you look into alternatives, and you keep eliminating things until you find the best way to cope with whatever issue you have. That being said I’m totally biased, I had a pretty bad experience with trying to find treatment myself. The first nurse practitioner I saw didn’t diagnose me with ADHD and I ended up dealing with it for another two years until being frustrated enough to follow up again. Then, the first appointment I made was abruptly canceled by the doctor, who sent a message saying that I can schedule another appointment but that they weren’t likely to disagree with their colleagues assessment. This put me off for another few months, led me to waste time seeking out-of-network alternatives who intended to charge me absurd amounts of money for assessments, until I finally managed to find a doctor at the original clinic who was pretty appalled at their colleagues message, and looked at my original responses and didn’t understand why the first practitioner hadn’t diagnosed me with ADHD. She figured exploring if medication would alleviate my symptoms and improve my quality of life that it was worth pursuing. I started on Vyvanse and life is definitely a lot more manageable now.