4 ms·

I feel increasing frustration every time I see a graph with a clear upward trend being waved off as "probably just better awareness". I am even more frustrated

I feel increasing frustration every time I see a graph with a clear upward trend being waved off as "probably just better awareness". I am even more frustrated when it's a graph tracking some mental health issue. If adult ADHD numbers have doubled, that should mean something.

Capricorn2481 3y ago
That's all well and good, but it's a plain ol' fact that it could all be from increased awareness. If someone is saying "no, it's too significant a change to be just awareness," it's kind of a nothing statement. What's the point of bringing awareness to undiagnosed mental health issues if we brush off signs that it helps people get diagnosed as a WORSENING of mental health?
User23 3y ago
Cynically, I'd say it means that if you want to make staff Adderall is going to give you a considerable advantage over the next guy, all else being equal. Anyone smart enough to be in the running for staff or higher is smart enough to google ADHD symptoms and present with them at a psychiatrist.
Eumenes 3y ago
ADHD numbers have doubled because people like drugs that make them productive, and the victimhood points you get for being "neurodivergent" ... aka, its all fake.
- gochi 3y ago
  This idea that people are getting drugs to acquire victimhood points is so detached from reality, I am pleading with you, please spend less time on social media. It is not healthy and is changing your entire worldview. Your first swing at a reason doesn't make any sense either, as ADHD numbers have not solely affected adults. Even if you account for those "just wanting to be productive" by apparently ruining their entire ability to compensate dopamine naturally, the numbers are still increasing.
  - Eumenes 3y ago
    Collecting disorders and faking mental illness is a very hot at the moment, esp. among children (and troubled adults) - https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/29/well/mind/tiktok-mental-illness-diagnosis.html https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/29/well/mind/tiktok-mental-i... The number of people in my life diagnosed with various disorders, with accompanying drugs, via short meetings with doctors they've met once is staggering. Re: children, do you know many parents? I know many and many of their children are medicated for ADHD. They are usually active and healthy boys who don't like sitting still in class or have grown accustom to video game and screen time, so when they don't have those things, flip out. On demand entertainment and smart phones have created a screwed up reward system for young children. ADHD medication is usually the prescribed solution to that problem. By the time they reach middle school, they have no chance. Its an uphill battle to stay ahead with school and maintain all the hobbies/extracurriculars. I blame the parents, and while they're responsible, the FDA/"doctors"/pharma companies facilitate it. I'm not saying people are faking things like schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. Mostly ADHD, anxiety, and depression disorders. Seems like 1/3rd of people I interact with have one of those, or all of them.
    - gochi 3y ago
      All your linked article suggests is that some are turning to social media to find explanations for their behaviors. Nowhere does it suggest that there is a notable increase in fake diagnosis that results in accessing pharmaceuticals, or that anyone takes a fake diagnosis more seriously than the traditional route. There is zero evidence that there is an increase of people who are diagnosed via short meetings and immediately drugged especially when the drugs are under far heavier restrictions than say Ozempic. The rest is anecdotal, just as easily as you say you've met so many who have been diagnosed and drugged, I can say I have not met many. Most of them seem very anti-diagnosis even when it's clearly affecting them due to this stigma. Yet you'll discount my position because it's anecdotal. If you think your worldview holds water, why are there so many studies proving the efficacy of both non-stimulant and stimulant drugs in trials that are double-blind, placebo controlled, and using parallel groups? (eg https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3000197/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3000197/) Shouldn't it be identical to placebo for reducing ADHD symptoms? Far more interesting to me is how you've met so many neurodivergent people. Many studies have talked about subconscious biases of those who are neurotypical (eg: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5286449/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5286449/) which goes both ways, as we gravitate to those most similar to us. Unless you're a social worker or creating statistical anomalies in your head of course. Are there people out there who have been drugged by their parents without having a real problem? Probably. But these are parents who would go through a hundred doctors to find one who can be bought, as now they would have to specifically avoid the plethora of alternative solutions doctors offer due to ADHD stigma (stigma noted in papers like https://sites.ucmerced.edu/files/laura-hamilton/files/metzgerhamiltonadhd.pdf https://sites.ucmerced.edu/files/laura-hamilton/files/metzge...).
- ImaCake 3y ago
  This is a fool’s opinion. Spend some time reading what people diagnosed with ADHD say about their disorder. Medication merely makes them able to keep up some of the time.
  - Eumenes 3y ago
    I've heard and met many - its just hearsay to me. Fools believe hearsay. Until there's some advanced blood test or biological marker, the diagnosis is complex social engineering or at best, pseudoscience.
    - Treblemaker 3y ago
      The perception that ADHD is nothing more than the inability to "sit still and pay attention" is very wrong and very out of date. Before you comment further I would strongly recommend you watch a series presented by one of the leading researchers in neurological basis of ADHD, Dr. Russell Barkley, called "ADHD: "The 30 Essential Ideas Every Parent Needs to Know" [1]. I struggled with many of these things -- primarily time blindness, executive function and impulsiveness -- for most of my almost six decade life, and finally understanding what was happening -- and getting help for it -- has been life-changing. As one friend put it, he would cut off his left testicle if it meant having working executive function. The idea that I -- and friends and acquaintances who share similar experiences -- are faking it is ignorant and insulting. That you do not suffer is a gift; be grateful. Maybe don't be so dismissive of the struggles and suffering of others. [1] https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLh4RKnr7ygXsO1ImoyB0K_LYwj https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLh4RKnr7ygXsO1ImoyB0K...
    - rwhitman 3y ago
      Here's some reading material for you, from reputable sources: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2894421/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2894421/ https://news.mit.edu/2014/inside-adult-adhd-brain-0610 https://news.mit.edu/2014/inside-adult-adhd-brain-0610
ImaCake 3y ago
ADHD has only been a recognized disorder for ~40 years. Its only been accepted by the medical community for about 5 to 10 years, depending on country. Its hardly surprising that diagnosis is increasing for something that has essentially been ignored by everyone until very recently. Keep in mind the first person diagnosed with autism died last week.

Capricorn2481 3y ago

That's all well and good, but it's a plain ol' fact that it could all be from increased awareness. If someone is saying "no, it's too significant a change to be just awareness," it's kind of a nothing statement. What's the point of bringing awareness to undiagnosed mental health issues if we brush off signs that it helps people get diagnosed as a WORSENING of mental health?

User23 3y ago

Cynically, I'd say it means that if you want to make staff Adderall is going to give you a considerable advantage over the next guy, all else being equal. Anyone smart enough to be in the running for staff or higher is smart enough to google ADHD symptoms and present with them at a psychiatrist.

Eumenes 3y ago

ADHD numbers have doubled because people like drugs that make them productive, and the victimhood points you get for being "neurodivergent" ... aka, its all fake.

gochi 3y ago
This idea that people are getting drugs to acquire victimhood points is so detached from reality, I am pleading with you, please spend less time on social media. It is not healthy and is changing your entire worldview. Your first swing at a reason doesn't make any sense either, as ADHD numbers have not solely affected adults. Even if you account for those "just wanting to be productive" by apparently ruining their entire ability to compensate dopamine naturally, the numbers are still increasing.
- Eumenes 3y ago
  Collecting disorders and faking mental illness is a very hot at the moment, esp. among children (and troubled adults) - https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/29/well/mind/tiktok-mental-illness-diagnosis.html https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/29/well/mind/tiktok-mental-i... The number of people in my life diagnosed with various disorders, with accompanying drugs, via short meetings with doctors they've met once is staggering. Re: children, do you know many parents? I know many and many of their children are medicated for ADHD. They are usually active and healthy boys who don't like sitting still in class or have grown accustom to video game and screen time, so when they don't have those things, flip out. On demand entertainment and smart phones have created a screwed up reward system for young children. ADHD medication is usually the prescribed solution to that problem. By the time they reach middle school, they have no chance. Its an uphill battle to stay ahead with school and maintain all the hobbies/extracurriculars. I blame the parents, and while they're responsible, the FDA/"doctors"/pharma companies facilitate it. I'm not saying people are faking things like schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. Mostly ADHD, anxiety, and depression disorders. Seems like 1/3rd of people I interact with have one of those, or all of them.
  - gochi 3y ago
    All your linked article suggests is that some are turning to social media to find explanations for their behaviors. Nowhere does it suggest that there is a notable increase in fake diagnosis that results in accessing pharmaceuticals, or that anyone takes a fake diagnosis more seriously than the traditional route. There is zero evidence that there is an increase of people who are diagnosed via short meetings and immediately drugged especially when the drugs are under far heavier restrictions than say Ozempic. The rest is anecdotal, just as easily as you say you've met so many who have been diagnosed and drugged, I can say I have not met many. Most of them seem very anti-diagnosis even when it's clearly affecting them due to this stigma. Yet you'll discount my position because it's anecdotal. If you think your worldview holds water, why are there so many studies proving the efficacy of both non-stimulant and stimulant drugs in trials that are double-blind, placebo controlled, and using parallel groups? (eg https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3000197/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3000197/) Shouldn't it be identical to placebo for reducing ADHD symptoms? Far more interesting to me is how you've met so many neurodivergent people. Many studies have talked about subconscious biases of those who are neurotypical (eg: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5286449/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5286449/) which goes both ways, as we gravitate to those most similar to us. Unless you're a social worker or creating statistical anomalies in your head of course. Are there people out there who have been drugged by their parents without having a real problem? Probably. But these are parents who would go through a hundred doctors to find one who can be bought, as now they would have to specifically avoid the plethora of alternative solutions doctors offer due to ADHD stigma (stigma noted in papers like https://sites.ucmerced.edu/files/laura-hamilton/files/metzgerhamiltonadhd.pdf https://sites.ucmerced.edu/files/laura-hamilton/files/metzge...).
ImaCake 3y ago
This is a fool’s opinion. Spend some time reading what people diagnosed with ADHD say about their disorder. Medication merely makes them able to keep up some of the time.
- Eumenes 3y ago
  I've heard and met many - its just hearsay to me. Fools believe hearsay. Until there's some advanced blood test or biological marker, the diagnosis is complex social engineering or at best, pseudoscience.
  - Treblemaker 3y ago
    The perception that ADHD is nothing more than the inability to "sit still and pay attention" is very wrong and very out of date. Before you comment further I would strongly recommend you watch a series presented by one of the leading researchers in neurological basis of ADHD, Dr. Russell Barkley, called "ADHD: "The 30 Essential Ideas Every Parent Needs to Know" [1]. I struggled with many of these things -- primarily time blindness, executive function and impulsiveness -- for most of my almost six decade life, and finally understanding what was happening -- and getting help for it -- has been life-changing. As one friend put it, he would cut off his left testicle if it meant having working executive function. The idea that I -- and friends and acquaintances who share similar experiences -- are faking it is ignorant and insulting. That you do not suffer is a gift; be grateful. Maybe don't be so dismissive of the struggles and suffering of others. [1] https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLh4RKnr7ygXsO1ImoyB0K_LYwj https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLh4RKnr7ygXsO1ImoyB0K...
  - rwhitman 3y ago
    Here's some reading material for you, from reputable sources: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2894421/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2894421/ https://news.mit.edu/2014/inside-adult-adhd-brain-0610 https://news.mit.edu/2014/inside-adult-adhd-brain-0610

ImaCake 3y ago

ADHD has only been a recognized disorder for ~40 years. Its only been accepted by the medical community for about 5 to 10 years, depending on country. Its hardly surprising that diagnosis is increasing for something that has essentially been ignored by everyone until very recently. Keep in mind the first person diagnosed with autism died last week.