what do you think?

The other day I heard a comment that I'm sure many of you have also heard at least once. The comment was "ADD is over diagnosed." This was followed by "I think part of it has to do with doctors and drug companies profiting from it."

While there is no doubt that the number of those being diagnosed has indeed increased within the past 20 years, I find it hard to believe that it's just one big scam by the medical community (in any country).

Personally, I believe that the medical community is starting to get a better understanding of what ADHD is and isn't. More are being diagnosed because they now know better about what to look for; what the different symptoms look like across the lifespan. Add to this the fact that many adults who weren't diagnosed as children are coming forward after many years of struggling. These adults were children in an age when the disorder wasn't as well understood as it is today.

What do you think? Over diagnosed or result of better diagnostics?

It is over diagnosed but so is autism and no one is complaining about that. In fact, people actually want their kids to be diagnosed with a more severe form of autism than it actually is such as Aspergers Syndrome instead of Pervasive Developmental Disorder so they can get free treatment from the government.

If people with acute ADHD/ADD or people that want some brain enhancement during a test want to screw up their brains by abusing amphetamines or staying up late and getting a heart attack from cardiovascular stress, I don't care in the slightest. They should have the freedom to do what ever the hell they want with their own body. But the jealous people saying that "Its not fair" and that we are "getting an advantage" are wrong. That's only for the people that don't have ADHD. My medication doesn't make me near to focusing as well as a normal person. I don't even drink coffee to stay up late. If I'm too unmotivated to do my homework right after school (which is 100% of the time), I don't stay up all night and I fail the test as a punishment. I go to school early in the morning sometimes to do homework and I also have someone to force me to work on homework during my free classes every day. If someone goes out and parties after class or something and then takes some amphetamine to study through the night, they are idiots and don't deserve to have it because it's an unnecessary thing to do.

There's a LOT of reasons as to why Adderall and other stimulants have the reputation that they do. I don't like taking my ritalin. A lot of people with ADHD don't like to take their stimulants so some people sell it to their friends that don't have the condition for them to party with, abuse, etc. In my case, it's severe and I need to take it every day. It's just a thing that I take and if I didn't have it then I wouldn't care either because there would be nothing that I can do about it. There's no psychological or psychical addiction because the only mood lift that I get is when it wears off and I'm less tired. For most people, they get high and addicted because there's a depressing crash when it wears off so they want more. I think the reason why people think that amphetamines are bad is because for normal people (especially if abused), it causes ADHD symptoms when they stop using it after long term chronic use. It actually causes brain damage and reduces the amount of dopamine that the brain produces over time. Methamphetamine is a known neurotoxin but I'm sure that regular amphetamine is also a neurotoxin, just to a lesser extent. So there shouldn't be a problem with me because my brain is screwed up already. That is why I am skeptical towards people with acute ADHD taking high dose stimulants like this.

Anyone can say that they have ADHD. Anyone. It's just a dramatic form of normal problems. What really annoys me is the cultural aspect towards this condition. Personally, I think that the mental health system everywhere is garbage but I grew up near England and they don't really even believe that the condition exists. I was that typical kid with ADHD that would act out, interrupt the class, talk constantly. People would always tell me to shut up, I would get punished, sent to the office, have teachers scream at me. Nothing worked. Eventually my teachers would catch my attention and say "Why don't you know what is being said in class?" and I would have to say "Because I was not listening". That happened about 20-30 times a day. The only reason that I did well in school was because of my superior math skills. I remember my last report card in middle school. It said that I'm "Easily distracted". No one bothered to tell my parents about how I was acting in school because they were able to block any bit of energy that I had by repressing and punishing. It doesn't work. I still had to go to a special needs class where I acted out so bad that I don't even know how I passed. I'm sick of people saying "Your parents should have disciplined you more". They did. What did I do about it? I would leave the house right in the morning to be with friends and come back at night. Now you can't say that I shouldn't have had a childhood. When I got home, I was forced to do my homework and then I would leave.

In England, the kids that are considered to have ADHD have it so severe that the psychiatrists don't even want to see the child in their office again. People with a moderate form (Which would be considered as severe in the US), ARE DIAGNOSED WITH AUTISM. In the US, autistic kids are diagnosed with ADHD. It's very backwards and I think that it is very easy for normal people to get diagnosed for many reasons.

The diagnosis of ADHD/ADD is on the rise big time and many people are getting misdiagnosed. Many people are taking advantage of the system so they can get the medication prescribed to them. It's a big business for the drug companies. I do not care about any of that. People can complain if they want but how dare they say that the condition does not exist. Personally, I think that it is worth it having these problems but when someone takes that into consideration and assumes that someone doesn't have ADHD when they think that they do, it makes me furious because that could ruin someones life.

It's a very complicated issue. Psychiatrists can't just give meds out like candy, but they also can't be too strict like how it is in England because it reduces the chance of people getting the proper treatment. They have to be more skilled with every medication because everyone is different.

I think, if a med works, good. It is unlikely for someone that actually has ADHD to abuse their medication. But if they do, it should be taken away. I think that the system is good the way it is. If someone wanted to get drugs, they would get them off the street, internet, etc. No one should be criminalized for abusing drugs in the first place but I'm not even going to get into that.

Bottom line, no one should be complaining about something that is none of their business. If someone wants to say "I am OCD", "I am ADD", let them. It doesn't affect the people that have the actual illnesses so I don't see why people are complaining. The only reason that It may affect the people that have ADHD in the future, is because people are complaining.