Overselling A.D.H.D.

I looked, and it seems to be about double (though figures disagree). And I wonder if this isn't simply a difference in educational systems and expectations of children.

I'm in Norway, and children play quite a bit, even in school. They take frequent breaks, have outdoor recess (in nearly all weather), and have no homework. The general attitude is that kids should be kids and not have to worry about stuff. Sure, there is more pressure as the child grows up, but it isn't comparable. School days are shorter as well. Far cry from what I remember as a kid in the US or what I see now. Little in the way of recess, homework starts early. I had a few hours every night at age 11. Sit still, be quiet for hours, do all the worksheets.

I'm guessing there are kids with ADHD that might not need medication, merely time to learn and develop coping mechanisms. Perhaps some children wouldn't have such a problem in the one system whereas in the other would be quite a disruption.

I have nothing to back this up, just a theory.

If I could ask a question that may sound like a challenge but it is not meant as one:

How does ADHD lead to divorce, motor vehicle accidents and injuries, and greater rates of general health conditions?

Is this correlation still present after controlling for confounders like education and economic status?

Part of the issue with adults getting treatment could be down to a combination of a belief that folks grow out of it and insurance - unless that has changed. My brother was diagnosed with ADHD as a child. The medication that worked for him wouldn't have been covered by insurance after he was 18, from what I understood. I don't know exactly why this was (I'm 11 years older, so missed some of the discussion), but if similar things are true there might be folks that simply cannot get their meds, if they know about them.

> It's a perfectly fine analogy. They're both problems which are problems because of our society.

One is a disease caused by conforming with our sedentary society. The other is what we label those who refuse to go along with our expectations for school, work and conformity. Really, they are more like opposites of one another.

> You're suggesting physical illness is more "real" than mental illness.

That's right. It's pretty hard to rigorously define a mental illness outside of the context of a given society. Mental illnesses are not real in the same sense that, say, a broken leg is real. They are socially determined. Other societies outside the West don't have the same kind of mental illnesses we do.

> ADHD affects many aspects of a person's life—and adults too. Living independently with unmedicated ADHD can be incredibly difficult. Everything from social life, working, to driving, is harder/riskier.

Being ugly makes life hard, too. Does that mean being ugly is a disease? Should all of us ugly people get plastic surgery to treat our disease, as a matter of course?

Ultimately, none of this shows ADHD is an objective disease. In the anthropological view of mental illness, it is a disease - because our society claims that it is, and for no other reason. Psychiatrists are not that much different from witch doctors. (https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1755&dat=19710325&id=...)

> Just keep in mind that there is a huge variation, not every AD(H)D-er is the same.

I covered this later on. The whole "sometimes medication is necessary" bit.

> Then you should possibly contact your doctor, it shouldn't be that way as long as you follow the recommandations, but sometimes even minor changes can make major differences, even changes in dosage or even type based on the same active ingredient.

It's less the effects of the medication and more the way that medication impacts your life as an adult. You're often accused of not actually having ADHD and faking it for "legal meth". Some people actually struggle with the temptation to use recreationally.

> This isn't R, is it?

Relevant? Yes. It is. If you can't make it through a workday without your medication, you can barely handle your social life. ADHD trying to be social is always late, always harried, always forgets to bring the thing it promised to bring, and much more. Trust me, I can't tell you what my plans are for this weekend without checking my calendar and every appointment on that calendar has a checklist of things to bring if any.

The problem is, when you go off meds, it's ten times worse than if you never took medication. Alongside that, there are the usual stimulant withdrawal symptoms, though to a lesser degree if you're not taking above as prescribed.

The reason people do this is because if you find something that works for you and you take it daily, you'll be well past the maximum dosage in a few years. Then you'll have to change medications and that medication may not work as well or the same way. You also may end up with withdrawals.

Furthermore, you really do need a reserve of pills. The only way to get that is to skip doses. The legal structure around Schedule II drugs is fuzzy. Most pharmacists will only allow you to refill your medication 30 days from the fill date of a 30 day prescription to avoid liability. If you try to fill it and something goes wrong, you could be up the creek on a Sunday with a week of work ahead of you. Insurance, pharmacists refusing to fill a prescription because they suspect you're abusing (which is literally as little as, "I thought they looked strung out"), family emergencies, and everything else under the sun can cause this.

Also see the bit about pharmacists refusing to fill prescriptions. This does actually happen, a lot.

Being prescribed a Schedule II substance is bad enough, but pharmacists and pharmacies tend to take adults and ADHD medications to the furthest limits legally possible to make your life a living hell. Imagine if schizophrenia medication was that difficult and strict to keep a steady supply of. They have trouble getting a refill and it's completely within the realm of possibility they could lose their job (or worse).

Same thing with people with serious, debilitating ADHD.