Mental illness, attention deficit disorder, and suffering

Similar. I don’t understand wearing it with pride. There is no pride in it. It’s not an accomplishment. When people do this, it looks like a pre-emotive cop-out. “I’m saying to everyone I have ADHD so that if something goes wrong, I have something to blame and can also blame you if you are the authority for not giving me a pass”.

The part I hate most today is that if you relate to a video on ADHD/DID/Depression/Schizophrenia/etc, you will be fed the content until you convince yourself you have a “character trait”. That’s a serious problem with long term effects on society.

I’m very sure I sit somewhere on the spectrum and have depressive disorder markers as well. But the last thing I want to do is to promote these traits. I am not proud of them nor hiding them. They do make me unique. But that’s my business, not the world’s.

What worries me is how easy it is to get diagnosed. TikTok for example will also show you ads for a simple single click ADHD diagnosis and medication plan. Almost as if it’s being handed out like candy.

I found tranquility by looking inward for answers, not outward. I go on my “mental health” walks/runs. I even have taught myself to be mindful enough to notice when platforms like TikTok are emotionally manipulating you and I’ll be half crying while coming to a realization that this keeps me addicted. As I separate myself more from tech and to more nature in the world, these “character traits” don’t seem to be so defining anymore. It’s just a personal observation I’ve made as screen time declines.

The author really does not do a great job, here, at least in saying something sensible as a response to DeBoer's piece. The core premise seems to be that:

> I find it so very irritating that there is no term for my so-called ⸢attention deficit disorder⸣ that does not have the word “disorder” baked into it. I know what a disorder is, and this isn't one.

But the author then argues against a strawman:

> Why does any deviation from the standard have to be a disorder? Why do we medicalize human variation?

It doesn't, and in fact, the diagnostic criteria for ADHD and many other disorders require that the deviation amount to a disorder rather than not interfering with someone's life.

What the author really seems to be criticizing is that he learned and began identifying with the medical term for a disorder ("the ADD really is a part of my identity") and now he'd like a different way to describe his experience.

Fair! But get the cause-and-effect the right way around: we don't need to "stop labeling every difference as a disorder," we need to not adopt diagnostic terms and apply them to ourselves inappropriately. That's a part of what DeBoer is criticizing—that people self-diagnose and then "perform their various personalities."

To be clear, I agree with the author that it would help to have terminology for people who don't feel negatively impacted by their brains being different in a way that we can label, not just for those who do. Maybe the author could get started with that by dropping the "disorder" bit and just identifying himself as someone with an attention deficit.

I agree. My adhd has never made me more able than anyone, but has certainly been a detriment to myself and those around me. The best I can do is not hate myself for what I evidently can’t control, and continue working to lessen the damage it does. I mean, I was diagnosed because it’s a problem. Not because I have super powers.

I think the idea of wearing it as a badge of pride is because that reflex is easier than being more honest and introspective. At the same time it might help soften the pain. If you have a disability, you are a strain on those around you. You shouldn’t be ashamed of it, but you shouldn’t be prideful either. You should be proud when you succeed against the odds and you know it took hard work, but that’s not adhd happening.

For a brief time I entertained that I should be more adhd positive. Ultimately I realized that bias is not helpful at all if it clouds my perception of how it impacts my life or those around me. For some people though, perhaps it helps lessen the burden of the common self-loathing that tends to manifest as sufferers age.

Are you implying that the author did not get a professional diagnosis and is merely comparing himself to people who have ADHD?

When I was diagnosed with ADHD, the disorder did cause me significant problems. Over the years I have managed to do a lot better, where I can now relate to the state the author is in (just the ADHD part, I do not suffer from depression).

I would now say it’s not so bad too.