[Mars]

So it really does seem like there's a scientific consensus  that ADD exists. I feel like an immunization conspiracy theorist for doubting it as much as I do; I tend to view it as a state of mind.

Is ADD as proven as it appears to be?

[iamzack]

it's probably something like bipolar disorder...

sure, some people might legitimately have it

but i spent some time in a psych ward and 100% of the patients were diagnosed bipolar regardless of the reason for admission..

[Kolgena]

Have you met people with serious ADD or ADHD?

I think it's pretty obvious that the condition exists. However, I also acknowledge that lots of diagnoses are made for what doesn't amount to ADD, and lots of simply unruly kids are getting ritalin for no good reason.

[iamzack]

rich and foster kids get over diagnosed

poor kids get underdiagnosed

[Mars]

I was diagnosed with ADD when I was a kid; I think the reasons I never got anything done was mostly because of my dysfunctional family situation / getting the crap beaten out of me in school. They put me on stimms, and I stopped taking them when they raised my dosage and I flipped out and started attacking everything (psychosis maybe?)

I suppose there may be people for whom it's a legitimate thing however. My brother-in-law supposedly has ADD, but he seems more OCD than anything. He doesn't get things done because they must be done PERFECTLY.

[Mars]

I know what fallacy I'm catering: I'm saying that my life experience must = scientific evidence.

[Kolgena]

I wouldn't worry about your brother unless his perfectionism is like, interfering with his work, social life, or personal safety (?). As for yourself, maybe your ADD went away (?), you were able to manage it w/o drugs, or you never had it in the first place.

Everything to do with mental health is fuzzy as hell. If you've ever looked at the DSM, you'll know that by and large, it's a conglomeration of vague and overlapping symptoms that apply to like 80% of the conditions out there. Not to say that psychiatry is bogus, but the nature of the mind pretty much precludes any easy way to definitively diagnose stuff. I mean, pretty much everything varies on a continuum. Where do you draw the line between very imaginative and psychotic? What about similar conditions? Extreme cases are easy, so there's obvious differences between your average normal person and someone out of touch with reality, but cases in between are problematic. At younger ages (<10yrs or so I think) for ADD specifically, it gets pretty hard to distinguish between bouncy hyper kid and ADD, so that's also not in the doctor's favor, and lots argue that no diagnoses should be made until they mature a bit more.

I've also heard stories about doctors who'll diagnose a young kid with ADD simply to get a badgering pair of parents off their ass, but yeah. That's like, not standard care, thankfully.

[Nuclear1]

I keep trying to reply, but my computer...oooo, so shiny...

[NGTM-1R]

ADD is not, normally, a disorder so bad as to be unmanageable without medication; otherwise it would have come into the psychology canon earlier than it did. Just because you're able to handle it without medication doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

[IceFire]

From what I've read over the years... yes it is real. Reason being is that a PET scan can be done and you can tell distinctly between someone who has ADD or ADHD traits and someone who does not. I do feel it's over diagnosed in some cases. I've read before and read again just now that there are a variety of possible reasons and causes for ADD/ADHD that range from societal/social, environment and diet, and probably genetic as well. What I had read just now is that there is a slight correlation between people with ADD/AHD that also had genetic heritages belonged to more nomadic people.

In general I feel that it's a natural state of being and that it was probably a evolutionary advantage for nomadic hunter/gatherer type people. Take someone with that natural predisposition through whatver causes that enables that type of brain activity and force them to sit for 70 minutes in a classroom - no small wonder they are being "diagnosed" as having a problem.

Furthermore although it is a developmental issue for some in modern society... it is quite frequently the case that people with ADD/ADHD or that predisposition tend to be highly intelligent with typically stronger creative abilities than their peers on average.

Although not formally diagnosed I believe I have ADD. Particularly during childhood the symptoms that are listed pretty much fit me perfectly. I would belong in the inattentive category rather than the hyperactive-impulsive which most people associate with the disorder. Not surprisingly people have said that I've grown out of it (or question if I really have it at all) but the research shows that many adults are able to form coping mechanisms to help. I'm still a very unfocused person but I do have a serious of coping mechanisms to stop me from doing some of the things that I used to as a child. Sure it's part of growing up but I'm quite willing to recognize that my brain functions in a particular way.

I know I feel most calm doing something that captures my full attention. I'm not surprised I've been attracted to fast reflex based sports and running.

Unless you cannot function... I say work through it by eating right and getting the exercise you need. It may be everything that is required. It helps everyone but it may especially help here.

[Nuke]

my concern is not so much that kids get tagged as being add or odd or some other disorder like that. my concern is that its a conclusion shrinks jump to a little too quickly, completely missing more severe disorders. i was tagged early on as having both add and odd, though i think im closer towards the bipolar, antisocial end of the spectrum. i also tended to end up with all the quack doctors growing up. my mom was a welfare bum, and pretty much had to stick to doctors who would accept the state medicare she had us on.

[Grizzly]

In my experience, all what disorders like these require is self reflection, and that the people around you are honest and remind you when you go a bit too far into an ... odd direction.

Unfortunately, that is a lot harder then it sounds.

[Mars]

I actually have a whole lot of agreement with that; it's not that I don't think there are people who have a terrible time paying attention; but that they have trouble paying attention just like I have trouble trusting people. It's (usually) a mind over matter thing, and the solution is reflection and therapy, not stimulants.

I'm not sure how many cases that is however.