r/Health • u/chrisdh79 • Oct 16 '24

article 15.5 million US adults now have ADHD, but system continues to fail most

https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/73/wr/mm7340a1.htm
171 Upvotes

96% Upvoted

15 comments sorted by

51

u/Thunder---Thighs Oct 16 '24

I have adhd. So does my mom, my son, some of my siblings, many of my cousins.

I agree a lot of people are being diagnosed but I don't believe they are misdiagnosed. I just think having "ADHD" is only a disability due to the way our world is structured rather than an inherent handicap. Medication helps me get along in our world in the way it is structured, but there is nothing wrong with me.

I'm dealing with this as a parent too. My son is a sweet, intelligent, considerate, and respectful kid but he is still barely getting by in our current education system as an unmedicated child.

Square peg, round hole.

My medication doesn't get me high, it just helps me get by.

14

u/gorkt Oct 16 '24

Yes, I consider ADHD an environmental mismatch issue.

10

u/buyableblah Oct 16 '24

You can literally see a difference in brain scans for non ADHD and adhd.

6

u/Blunko2Monko Oct 17 '24

both things can be true

1

u/veggie151 Oct 17 '24

Cardio helps a lot

1

u/AdventurousGrass2043 Oct 17 '24

This is exactly what my psychiatrist says.

17

u/Odd-Indication-6043 Oct 16 '24

I refuse to medicate myself into a better fit for society so I haven't bothered getting diagnosed but I'm sure I would be labeled ADHD if I visited a doctor or three. I wonder how many people aren't diagnosed who would meet the criteria but haven't gotten a diagnosis.

7

u/lilgreenglobe Oct 17 '24

Please consider trying it out. Medications are like 'brain glasses'. I can take them on or off, but I'm not getting behind the wheel and driving without them. Truly, I can really notice the difference driving medicated vs unmedicated, so I avoid the latter now. Please be safe for yourself and others and consider seeing if meds could be an option for you.

3

u/Oatmeal_Hole Oct 17 '24

I don’t think a person with undiagnosed ADHD is a threat to anyone? What do you mean be safe for yourself and others?

-25

u/[deleted] Oct 16 '24

[removed] — view removed comment

3

u/shponglespore Oct 16 '24

Say that to my face.

9

u/CaregiverNo3070 Oct 16 '24

Or maybe instead of blaming individual behavior, you could instead notice systemic financial rewards that are highly abusable just like opioids. People take these things, because they are prescribed them, and I know from personal experience the recommendations for what dose you take and when and how long is confusing for doctors, let alone patients who have even less information and thus must trust their doctors to give them accurate information, which many doctors don't have in the first place.