r/science • u/mvea Professor | Medicine • 16d ago

Neuroscience ADHD misinformation on TikTok is shaping young adults’ perceptions. An analysis of the 100 most-viewed TikTok videos related to ADHD revealed that fewer than half the claims about symptoms actually align with clinical guidelines for diagnosing ADHD.

https://news.ubc.ca/2025/03/adhd-misinformation-on-tiktok/
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u/ralanr 16d ago

And plenty of people won’t believe their symptoms for fear of the idea that they’re just making it up. 

Took me years to even confront I had depression and I still have periods where I go without medication. 

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u/Glonn 16d ago

I wasn't diagnosed until I was 21, went through college and everything with minor issues. Ended up working in radiology and one doctor (internal medicine) I worked with for a year asked me what ADHD meds I was taking out of curiosity.

When he found out the answer was none, I got a psych eval and was diagnosed formally.

When I take the medicine, it almost feels like my brain is "functioning".

Parents didn't believe in ADHD so no diagnosis as a kid

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u/Nelliell 16d ago

I was diagnosed with ADHD as a kid and strongly suspected I was also autistic for years. I put off retesting for over a decade until a new provider and my old records being destroyed in a hurricane made it necessary to get back on my medicine. I was so afraid of being treated dismissively, or that I was drug seeking, or that I was just making it up that I walked into the appointment with three pages I typed up with my symptoms and relevant history.

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u/Exotic_Object 16d ago

I think three typed up pages should count toward at least 50% of an autism diagnosis, and I say this with all sincerity and love.

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u/csppr 16d ago

100% this. Not related to ADHD, but I was doing exactly this when I had appendicitis: I waited for several days despite heavily suspecting it was that, because I was afraid of wasting healthcare resources that could be spent on actual problems, and that I was just mentally exaggerating an upset stomach. I don’t think my behaviour is an outlier in any sense.

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u/gmishaolem 16d ago

When I was in elementary school, I ended up with testicular torsion and my mother took me to the doctor. The doctor was fiddling around (to avoid needing an x-ray) and I was screaming, and my own mother was telling me to be quiet and stop overreacting. (She was embarrassed.) She got quiet when the doctor said he was sending me to have surgery.

Doubting you're sick at this point is straight-up trained into us.

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u/randomchic545 16d ago

I have a hunch I might have ADHD and possibly depression... but I worry I'm just subconsciously convincing myself & looking for something to blame my stupidity/laziness/incompetence etc on. I worry about wasting my doctors time and being a whiner if I do ask for help because everyone and their dog claims to have some sort of mental issue these days.

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u/Suyefuji 16d ago

I developed DID when I was 12 after a severely traumatic life event. I knew I had it, it was debilitating, and everyone assumed I was making it up as an excuse to act weird. I'm currently diagnosed with the (now defunct) DDNOS because my psychiatrist was still afraid to diagnose me with DID as a grown-ass adult that met all of the criteria.