Imagine gatekeeping a disability.
I imagine it’s actually quite harmful.
People should be encouraged took seek advice and help if they suspect they have any kind of mental disability. It’s stigmatized as it is, to the point that many people actively shy away from acknowledging their condition, or, get concerned that they’re just overreacting, don’t really have the condition, and are instead some kind of faker/imposter, doing harm by putting demand on a care system that they feel other people are more deserving of, and generalising a serious condition.
If people suspect they need help, they should be encouraged to seek it. It’s not a contest and they shouldn’t feel ashamed.
Gonna have to disagree with this. Not having a diagnosis gives people the false impression that ADHD is a state of being, a minor hindrance like having an “off day.” It makes it seem less distinct and thus taken less seriously. When that happens and someone seeks an accommodation at work or school they are much less likely to be taken seriously — which inhibits their ability to function in society.
Taking any prescription medication for a condition you do not have is fucking stupid and/or dangerous.
TLDR: Self-diagnosing is foolish and misinformation harms people that truly require equitable accommodations.
Truth. The whole “the worst that can happen” phrasing is such juvenile myopism; destigmatizing ADHD is a fantastic goal, but too many people crying wolf just undermines the legitimacy we’re actively working toward.
As a lifelong ADHD mutie (I prefer to flip my perspective on my own aspects, finding the ways they’re a superpower, instead), my challenges predated the diagnosis by nearly my entire childhood, and I didn’t even seek medical help until well into adulthood.
There is nothing novel about living with ADHD, and allowing it to be the next cool kink is borderline offensive to each and every one of us that battles like a muthafugga every single day.
If someone “thinks” they have it, gently suggest they speak to a professional. Normalizing things like this only trivializes the actual experience, and we owe it to each other to honor the struggle we all know too well. I’m all for proper diagnoses, but fuck those that (inadvertently?) see it as some coolness badge to collect.
Good news then. You can’t both be undiagnosed and taking prescriptions for your diagnosis.
Crisis averted.
According to Andrew Huberman, there is no one trait that can determine ADHD. It’s a lot of common traits that occur together.
That second tweet is a bit concerning, though. Let’s not forget that many ADHD meds are addicting to non-ADHD brains.
It does not compute for me that my medication is on a list of “highly addictive substances” in my country yet I actively have to set myself reminders to take it or I will just plain forget lmao
Is it that hard to understand that a brain with a structural impairment will respond to a chemical differently than a brain without that structural impairment?
It’d be easy to diagnose if we were a little more lax with our prescriptions.
Here, take this Ritalin. Did it make you hyper? Yeah, you’re normal. Did it make you fold laundry the same day you washed it? ADHD.
I take meds and I will never fold. Best I can do is actually doing the laundry.
