Do you believe that ADHD is even an illness?

Answer 1

No...I just think it's a way for psychiatrists and prescription drug companies to make easy money. It's actually quite obvious...get your kid or yourself to be physically active and that includes a balanced diet!

Answer 2

There are 2 camps in this discussion, that I've discovered.

One is that it IS a mental illness. The other thinks that it all because the person in question is right-brained. Either way its about the brain chemistry that creates the symptoms.

I am in the process of getting a personal diagnosis. My son has one already. I don't care which label you put on it. It is a very real set of symptoms that affect you in very real ways. I personally object tothe terms disorder and illness. I have a relatively unique and visual way of looking at this world. It is not taken well in a very logical "cause and effect" world. I see the big picture faster than the pieces that make it up. But that doesn't mean I'm sick or disabled. It meansI'm different. and the SYSTEM in't made for my kind. Go to work, get paid and further the system into which you were born. What happens when i don't fit into the tight fitting box of YOUR reality?

Answer 3

Oh yes ...very much so.

It effects children and adults. The diagnosis is better defined today than it has been in the past - there was a lot of confusion over just what it was for quite some time, but like many other mental disorders it has come be be clearly recognized and is considered as one of the core among several common childhood disorders, including autism and retardation.

Believe me... it's for real.

If you're thinking that it's just the result of poor parenting... you are several decades behind the people in the know. Poor parenting was originally a commonly thought reason for the disorder when in fact it was simply that the condition was easier to see in children who were also neglected. Over time it was found that children who were affected by the disorder but were receiving exceptional parental care were, in fact, often slipping through the cracks of the diagnostic process... they were left undiagnosed or were misdiagnosed because their parents were so good at working with them, (and, in addition, there were plenty of cases of parental denial.)

Service to ADD and ADHD kids has been among the better success stories of the mental health delivery system and the school systems as a result of early diagnosis due to increased public and professional awareness .... The same is becoming true of the Autistic spectrum disorders, a disabling condition which is currently on the rise in almost epidemic proportions.

If you have young children or are in contact with parents of young children, being aware and speaking out for early recognition of these common problems is a real gift that you can contribute to a child in need. There are plenty of sites on ADD/ADHD, Autism and other childhood disorders. You might do a little research. It's interesting to learn about it and it's good to know for the sake of our kids.

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Answer 4

It's not an illness. It's a disorder which is entirely different and doesn't always require medication. Infact, there's a very believable argument that medicating young children with ADHD is dangerous. I think it's actually much more rare than diagnosed. So for a lot of people, no it's not even a disorder.

Answer 5

It's a disorder (hence, the last D). I was diagnosed with it as an adult. For reasons I could not explain I was scatterbrained, frustrated, crippled by insomnia, then sometimes aggressive.
After a battery of test and assessments, this is what a team of three doctors came up with. Looking back over my life then, I realized that it had always been affecting me somehow. While it can be tough to pin down exactly which medications should be used, I am a strong believer that it is real, because it happened to me.

Answer 6

Probably, but it is over done! Students that can't concentrate are now told by their teacher that should be tested for adhd. My son's 1st grade teacher told me that and I took him to the doctor. I did not notice anything wrong with him, he is my 3rd child but, she is the teacher! He asked me a few questions and did some test and told me to stop worrying and my son did not have adhd. I told his teacher this and she told me that I should try another doctor! After a little investigating I found that out of 28 students in her class 18 were on medication for adhd. You see it is easier for her to do her job if the kids are drugged. I demanded that my son be pulled from her class as did other parents. That was her 1st and last year at our school.

Answer 7

i've wondered if i had it but then i told myself that it's just an excuse. those people who "have" ADHD can still focus on anything they enjoy doing. that should directly imply that they don't like to focus during boring stuff. before i couldn't read, it sucked. i would fall asleep, think about sex, fantasies, what ill do tomorrow. until i read a book i liked, then more and more. even now, i can do anything i like not lose focus. i am engaged in classes i enjoy but i move every 15 seconds in classes i dislike. its not ADHD. plus, those people can watch tv just normally.

i am far from a medical personnel but i would question if it had to do with a lack of self discipline. humans are known to look for an easy way out of everything rather than admitting a fault that will require change.

Answer 8

Pharmaceutical companies and powerful interest groups bankrolled by these companies would have us believe that it is.

Read the book "Selling Sickness" by Moynihan and Cassels. It should be available in your local library. It has a chapter dealing with ADHD.

Answer 9

I dont know if it would be considered an illness but alot of people suffer from it. All the people that I have known to have it including my husband always have it and have had it from childhood. My husband used to take medicine for it when he was younger and I did not know him but now you can tell he has it... he has to always be doing something and if he is exhausted he is still moving his legs, biting his nails- it has to be something that has to do with your nervous system/ Maybe it can be classified as an illness but I dont think it is because of the fact that it is not something you eventually get...you've always had it

Answer 10

I know a friend who has it and he takes the medications and stuff but I don't find him any different from those without it. Maybe cos of the medications but I asked him how and when he was diagnosed and it sounds like almost anyone can be diagnosed with it or maybe its just me. Or it could be that many of us already have it and just don't know it! Or maybe its just the normal way to be. Who can say. I am not sure if it has any biological reason behind it, in terms of any chemical imbalance in a person or what. So, yeah. I doubt it.

Answer 11

A physiological illness that can be treated with the right diet and exercise.. And quite possibly alot of counseling. But people get to use drugs prescribed to them to avoid the real issues.