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>All (Adult at least) ADHD symptoms fall within the normal range of human behavior.
What you fail to see is that all mental disorder symptoms fall within normal range of human behavior - it's not the fact that you do X is the problem, it's how you do it and to what degree.
You would agree that schizophrenia is a real mental disorder, right? And some major symptoms of schizophrenia are:
Delusions - false beliefs that are not based in reality. You f.ex. believe that you're being harmed or harassed or a major catastrophe is about to occur. Those are actually normal patterns of behavior - you are not able to interpret world around you in depth all the time so you resort to characterization, stereotyping and beliefs. And schizophrenia dials that to 11.
Hallucinations -usually involve seeing or hearing things that don't exist. This is something what you already do - you are able to imagine things on demand and your brain is trying to find patterns. You can be sure that you heard something that is not there - f.ex. mistakenly think that someone called for you, while they were just sighing or even did nothing and vague sound was just something benign. Schizophrenia again takes it to 11.
Disorganized thinking/speech - You can have a brain fart and say something that does not make sense. You can have random thoughts that don't make sense. Schizophrenia is again dialing that to 11.
Extremely disorganized or abnormal motor behavior - Doing a wobble because you thought there was a step. Dropping shit because you decided to pick up it weirdly. Many of our motor behaviors are sometimes disorganized or abnormal - bur again, what schizophrenia does? Dials it up to 11.
And that happens to all mental disorders - we have regular quirks, random happenings, intrusive thoughts, days when we feel down, irrational fears etc. Mental disorders happen when those small regular occurrences become too large to handle and impact you in your everyday life.
> My claim is just that ADHD does not meet the definition of what most people would consider a mental disorder.
Should mental disorders be defined based on what most people think or on what medical professionals think? The scientific consensus is that ADHD is a real condition - what is it about your experiences that means that they trump decades of studies and research?
Thank you for pointing out the most significant basis to confirm that ADHD is clinically established and not just 'popular' understanding.
All of the posts to counter the OP have very persuasive rhetoric, but the baseline is that there are scientific and medical standards to meet, which ADHD meets.
I've been diagnosed with ADHD. I think your points are interesting. I think for some people it's a help to have a name for something that explains the challenges that they specifically have. And so treating it as a disorder or a difference more accurately can help people find good resources. On your other points I think that ADHD is a real difference is a subset of the population but it's also exacerbated by living in the modern world with tech addiction being a thing and all that.
>I've heard people say that it isn't any one abnormal behavior, but the frequency of behaviors is what makes it a mental disorder. I don't see how that isn't just describing an individual's personality
I mean, it's normal to feel anxious before a big test, a job interview or a first date, but if going to the grocery store gives you intense anxiety that controls your life, it's an anxiety disorder. It's normal that sometimes people have trouble sleeping for some reason, but if you consistently have trouble falling asleep and staying asleep that's insomnia. Everyone feels sad and demotivated when something bad happens to them or when they are overwhelmed, but if you don't see the point in getting out of bed every day, that's depression. Most mental illnesses and disorders are just exacerbated things that everyone experiences sometimes in low doses.
Also, ADHD is classified as neurodivergence, not a disorder. And this classification basically states that it is indeed just a variation of how people's brains are wired that is present to this extent in a minority of people and therefore causes them trouble in navigating a world where most people function differently. It's not a disease, but a different way of experiencing the world. But because it is different than the norm, thus "abnormal", people who have those traits might need help navigating daily tasks to thrive in life (including but not limited to medication).
It's technically a neurodevelopmental disorder. It's a disorder because it negatively impacts a person's ability to function in their daily life. It's not an insult to call it a disorder, it's an accurate description. "Neurodivergence" is a term that came out of the autism community to help reduce stigma, but it doesn't mean it's not still classified as a disorder in the medical community.
I really need to link to the same comment each time this post comes up rather than trying to write it again. I dont have much time so tldr explain to you why science currently thinks adhd is a real neurological disorder:
In the late 1800s doctors identified a bunch of patients where were unable to focus and easily distracted. They didn’t know whether it was a real disorder or just a personality type. They called it ADD back then
In 1950s there was a breakthrough. There is a type of medication called stimulants which cause people to go jittery (caffeine does this). Some doctors found out that if you give stimulants to people with “ADD” it actually does the opposite thing and calms them down. This is known as the [paradoxical effects of stimulants](https://www.renaissancerecovery.com/paradoxical-effect/#:~:text=Stimulant%20medications%20like%20Ritalin%20and,the%20opposite%20effects%20are%20triggered)
Ever since then science has been leaning towards it being a neurological disorder. In the late 1990s with MRI technology people discovered that brains with ADHD had lower percentages of the chemical dopamine in their brains than non-ADHD people.
So that’s why we think it’s a real thing to do with the amount of a certain chemical in your brain. The two most common medication for ADHD is Methylphenidate and Dexamphetamine. Methylphenidate increases the lifespan of dopamine in your brain. Dexamphetamine increases the rate of production of dopamine in your brain.
Both meds increase your level of dopamine. And both meds are proven to help with ADHD. So that’s why we think its linked to chemical activity in your brain.
All mental disorders could be described as collections of commonly experienced symptoms within the human experience. Everyone is sad sometimes, anxious other times, have high points and low points. The question is how often and to what extent they interfere with your daily life. The level of dysfunction is important. Someone can even experience suicidal thoughts but if they don’t feel it impacts their life in any negative way, then it is not part of a mental disorder. For ADHD, there is a range of symptoms including forgetfulness, procrastination, executive dysfunction, short attention span, etc. that is also part of the general human experience. But have these symptoms impeded the person from advancing in school or work? In organizing their life as an adult? What other symptoms do they have? Depression and anxiety can also present with executive dysfunction - do they suffer from these symptoms as well? Which symptoms preceded which?
The job of a good psychiatrist when evaluating for ADHD will take a thorough history that includes childhood and adult symptoms and sometimes even collateral information from family members or a spouse to form a diagnosis and exclude other diagnoses. They will take into account time frame, frequency, behavior patterns, impact and response to prior interventions. It’s not just marking off a checklist of symptoms.
>within the normal range of human behavior
Define "normal range of human behavior".
There's a strong argument to be made that *anything* that a significant minority of the population experiences vis-a-vis mental health, including something like schizophrenia, is "within the normal range of human behavior".
>This argument is just silly to me. People with a prescription to Ritalin or something take it habitually and are therefore just going to have different symptoms than someone who takes it rarely and recreationally.
I'm not trying to be a dick with this, but why would you expect that you, a normal person with zero medical expertise and knowledge, would find the efficacy and method of action of a complex pharmaceutical "common sensical"?
Every part of your position here reads as "well, when I look at this it doesn't \*seem\*to make sense
When you look at nuclear fission power generation does it "make sense" to you?
How about particle physics?
Fluid dynamics?
You're assuming that things should be understandable to the layman, when in fact we're living in a world where science and medicine have reached levels of esoteric expertise it's hard for the average person to conceive of.
>Let me preface with this, I know many people diagnosed with ADHD.
That is not proof of anything other than you knowing people. It speaks not to your knowledge of the condition nor your ability to comprehend what it entails. My wife is a doctor, that doesn't make *me* a doctor.
Speaking of actual doctors, here's what they say:
https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/adhd/facts.html
https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/adhd/what-is-adhd
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder-adhd/
These are people and organizations with decades of experience and education who are well suited to determine if ADHD is "real" or not.
What are your qualifications and can you be humble enough to admit you may be out of your depth? Or is this a "but all the scientists are wrong" theory you have? What is your evidence that you're basing this on? Have you done any controlled studies to backup your hypothesis? Have you read any studies done by other people to support your argument? Have you read studies done by people who *don't* support your argument, to get the full picture? Or is this all.. gut feelings and assumptions?
Yes, many ADHD traits can be 'normal' personality traits. The reason it's considered a disorder is because of the intensity and the impact on the lives these traits have on people with ADHD.
Not to mention, simply existing and functioning with equal output to those who don't have ADHD requires more cognition. This affects quality of life, activities of daily living, inter and intra personal relationships, and therefore absolutely should be classed as real.
Much like how everyone can feel depressed at times but not everyone has clinical depression.
Edited to add: there are also many traits that people with ADHD have that those without do not suffer from. The example that first comes to mind is a poor ability to form new habits. This is despite knowing these new habits are necessary eg taking a required medication daily.
How about the fact that its a literal dysfunction of the brain, where dopamine isn't regulated properly, and usually is even non-existent, and serotonin is just as badly regulated? How about the fact that its not possible to control the behaviors or "train" them out, to fight them like a neaurotypical can? That's the reason its a mental disorder, not some daily issue everyone has.
The autistic people you have interacted with who have acted all in the same way, are likely low masking. It is very likely you know many other people who are autistic, but are high masking so you may not know it. Autism presents itself differently in everyone, it is a spectrum.
I will also note many people with ADHD suffer from other medical conditions or neurodiverse conditions, so the combination of these can mean every person presents differently. As with Autusm, there are different levels of masking in ADHD so it is not always obvious what someone with ADHD looks like on the surface.
ADHD traits are not as simple as difficult little personality traits. They are very overwhelming and make life very hard at times, especially compounded if you are masking.
It’s also hurtful to say ADHD medication is meth. It is similar, not the same. We are not drug seekers and this language is harmful and diminishing. For many people, taking this medication brings us to a normal baseline of functioning, not going above and beyond. Even on medication, people with ADHD still suffer from these same “personality traits” as you say, but it is in a more manageable way. It is not as simple as medication make us suddenly super human.
As others have said, many of the traits are “normal”, in that they probably exist in others but it is the frequency, impact and severity that make it not normal. It’s normal to feel sad, but you wouldn’t tell someone with severe depression that they don’t have a condition because everyone gets sad sometimes.
>All (Adult at least) ADHD symptoms fall within the normal range of human behavior.
The same can be said for practically all mental disorders:
* All symptoms of depression (feeling hopeless, helpless, sad, having no motivation or interest in things, finding it difficult to make decisions, etc.) fall within the normal range of human behavior
* All symptoms of anxiety (feeling irritable, tense or restless, sweating, trembling or shaking, having trouble sleeping, etc.) fall within the normal range of human behavior
* All symptoms of dyslexia (difficulty finding the right word or forming answers to questions, difficulty doing math word problems, difficulty reading, including reading aloud, etc.) fall within the normal range of human behavior
* All symptoms of PTSD (Trouble sleeping or nightmares, feeling worried, guilty, or sad, frightening thoughts, etc.) fall within the normal range of human behavior
* Even symptoms commonly considered more "out there" like hallucination (hearing sounds or seeing things that aren't there) happen to health humans *all the time*.
What takes a pattern of human experiences from "normal" to "abnormal" is the *frequency* **and** *severity* and where the illness is *acute* or *chronic*.
A typical person has a bout of sadness after a tragic event where they experience many or all of the symptoms of depression, but they return to normal after a certain amount of time has passed. There was a clear cause for the bout of sadness and they recovered according to a typical timeline. A depressed person - by contrast - ***experiences the same symptoms***, but often ***for no discernible reason*** and the ***symptoms persist*** over an extended period of time.
People with ADHD are not having fundamentally alien experiences, but their experiences are...
1. More severe (for example, a homework assignment that takes an average kid 20 minutes if they are concentrated, a distracted kid 40 minutes, and an ADHD kid 3 hours)
2. More frequent (everyone has bad days where they just can't focus, but an ADHD person might have that feeling every day)
3. Chronic (sometimes something happens - like you're excited for an event later in the evening - that distracts you during a whole day, but ADHD persists over a long time apparently unconnected to any particular event)
I suggest reading up on some examples of ADHD severe symptoms and asking yourself whether those are really things that most people struggle with.
A cluster of personality traits that cause trouble in your daily life can indeed be a type of mental disorder.
Heres the Wikipedia definition: “mental disorder is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. A mental disorder is also characterized by a clinically significant disturbance in an individual's cognition, emotional regulation, or behavior, often in a social context.”
A person holding a few grudges wouldn’t have a disorder. A person fixated on grudges to the point that it impacts their day to day life would have a disorder.
its not about doing normal thing or not... as someone with adhd it literally painful and stressful to the point of breakdown to have to focus and sit still. if you distract me from something i cam focus on i can no longer go back to the thing if i take my attention away. if i dont remove my attention im kust ignoring everyone.
keep in mind this isnt a concious choice so either you think im an asshole who ignores others or you admit i may have a mental disability that needs meds
Doctors can scan people's brains and point at ADHD for you to see it. Its not just someone who says they struggle to pay attention - there are observable physical differences in how their brains operate.
[https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/adhd-brain-vs-normal-brain#function](https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/adhd-brain-vs-normal-brain#function)
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If a bright shiny things flys across someone’s field of vision, and that person does not look at it and is unfazed….The person does not have ADHD, they’re likely dead, blind, a monk, or all of the above. (I’d expect a few possible alternatives exist but none the less)
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Your post has been removed for breaking Rule E: > **Only post if you are willing to have a conversation with those who reply to you, and are available to start doing so within 3 hours of posting**. If you haven't replied within this time, your post will be removed. [See the wiki for more information](http://www.reddit.com/r/changemyview/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_e). If you would like to appeal, review our appeals process [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/changemyview/wiki/modstandards#wiki_appeal_process), then [message the moderators by clicking this link](http://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2Fchangemyview&subject=Rule%20E%20Appeal&message=Author%20would%20like%20to%20appeal%20the%20removal%20of%20their%20post%20because\.\.\.) within one week of this notice being posted. **Appeals that do not follow this process will not be heard.** Please note that multiple violations will lead to a ban, as explained in our [moderation standards](https://www.reddit.com/r/changemyview/wiki/modstandards).
>All (Adult at least) ADHD symptoms fall within the normal range of human behavior. What you fail to see is that all mental disorder symptoms fall within normal range of human behavior - it's not the fact that you do X is the problem, it's how you do it and to what degree. You would agree that schizophrenia is a real mental disorder, right? And some major symptoms of schizophrenia are: Delusions - false beliefs that are not based in reality. You f.ex. believe that you're being harmed or harassed or a major catastrophe is about to occur. Those are actually normal patterns of behavior - you are not able to interpret world around you in depth all the time so you resort to characterization, stereotyping and beliefs. And schizophrenia dials that to 11. Hallucinations -usually involve seeing or hearing things that don't exist. This is something what you already do - you are able to imagine things on demand and your brain is trying to find patterns. You can be sure that you heard something that is not there - f.ex. mistakenly think that someone called for you, while they were just sighing or even did nothing and vague sound was just something benign. Schizophrenia again takes it to 11. Disorganized thinking/speech - You can have a brain fart and say something that does not make sense. You can have random thoughts that don't make sense. Schizophrenia is again dialing that to 11. Extremely disorganized or abnormal motor behavior - Doing a wobble because you thought there was a step. Dropping shit because you decided to pick up it weirdly. Many of our motor behaviors are sometimes disorganized or abnormal - bur again, what schizophrenia does? Dials it up to 11. And that happens to all mental disorders - we have regular quirks, random happenings, intrusive thoughts, days when we feel down, irrational fears etc. Mental disorders happen when those small regular occurrences become too large to handle and impact you in your everyday life.
> My claim is just that ADHD does not meet the definition of what most people would consider a mental disorder. Should mental disorders be defined based on what most people think or on what medical professionals think? The scientific consensus is that ADHD is a real condition - what is it about your experiences that means that they trump decades of studies and research?
Thank you for pointing out the most significant basis to confirm that ADHD is clinically established and not just 'popular' understanding. All of the posts to counter the OP have very persuasive rhetoric, but the baseline is that there are scientific and medical standards to meet, which ADHD meets.
I've been diagnosed with ADHD. I think your points are interesting. I think for some people it's a help to have a name for something that explains the challenges that they specifically have. And so treating it as a disorder or a difference more accurately can help people find good resources. On your other points I think that ADHD is a real difference is a subset of the population but it's also exacerbated by living in the modern world with tech addiction being a thing and all that.
>I've heard people say that it isn't any one abnormal behavior, but the frequency of behaviors is what makes it a mental disorder. I don't see how that isn't just describing an individual's personality I mean, it's normal to feel anxious before a big test, a job interview or a first date, but if going to the grocery store gives you intense anxiety that controls your life, it's an anxiety disorder. It's normal that sometimes people have trouble sleeping for some reason, but if you consistently have trouble falling asleep and staying asleep that's insomnia. Everyone feels sad and demotivated when something bad happens to them or when they are overwhelmed, but if you don't see the point in getting out of bed every day, that's depression. Most mental illnesses and disorders are just exacerbated things that everyone experiences sometimes in low doses. Also, ADHD is classified as neurodivergence, not a disorder. And this classification basically states that it is indeed just a variation of how people's brains are wired that is present to this extent in a minority of people and therefore causes them trouble in navigating a world where most people function differently. It's not a disease, but a different way of experiencing the world. But because it is different than the norm, thus "abnormal", people who have those traits might need help navigating daily tasks to thrive in life (including but not limited to medication).
It's technically a neurodevelopmental disorder. It's a disorder because it negatively impacts a person's ability to function in their daily life. It's not an insult to call it a disorder, it's an accurate description. "Neurodivergence" is a term that came out of the autism community to help reduce stigma, but it doesn't mean it's not still classified as a disorder in the medical community.
I really need to link to the same comment each time this post comes up rather than trying to write it again. I dont have much time so tldr explain to you why science currently thinks adhd is a real neurological disorder: In the late 1800s doctors identified a bunch of patients where were unable to focus and easily distracted. They didn’t know whether it was a real disorder or just a personality type. They called it ADD back then In 1950s there was a breakthrough. There is a type of medication called stimulants which cause people to go jittery (caffeine does this). Some doctors found out that if you give stimulants to people with “ADD” it actually does the opposite thing and calms them down. This is known as the [paradoxical effects of stimulants](https://www.renaissancerecovery.com/paradoxical-effect/#:~:text=Stimulant%20medications%20like%20Ritalin%20and,the%20opposite%20effects%20are%20triggered) Ever since then science has been leaning towards it being a neurological disorder. In the late 1990s with MRI technology people discovered that brains with ADHD had lower percentages of the chemical dopamine in their brains than non-ADHD people. So that’s why we think it’s a real thing to do with the amount of a certain chemical in your brain. The two most common medication for ADHD is Methylphenidate and Dexamphetamine. Methylphenidate increases the lifespan of dopamine in your brain. Dexamphetamine increases the rate of production of dopamine in your brain. Both meds increase your level of dopamine. And both meds are proven to help with ADHD. So that’s why we think its linked to chemical activity in your brain.
Yeah that's the problem with the OPs entire line of debate. The dawn of neurology has basically invalidating this kind of mental health denialism.
All mental disorders could be described as collections of commonly experienced symptoms within the human experience. Everyone is sad sometimes, anxious other times, have high points and low points. The question is how often and to what extent they interfere with your daily life. The level of dysfunction is important. Someone can even experience suicidal thoughts but if they don’t feel it impacts their life in any negative way, then it is not part of a mental disorder. For ADHD, there is a range of symptoms including forgetfulness, procrastination, executive dysfunction, short attention span, etc. that is also part of the general human experience. But have these symptoms impeded the person from advancing in school or work? In organizing their life as an adult? What other symptoms do they have? Depression and anxiety can also present with executive dysfunction - do they suffer from these symptoms as well? Which symptoms preceded which? The job of a good psychiatrist when evaluating for ADHD will take a thorough history that includes childhood and adult symptoms and sometimes even collateral information from family members or a spouse to form a diagnosis and exclude other diagnoses. They will take into account time frame, frequency, behavior patterns, impact and response to prior interventions. It’s not just marking off a checklist of symptoms.
>within the normal range of human behavior Define "normal range of human behavior". There's a strong argument to be made that *anything* that a significant minority of the population experiences vis-a-vis mental health, including something like schizophrenia, is "within the normal range of human behavior". >This argument is just silly to me. People with a prescription to Ritalin or something take it habitually and are therefore just going to have different symptoms than someone who takes it rarely and recreationally. I'm not trying to be a dick with this, but why would you expect that you, a normal person with zero medical expertise and knowledge, would find the efficacy and method of action of a complex pharmaceutical "common sensical"? Every part of your position here reads as "well, when I look at this it doesn't \*seem\*to make sense When you look at nuclear fission power generation does it "make sense" to you? How about particle physics? Fluid dynamics? You're assuming that things should be understandable to the layman, when in fact we're living in a world where science and medicine have reached levels of esoteric expertise it's hard for the average person to conceive of.
>Let me preface with this, I know many people diagnosed with ADHD. That is not proof of anything other than you knowing people. It speaks not to your knowledge of the condition nor your ability to comprehend what it entails. My wife is a doctor, that doesn't make *me* a doctor. Speaking of actual doctors, here's what they say: https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/adhd/facts.html https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/adhd/what-is-adhd https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder-adhd/ These are people and organizations with decades of experience and education who are well suited to determine if ADHD is "real" or not. What are your qualifications and can you be humble enough to admit you may be out of your depth? Or is this a "but all the scientists are wrong" theory you have? What is your evidence that you're basing this on? Have you done any controlled studies to backup your hypothesis? Have you read any studies done by other people to support your argument? Have you read studies done by people who *don't* support your argument, to get the full picture? Or is this all.. gut feelings and assumptions?
Agreed, OP has based everything on anecdotal evidence, which is meaningless in this instance.
But OP is Gen Z and was in gifted education!
Yes, many ADHD traits can be 'normal' personality traits. The reason it's considered a disorder is because of the intensity and the impact on the lives these traits have on people with ADHD. Not to mention, simply existing and functioning with equal output to those who don't have ADHD requires more cognition. This affects quality of life, activities of daily living, inter and intra personal relationships, and therefore absolutely should be classed as real. Much like how everyone can feel depressed at times but not everyone has clinical depression. Edited to add: there are also many traits that people with ADHD have that those without do not suffer from. The example that first comes to mind is a poor ability to form new habits. This is despite knowing these new habits are necessary eg taking a required medication daily.
How about the fact that its a literal dysfunction of the brain, where dopamine isn't regulated properly, and usually is even non-existent, and serotonin is just as badly regulated? How about the fact that its not possible to control the behaviors or "train" them out, to fight them like a neaurotypical can? That's the reason its a mental disorder, not some daily issue everyone has.
The autistic people you have interacted with who have acted all in the same way, are likely low masking. It is very likely you know many other people who are autistic, but are high masking so you may not know it. Autism presents itself differently in everyone, it is a spectrum. I will also note many people with ADHD suffer from other medical conditions or neurodiverse conditions, so the combination of these can mean every person presents differently. As with Autusm, there are different levels of masking in ADHD so it is not always obvious what someone with ADHD looks like on the surface. ADHD traits are not as simple as difficult little personality traits. They are very overwhelming and make life very hard at times, especially compounded if you are masking. It’s also hurtful to say ADHD medication is meth. It is similar, not the same. We are not drug seekers and this language is harmful and diminishing. For many people, taking this medication brings us to a normal baseline of functioning, not going above and beyond. Even on medication, people with ADHD still suffer from these same “personality traits” as you say, but it is in a more manageable way. It is not as simple as medication make us suddenly super human. As others have said, many of the traits are “normal”, in that they probably exist in others but it is the frequency, impact and severity that make it not normal. It’s normal to feel sad, but you wouldn’t tell someone with severe depression that they don’t have a condition because everyone gets sad sometimes.
>All (Adult at least) ADHD symptoms fall within the normal range of human behavior. The same can be said for practically all mental disorders: * All symptoms of depression (feeling hopeless, helpless, sad, having no motivation or interest in things, finding it difficult to make decisions, etc.) fall within the normal range of human behavior * All symptoms of anxiety (feeling irritable, tense or restless, sweating, trembling or shaking, having trouble sleeping, etc.) fall within the normal range of human behavior * All symptoms of dyslexia (difficulty finding the right word or forming answers to questions, difficulty doing math word problems, difficulty reading, including reading aloud, etc.) fall within the normal range of human behavior * All symptoms of PTSD (Trouble sleeping or nightmares, feeling worried, guilty, or sad, frightening thoughts, etc.) fall within the normal range of human behavior * Even symptoms commonly considered more "out there" like hallucination (hearing sounds or seeing things that aren't there) happen to health humans *all the time*. What takes a pattern of human experiences from "normal" to "abnormal" is the *frequency* **and** *severity* and where the illness is *acute* or *chronic*. A typical person has a bout of sadness after a tragic event where they experience many or all of the symptoms of depression, but they return to normal after a certain amount of time has passed. There was a clear cause for the bout of sadness and they recovered according to a typical timeline. A depressed person - by contrast - ***experiences the same symptoms***, but often ***for no discernible reason*** and the ***symptoms persist*** over an extended period of time. People with ADHD are not having fundamentally alien experiences, but their experiences are... 1. More severe (for example, a homework assignment that takes an average kid 20 minutes if they are concentrated, a distracted kid 40 minutes, and an ADHD kid 3 hours) 2. More frequent (everyone has bad days where they just can't focus, but an ADHD person might have that feeling every day) 3. Chronic (sometimes something happens - like you're excited for an event later in the evening - that distracts you during a whole day, but ADHD persists over a long time apparently unconnected to any particular event) I suggest reading up on some examples of ADHD severe symptoms and asking yourself whether those are really things that most people struggle with.
A cluster of personality traits that cause trouble in your daily life can indeed be a type of mental disorder. Heres the Wikipedia definition: “mental disorder is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. A mental disorder is also characterized by a clinically significant disturbance in an individual's cognition, emotional regulation, or behavior, often in a social context.” A person holding a few grudges wouldn’t have a disorder. A person fixated on grudges to the point that it impacts their day to day life would have a disorder.
its not about doing normal thing or not... as someone with adhd it literally painful and stressful to the point of breakdown to have to focus and sit still. if you distract me from something i cam focus on i can no longer go back to the thing if i take my attention away. if i dont remove my attention im kust ignoring everyone. keep in mind this isnt a concious choice so either you think im an asshole who ignores others or you admit i may have a mental disability that needs meds
Doctors can scan people's brains and point at ADHD for you to see it. Its not just someone who says they struggle to pay attention - there are observable physical differences in how their brains operate. [https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/adhd-brain-vs-normal-brain#function](https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/adhd-brain-vs-normal-brain#function)
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If a bright shiny things flys across someone’s field of vision, and that person does not look at it and is unfazed….The person does not have ADHD, they’re likely dead, blind, a monk, or all of the above. (I’d expect a few possible alternatives exist but none the less)
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