Post by Amtram on Oct 12, 2014 12:27:08 GMT -5
I know some people don't care. I know that some people actually like talking about how ADHD is somehow beneficial (even though there's zero evidence to support it.) I hate it, hate it, hate it. Here's why. . .
1. Even if it is some day discovered that there is a benefit of one kind or another that goes along with the disorder, the common experience is that whatever gifts we might have as individuals, the ADHD makes it nearly impossible to actually put them to use. Most of us who have high intelligence or creative skills or mechanical aptitudes or whatever are impeded from success by our distractability, hyperfocus that makes us ignore mistakes when they are correctable, and tendency to give up on things before they're finished.
2. Giving me a list of famous people who succeeded despite their ADHD doesn't inspire me - it makes me feel like even more of a failure because they met goals I can never attain myself.
3. Gifters like to blame society, ignoring the fact that ADHD has existed forever, and exists today in a broad range of different societies. Researchers have found ADHD in nomadic tribes, agrarian societies, the poor, the wealthy, the primitive, and the highly educated. Clear evidence exists that it transcends societal structure. Plus, blaming it on something we have no ability to change simply adds hopelessness.
4. Gifters usually seem to be people who aren't actually impaired by their ADHD. They will tell you that since they don't need medications, that's proof that medications aren't necessary. They deny that ADHD is a spectrum disorder. Some people have more symptoms than others. Some people have more severe symptoms than others. They have an "If I can do it, anyone can!" attitude that's reminiscent of weight-loss commercials, where the 29 year old who lost 20 pounds is saying that to the 50 year old who needs to lose 80. If you've struggled with the guilt and failure caused by the stupid stuff your ADHD has made you do, that you've tried over and over to change without success, a Gifter telling you that you just need to try harder is adding insult to injury.
5. As a corollary to that, they ignore the fact (supported, again, by extensive research) that people with untreated ADHD abuse substances like cigarettes, alcohol, and recreational drugs at much higher rates than the general public - while, in contrast, people who are taking medications for ADHD do these same things at significantly lower rates than the general population. We may not know how or why the medications work, but if they result in an improved quality of life, then laying guilt upon people who take them is needlessly cruel.
None of this is to say that we need to feel crushed and helpless by our ADHD. We can all find our own gifts, set our own goals, decide on whatever treatments work best for us, and not feel guilty if one of those turns out to be a prescription. But these need to be our own, because we are each unique individuals. We don't have anything in common with everyone else with ADHD except our symptoms, so we don't need to be compared with other people with ADHD for any reasons other than that.
The only person you need to compare yourself with today is the person you were yesterday. You're not a failure for not living up to a standard set by someone else. But you are a success if you meet or exceed the ones you made for yourself.
1. Even if it is some day discovered that there is a benefit of one kind or another that goes along with the disorder, the common experience is that whatever gifts we might have as individuals, the ADHD makes it nearly impossible to actually put them to use. Most of us who have high intelligence or creative skills or mechanical aptitudes or whatever are impeded from success by our distractability, hyperfocus that makes us ignore mistakes when they are correctable, and tendency to give up on things before they're finished.
2. Giving me a list of famous people who succeeded despite their ADHD doesn't inspire me - it makes me feel like even more of a failure because they met goals I can never attain myself.
3. Gifters like to blame society, ignoring the fact that ADHD has existed forever, and exists today in a broad range of different societies. Researchers have found ADHD in nomadic tribes, agrarian societies, the poor, the wealthy, the primitive, and the highly educated. Clear evidence exists that it transcends societal structure. Plus, blaming it on something we have no ability to change simply adds hopelessness.
4. Gifters usually seem to be people who aren't actually impaired by their ADHD. They will tell you that since they don't need medications, that's proof that medications aren't necessary. They deny that ADHD is a spectrum disorder. Some people have more symptoms than others. Some people have more severe symptoms than others. They have an "If I can do it, anyone can!" attitude that's reminiscent of weight-loss commercials, where the 29 year old who lost 20 pounds is saying that to the 50 year old who needs to lose 80. If you've struggled with the guilt and failure caused by the stupid stuff your ADHD has made you do, that you've tried over and over to change without success, a Gifter telling you that you just need to try harder is adding insult to injury.
5. As a corollary to that, they ignore the fact (supported, again, by extensive research) that people with untreated ADHD abuse substances like cigarettes, alcohol, and recreational drugs at much higher rates than the general public - while, in contrast, people who are taking medications for ADHD do these same things at significantly lower rates than the general population. We may not know how or why the medications work, but if they result in an improved quality of life, then laying guilt upon people who take them is needlessly cruel.
None of this is to say that we need to feel crushed and helpless by our ADHD. We can all find our own gifts, set our own goals, decide on whatever treatments work best for us, and not feel guilty if one of those turns out to be a prescription. But these need to be our own, because we are each unique individuals. We don't have anything in common with everyone else with ADHD except our symptoms, so we don't need to be compared with other people with ADHD for any reasons other than that.
The only person you need to compare yourself with today is the person you were yesterday. You're not a failure for not living up to a standard set by someone else. But you are a success if you meet or exceed the ones you made for yourself.