Scientific Research & Self-Development Activism
So this mysterious psychological ailment has been in the news for quite some time now. What are your takes? The definition of the problem is very sketchy in my opinion. For example, boys being overrepresented and getting all the attention, girls on the other hand overrepresent the ADD statistics, that's ADHD without the "H" - for hyperactivity.
Today people medicate the hell out of this issue, with amphetamine derivates such as Ritalin and Concerta. About 3-6% of children from the age of 3 to 17 are affected. But many of these people need a long term solution, is medication a long term solution? Do we diagnose people too lightly today? Could the problems these people are having be dealt with by reshaping how we school children? That is, f. example by the salman khan model, releasing more time for teachers to tend to those who need more help?
I'm writing a paper on this, and Shiz recommended me to make a post about it. Any other information on the subject would be helpful. Statistics with clear numbers would sort lots of things out. Where ever you go now, people just state percentual numbers, 3-6 or 2-7% etc. etc. Source evaluation is terrible.
Cheers.
Rob
Permalink Reply by Focking Original on November 25, 2011 at 12:22am You should watch my coming out video. I talk about how I got ADD at age 13-18.
http://ipowerproject.com/video/re-national-coming-out-day-challenge
As you can see, the problem is complicated, the solutions aren't easy (trauma care, social care, family care,..).
Medication is a quick but bad solution in my opinion.
Permalink Reply by Rob Myers on November 25, 2011 at 12:50am Thank you for sharing, I can not begin to understand what you've gone through, but it takes a lot of guts getting it out there. The environment you were in made you feel incapacitated, a horrible feeling.
I believe as you do, there has to be a way for society to open its minds and arms for people with learning disabilities, and to truly accept that people are different. Medication should only be used if said person really wants to focus on his/her studies or other priorities in life, and cannot do so without the level of concentration that these drugs may bring. Genetically we're incomplete people, we have to stop acting as we're perfect, as if such a thing even exists.
Permalink Reply by Kristoffer Liland on November 25, 2011 at 12:40am ADD or ADHD is an invention of society. They're blaming kids for society's faults. ADD and ADHD are results of elevated levels of chi/cosmic energy in the body. Learning to channel the chi can make powerful beings of these people :)
Permalink Reply by Rob Myers on November 25, 2011 at 12:56am mhm, I'm not buying the cosmic stuff, said energy might be channeled to do good though, that I agree with. Society is not blaming kids for having ADHD or ADD, it's only labelling a condition that stands out and defies the norm. Young boys who run around like energized chimpanzees in the classroom for years on end happen to be noticed, and you could call their behaviour strange in comparison with the other children who sit down, tidy and neat, studying. But those sitting down might also be suffering from inner turmoil, yet they do not act impulsively or in a hyperactive manner, this is what they call ADD, or ADD without impulsive behaviour (the terms have changed over time, causing confusion). ADHD = Attention Deficit _Hyperactivity_ Disorder. ADD = Attention Deficit Disorder.
Rob
Permalink Reply by Kristoffer Liland on November 25, 2011 at 2:00am Yes, that is true, however I believe this labeling, or the attempt at "curing" it with meds are the wrong ways to go about it. Channeling their energy in new ways is what society should be working harder to do, more creative expression for example. It is a result of changing tendencies in society and the need for a different educatory system we should focus on, if not we will see a more and more stronger growth of people with ADD and ADHD, especially in the USA.
Permalink Reply by Focking Original on November 25, 2011 at 11:56am If it works, it doesn't mean it's working the best way possible.
Ritalin has side-effects and isn't exactly good for your health.
Here is the wiki page for more info on Ritalin: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methylphenidate
Permalink Reply by Rob Myers on November 26, 2011 at 10:30pm There are many cases of people with your problems who cannot use methylphenidate, or they do so only replacing their current problems with sleeping issues, heartburn or other stomachproblems. Some report that their kids act like zombies, or that their personality has changed. Others can apparently go days without sleeping. And then we have the group whose lives works perfectly with the right dosage. It seems a little too sketchy for me, you say if it ain't broke, don't fix it. I say keep research going on all fronts, not only for a better drug with less side-effects, but what can be done with todays technology.
I see where you're coming from, and I really appreciate that you took your time to write, but your story is just your story. The term ADHD is so wide today, someone with the same diagnosis as you might live a totally different life, with minimal problems, yet noticable. You could call it a case of lying in between the "normal" and the extreme. (Forgive me if I in any way sound harsh or demeaning, not my intention at all).
The process to get a diagnosis seems to be different depending on which country you're from, the doctor at hand (it is still a very subjective diagnosis), creating problems in itself. - Thus the public's attitude towards the problem. In Sweden for example, there seems to be a correlation between lower schoolbudgets and the amount of people who want to get an investigation started. Because with a diagnosis, you're entitled to more help. With the wrong doctors at the wrong place, mistakes are bound to happen, some people will get a diagnosis easier than others, some people will have an easier time getting their hands on medication, and so on.
Permalink Reply by maikel de haar on November 25, 2011 at 5:24pm a good friend of mine has ADHD and he sais the medication just makes him braindead so he doesnt take it anymore. He rather smokes cannabis as medication wich he tells is far better then any chemical the doctors give him. If i didnt know him better i wouldnt even notice his (disorder)
Permalink Reply by LimE on November 26, 2011 at 2:11am I went to school with a boy 2-3 years ago who had ADHD. The guy was so silly... Everyone thought he was disgusting. We both shared an interest in computers so we became great friends. It was hard to me to be with him in a longer period of time. He didnt had a situational awareness, so he did many stupid inapropiate things. (f.eks he took a picture of a girl he liked while she didnt know, while she was watching a movie with spread legs). People tried to avoid him in school. He was terrible to work with, terrible to talk with, terrible to look at etc. But we still didnt tell him directly all this. We made fun of him once in awhile.
As i where friends to him, i learned that he couldnt do anything about it even if he wanted. Because he couldnt feel what was right and wrong. He didnt feel what other people got annoyed of. I dont know if the bad looks has something to do with his disorder.
I dont talk to him anymore as we arent on the school. I blocked him on most social services to prevent contact from him.
Even if you feel so bad for him, you wont be able to just behave yourself and dont get annoyed by him, disgusted of the way he was acting in society. I feel sorry for him, but i cant change anything. Trying to help him would badly hurt my own life... If you think all this is totally wrong of me, then you havent met him.
I feel sorry for these ADHD people... :'(
Permalink Reply by Rob Myers on November 26, 2011 at 10:42pm I did some reading on antipsychiatry, definately got its place in the paper I'm writing, thank you. What strikes you the most is that they say that various substances in our brains affect our cognetive function, and that people with ADHD/ADD have issues with these substances, yet when we diagnose people, we don't let them go through a physical to really check for biological proof. It's an investigation with various doctors and their subjective opinions. To me it doesn't sound very scientific at all. We have the right to question these things to shed new light on the issue, don't we? There were lots of information showing up relating to the movements in the 60's and 70's, but the consensus seemed to be that antipsychiatry today is dead.
I don't have any access to any scientific journals sadly. But I don't mind if you throw me a couple of links anyway? Might be worth paying for.
Cheers
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