Why is ADHD Considered a Disorder?

Why is ADHD Considered a Disorder?
In this commentary, I lay out the criteria developed by Jerome Wakefield for defining a mental disorder as a disorder. It is based on his concept that disorders are harmful dysfunctions. So two criteria must be met for something to be a mental disorder: (1) there must be compelling evidence that there is a dysfunction in a mental mechanism universal to humans, and (2) this dysfunction us of a sufficient severity to cause harm to the individual, suc as through increase mortality risk, increased risk for morbidity, or increased risk for impairment in major life activity domains. ADHD handily meets Wakefield’s definition of a harmful dysfunction and so is a disorder.
References
Wakefield, J. C. The concept of mental disorder: Diagnostic implications of the harmful dysfunction analysis. World Psychiatry, 2007, 6(3), 149-156.
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti...
Wakefield, J. C. The concept of a mental disorder: On the boundary between biological facts and social values. American Psychologist, 1992, 47(3), 373-388.
psycnet.apa.org/record/1992-2...
Wakefield, J. C. (1992). Disorder as harmful dysfunction: A conceptual critique of DSM-III-R's definition of mental disorder. Psychological Review, 99(2), 232-247.
doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.99....
Wakefield, J. C. (1999). Evolutionary versus prototype analyses of the concept of disorder. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 108(3), 374-399. doi.org/10.1037/0021-843X.108...

[@victorrivas2350]

Being newly diagnosed myself at the age of 38, this past summer, I wonder how much it set me back most of my educational life.

[@pedrogorilla483]

Same here (33 though). So many opportunities I missed and relationships I blew up. At least we’re aware of our limitations and diagnosed now. Better late than never 👍

[@jonathanalpart7812]

A lot.

[@heyscot]

@@hyperadapted ADHD wasn't a thing when I was growing up. I just got diagnosed at 52 and I feel the act of looking at the cost of ADHD on my life is a somewhat worthless use of my time. Looking back at how it impacted me and how it explains what happened is important, but now that I know the name of the monster, I feel so much gratitude. I don't know everything about how I can move on and be more productive, but I'm at least finally headed in the right direction. We are lucky, all of us, and we must take what we have been given and make the absolute best of it.

[@f.schmid468]

Imagine you are your 55 year old self and you are looking back on ypur Life. Really get into this phantasy and then imagine you where transfered into your 38 year old self and given the chance to make the best out of the next 17 years❤

[@justinsousa14]

Also diagnosed this past spring at age 48, and same curiosity about missed educational opportunities! All that energy spent fighting myself and ultimately failing to do homework but extremely fortunate to progress by acing exams :D

[@Indiekid-1976]

I was only diagnosed this year aged 47. I think that because people with ADHD are more likely to have family with similar traits and even friends with similar traits, they live in something of an echo chamber, these behaviours are normalised within these social groups to some extent. I have come to realise that many of the friends I have had over the years have ADHD, they point out how I am just like them and they are fine… then I point out all the ways it has affected their/our lives. Many are a bit shell shocked to realise they have had this all their lives…

[@Guidus125]

DSM diagnoses I've received throughout my life include depression, PTSD, anxiety and ADHD. Out of all of those, my experience has been that ADHD is the least understood by the general public. I even know many doctors and psychologists who simply don't think of ADHD as having the validity that other mental health diagnoses have, and some just flatout deny ADHD as a concept. Growing up I completely internalized that type of skepticism, and despite being diagnosed as a young kid I didn't actually get ADHD-related treatment and therapy until I was in my mid twenties. I think my life in high school and college wouldve been so much easier if I had taken my own ADHD seriously at a younger age. It's for that reason that it's important to actively fight for recognition of ADHD as a concept/diagnosis. Fortunately, things are definitely improving nowadays.

[@DannyD-lr5yg]

Honestly, I feel like my untreated (until 30) ADHD is what primarily CAUSED my PTSD 😅😖😒

[@Not.a.bird.Person]

Please answer this honestly : what is more likely, that you (a non-expert trying to validate their own preconceived notions about their condition) are right or that a doctor who disagrees with you is just trying to do their job to the best of their abilities up to and including trying to parse through real and bogus diagnosis? I find the notion quite questionable that someone could accurately self-diagnose like this, especially for psychological/psychiatric conditions which would require quite a lot of self-awareness to notice. There are also valid reasons to doubt ADHD is a valid disorder. That doesn't mean there is nothing there for you to explore with a professional, but just because you want a specific diagnosis doesn't mean it is the one that is there. A professional's duty is not to tell you what you want to hear.

[@DannyD-lr5yg]

@@Not.a.bird.Person It's....odd that you're saying all this beneath a video of one of the foremost experts in this disorder, explaining why it's a disorder. You're implying @Giudus125 is disregarding the input of professionals....yet listening to the input of professionals is exactly what @Giudus125 IS doing here.

[@Not.a.bird.Person]

@@DannyD-lr5yg The fact that people can go to different ''experts'' in psychology and psychiatry and come with complete different results and complete different diagnosis and that some believe that the diagnosis of others are bogus should tell you a great deal about the legitimacy of calling someone the ''foremost expert'' on such a diagnosis with broad dispute. My main point wasn't that he was a non-expert when mentionning the ''non-expert'' part or even to imply there might be such a thing as an expert in this context, it was to show the confirmation bias at play by referring to the fact that he is not an expert at what he believes he needs to listen to while also allowing himself to judge that expertise. A better phrasing would've been ''self-admitted non-expert'', because I personnally believe most ''expertise'' in psychology to be pseudoscience to begin with.

[@DannyD-lr5yg]

@@Not.a.bird.Person ….are you talking about Dr Russell Barkley? Cause that’s who I was calling an expert. Because he is. He has studied ADHD for nearly 50 years. It’s a neurodevelopmental delay and Dr Barkley has studied it using things like brain scans and the scientific method. So why are you making this about psychiatry/psychology?

[@superclonge8429]

Should've taken my mother's advice to see a doctor when I was 18 but resisted thinking I could tackle my problems alone not knowing it was ADHD. Boy was that an incredibly stupid decision because things got a lot worse from there! Had severe ADHD, chronically sleep deprived since early childhood, always dehydrated, being the youngest in pretty much all my classes, shoved into 3 tutoring classes on different occasions against my will, hung around with very silly yet fun people in high school yet still persevered and graduated albeit with a very low score because I did virtually ZERO homework. Did physics, literature, mathematics, psychology and informatics. I got there because of my potential, my grades and with the help of my older brother who is far more academically decorated and experienced than myself. Elementary school, or primary school as it is known outside of the US, was a breeze. Got put in a program for the above average kids in 4th grade. Had numerous good to great scores in the first 3-4 years of high school and then jumped off a huge cliff on the last year where I was expected to be on top of my game and be really organized...I also bought a Playstation 4 that year hahaha that was the worst time to get it. As I am typing out this comment, I currently have no job and no formal education. No government handouts. Absolutely nothing. Currently living with parents and my brother whilst being very aware that I am being a freeloader. I absolutely hate it. Walked out of college without any notice and scared beyond belief to go back due to guilt and shame. I also have anxiety and extremely likely to have OCD. Not interested in finding a job because of my disorder(s). ADHD for me is best described as a thief of joy, fulfillment and potential if left untreated. A thief of the highest caliber. A life destructive force for the unaware. When I was diagnosed with ADHD by my psychiatrist, I didn't know who you were Dr. Barkley, nor was I able to articulate how my brain works to other people. After watching many of your videos on ADHD, you've described how I function perfectly to the point where I found it amusing and fascinating. I am now doing the necessary bloodwork and evaluations so that I can work with my psychiatrist on the medications I can take and at what doses are appropriate. Your work is absolutely necessary. Thanks a trillion. Much love.

[@Not.a.bird.Person]

This might be hard to hear, but I hope this finds you well and that you take it with the good will I am hoping to convey out of this : It sounds a lot like you are trying to self-diagnose in order to come to an ad hoc justification for your behavior as opposed to finding solutions to function in the outside world and it sounds like your circle is enabling you, psychiatrist included. I also doubt receiving medications will help with the underlying problem of what is likely a lack of socialization from too much indoor time and a lack of opportunities to socialize further from a lack of job or educational context to meet people. The issue with choosing neither option is you deprive yourself of the world and the longer you wait to reintegrate the harder it gets because of lost social faculties over time and those lost faculties end up looking a lot like behavioral disorders to people who haven't experienced prolonged isolation. Without trying to diagnose or play armchair psychologist here, I think you just need a goal of some sort, one that gets you outside and one that is strong/good enough for you to socialize or progress towards something you think is good despite the effects of prolonged isolation and rather than being exposed to it further. Essentially, touch grass is what I am saying and do so with intent. I hope I have not read too much into this, but this is what I gathered from reading your comment. If you truly believe it doesn't apply, feel free to ignore this. The reason I am writing to tell you this is I've been somewhat in a similar situation myself and managed to get out of it by just commiting to a goal and it forced me to go out of my comfort zone and helped me a lot in coming out of toxic mental feedback loops. The harsh truth that I gathered from my experience was that most psychologists/psychiatrists will not help you coming out of toxic feedback loops, some might but most won't. I have personnally been in contact with 4 different psychologists/psychiatrists, none of them helped and some even proposed what I would consider to be egregious solutions with the potential to ruin people's lives in the most obvious manners possible. Depending on where you live, be extremely cautious of the ''mental health'' fields, you might end up with diagnoses for 4 different things without any solution in sight because ''professionals'' have a vested interest in you coming back as their clients. It only takes a bit of bad luck to be on the ''shit I have had no new clients for the past 2 months'' list and considering the psychology field is over saturated in most countries, the list of ''professionals'' who will have such a list has been growing for decades. ADHD is an easy scapegoat to use in these cases because it's so vague as to apply to most people with a bit of issues concentrating during hard times. People are also easily prone to accept the diagnosis and in some cases in active search for it for ad hoc justifications. Good luck.

[@j827]

I saw a doctor when I was 20 due to depression all the way from childhood. They will likely just hand you a bunch of anti depressants and not dig for the root cause of the problem (this happened to me). It didn't occur to me that it was ADHD until age 27 after 3-4 years of therapy, and things make sense now that i have my diagnosis. Doctors are either too stretched thin or not equipped to pick up on these things.

[@j827]

​@Not.a.bird.Person what did you hope to gain with such an out of touch response?

[@ashleygerten126]

I am almost the exact same case as who you replied to, but I agree. I also tried to retroactively diagnose myself to feel better about social and academic failure. I could have had more support, yes, and no child should be put into the world without any guidance at all, but I did continue the later failure as an adult on my own. There were many times I could have turned around but the entropy was too much for me and like you said, I had been isolated and without any skills to stop it. I know most will see this as a hate comment but I’m not a psychology denier or anything, I’m just determined to learn what happened to me. Today, I can do the things I failed to do before. Having children gave me the huge motivation to get my act together. Without that shift, I may have been running to the psychiatrist for rxs as well. But it’s hard to label myself as Poor Defective Woman when I managed to change it with motivation. People have different tendencies, skillsets, and goals. Some have mental barriers they need to get around. But this black and white diagnosing annoys me. My life was no better on Adderall and Ritalin for those few years. Get all the info you feel you need and make your own decision. Not one psychiatrist who benefits.

[@johndoe4202]

Hello Dr. After years of struggling at university I got diagnosed with ADHD and depression last year at the age of 20, and after dealing with the depression and trying some medication for my ADHD (I will start properly taking it after my next session in a few days) my life has been turned around. I come from another part of the world where mental health isn’t really taken seriously and so my parents weren’t much help at that time, not because they didn’t want to but simply because they didn’t know enough. After the life changing results I got from reaching out, even my father has accepted mental health problems/disorders as valid reasons for my setbacks and has hinted at potentially reaching out for a diagnosis himself. I’ve recently found your channel and am hoping to convince him to watch some of your videos in an attempt to help him learn more about this matter. He is a university professor and getting him to accept mental health related things outside the scope of “yes it held you back a year or two but learning more about this is irrelevant” has been difficult, but I hope your qualifications will make him more willing to spare some time to learn. Anyways, sorry for the long post/rant. Thanks for the videos, they’re very much appreciated!

[@TruthDissident]

Being 29 and not being able to get treatment sucks. I'm glad you caught it relatively early.

[@hyperlyeverafter]

Have the people who minimise ADHD ever spent a day with a child with ADHD and observed the level of peer rejection they face? Observed all the things that other parents take for granted? The extra vigilant you need to be just to keep your child alive around cars/ trying to keep them from running out of class everyday? Running off at shops/meltdowns at shops, Observed the daily distress they face? Observed the level of chronic stress families face? The judgement from the public? My daughter would meltdown having to walk so I had to take her in a pram everywhere till she turned 5!! (And then we started with walking to park down the street and I sweated the whole way as I was pregnant and not able to carry her if she refused to walk). My daughter has only just started now to sip some of her water at school during the day for just one example. I’ve finally started being able to read her picture books, feel like I am able to have some level of relationship with her rather than feeling like a caretaker of her all the time (being her frontal lobe etc and constantly having to direct her behaviour) .. since stimulants, we now go on dates together! I cannot convey just in a few words what it’s like to have a child with severe ADHD/what it’s like for them and the help that stimulants provide. I’ll end with… my daughter has friends now. This is just one thing those with neurotypical kids take for granted! annnnd.. she is so happy now that it’s easier for her to get her brain to do the things she’s always WANTED to do like organise her room, get dressed, do schoolwork during school hours, brush her teeth, follow 1-2 steps she’s been asked to do, not have wee accidents because she’s forgotten to go earlier/prefers to keep playing instead of going to the toilets, behave in a way that others don’t get angry at her and ‘be good’, take swimming lessons etc etc

[@AnnNunnally]

Amen. As a speech pathologist, I have worked with enough kids to observe that kids with ADHD have atypical behavior.

[@Not.a.bird.Person]

''Have the people who minimise ADHD ever spent a day with a child with ADHD and observed the level of peer rejection they face? Observed all the things that other parents take for granted? The extra vigilant you need to be just to keep your child alive around cars/ trying to keep them from running out of class everyday? Running off at shops/meltdowns at shops, Observed the daily distress they face? Observed the level of chronic stress families face? The judgement from the public? My daughter would meltdown having to walk so I had to take her in a pram everywhere till she turned 5!! '' Have you considered that maybe.. just maybe this is just the normal experience of a parent and that you might just be reaching for a scapegoat/justification as to why being a parent is hard? I've seen children and experienced all of this from pretty much any child ever. You don't let a child below 5 years old run in traffic alone, with or without ADHD, that would be pure insanity. Children with and without ADHD tried to run out of class, I've seen it happen multiple times when I was in elementary school. Having meltdowns in shops is the ultimate most common occurence for any parent ever, I have done it myself even without ADHD and I have seen most of the young children in my family doing this with and without a diagnosis. Most families face chronic distress, most of which has nothing to do with ADHD and all to do with everyday chores/tasks/problems/economic factors. Most families face some judgement from the public to some extent if they carry a child having a tantrum and most children have tantrums at some point. A lot of children like to be in a pram till the age of 5, most of the time it's the adults who have to remove that privilege at some point, if not the child generally starts to want to be ''independent'' for social status in school at about 5-6. I'm not going to go over ther other things you mentionned, but all in all, if *that* is your reasons to think your child has ADHD... it seems to me you just want an easy life as a parent, unless you are suggesting 99% of children have ADHD. I don't want to tell you how to raise your children, but it seems to me that this post lacks a lot of self-awareness and common sense.

[@AnnNunnally]

@@Not.a.bird.Person Hmmm… I raised two children and I worked professionally with children who had disabilities. The ADHD difference is obvious. I am really not going to describe it since you seem more interested in criticizing than listening.

[@Not.a.bird.Person]

@@AnnNunnally I literally quoted and responded point by point to another comment. If anything here screams ''not willing to listen'' it's refusal to engage seriously like brushing aside someone else's comment by saying the equivalent of ''I just know better'' (paraphrasing the ''I raised two children and worked professionally with children who had disabilities''). If you think any of what I just said is unreasonable, and I mean any of the points I mentionned, feel free to tell me why you disagree. Otherwise there really is nothing for us to discuss here if you are only willing to virtue signal.

[@AnnNunnally]

@@Not.a.bird.Person Your post is the definition of virtue signaling! I’m not interested in wasting my time. I think is reprehensible of “ ADHD is fake” people to troll on these videos. You are just making people who have enough difficulties feel bad.

[@OurgasmComrade]

Speaking of the disorder aspect, would you be able to make a video about weighing the pros and cons of treatments such as "ADHD coaching" or other types of talk therapy that are supposed to treat the disordered aspects? The big issue I see is that a lot of people tout coaching as an important solution for building a better career and life, but yet it costs exorbitant amounts of money that most of us can't afford because we already struggle so much with keeping employment and having worse finances. Knowing if it actually works as "experts" claim would be a big help thank you!

[@russellbarkleyphd2023]

The limited research on coaching to date shows it to be beneficial for many people but not all. While better research is needed the body of evidence to date seems promising as a means of coping with the problems posed by ADHD. Be well.

[@octopiinthesky44]

For me personally I can’t say anything about coaching, but therapy. Especially for someone who is late diagnosed like me, it was (and still is) extremely helpful to understand the overall impact of adhd on my life and develop „guardrails“ to keep me on track. It was also helpful to detangle all the associated shame/ self-loathing of the lifetime of internalized „just try harder“ and believing that the fault was innert in my character by not trying hard enough (and not a different brain, that needed meds and support). Therapy is not as helpful as meds of course, but it is a helpful addition for me (and a lot of other late diagnosed people I know). 😄 (And I didn’t need to pay for the therapy, thanks to german healthcare.)

[@stephanforster7186]

Summery: disorder begins where impairment and harm begins and Impairment simply means the environment is kicking back (consequences of the symptoms: mobility, mortality and evidence of substantial ineffective functioning)

[@imthinkingthoughts]

fantastic

[@jophillipsillustration]

The grief and loss of late diagnosis is painful 😣

[@adultADHDindia]

With time, grief and regret are replaced with acceptance and accomodation for adult ADHD.

[@inFAMOUSBlastshards]

The impairment criteria seems kind of subjective to me. "Ineffective functioning in major life activities" compared to who's standards? For instance, a teen at the 40th percentile for executive functioning (slightly below average, but not diagnosable) may fail to meet his highly successful, ambitious, and strict parent's standards of effective functioning in major life activities. I know many such parents for whom becoming anything other than a doctor, lawyer, engineer, or something similarly prestigious, is seen as a complete failure. How do you discern between parents (and the patient themselves) having unrealistic expectations versus the patient objectively struggling in major life activities. I ask this out of personal interest as someone diagnosed with ADHD at 20 years old, who grew up with physician parents with high standards.

[@JaneTheMessage]

So I don’t think it would be a reflection of the universal adaptation to the species that everyone can become a doctor or something similarly prestigious, so that would be well beyond the criteria as I understood it explained. The subjectivity is a reflection of culture and ideology believing that people need to have extremely specific behaviors, but I would assume the impairment is being measured at the level of general performance made possible in the first place by the abilities universal to the species.

[@charlie5115]

Thank you so much for your dedication and work on ADHD Dr. Barkley! And for spreading the knowledge and research with clear-sightedness and care, without dumbing it down or spinning it into a "ADHD is a superpower" narrative. I was diagnosed last year at 30, after struggling with "high-functioning” depression, anxiety and fatigue for at least half my life, and I never saw the diagnosis coming; I thought my therapist was tripping when she suggested an assessment, I’m an adult woman who’s constantly tired, hell I wish I was "hyperactive”! Boy.. Then of course I got diagnosed and learned more about ADHD and executive dysfunction, and everything made sense.. Unfortunately my friends and family has the same stereotypical and one-dimensional view of ADHD I had, and despite my attempts at correcting them, they still seem to trivialize it and not understand how much I struggle with it. The most frustrating thing was how both my family, my GP and my therapist got all excited about my iq scores on the neuropsychological assessment, and keep saying I have so much potential and that I shouldn’t let my ADHD get in the way of my educational aspirations, but what good is intelligence when I can’t make my mind work or function in daily life, let alone academia?

[@alysonhenrique2924]

That's why I think it is past due time for changing the name of the disorder. Something like Attention Deregulation and Hiperactivity Disorder, or executive dysfunction disorder are much more on point in describing it than just "oh, it's lack of attention"

[@TSpoon823]

I was just diagnosed a few months ago at 34 years old and completely agree. The "Executive Dysfunction" or "Executive Function Disorder" seem like a good fit based on everything Dr. Barkley has argued and shown.

[@ladyoftheflowers9781]

Very interesting presentation. I think one of the current prevailing issues is determining the degree of impairment. So many online ADHD diagnosis shams exist that promise to diagnose in 20 minutes by nurse practicioners. Maybe some diagnosed by these "clinics" are a SD below the mean, but ultimately the degree of impairment is essential here. I wonder how that impairment can be reasonably quantified. Certainly psychometric assessments for self-report are great, though I am curious if there may be some way to norm impairment outside of self-reports, narratives, and documentation? What operative way can we define impairment... it's a fascinating question to me!

[@TsutsuYumeGunnm]

What ordinary person can do to fight denial of ADHD at a government level? There is a lot of countries where ADHD is not recognized at all, and plenty who recognize it but treatment is not available.

[@thelibrarycop2000]

I was diagnosed as an adult although it’s been obvious since I started preschool in the 80’s. It’s been so difficult to find proper treatment as most resources are available for kids. I’ve tried different meds and nothing seems to help me in the executive dysfunction area. Most doctors and therapists I’ve seen don’t have much knowledge about ADHD. I feel like stimulants make me hyper and the non stimulants. I’m in NC and haven’t been able to find a specialist

[@train_cam]

wow, thank you for the prolific stream of new & informative videos about adhd !

[@adultADHDindia]

Warm regards from patients in India, Dr. Barkley!

[@danamckerrow9902]

Thank you for such an informative presentation, Professor Barkley. I believe the phrase, elegantly explained, is a higher-order method of admiration and praise; well-deserved here 👏🙏

[@inktob]

Lately I've seen people argue that yes, it causes dysfunction and impairment but it isn't a disorder, bc of the harmful history of the word. The say things like "we aren't disordered or mentally ill, our brains just meet different needs". I get where they're going, but I think it's a semantics war english-centered. I prefer the neurodiversity paradigm rather than the pathology paradigm even tho both have pros and cons (I really hate being "neutral" tho)

[@kalonicamcquesten692]

With you. It’s a fascinating semantic yet physical journey in our society.

[@Not.a.bird.Person]

I personnally think there is more to it than meets the eye. The illness approach to behavior is pseudoscientific at best and if we are to value objectivity, truthfulness and efficacy, then it seems justifiable to want to remove pseudoscience from the process of improving people's lives. In that context, acknowledging that ''ADHD'' is just a normal part of evolutionary variance might push improvements in the environment we put people in, rather than changes to the chemical profile of their brain. For the same reasons I wouldn't put people in an oxygen deprived chamber and suggest they take medicine to better breathe, it seems odd to push countless amounts of drugs to children and adults for them to adapt to poorly conducive environments.

[@ADHDad]

Excellent summary and very useful for advocacy work.

[@Chizuru94]

I wish more people knew about all of this D: My mom's doctor, for example, doesn't seem to "believe in ADHD" and is even mad I want to get meds, thinks I "just have a massive mental problem" and even thinks nail biting is normal since "he did that also when he was younger". Ironically and without wanting to armchair diagnose someone, he also has a lot of ADHD traits (that don't seem to come from lack of sleep as a doctor etc.) He's also very impulsive, gets worked up easily, yells at people like me and more. Sucks how ignorant some medical professionals can be :/ In any case, thanks for this video, as usual and it's crazy to me how some don't view this as a disorder or existent x-x

[@Not.a.bird.Person]

It's crazy to me how people assume a doctor is terrible when they don't tell them what they want to hear and how wonderful they are when they tell them exactly what they have been thinking for the past 5 years that they have been functionning with multiple psychological disorders and how great their pseudomedicine of choice is at treating cancer and other illnesses. What you are saying screams to me ''confirmation bias'' on so many levels.

[@TruthDissident]

​@@Not.a.bird.PersonSo why do you go around and try to promote this idea that ADHD doesn't exist? What's your game here, bud? You seem to be commenting of Dr. Barkley's videos over & over again about this. I think I'd rather trust the medical experts and the 200+ years of research on this topic than some frantic KZbinr on this subject. Are you sure you don't have ADHD?

[@Not.a.bird.Person]

@@TruthDissident ''So why do you go around and try to promote this idea that ADHD doesn't exist? What's your game here, bud?'' Am I not allowed to criticize what I see as bad logic without having some nefarious motive? Why would I need an end game for being concerned at the terrible logic people use here? It takes about 5 minutes at best for me to write most of what I am writing. It's not exactly a massive commitment to make if I consider it might help someone clear their thoughts or see the real nuance in a subject, nuance I don't see with this channel's host because he is about as close as being the ''founder'' of ADHD as can be. I am also not specifically saying ''ADHD isn't real'', I am saying I have no reason to believe it exists or should be a valid diagnosis. There is a difference in that your phrasing is a positive statement of inexistence, mine is a statement of skepticism. While one would require evidence to back it up (the positive statement of inexistence), the other is a questionning of the available evidence and arguments following it. I'm going to throw your end game logic right back at you, why do you care that I criticize an idea you seem attached to? What is your end game? ''You seem to be commenting of Dr. Barkley's videos over & over again about this.'' Yes, because I hate seeing no nuance in a sea of religious fervor towards ideas being presented. Science is about evidence, nuance, debating and having discussions, if everyone here is basically acting like a religious zealot parroting whatever Russel is saying, it only seems reasonable to give some fair criticism. It's especially true given that what Russel is peddling is basically cargo cult science. I've read some of Russel's work and I am frankly not impressed by the ''science'' here. ''I think I'd rather trust the medical experts and the 200+ years of research on this topic than some frantic KZbinr on this subject. Are you sure you don't have ADHD?'' Just because someone has said something 200 years ago doesn't magically make the claim more appealing scientifically, otherwise we would be going back to Aristotle... This is called an appeal to antiquity/tradition fallacy. As for the ''experts'', I'm afraid you are not getting the big picture here, most of psychology is not science, expertise is therefore a meaningless term to apply to it, it's like calling a catholic priest an expert on God. I am also not a youtuber and I will reserve the right to agree to disagree on receiving pseudoscientific diagnoses, thank you.

[@hannahriss1349]

Like always thank you for sharing your knowledge with all of us!!! It’s beyond helpful!!!!!!

[@tdunn2]

In case anyone is wondering - ADHD is considered an eligible disability under the ADA. (Armed forces, government employees/contractors are not covered by the ADA but, instead, covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973). Currently you have be employed by a company that has 15 or more employers, but some states and cities have more comprehensive laws which mirror the Gov level).

[@homelessrobot]

but what 'reasonable accomodations' could any employer really provide for ADHD?

[@tdunn2]

@@homelessrobot some that I’ve seen are: various time-based allowances, technology (extra monitors, timers, noise-cancelling headphones), remote/work from home, special planners… to name a few.

[@homelessrobot]

@@tdunn2 Now that I think of it... my last job was in an animal shelter and the most mind numbingly grueling things was that the animals were always trying to get your attention, verbally most of all, and its like having 200 crying babies in the front seat of your car while driving in the rain.

[@kalonicamcquesten692]

@@homelessrobot wow. I can imagine that so well from your description.

[@FullCircleStories]

I like the comparison of ADHD and its status as a disorder vs other problems which are not disorders. The multi-faceted nature of ADHD really eliminates doubts as to its legitimacy or severity. And the way it was explained also helped alleviate this idea that disorders are exclusively some kind of curse, or like you are a faulty product. To some extent, it looks like yes, but not the whole way. Takes a bit of pressure off.

[@lambs5258]

This channel is such a fantastic resource

[@hannahriss1349]

The best!

[@Zankras]

Absolutely wonderful content as always, thanks Dr.! The insight into how some of our minds works is incredibly helpful.

[@NavJack27gaming]

i can't stand people wanting to be nice to me or some such nonsense about my ADHD. no, it disables me. it makes it INCREDIBLY hard to function. i cannot do what most people can every day and if i didn't have the assistance that i get from the government and my medications AND i had to work a job, i'd be homeless, straight up, i'd buckle under that pressure, it would be impossible for me. ADHD is a disorder, its not a fad, its not forgetfulness... if i could get DBS or some treatment that would make it go away i would immediately get it. but people generally don't understand the implications of motivation and executive function, they don't get what it means to be human if their drive for things, their want to do things, their ability to DO fullstop isn't because of their "will" but because their frontal lobe works "correctly". the full understanding of adhd and executive functioning is philosophically deep and meaningful to the human condition as a whole.

[@lambd01d]

I read somewhere that a disorder is a kind of condition where the aetiology is unknown( or complex) vs a disease, where the aetiology is known.

[@Alex-js5lg]

This is a good opportunity to reflect on the fact that even intelligent people can be misled, underinformed, and/or blinded by ideology. I've known some overall intelligent people who don't believe in climate change, ADHD, or vaccine efficacy/safety due to their paranoia and insulation from fact. It might not need to be explained *why* ADHD is a disorder if its name were more self-descriptive. But here we are.

[@patrickl5290]

Yes, thankfully YOU are free of delusions and cognitive dissonances...

[@Alex-js5lg]

@@patrickl5290 I never said I was.

[@Not.a.bird.Person]

@@Alex-js5lg You don't need to say it, you imply it by saying others are misled, underinformed or blinded by ideology. The fact that you suppose others are affected means you assume implicitly that your objectivity trumps theirs by being able to tell they are affected. That's echo chamber bias : others in close proximity (this internet circle for instance) tell you what you already believe which reinforces your belief that you are right and that others are wrong by the fact that the perceived majority (of the echo chamber) appears to be on your side.

[@TruthDissident]

​@@Not.a.bird.PersonWrong. I know ADHD is real because I'm affected by it as were some of my family. Quick question, since ADHD isn't real - why does the American Academy of Pediatrics/American Medical Association, American Psychiatric Association and the NHI all recognize this as a legitimate disorder? Can you explain that for me?

[@Not.a.bird.Person]

@@TruthDissident ''Wrong.'' What is? Please explain yourself, don't just come in with such immature way of debating. '' I know ADHD is real because I'm affected by it as were some of my family. '' First of all, I was only commenting here about this person's lack of self-awareness in their assessment of reality. Second of all, tell me what is wrong with this statement following your exact logic : I know Santa Claus is real because I am affected by him as were some of my family. This sentence follows the exact same logic structure as yours, yet, I would wager that you disagree with it, like any adult should. Please think a bit more before uttering such terrible logic. ''Quick question, since ADHD isn't real - why does the American Academy of Pediatrics/American Medical Association, American Psychiatric Association and the NHI all recognize this as a legitimate disorder? Can you explain that for me?,' Don't tell me you've never heard a single one of these associations being wrong before. Half of these organizations recognized electroshock therapy and lobotomy as a valid form of therapy and the others just basically repeat what the previous ones agreed on. I don't think you realize but psychology is about as pseudoscientific as can be and associations are terrible arbiters of truth, they frequently get muddled in internal and external politics. There is a reason why there is a crisis of replication in the field of psychology today... If that's your killer argument, I'm frankly not impressed by appeals to authority.

[@lancebarker]

Much gratitude to you for all this!

[@JM-cf5yn]

Thank you! This is so validating!

[@sophiedelavelle5958]

Nice new template design Dr Barkley

[@nokrome]

Thank you Dr. Barkley. I truly enjoy your lectures and videos and have the feeling that you at invested in driving science-based awareness for ADHD. After struggling 20 years with depression, I just recently (age 38) understood that I had ADHD and got diagnosed. I was raised by two doctors/scientists and am married to one, yet no one suspected anything. Impairments might be most visible the the person themselves and also the guilt and shame that follow.

[@user-sl6hi6mu7b]

Thank you very much. You are helping my familly so much.

[@davidmedrano4840]

Thank you so much for the work you do Dr. Barkley, this information is extremely valuable and the research you`ve done has helped the ADHD community a lot. This video specially has educated me on how to properly respond to critics about my disorder. Sadly I live in a country where disorders are considered to be fiction and specially ADHD is disregarded as you might expect as just being lazy in a malicious way. Also medication is regarded as a extremely bad thing and my family is even kind of ashamed of me due to my autism and ADHD plus me taking meds because if someone takes meds for a disorder they see it as if that person is "crazy" and even a danger. I`ll share this channel as much as I can, I`m a complete fan of your work and wish you the very best Dr. With great appreciation from Honduras.

[@Daneiladams555]

Love your work

[@AmyK007]

My sister has ADHD and these are great videos for me to learn what she’s going through.

[@AnnNunnally]

Thank you for this informed response to skepticism of ADHD.

[@ambaniismaeelbaniismaeel4411]

Hi dr,thanks for all your videos. In this video you say that to consider any mental disorder as a disorder,2 crateria needs to be met.dysfunction and harm. what if the harm is managed to some extent,can we still consider adhd as a disorder and take medication?

[@GeoffreyPilkington]

An analogy i thought of that helps those without the condition understand it better is we're like a very powerful super computer hard drive but the cord to the monitor is zapped. I've been managing ADHD my entire life.

[@hyperlyeverafter]

Thank you so much for the information you provide! My 7yo daughters life would have looked very different if I had not found your work when she was around 2-3yo. She has severe ADHD and stimulant medication is changing her life in every way (finally! We were only able to access medication in Australia for her after age 6! As the paediatricians we saw were not comfortable diagnosing at age 4!) We are looking to invest in a psychiatrist as we had to insist her paediatrician give us stimulant medication (he does not believe in stimulant medication and tried to blame it on my parenting which he knew nothing about and he made up and thought he was more knowledgeable than you when I would mention I had been implementing your parent training strategies since she was very young) We tried to find a developmental paediatrician more skilled in ADHD but couldn’t even get on a 2 yr wait list. We are currently trying to help her catch up in reading etc as a result of not having that early intervention. However there is no extra assistance at school as ADHD does not qualify for NDIS funding unlike autism (despite kids not being able to access medication till around 7 for families who can afford the diagnosis, appointments etc) My partner is next to need access to medication as his work, parenting, food consumption and relationship with me etc continue to be greatly affected. Thank you again!

[@cillian_scott]

Hello Dr Barkley, Is there enough information on the overlap of ADHD with POTS, hEDS and HSD to warrant a video?

[@Spectre2434]

I've seen the objective test argument several times. Of course the neuropsychiatric test results 😮

[@octopiinthesky44]

Just out of curiosity what behaviors would a gifted person on the executive functioning scale exhibit? Specifically in comparison to someone with Adhd?

[@irisviel_Einzbern]

Please make a video about adhd and headaches 🌟

[@insidiatori9148]

Jup and hearing soft peep noise all the time that disappear with medication.

[@admiral7599]

It's so weird cause I feel like with ADHD you either have very few headaches or have them alot.

[@adultADHDindia]

RLS, migraine and sleep apnea linked to ADHD

[@irisviel_Einzbern]

@@insidiatori9148 like ringing ears?

[@irisviel_Einzbern]

@@admiral7599 relatable 😭

[@marianaluzardo1383]

Fui diagnosticada com TDAH aos 36 anos, mas não acho que seja isso... não caiu a ficha ainda, e nem tem exames ou testes para poder ter O diagnóstico

[@jonathanberry1111]

🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation: 00:00 🤖 *Introduction to ADHD as a Disorder* - The video starts with Russ Barkley introducing the topic of ADHD and addressing why ADHD is considered a disorder. - ADHD is questioned by some in the media and general public about its legitimacy as a disorder. - To address the criticism, Barkley emphasizes the need to understand the criteria that classify something as a disorder. 01:05 🧠 *Lack of Objective Tests for ADHD* - Critics often demand objective tests as evidence for ADHD, but Barkley highlights that there are no objective tests for many mental and neurodevelopmental disorders. - The absence of objective tests doesn't negate the existence or legitimacy of ADHD as a disorder. - ADHD is in line with other disorders that also lack definitive objective tests. 03:37 📋 *Wakefield's Criteria for a Mental Disorder* - Barkley delves into Jerome Wakefield's criteria from the late 1990s for defining a mental disorder. - A mental disorder should exhibit both harm and dysfunction to be classified as such. - Wakefield's criteria revolve around the notion that a disorder is a dysfunction in a universal psychological adaptation that leads to negative consequences. 05:22 🧩 *Executive Functioning as the Core of ADHD* - Barkley explains that ADHD is not just about sustained attention but is fundamentally a disorder of executive functioning. - Executive functions are universal to humans and involve several major functions that allow for self-regulation. - The failure in the development of these executive functions in individuals with ADHD is central to understanding it as a disorder. 07:26 ⚠️ *Harm and Impairment Criteria for ADHD* - Barkley emphasizes the two critical criteria of Wakefield's definition: harm and dysfunction. - Harm can manifest as increased mortality, morbidity, or impairment in major life activities. - The impact of ADHD extends beyond mere symptoms; it leads to tangible harm and impairments in various life domains. 14:26 🔄 *Differentiating Between Symptoms and Impairments* - Barkley draws a distinction between symptoms of ADHD and the impairments it causes in individuals. - While symptoms are behavioral and cognitive expressions like inattention and hyperactivity, impairments refer to negative outcomes or consequences in various life domains. - Understanding this distinction is crucial for correctly categorizing and addressing ADHD as a disorder. Made with HARPA AI

[@Brad-cb2dt]

Curious. What if someone has the gene for ADHD but the severity of their own symptoms do not meet the diagnostic criteria? I have suspicions that I got it from my dad, but at the same time, he’s been very successful in a career that is highly demanding of executive function. He’s never been diagnosed or treated for ADHD. Not sure if he would meet the criteria or not. Whether he has the gene or not is unknown, to be clear. It’s still debated which side of the family I got it from. It also could have been induced or exacerbated by physical trauma. My head got well acquainted with concrete when I was 3. You might say I was… falling for it. 🥁.

[@s.m.4948]

Apparently, there is no "gene" for ADHD but more likely a collection of many genes that give people a higher likelihood of having ADHD.

[@simasalic]

Hello Dr.Barkley. First, thank you for your good work! Second i would love your opinion on a theory I have: I have learned that ADHDers have less dopamin reseptors, not less dopamine. Craving for more dopamin is a result of both. I've also learned that sugar intake realises dopamin. And that if our brains get a lot of a chemicals over some time, it reduses the reseptors for that chemical. Following this argumet: a lot of suger over time, reduses dopamin receivers for everybody. And increases adhd symptoms for everybody? And since Western World have a high sugar diet, we should se more adhd symptoms here, than others part of the world. Or is ADHD a lot more than few dopamine recivers, and you need to have the other effect to be affected by sugar, but still regularly sugar (normal prosessed food today) inntake makes ADHD worse long term?

[@russellbarkleyphd2023]

Sugar has not been shown to help Adhd nor do I think it has much to do with dopamine. And while the disorder may involve problems with dopamine transporters and insensitive receptors, that varies across people and does not reflect the significant problems found in brain network formation and functioning that goes well beyond a simple neurochemical problem. Be well.

[@Pulsereika]

I would very much like to hear Dr. Russell Berkeley's opinion on the effectiveness of neurofeedback for ADHD!

[@adultADHDindia]

rTMS, as well.

[@skepticsquirrel7560]

Can you make a video about whether ADHD is a disability? Lots of arguments about it in a lot of ADHD communities

[@heyscot]

Does anyone have recommendations for well-researched practices for treating ADHD outside of medication?

[@heyscot]

What if you can't afford it? @@adultADHDindia

[@lambs5258]

Check out CBT resources from Dr. Russel Ramsay. He specializes in CBT for ADHD and has fantastic articles and books on the topic. His "Adult ADHD Toolkit" book is incredible

[@s.m.4948]

Regular vigorous exercise is, I believe, the second-most effective practice for treating ADHD but it falls far behind medication in effectiveness.

[@thesw9k]

Unfortunately I don't believe family courts take ADHD impairment seriously when it comes to the best interests of a child/children. More people than not still seem to be very dismissive of how detrimental it can be for a child when a parent has ADHD that isn't managed or treated appropriately.

[@Bertie_Ahern]

The problems most people have with ADHD have little to do with our "species design". Rather, many people with ADHD find themselves incompatible with our completely arbitrary industrial/capitalist societal design.

[@JaneTheMessage]

The flaw in this argument is that typically developing people are baseline tolerating this environment far beyond what ADHD (and other neurodevelopmental disorders) can tolerate. At some level, the environment we share emerges from the universal behaviors and mental capabilities of the species. That doesn’t mean what emerges is good or particularly healthy. A neurotypical person can overwhelmingly tolerate this environment because an environment that they could not tolerate would either not exist or extinguish the species entirely. It's going to be more accurate and effective to argue that an environment helpful to ADHD likewise can be universally helpful and a better structure. It's important to recognize the structure we have is not arbitrary and is a reflection of universal human cognitive capacities. What we can do from there is recognize that by making environments that increase the health/success of outliers, we will likely increase the overall health/success as well, especially if they are designed with this objective and dynamic in mind. We need to convince neurotypical people to do this, however. They can tread water when we would be submerged, and maybe we are canaries in coal mines for them also becoming overwhelmed. That is speculative and I do not really know. It's better to say that their relative functioning is helping them to cope with stressors that may ultimately be senselessly harmful for the species in general. We can make it clear this system is not well designed (which I agree with) but also that their ability to cope may be limiting their imagination for change. They also may be putting in significant effort/mental resources to cope and do not have resources to put towards thinking about a different design. Regardless, the environment's characteristics and negative stressors are still reflecting their ability to cope where we cannot. Let me know if I'm arguing this in a way that isn't clicking, if I'm not doing it justice, that's on me and not on the framing/model/idea I'm trying to speak on.

[@TEMHOTAOKEAHA]

​@@JaneTheMessage I think what you wrote absolutely makes sense and your reasoning is on point. And I sympathize with people who "blame" (for the lack of a better word) state and/or economy -- because look no further, in the country I live in ADHD is neither recognized nor treated. But there's no way it's JUST that. Something like procrastinating at cleaning my room isn't the state's fault; there's no way my bad memory would somehow drastically improve with a different economy. I guess what I'm saying is that better system is due, but the root issue of ADHD is still internal.

[@TruthDissident]

​@@JaneTheMessageVery well said.

[@sarahs7669]

Hi Dr Barkley. Your videos are so fantastic and informative. They help me every day. If you get a chance, can you talk about masking and imposter syndrome, esp in adhd adults that go undiagnosed well into adulthood?

[@briancreech9990]

Yea i just learned a lot, i won't be able to use it though. Lol

[@ilikepingpong]

Thank you for the insight, Dr. Barkley. I was hoping that in the video you might touch on the issue of access to care. This being a more sociological issue. So much of the criticism of the label of "disorder" seems to hover around the profile of what mild or even moderate ADHD might look like, and then take the view that using the label of "disorder" on a person who seems to be functioning alright might be more psychologically damaging than the disorder itself. Well, if a society wants to start to obscure labels and definitions of a disorder (such as Wakefield's) then this can potentially place a barrier in front of those who need this very label in order to have access to vital treatment, such as more "severe" presentations of ADHD, who are not functioning so well. And also place a barrier or a difficulty in front of others who might greatly improve their own wellbeing by seeking treatment, even if their disorder might be considered "less severe". Likewise, concluding that ADHD is not a disorder seems to me like it would be harmful to the science and research itself. As much as we have learned (and as much as Dr. Barkley has contributed to this field), there is still so much that is not fully understood. Whatever discoveries lay ahead of us, they may provide critical knowledge and missing pieces, such as in let's say the etiology of ADHD and/or genetic mutations, that might point beyond simple explanations like "natural variation" and point to something more adverse, for example (even if an unlikely example). Concluding it to be a non-disorder is a huge assumption that really glosses over both the known and the unknown, and is a disservice to the future knowledge about the condition.

[@Daneiladams555]

Adderall helps my depression and dopamine levels

[@Spectre2434]

I think Mad in America has caused a lot of problems for people with ADHD?

[@Not.a.bird.Person]

I find Wakefield's definition as unconvincing, subjective and vague as it gets on both criteria. For the dysfunction criterion : -It's incredibly subjective to determine what ''functionnal'' would mean for psychological traits, albeit with some being more objective than others. The level of attention and hyperactivity of a person is hardly measurable on that scale too because attention and hyperactivity can both be more functional or dysfunctional in different contexts. The establishment of that context is purely subjective and so measuring functionality is just as subjective by extension. It would be analogous to establishing the functionality or dysfunctionality of discipline and determining that at a certain threshold of discipline, someone has a disorder (taking into account the second criterion) without taking into account that it can be either good or bad depending on contexts. The establishment of the context of functionality has direct implications of subjectivity that are completely unwarranted and unscientific because in the end, the context is an implicit ''ought'' statement, that is : ''someone ought to function in that context''. -There is also an implied subjectivity element to what constitutes a ''universal'' psychological ability. Humans are mammals like any other functionning within the broad evolutionary randomness that it implies. What this means is variability is vast and nothing is truly ''universal''. Just because you would expect most of the population to have acquired through evolution a particular sense of attention that is good enough to roughly survive and perform day to day tasks, it doesn't tell you anything objective about how ''universal'' attention is or even *should* be. Evolution involves countless tradeoffs with no real ''purpose'' behind them and other than through rare cases of obvious physically deterministic dysfunctions such as hallucinations, memory loss and others, it is wildly subjective to assume that traits are universal or that they even should be. For the harm criterion : -The biggest issue is that it's meaningless on it's own (considering the other criterion doesn't really hold well). The most damning example I can think of is the comparison to trivial activities increasing risks in every day life. Let's say I establish statistically that ''car drivers'' are more likely to die in car accidents, to be obese and to be more angry in general and that therefore I have proven a correlation between being part of the category of ''car drivers'' and mortality, morbidity and impairment. What does it say exactly and objectively about the use of cars? If the tradeoff is that the use of cars provide people with income for a small increase in risks, in the end it's not a deal breaker and the be all, end all factor. Risks are always part of every day life and just because there is this ''average person'' with less risks doesn't mean in and of itself that everyone should try their best to emulate this ''average person'' risk profile. There are clear downsides to approaching the treatment of behavior in that way, specifically for ADHD, diminishing risks in one category might increase risks in the other, like addiction to stimulants and wild side effects. There is also the fact that normal every day behavior affects this risk profile to the same extent and no one would consider changing most of those behaviors because they are (as of right now) still considered perfectly normal. Treating behaviors for being a risk factor like they are an illness involves encroachment into areas that psychology has no business being into, that is : trying to push people and societies at large through some beharioval regression to the mean. -The second biggest issue is that impairment is vague and subjective for trivial reasons if you've read up to this point.

[@kalonicamcquesten692]

I’m not a normal wage slave. Overthinking when acting as Manager. Troublesome and distractible on the clock. Difficulty with the concept of compound interest. But I think creatively and laterally and can see conclusions from vast quantities of data points. I am an artist. I refuse imprisonment. Kind and quiet. Clumsy and odd. Enormous potential for thought and pattern recognition but difficulty choosing what’s important if it’s left up to me. . Modafinil is helping.

[@petreang]

As an advocate I love this one: "ADHD is a neurodiversity because is not an illness!" WHO definition of illness:"Physical, psychic or social dis-adaptation characterized by insufficient or lack of wellbeing".

[@inktob]

We are all neurodiverse tho

[@petreang]

@@inktob that's the point, we are all neurodivergent but I have a neurodevelopmental disorder and others don't

[@inktob]

@@petreang Yeah but I think in your comment you meant "neurodivergent" instead of neurodiverse. Like, neurodivergent people are people with disorders and neurodiverse people are neurodivergents and neurotypicals

[@petreang]

@@inktob subtle lexical differences, adding nothing to reality. I've been diagnosed with ADHD by a public health clinician, others don't. ADHD has a well establish diagnostic process, clear criteria, clear therapies. Everything else is a wonderful dissertation that doesn't add nothing to my real life.

[@kalonicamcquesten692]

I’m beginning to think AA and religion are rough attempts at compensating for and addressing ADHD. In other words this ain’t new. Used to be called something else. (Failure, laziness, immorality, selfishness). It’s fascinating how society is trying so hard (and always has been) to find absolute quantifiable names for things. New fashion.

[@patricktluszcz]

Regarding: "so when anybody challenges ADHD as being a myth or not being a disorder the first thing we want to do is to ask them well what criteria are you using to reach that conclusion"@0:50 Why would critics have criteria for something that they don’t believe exists in their opinion ? Critics challenge current ADHD CRITERIA and thats what they mean. Of course we can make everything exist or disappear under any arbitrary criteria. Yes I want an answer because I identify as an ADHD person and I medicate but at the same time I am biggest critic of its underlying “science”. That doesn't sound convincing at all.

[@kumomiayahua7920]

I found medication to be helpful, but it made me speak much less and lessened my creativity. I feel that medication helped with monotonous tasks and adulting but as a creative i made the decision to atleast temporarily stop medicating(was taking 30 mg addy xr daily). Would love feedback or questions from those curious or knowledgeable about this. I am worried about some aspects of life relapsing(managing emotions in particular, but also organization)

[@superclonge8429]

Really? I've seen testimonials from ADHD people state that their already creative minds became even more creative after medication. As a person who has been officially diagnosed with severe ADHD and who really treasures his creativity, I am on my way to getting medication, but not without the proper bloodwork and other necessary evaluations first. I do worry that I would become less creative like you say. Why? Because I'm trying my hand with 3D animation and game development. Artsy stuff, really. I would also like to add that sleep deprivation also negatively impacts creativity according to the literature. Bad news for me since I have been chronically sleep deprived since childhood. So if you find that your sleep has suffered more since taking medication, then that may play a role in why you feel less creative than usual despite being more productive on meds. Apparently, medication at the appropriate amounts should not turn you into a robot if that's what you're implying. If you think that's the case, then you should probably discuss the issue with your doctor and work out a lower dose. Based on what you said about the meds, I can't wait to see for myself whether it will dampen my creativity. I'd have to come up with a workaround. If you can afford it, get an ADHD coach. It can help you build a strong foundation especially when you're not taking meds all the while maintaining your creativity. I might add more to this comment and report my findings when I finally get my meds. In the meantime, I'm searching for strategies to help me dig myself out of this astronomically deep hole that I've created for myself as a direct result of my disorders.

[@NelaDunato]

I'm on a low dose of methylphenidate (Concerta) and it hasn't impacted my creative problem-solving and idea generating abilities at all, but it's helping tremendously with following through - actually sitting down to do the creative *work*, not just daydream and procrastinate. My creative output has increased as a result, both in my paid work and my hobbies. (And yes it helped with chores as well.) If you can trust your psychiatrist, talk to them about the impacts. Maybe a med switch could help avoid this side-effect.

[@NelaDunato]

​@@superclonge8429 Can confirm, medication has had a positive effect on me, and I'm a creative professional so it would be horribly inconvenient if I suddenly lost my abilities. If your doctor clears you as healthy enough to take stimulants, it's worth a shot.

[@ninawhittaker5331]

Try a lower dose

[@patricktluszcz]

I am very sorry for voicing my uneducated opinions. The fault for sure is on me when trying to understand highly specialised PhD content so excuse me for any further remarks that may present to you as (unintended) aggression. I feel like I am living in a matrix whenever Academic Respected Authority are pretty serious about claims like: "we have evidence that ADHD shortens life expectancy by 11 to 13 years old". What we actually have I believe is only: "according to our predictions those people should life 11-13 years longer but they didn't so there must be something wrong with the expectancy or our analysis are inaccurate" Life expectancy is not even a real thing. Life expectancy doesn't exist outside academia. There is no any scientific proof that anything like life expectancy has any valid merit. There is no a thing like 'predicting death based on scientific methods'. That may come as controversial to you but IN MY OPINION: there is no possibility to have any accurate data based on the approximations we're trying to make. Which brings me to the next sentence: "ADHD as we know has hundreds of studies that underly the conclusion that it is a disorder of execution functioning"@6:25 We have hundreds of studies that take as granted results of approximations of its predecessors so they can keep making even more bolder claims? This to me looks like a single point of failure. But I am ADHD so I can't focus on reading fully any of them :)

[@leavingsoonduetocensorship3453]

Keep bothering me with your ineptitudes and lack of understanding the phrase "different not better" and watch what happens.

[@admiral7599]

Are you ok?

[@luckyduckydaisyflower2344]

He gonna go ad hd in HD..I know that mode and am thankful for it..