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>Furthermore, there are a lot of people who think ADD/ADHD is one of those
>"modern illnesses" that is seriously over-diagnosed thanks to profit hungry
>pharmaceutical and medical community and a "its not my fault" culture.
To add to this comment:
I notice that several people in the discussion seem to have self-diagnosed
themselves. I would strongly caution against doing so. Very few, if any, are
capable of self-diagnosis.
Moreover, non-clinical descriptions of symptoms are often like horoscopes;
they're so general that they can apply to anyone. In fact, there are few
physical or psychological symptoms for which average humans can't find parallels
for if they look closely enough at themselves. Once you are aware of a set of
symptoms, the more you look, the more you can find reason to believe that they
apply to you. In many cases, however, you are magnifying events and behaviors to
fit the symptoms list.
To be more specific, the fact that you are bored or like variety is not enough
to diagnose yourself as having ADD. Perhaps, in your work situation, there is
good reason for you to be bored. Similarly, you can like variety without having
ADD. For instance, a love of variety is one of the reasons that I prefer
consulting. Yet for me to imagine that I have ADD would require morbid
exaggeration, because I am also capable of concentrating deeply for hours at a time.
None of these comments are meant to suggest that ADD isn't real. It is. I've
seen people who truly suffer from it, and I understand the trouble that they
have. I also understand how the Americans on the list, given their health
system, may have fallen into the habit of self-diagnosis for obvious reasons.
However, I do want to suggest that you do no one any favor if you self-diagnosis
yourself as having ADD or any other condition. If you do have it, you need to be
properly diagnosed so that you can receive treatment. And if you don't have it,
you are giving yourself and those around you needless stress. You are also
helping to trivialize and discredit a real condition, and making the lives of
its sufferers more difficult.
--
Bruce Byfield bbyfield -at- axionet -dot- com 604-421.7177
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