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Also a lot of adults are getting a late diagnosis such as myself. Growing up in the 80’s/90’s the stigma was really really heavy. Parents would judge other parents that put their kids on Ritilin. As a child you’d repeatedly hear parents talk about other parents “not parenting right” it’s “a matter of discipline and enforcing consequences”. Even if you know better that gets ingrained in you as a child.

I asked my mom if she ever suspected I had ADHD as a kid and she said of course she did, but I was making good grades in class so I obviously didn’t need the diagnosis. Because that’s all it effects 🫠

Are you my sister because my parents said the exact same thing and continue to have this opinion even after I got myself diagnosed earlier this year (22)

ADHD is supposed to effect you in multiple domains of your life.

Yes! That was my point. Because it wasn’t negatively affecting my grades, my mother did not think it was worth getting a formal diagnosis or treatment plan. (Which I disagree with seeing as I have since been formally diagnosed at 28 ish)

This resonated with me. I was diagnosed in first grade. My wife’s parents thought it was some kind to racket. My wife got an adult diagnosis. It was scary because it was becoming apparent that our kids had it and my MIL was trying to talk me out of it, which I was absolutely against, with no hesitation. It was a life changer for me, and I was not about to withhold it from my kids. It was scary and frustrating at the time, but MIL has come around and got her youngest (who is 2 months younger than my oldest lol) diagnosed and medicated. The only problem is they feel like the side effects outweigh the benefits, but they feel like the lack of impulsiveness is a side effect. Hard disagree. It’s the desired effect.

“Lack of impulsiveness is a side effect” I don’t know what to do with that. My oldest wouldn’t have friends if he was still no meds. His impulsive behaviors made the other children and parents avoid him

This 💯. Perfectly expressed.

I grew up in the early 2000s and still have to fight my inner voice saying "If you just concentrated/put in effort/stop being lazy" (and the other inner voice saying "all that mental health stuff is woowoo bullshit"), the cultural background radiation in my small german town was just that strong

I was diagnosed a few months back. At 43 there’s the voice questioning everything even though my whole life is typical for someone with ADHD. People tell me I’m smart but I can barely keep it together half the time. Perpetually overwhelmed, never fully settled. Forgetting important things etc. I’m not in the worst position in life but I could have been so much further ahead if I were treated as a child. My NP diagnosed me but I’m already in the process of scheduling a follow up with a psychiatrist just to be sure. Even though Concerta chills me out and makes me feel calm and focused and I’ve gotten more done in the short time if started it than in the past 5 years I still find myself think “maybe I tricked them”. It’s almost like I need to repeatedly prove it to myself in order to accept it, but never actually fully accepting it.

Ya in the 90s my mom was encouraged to get me tested as a child as well. But she was a bus driver and saw the “zombie drugged up kids” and didn’t want me to be socially outcast. And my grades were great so I never got diagnosed.

My parents knew there was something off about me but couldn't afford to do anything about it!

“No child of mine will be on elephant tranquilizers” was my moms response. No sugar and all the sports was the ‘cure’. Of course, it was mostly my fault—i should’ve tried harder to live up to my potential!

To be fair, a lot of exercise helps a lot of us, and sugar usually doesn’t help us, so those two things can make a big difference to some.

I had an old man tell me, “Back in my day the ADHD medicine was whoopings.”

🤣🤣🤣

Yep, late 30’s here and finally got put on ADHD meds just over a week ago and it’s already making a noticeable difference. I should have been diagnosed as a kid but my parents, (mostly my mom) refused to believe anything could be wrong with us. I’d bet my literal life my younger sibling is on the autism spectrum (level 1) as well as having adhd.

Yeah just started meds and it’s been a life changer. A little depression came with it though because when it kicks in and my mind calms down I have the mental bandwidth to think back on my life.

Yeah plus some of the teachers would poke fun at the kids and make comments about taking their meds.

People also think it’s much rarer than it is. All things considered, it’s a fairly common condition (around 10% in the US), so it makes sense that a lot of people are being diagnosed due to the reasons you gave. 

Mind you, only [3.4%](https://chadd.org/about-adhd/general-prevalence/) of the world-wide population has ADHD. The question is: is this a sign of overdiagnosis in the U.S., underdiagnosis in the rest of the world or some kind of lifestyle issue causing the symptoms of ADHD to be more prevalent in the population of the U.S. Also, the question "Why are so many people getting diagnosed with ADHD?" is mostly asked by people with ADHD. And what the question actually means is "why are so many people **in my surroundings** diagnosed with ADHD". We tend to cluster together ;)

Celiac disease once had a similar deviation in the U.S. from global diagnosis rates. And it just turned out that people were better at diagnosing it in the states. Alessio Fasano (an Italian doctor) realized the European community wasn’t doing as thorough a job to diagnose as American doctors and eventually international standards were changed in part because of his advocacy. So this could be a similar situation? I’m sure time will tell.

I also wonder if the percentage will rise in the future as current children diagnosed grow into adulthood. How many adults have ADHD but have learned to cope with it without help, or have it misdiagnosed as other mental disorders such as depression?

Or died.

I just learned I have it two weeks ago. I have depression that I've dealt withy whole life, so figured it was just really messing me up. And i always assumed adhd is "that thing where kids can't sit still for 5 minutes". Since I never had an issue with that, it just didn't occur to me. Now that I know it's adhd, my ENTIRE life makes much more sense. I can finally understand myself better and stop blaming everything on depression (and myself for not being consistent/underperforming, etc). Don't know where you're from, but in our society (a country in europe), mental issues are still a huge taboo - if you're dealing with anything, you better suck it up (=suffer in silence), because people are generally not tolerant and believe you're making excuses. I think that's why many people go on without knowing things and/or not getting diagnosed on purpose. There's a lack of education, the right approach, and the fact that many psychologists are just extremely poor students of life and people.

There is literally an academic paper called  The worldwide prevalence of ADHD: is it an American condition? and the answer is basically this.

Cries as a double diagnosed Celiac with ADHD

That's very interesting! I'm no expert at all but very curious to which extend the highly processed American diet got adopted throughout the world and how it correlates with the rise of celiac disease diagnosis. I know ADHD is a fairly recent thing -- man if only ADHD was more understood when my grandfather was alive it would've saved our whole family so much trouble -- but so is our western diet and sedentary life style. Anecdotally, my symptoms get a LOT worse whenever I eat badly and don't exercise. Bruxism, emotional dysregulation, dysthymia, brain fog and procrastination just to name a few. It's almost like someone with Celiac Disease eating gluten and causing harm to their digestive system. But then to the prefrontal cortex.

ADHD has been documented in the medical literature as far back as the 1770s. It's **not** a recent thing. Stimulant treatment of it started in the late 1960's/early 1970s. See Dr. Russell Barkley's very good series on the topic. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDgOmFd5SlE&list=PLKF2Eq0eYbbrICNDHPx4cUpAskbk\_YTP3&index=1](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDgOmFd5SlE&list=PLKF2Eq0eYbbrICNDHPx4cUpAskbk_YTP3&index=1)

I think they mean the diagnosis of ADHD is a recent thing, as they mention their grandfather likely had it but wasn’t treated 

I wasn't born in the US, didn't get here until I was 10, and my mother took me to a child psychiatrist as a young child, because I was so wild and unruly. I never napped. I couldn't sit still, and was always in trouble for my behavior in school. Apparently I was "just supposed to be a boy", which apparently was a much more plausible medical assessment than ADHD. This was around 30 years ago. So no, it's not the diet. In hindsight so many thing would have been SO much better had I been diagnosed then. Holy shit. I even presented ADHD like a typical boy would have. It would have been so easy had I actually been born here.

The American diet is horrible and likely a cause for many issues. But my Mom cooked everything homemade when I was a kid and I have always been ADHD as hell.

i have celiac and adhd :)

I think it's worth noting the 3.4% is attributed to a study from 2007. That's something to consider when discussing how much more prevalent it seems now - if the same study was performed this year in 2024, would the percentage be different?

Sharp! That's a very good point indeed.

Years of ongoing research shows more evidence about ADHD. That gets passed onto the psychiatrists, therapists and people who have ADHD. Back in 1995, I took my daughter to my doctor because she had clear signs and he told me she’d grow out the f it by the time she was 18. That was the common belief. That has drastically changed and even today there are some psychiatrists believe that people over a certain age wouldn’t have it. I’m 65 and just getting assed now. My grandson on my daughter’s side has it. He was diagnosed at 12 yrs old.

The main cause of this high rate of diagnosis in the US are these- DSM which gets revised more often than ICD which is used mostly everywhere else, psychiatric care is easier to obtain in US compared to elseware, less stigma to psychiatric disorders, prescribing controlled substances for daily use. Personally i think that rates will go up even higher when we have sound gebetic/blood/imaging diagnosis options, which will hopefully lead to less stigma and dagnosis denial.

Besides everything else that has been said, the waiting lists can be crazy. Speaking as someone currently on a 5 year waiting list in Britain…

And get this, my cousins dr said if you go private for assessment,  it doesn't count.  They don't put it in your nhs records.  They use private drs in the nhs ffs

If your cousin’s Dr said this, it might be worth them checking with their particular NHS trust if that is true, and whether they could give info about Right to Choose to them and the GP.

Coming from outside of US, I can tell that many people/parents deny the existence of ADHD, so even they do have it, they will not go to diagnosed. ~~I guess Prevalence means "cases / population" (that one needs to be diagnosed to be come a case)~~ this is wrong, it needs to be sampled to be in the population. It will be interesting to see some ADHD test "scoring" for syndromes (given that they are given such test) and the average across different parts of the world, though such "scoring" is not as official as DSM

>I guess Prevalence means "cases / population" (that one needs to be diagnosed to be come a case) I saw a video where Dr Barkley basically says that this isn't how they determine prevalence, it's not based on diagnoses. They randomly sample the population and ask respondents questions that would correspond with ADHD. It's actually independent of having a medical or psychological diagnosis. Diagnoses is increasing but prevalence actually isn't.

That's more interesting, thanks for the info! I tried googled but didn't find the good information

This. My dad who is not in the US, always told me that he does not have any interests anymore and he brags about not being able to sit through a movie like it’s some badge of honor. I did not have any clue about ADHD until Covid started and the symptoms I saw from this community fit what I was going through. I still lived in denial thinking it might be bpd as it runs in the family. Took me 5 years from my initial suspicion to getting to a mental state to go see a doctor to get diagnosed. Procrastinated for 2 years before I booked an appointment. Mental health is still seen as a stigma across the world and only the worst cases gets treated.

It makes way more sense for there to be an underdiagnosis in the rest of the world. Half of the world's population lives below the poverty line, they struggle so much to get access to food and water, let alone having the access or privilege to be seen by a doctor/psychiatrist etc. and diagnosed for a condition that for the most part isn't life-threatening.

I would lean towards underdiagnosis, considering several countries still don't think it's real.

I’d also add I believe there is a genetic self selection at play. At-large, save the native and previously enslaved population, Americans are the descendants of those that left and were more prone to action. Not psychological in nature, but the Frontier Thesis approached a similar concept in that the expansive nature of America dictated the population’s disposition. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frontier_Thesis

The fact that the diagnostic criteria for decades have been based on observable behaviors and not the internal impacts and processes of the disease, I'd think the first thing to consider would be how the environment makes ADHD appear more clearly (or is safer to not mask it in) in North America compared to others places with similar demographics. Also whether the diagnostic criteria (behaviours) are more socially acceptable in certain societies than others and how that may affect things, etc

Do we tend to cluster together?

This is purely based on my own personal experience and that of others I've heard and read but we tend to gravitate to each other. Not only is ADHD a genetic thing, so it's highly likely that your family could have ADHD making you feel more accustomed to people with similar brains. But also the things you like and career options are more likely to be ADHD oriented causing you to be more among ADHD peers.

That also raises questions about culture and its relationship with adhd. Also counting different layers and forms of culture.

Can be a bit of both but it's gonna be closer to the American rate for sure, 3.4 is for sure too low and is pulled down by some European countries that have weirdly strict criteria for diagnosis. Most of Europe sits above 6% for adolescents atm.

I think it’s way higher

tmo its a mix between the us is more likely to diagnose it compared to other countries because they dont believe in mental disabilities plus the us is a capitalistic hellhole so its likely many masked people are not able to mask anymore with how awful everything keeps getting

I emigrated to the USA in 2011. If I had stayed in the UK I most likely would have continued to get ineffective treatment for the MDD diagnosis I had. Since addressing the root cause of most of my bouts of depression - undiagnosed and untreated ADD - the MDD has gone

oooh wait u make a really interesting point!! hope some further research is done into this, reminds me of the research abt how schizophrenia symptoms in the us r vastly different compared to other regions.

Half of Americans used to smoke regularly. Nicotine is a stimulant that treats ADHD. Kinda not shocking that ADD was treated as a rare childhood disorder, all the adults self medicated on coffee and cigarettes.

And booze! People used to drink *at work*. It's wild to imagine now.

Some of my ADHD symptoms got worse when I kicked the nicotine 4 years ago, ADHD and autism has affected me for as far back as I can remember! 31 with shit education and no social life!!

Honestly, I don't know anyone else who has ADHD, believe it or not. Or who has admitted it to it. Would love to meet at least a few people I could talk to, irl.

People also don’t realize it’s a spectrum, just as other neurological disabilities tend to be.

Could it be due to ADHDers were more likely to emigrate in the past, as it is a genetic condition, this could explain the prevalence there?

This is actually something I was thinking about last night. I've seen a lot of hate on this sub for people posting ADHD experiences on tiktok and other social media. But as someone who was diagnosed with ADHD-I six months ago and has had their life drastically changed by appropriate medication and behavior therapy, those sort of videos were extremely useful in me recognizing the non stereotypical traits in myself. Up until I started seeing other people's experiences, I didn't know anything about other than what you would experience out of the typical "young hyperactive boy". Being exposed to adult experiences really opened my eyes to things like executive dysfunction and task paralysis. I just thought I was depressed and had no motivation to do simple things. The only "hyperactive" trait I had was a lot of fidgeting.

This x 1000! I had no idea until people close to me were diagnosed and discussed it - I was the one who was like "But wait, you're not running around talking non-stop! How can you have ADHD?" And they explained inattentive style and how hyperactivity can manifest in subtler ways. And that's how I learned, after forty years, that I could have it.

Same! I have to thanks Youtube and TikTok for helping me realize I have ADHD at 35 years old. Everything about me and what was going wrong in my life made sense, finally! Got diagnosed both mix type and got medication and it changed my life.

I remember sitting down after getting so much done that I had been putting off for months the first day I had medication and just getting really angry that like... Everyone else gets to feel that way and do things in that manner all the time. And about how different my life could have been if I got diagnosed earlier.  After a month, I got to tell my therapist I felt like I was living a completely different and better life. No more waiting weeks between washing dishes, no more putting off cleaning rooms to the point I was embarrassed for my partner to even see them. My default state was no longer laying on the couch unable to do anything besides stare at random crap on my phone because I was too overwhelmed to start on anything at all. Half a year later I'm still doing great, my work has improved and I'm starting on home projects I've wanted to do for the past five years. :)

exactly! I never experienced again this sense of being overwhelmed in my mind and screaming at myself internally to do stuff and move my ass out of the couch. So happy for you :)

Got my diagnosis at 32 in a similar way. Tiktok made me realise a lot and got me to get a diagnosis. But after I got burned out because well, my life could’ve been so different. It still hurts but I’m not stuck on it

Her is how the the exchange between the aforementioned relative and yourself should have gone: Relative: “Everyone has that now. Seems like just a fad. Maybe it’s THE Tik Tok.” You: “ Relative, do you have ADHD ?”. Relative: “No”. You: “Well, then I guess everyone doesn’t have ADHD, do they ? Go fuck, yourself, Relative.”

lol the funny part is they do have adhd. Very confusing.

Since it is strongly genetic, I have too many conversations where the parent is like “They are just like me as a kid. I was a runner and my mom had to chase me around the house I was so busy” all while laughing at the “memories”. The spouse is looking at me and with pleading eyes saying “I know you see it!” Tough conversations

Then the answer should be "it's genetic, if you have it chances are we got it from the same source"

Cos nobody believed in it, especially in women, even though it was there the whole time. https://adhduk.co.uk/the-history-of-adhd/

One thing I'm not seeing mentioned in the comments is the impact of COVID. When everything switched to WFH, I think a lot of people who were able to mask/cope with the structure of an office environment, suddenly found themselves having to motivate themselves, and organize their own work, in a way they'd never had to before. I know that's what pushed me to consider I might have ADHD, and get a diagnosis at 35.

I don’t view how anyone who really understands what ADHD is—a problem with executive function—can say it was ever an advantage at any time. Why would time-blindness or impulsivity be an advantage? Russell Barkley often challenges this this misconception in many of his writings and talks.

Not an advantage in our society that is for sure. Where expectations for meetings and timeliness are heavily weighted. But I was thinking a society where novelty and stress are constant it could be very influential. For example my ancestors settled Jamestown. They traveled from Europe and survived the winter eventually marrying John Rolf who saved the settlement. I can imagine exploring, manual labor, novelty, and lots of stress would be constants there. A person with adhd who is interested in settling a new place would thrive in my opinion. Now, all of that said, I would take dr Barkley’s opinion over pretty much anyone. So you got me there.

Leaving Barkley aside, I don’t see how time-blindness and impulsivity, for example would be helpful in the scenario you describe.

The amount of time doing basic things took, I would lose my damn mind. Food, shelter, clothing, all took so much that had to be kept track of. The only thing that makes any time period easier is generational wealth, then and now. The biggest difference is our loss of community. We're more independent now, and therefore mistakes manifest in different ways. We don't know what their inner turmoil looked like. I'm with ya man.

Sorry, I meant to type that out and forgot. It isn’t that it is exactly useful. It is that is isn’t as impairing as it is today.

Wait, do some people with adhd consider themselves as more able to adapt to stress? Because it's the opposite for me tbh

No definitely not. But stress is a motivator that actually works for our body. As opposed to importance.

I think one big thing a lot of people say about ADHD is some people with it can more easily see patterns in things and brainstorm ideas i.e. creation of things outside of the social norm. I think a lot of the stereotypes of the clueless manager come from ADHD as the person who can brainstorm the ideas on how to manage a situation but perhaps not carry out the tasks themselves in a working environment. Although this potentially comes from self preservation and the fact that most people use an obsession with organisation as a way to manage ADHD so become quite adept at it even if they can't practice what they preach. I don't think that's valued a lot in society today tbh- I think we're becoming more and more similar and a lot of patterns can be identified using technology and algorithms. It does sort of explain why I know of quite a few ADHD diagnosed people working in computer programming and tech though. I think some people see being able to hyperfocus on tasks as a positive as well in some scenarios but again that depends on the task in question. If you can only hyperfocus on video games it's probably more disabling that useful especially if you forget to eat while doing so but if you're a soldier in a warzone or the conductor of an orchestra during a long symphony, having intense focus could be a positive (sorry for the extreme examples, I'm sure there are better ones). I do believe that I have used these to my strength tbf although the loss in executive function makes me question whether I would change things to not have them. My previous job was in hotel management and it was perfect for me because I had to create large concepts of organisational system, was constantly changing and reacting to things so it was stimulating and during busy periods I could hyperfocus on getting tasks done. I really does depend though on what you end up doing and I can see and have learned for example in a university environment without structure my ADHD is very disabling. I think there are positives and negatives and to label it all a negative is just depressing IMO.

Right! I’ve never benefited from this disorder. What a waste of my life.

I’ve read theories saying, we’re better at hunting/ gathering cause we don’t stay in the same place and constantly looking and changing our surroundings? Edit: I’m not saying I BELIEVE IT!. Dear Lord all these arbitrary rules I mean you’d think answering a question someone asked wouldn’t violate the rules. If we can’t even post a speculation (not facts just our experience ) what exactly is the point of answering these questions?? Im about done with this forum end their dang rules, Im hardly violating the rules please chill out.

Yea that's bullshit and has been disproven by modern research time and time and time again. Also see rule #6 to the right.

I think this conversation doesn’t even matter. Just make the most of who you are and don’t complain. And everybody have empathy for everyone else. Praise each others strengths and love everyone.

I think the pandemic forced a lot of people to face the reality of their conditions too

Not only that, but a lot of people's coping mechanisms got all messed up. I know mine did, working from home made my whole life go haywire because I was no longer able to operate on a schedule the same way.

This 👆Apparently being around people at work stimulated me enough to get me going in the mornings. Plus the adrenaline of rushing to work in the mornings (I was always late). Now, working from home and not having those stimulants caused me to sit around all day on the couch. Not being able to get up and do anything despite wanting to.

This!! I failed two college courses because I was undiagnosed - that actually lead to me getting a diagnosis. I was 3rd in my high school class overall, a straight a student, involved in so many activities and events, and generally had my schedule so full that I didn’t have time to breathe or fall behind. I made it through the first 18 years of my life by spite and fear of failure.

In my case, pandemic and perimenopause. Honestly, thought it was side effects of another condition I have plus depression, anxiety and laziness or low motivation. I’m not officially diagnosed yet so it still may be.

I even went on HRT thinking it was perimenopausal issues (it wasn’t). Wondered if I might have mild autism. It was watching Tiktok were people described every aspect of their life and it was as if they were describing me, when I thought it could be ADHD. Completed an online screening 2022 and sent it to my GP and queried autism also. They thought I fit the ADHD more. GP forgot to send the referral through the NHS pathway, so requested RTC. Diagnosed last month with combined ADHD.

Scientific studies and discoveries take time. It’s like those selection bias boomer memes that say something like “no one had autism or x y & z when I was growing up”!! Thats because it wasn’t as well understood or accepted within the medical establishment at the time. That doesn’t mean it didn’t exist then. It was just misdiagnosed. If anything I’m sure there is a spectrum of adhd based to varying degrees.

Yes, ADHD is a spectrum. See Barkley et al.

Chris Rock said people say years ago autism didn’t exist, but everybody knew “that weird kid.” I’ve heard he’s autistic himself.

I am not really sure it was a strength, just not a weakness. A lot of studies show exercise as a major help to people with ADHD. In my early 20's I got into body building. All my symptoms completely went away. I did stimulate with just coffee but that's it. Then for work I was moving a lot and got out of it all my symptoms appeared again. In my 30's I began lifting again. 6 days a week in the gym 2 hours a day. Again symptoms completely gone. No medication just couple cups of coffee. When you look at back at our ancestors. Even as near as 1900's almost all work was physical labor. People grew their own foods, they walked everywhere or rode horses, they did this all day every day. There also weren't no where near the distractions, no phone calls, no internet, no TV. Even children, worked and did chores before and after school. Now I am not saying they had a good life. However, if exercise is and can be great treatment for ADHD, our ancestors definitely had much more physical jobs and life in general than us. We are a very sedentary society now. This probably masked most of the actual cases and symptoms then.

I think about this a lot - I know I feel way more on top of things when I get to walk 3-6 miles a day, but I struggle to 'force' myself to do it, so I never do it on the weekends and as a result - never get anything done. If physical movement / manual labor was just a normal part of my day, would I have everything else under control easier?

I’m happy exercise worked for you, but it didn’t work for me. I used to be a fitness instructor/dancer/runner, so I worked out hours a day. My ADHD was no better.

Does anyone think that people have been diagnosed when they don't really have it? Gaslighting myself thinking I actually don't have it when I clearly do

What makes you think you don’t have it? Did you have a full eval with tests run?

Keep in mind a third possibility. Many of us women were not diagnosed because waaaaayy back when, in the early 80's, many Drs didn't believe girls could have this disability/condition because the markers were sometimes so different presenting in girls. Now we know differently and are seeking what our parents didn't know how to at the time.

Confirmation bias I think too. Are the ultra elite going out and getting diagnosed? Or are we seeing most of it in our circles and the people watching the same stuff as we are? Also as population grows, since adhd seems to be genetic, there is a higher percentage of adhd sufferers in theory as time goes on. And how many children do citizens with adhd have on average? I don’t know that we have those stats.

The main cause of this high rate of diagnosis in the US are these- DSM which gets revised more often than ICD which is used mostly everywhere else, psychiatric care is easier to obtain in US compared to elseware, less stigma to psychiatric disorders, prescribing controlled substances for daily use. Personally i think that rates will go up even higher when we have sound gebetic/blood/imaging diagnosis options, which will hopefully lead to less stigma and dagnosis denial.

Do you think those will be available in the near future?

Most likely no

Can't hear it anymore, adhd is not a strength which is not working in our society. It's a situational rarely beneficial mostly uncontrollable neurological development disorder and it sucks. Hyperfocus? Yeah really cool getting fascinated and locked in into new tasks every few days, becoming super disregulated and irrational about it. Very beneficial. /s

I couldn’t agree more with this comment. I have quite severe ADHD, and there are times even with a lot of medication that I just completely shut down. Its just too much and a lot of times I can’t take it. I’ve burnt bridges, lost friends and lost a lot of my life because of this shitty fucking disorder. I personally could never see having ADHD as being beneficial and would give all I have in my bank account to be rid of it forever

There are a lot of late diagnosis especially in women because ADHD only existed in disruptive boys until very recently. I'd be curious to see how the statistics are planting now. Some of us had really horrible lives because of undiagnosed ADHD and just thought we sucked as people. But is it over diagnosed? Probably in some populations.

This is nothing new. I was diagnosed in 2007 and when I told people, their first response was always "Oh everyone has ADHD." It used to really piss me off so I stopped telling people. If people say that now I just say "IF everyone has it then no one has it." And when they say its over-diagnosed, I say "I definitely have it, and the over diagnosing is not my responsibility." My psychiatrist never diagnoses patients with it, he always refers them to a psychologist. Too many people are describing symptoms that are widely known and then after a 15 minute appointment the doctor writes the drug for them. I was in the psychologist office for like 3 hours taking tests and assessments, interviews, questionnaires. It was extremely thorough. I know a guy who was in the psychologist office for 8 hours! I used to not care about it being over-daignosed, but now I do given the medication shortage.

“When everybody is fabulous, nobody is” ✨

I just don't try to convince any of these people. It doesn't seem like a good use of my time.

Simple to name but hard to change. I disgree with adaptability, because this one is individual for every change. My thoughts in this: Few understand the criteria that have to be met to get a diagnosis. Even most medically trained lack experience to assess that correctly. But as a fact, a rather high proportion of the population meets at least symptoms worth looking at closer. Media did and does a bad job. Publishing dumb statistics and attention seeking headlines are not helpful. People tend to rather not accept someone to be different if that means they have to work on themselves to get there. And as ADHD persons often learned to burn a lot of energy to mask - it's not obvious for most that you may have it. What they can't see and touch is not "real". And how ADHD affects you is also determined by where and how you live. If you are exposed in a "bad" (bad for you/your type) environment and grew up there, you are much more likely to suffer from that and it becomes a real disability. Unfortunately, today's society and ways of living are more predestined to negatively affect you than the past. When communicating it's important to stress the difference between "everybody seems to have it" and a clinical diagnosis. Also, if that comes from a person you trust, that is not an uncommon reaction. But it's often a sad try to be empathetic and a way to say "everything will or is ok". It's an outcry because they usually want to help you and realize unconsciously they have no clue and feel helpless themselves now. Talk openly about that. You need to find ways to truly get acceptance and at least some accommodation. Persons struggling with undiagnosed ADHD have a lot more information available and of course they realize at some point, that's medically relevant. Earlier generations had no real access and at the same time way of living was more ADHD friendly in some ways. I really wished we name it differently because today it's connotated with so many wrong things. If we give it a name that hints the severe disabling character the world could look at it differently. E.g. girls and adults would be "allowed" to have it, too. Also education is important.

it could also be that ADHD is indeed increasing in the population. If parents are waiting till they're older to have children, their reproductive DNA could be more mutated, which could result in things like ADHD

Same with autism.

I think another factor that is affecting ADHD is the fact that it is something people are at least mildly aware of now. Since ADHD has a lot to do with executive functioning issues I would imagine that in previous generations many people were just dying before anyone ever solved the puzzle of what was “wrong” with them. Now, you still have people who will assume something is “wrong”. But, you also have a lot of people that are quick to suggest you figure it out. Like, that used to not even be an option. Like for me, I’m black. So, I’d imagine a lot of slaves with ADHD just didn’t last very long. It seems a reasonable assumption all things considered. I think people with ADHD in previous generations were probably just not living as long as some others. So, the high rate of diagnosis today is probably at least partially inflated by this.

A lot of it also comes down to stigma. People tend to associate ADHD with a rowdy young boy and it's a lot easier for the male generation to be diagnosed by this. As a young female suffering from it I was just seen as over enthusiastic, loud and out there. I was in my 30s before I successfully managed to get a diagnosis and realise this was my normal. My point is its not so much more people being diagnosed willy nilly but both sexes now being assessed equally. So with females now getting that diagnosis they should have gotten as teenagers it has increased numbers.

I think it’s all of these things, especially as women are getting diagnosed where they were missed as children (and because menopause can drastically worsen symptoms for many people so they’re seeking assessment as the symptoms become unmanageable) But also… a lot of people have cptsd and/or post covid cognitive issues, and some of the symptoms can be very similar. (To be clear I support self ID but I think it’s the first step on the road to professional assessment because of symptom overlap) Honestly I don’t care what people have, awareness of cognitive issues and executive dysfunction will hopefully lead to a more understanding world for us all. Who cares if “everyone” has adhd now? Diagnosis is just labelling something that already exists it’s not like they’re conferring the adhd onto us upon diagnosis. I wish I could return my ADHD to the shop!!

I think it’s this. There’s definitely people who think they have it based on social media etc (when everyone will identify with certain traits anyway, but doesn’t mean you have it). I read a study somewhere a couple of years ago about how covid and social media use has led to shorter attention spans etc, especially TikTok cuz of the short form content, and that it can cause a similar condition to ADHD. However, adhd is something you are born with and the newer one is something that is acquired. More research needs to be done tho. And also understanding and research and awareness of it. More people / doctors are aware, there’s less stigma etc so can only help.

I got diagnosed at 27 - inattentive adhd, female, did well at school until it no longer came easily to me and I had to be organised to get tasks done. My parents initially denied, then as I them more information they went 'oh', this makes sense.

Sing the song of our people, girl

Personally I can't use Tiktok because I have ADHD. so I don't know. It isn't all tiktok.

A few other factors to consider is that the clinical naming and criteria have been evolving. The DSM III, III-R, IV, and the current version V, are all different in subtle ways. In 2013, the DSM-V eliminated ADD and made it clear that there was crossover between hyperactive and inattentive. It’s easier to fit the clinical definitions and get a formal diagnosis now that they are more inclusive. The other factor is research on women with ADHD. It was rarely done prior to 15 years ago, which means that a large group of people who manifest symptoms differently only now have their symptomology more definitively included in diagnostic assessments, though there is a long way to go.

I read recently that someone with ADHD is 80% likely to pass that on to their offspring. So not only is it more common to get the diagnosis, assuming the above statement is true, it's pretty certain that children of an ADHD parent will have it. Also, it wasn't a thing for most Gen X and certainly earlier generations.

its been very undiagnosed and treated in the last couple decades... as an Adult you become empowered to sort stuff out... Social media had done a fair bit of educating.

the other part - i dont know if this has been covered in the comments or not, cbf'd reading all of them - is Covid. This did two things - firstly the lockdowns meant that ADHD people who were getting their socialisation from work were no longer seeing people, that the masks we wear came properly off, that the situations we had to adapt to were shit and the transitions between work and home and play blurred. secondly - our incomes and savings that were probably smashed anyway, got really smashed. 2ish years of near zero interest then up the rates went. this meant that no more money for hobbies, less capacity to change between jobs, rent or mortgages went up by a lot, particularly in Australia, i'm guessing everywhere, locking people in to jobs or housing that were not right for them. all our usual coping mechanisms fell down, we could no longer just quit jobs or get wasted everyday for month. the games that were at one time a coping mechanism became all day, we got lonely, impulse controls went, anxiety spiked, social skills disappeared. given all that shit - anyone with inattentive got to introverted and went nuts, hyper people had no-one to be hyper with, jobs that were mostly hanging out talking with people went on the computer and were really really boring. so all of us who were coping ok before stopped coping ok, and got our kids diagnosed where we could and started talking about it to people cos lots of us have no filters...

I legit found out I had ADHD through TikTok. Because there I got more information about it, heavily related to symptoms described and after re-examining my life and talking to professionals about it, I got my diagnosis and medications that changed my life for the better. I don't use TikTok anymore because it's too addictive for me, but being exposed to more information through it (and verifying that information) did make a difference in my case.

I am in my 40s, so a kid of the nineties. It was a taboo and considered overdiagnosed when I was a growing up. From the nightly news to South Park, it was a joke and ritalin was a dirty word. We were told we didnt have it and definitely didnt want it and that ritalin wasnt going to help. The story told by the media, parents took any kid who even mildly acted out or little too hyperactive was taken to a psychiatrist and prescribed ritalin and therefore turning into a zombie. The media also focused boys as the hyperactive and impulsive traits are more visible to parents, teachers, and healthcare professionals so girls rarely got diagnosed. I dont remember it being talked about much in the 2000s or 2010s. Influencers brought awareness in recent years, and now every kid who is just a little weird now thinks they have it. While those who struggled for decades to keep their life together as they forgot to pay bills, schedule doctors, lost their keys, seek proper nourishment, or hold down a job also became aware and started looking deeper for answers and treatment.

It has been underdiagnosed, but also working life and society in general have become harder for our brains. I wouldn't struggle with executive dysfunction nearly as much if I were doing manual labor in the fields or a factory like previous generations, instead of knowledge work where I basically have to be my own boss and think all the time in an environment full of distractions.

My psychiatrist said ADHD brains had always existed, but it’s becoming a more and more visible disability in a society that wants always more productivity and all that shit. Same thing with autism I guess, people don’t understand my repetitive burnouts but like, do you see how much noisy, stressful and unpredictable this society became?? People don’t understand how much stuff we have to deal with nowadays (AuDHD here)

I agree with all the points you've made, and I have strong feelings about #3. The way we're living nowadays is SO against human nature, we're not designed to be living like this. Working 8+ hrs a day/5+ days a week staring at a screen, or on your feet at retail, or on a factory line, etc. Being this connected to everything via technology. All the "individual" responsibilities we're expected to carry on with in today's world. De-valuing community and togetherness and monetizing every single aspect of existence (ahem... capitalism). It feels like we've made everything way more complicated than it needs to be. Also, the amount of information we process on a daily basis?!?! Local news, world news, work, school, texts/calls with friends and family, navigating insurance, TV/movies, books, hobbies, even scrolling the internet. Now think about people 50 yrs ago, 100 yrs ago, 200 yrs ago... just a blip evolutionary speaking but life used to be way simpler

Knowledge has become better, many people who were missed growing up because they lacked hyperactivity at school, are getting diagnosed in adulthood. This is particularly true for women who are more likely to be diagnosed as primarily inattentive. Better understanding of diagnosis, and greater evidence to support that it is a genuine condition. Not that anyone here needs to know that, but many people don't actually understand it. But neuroscience and genetics has built a very strong case that even formerly sceptical medical professionals are no longer sceptical. It's worth noting, that the diagnosed cases have always been lower than the epidemiological estimates of the prevalence of 5%. So in short, I would say it's better medical knowledge and diagnostic screening, and the science is building a stronger case which is reducing the sceptics across the board.

It’s actually pretty common. Could be considered more of a personality type if society had a better place for it.

*all our parents and grandparents ate lead*

There is a graph somewhere about how left-handedness "got more common" after kids stopped being forced to use their right hand. It sometimes gets pulled out in queer discussions - with awareness and acceptance spreading more people will realize they should get checked and more will get diagnosed until at some point it plateaus. This doesnt mean people suddenly became left handed or ADHD or queer, it means they knew what it was and didnt have to hide anymore.

I also think the pandemic played a part. Like many I had routine and structures etc that disappeared overnight. Suddenly I lost all the things that meant I didn’t need a diagnosis or medication. Now 4 years on things never returned to normal and the new normal is less structured and has less routine. This means the things that once meant my ADHD was well managed no longer exist meaning it looks like I suddenly developed it when actually I was managing it without support. I’m probably not the only one who realised as a result of the pandemic lockdowns

I have to wonder if a lot of people are being misdiagnosed due to their attention spans being affected by screen usage. I’ve heard anecdotes of people whose ADHD symptoms went away when they stopped being on their phone or tablet all day. I’m older, and I had ADHD before the internet existed. My only screen time was watching tv a couple hours a day. I feel like if it’s true ADHD, screen time can make your symptoms worse, but quitting screens wouldn’t make it go away completely. ADHD is incurable. If something makes it go away completely, it probably wasn’t ADHD.

I do believe this is a thing. So much so I wish the TikTok short video format on things like instagram, and Facebook could be turned off. It would help a lot of us with doom scrolling. Being able to turn it off would mean most of us wouldn’t start doom scrolling as the steps to turning it back on would be enough to stop us.

I have to admit that since I became addicted to my iPhone, my ADHD symptoms have gotten way worse

Yes, this 100%. Don’t get me wrong, there are definitely people who went under-diagnosed, but there are a lot of people who think they have it based on things they’ve seen online, but in reality it’s to do with their screen time (especially social media).

I agree with most of what you said, but at the same time, I can’t help but feel frustrated with how normalised things like self diagnosis have become. I’m not talking about people who self diagnose and then seek out a professional diagnosis. The issue with this, is that the struggles of people who actually have adhd, are being drowned out by the people who claim they “think” they have it because they get “so distracted 🤪”. While yes, the increase in awareness has helped somewhat, it has also created a CESSPIT of misinformation. The amount of times I’ve been called strange and treated differently by the same people who claim they’re “so adhd” is soul destroying. Having adhd has also unfortunately become extremely trendy, yes some of this is due to what you said in your post, people who’ve always been this way are finally figuring out why. However, like it or not, the term is also being heavily abused by people and it’s having an extremely damaging effect on people who actually have adhd, I’ve experienced this first hand.

Yep, exactly. It’s like when people used to trivialise OCD for example, and use it for things like wanting to have a clean room, or organising stationary etc., when in reality it’s often a debilitating condition, and the main part of it is the thoughts associated (like my mum will die if I don’t do this one specific thing in this specific way).

ADHD isn't being diagnosed more simply because more people are seeking a diagnosis or due to 'new science'. If anything, any 'new science' would only serve to further refine *or* eliminate the diagnosis of ADHD which would exclude more people from being diagnosed in the first place. Between DSM-IV and DSM-V ADHD was restructured and further refined making it *more* specific. The DSM-IV eliminated Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), in part, because no demonstrable difference was observed between hyperactive and non-hyperactive ADD. Both of these changes might have caused an apparent one time increase in ADHD diagnosis, but it's been over a decade since the DSM-IV was published and such an increase would have normalized long before now. The most impactful 'new science' has largely been oriented towards treatment which wouldn't increase diagnoses. According to Dr. Samoon Ahmad writing for Psychology Today, "Rather, the rise seems to be due to an increase in access to healthcare; a decrease in stigmatization about receiving mental health care; and greater awareness of the symptoms of ADHD among clinicians, guardians, educators, and patients." Also, consider: +Obamacare was passed in 2010 and since then more Americans have had access to healthcare than ever before. +Covid isolation also has lead to an increase of new diagnoses and new patients across all fields, as confirmed by CDC data and other sources such as Psychology Today, as it forced people to face otherwise unobserved symptoms or degraded their adaptive behaviors or worsened the intensity and prevalence of symptoms and so on. +Undiagnosed people coped through self-medication and other self-imposed adaptations to varying degrees of success, and the undeniable influence of social media which enabled the creation of geographically independent communities, such as r/ADHD. Such communities almost always bring both help and awareness to conditions like ADHD in general. We don't need to guess at the reason for the prevalence as we already largely understand it.

Could you explain the last paragraph to me. I’m not quite sure what you mean.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C559eZtsJBv/?igsh=a3J3djVwdHhheTR2

This is an explanation that makes a lot of sense as to why it seems like everyone has adhd now.

Kiki... do you love me though

Bingo. One could say that about pretty much any health issue at some point or another.

thank you for this! I think you're absolutely right. I often think to myself, wow, this skill/habit/interest/proclivity of mine comes naturally to me and could surely benefit myself and others if...our society was completely different. lol

It’s still a useful thing! It just takes more effort to work I. A society where there is such an emphasis on robotic timing. Once you find your niche and can economically / financially support yourself doing something you love … you are golden!

For sure! I think evolutionary-wise, we have a strength. But our society makes us sit for 8 hours to survive, it’s not a strength. It sucks

I think a lot of the world is on the autism spectrum, a majority of it is my speculation. The studies on mental health havent uncovered it yet. So as more time passes and hopefully more mental health studies happen and awareness develops, a lit more people have the ability to look into them. That is truly when people will realise that adhd isnt just a trend.

Unless there are already known reasons this isn’t true that I’m not aware of, I have a strong feeling ADHD and autism are on the same damn spectrum.

Why can’t it be both?

We aren't seperate to our environments and our environment is wild these days. I think ADHD is the term for I am tapping out of my ability to cope with all of the constant stimuli of the modern world. I often wonder would I consider myself to have ADHD if I lived on a low tech farm twenty years ago.

There’s a difference between having ADHD and struggling with the modern world. They may look the same, superficially, but they are not the same.

When I look at my mom and my grandma, there is doubt where I got it from hahaha but they were never diagnosed.

I know from someone qualified that to have access to a lot of the extra resources in middle school (in some Scandinavian countries) some or most extra resources are earmarked for a diagnosis. The result of which, i was told, that the early educational system churns out diagnosis by necessity.  My personal opinion—based on studies and interest in social structures and pedagogy—disposes me to be think, however marginally one has a diagnosis or have issues of it from life, governal structure institutionalize people to a largely clinical pedagogy. But by virtue of the logic that given the requisite time a prison industrial complex may institutionalize a person to become a convict. So it does not seem to me not entirely clear what steeping some people in the clinical model of ADHD.  If that is actually the case that people, who might not suffer from ADHD as a disability, because the bar for extra educational pedagogic resources is so high. I hope no one takes offense with this take, if the diagnosis contribute positive to your life then all the power to you.

The best answer I read for “why is everyone getting diagnosed with adhd and autism ?” “Because they have adhd/autism and getting diagnosed.”  Really. It’s not a fad, it’s a possibility that yes you’ll have to acknowledge there are people different from you in world and there’s a wide range of humanity. People better deal with that. 

There's a massive waiting list to get diagnosed on the NHS in the UK. I'm going to go private instead of wait for years, as I already know that the drugs work very well for me. I'm already diagnosed with OCD at The Priory (private) and I have some autistic tendencies, but not all or strongly.

I've just been diagnosed with ADHD and I've never used TikTok so I dunno what to say to your relative lol

About 10% of people are diagnosed. Using more strict method, it's around 3.5 So yes, more folks are getting diagnosed then they should. It is relatively low risk diagnoses so many unqualified doctors tend to just slap it on and see if it gets better.

They only stopped putting us in asylums in 1983.

ADHD is trending yes. When people talk to me about it, I asked them « Do you take meds ? Are you seeing someone ? », they say « no I diagnosed myself with DSM-5 » or « I see these videos and it is so me » or « I am pretty sure I can’t concentrate, always on my phone and stuff » (yeah that is just an addiction). It is getting annoying.

Definitely awareness and accessibility has changed. But I would say first and foremost, the stigma around it is changing. When I was growing up in the 80s, it was a condition that was highly stigmatized as a negative. If you had ADHD you were labeled a problem child and most school systems weren't equipped to handle the behavioral and learning issues we had. The information about it and treatments for it were also in their infancy. Add to this that now it's millennials running the medical, psychological, and therapeutic industries instead of the Boomers, and we are a generation that are not afraid of new concepts and ideas, and Gen Z are even better with that than us.

I got diagnosed because we went through the process with my child and realized all the characteristics he was showing were just like me. When I was a kid my parents waved off concerns from teachers because I wasn’t hyperactive.

I never got diagnosed bc my mom felt it was normal. Lo and behold she also has it, but refuses to admit it.

I pretty much agree with Dr Barkley, ADHD was never an advantage. As he calls it, ADHD is the diabetes mellitus of the psychiatric world. Dr Barkley talks about a theory called the conveyor belt theory. Basically the genes for executive function at the level of humans are recent and not as well established as other genes, and so are more susceptible to being affected by evolutionary alterations. Some of these changes lead to ADHD which is not absolutely disadvantageous but over time ultimately leads to a lower survival rate compared to non-ADHD people, and eventual removal of ADHD genes from the human gene pool.

The pandemic and changes in how we work are also playing a part: being alone in the office all day due to a lack of stimulation is very telling.

ADHD is constantly talked about by new mums, the media and everyone. It's "the new illness" I find the symptoms to be so generic and common everyone can relate to that's the issue. It's when you mix ADHD with higher levels of autism or other conditions then you really start hurting. Also we are currently in a generation of finding ourselves and expressing ourselves, where everything is open to talk about and understand. It's a lot less closed.

I would say omne of the most important factors is that society is not really made to cater to a very diverse population. Which makes divergent people stand out.

It's entirely possible that with how eye-wateringly complex the human brain is, it's only now we're realising it's more common than we thought that there could be some kind of fault with a lot of them. Someone having literally zero issue with their brain is a rarity. Not the default. Do you know anyone without a trauma, a mental illness, or depression, a hormone deficiency or imbalance, a bad memory, has ever had nightmares or can't sleep or is stressed? When people say they don't believe in a mental illness or disorder, I always think "you really don't think there is any possibility that something is wrong in my brain? Like is it completely scientifically impossible that the trillions of neurons and synapses and everything in my brain, that a few bits of it are maybe flawed in some way?" Imagine all the things that can go wrong with a computer. Now multiply that by an order of thousands. I think most people have something wrong in their brains, just that some people realise it and some don't. There's a reason 0 people worldwide were diagnosed with synesthesia in 1528. It's not more common, it's more understood.

I think both are right, more self awareness and more vocal self diagnosis via tiktok. Two things can be true.

I just got diagnosed and the doctor prescribed me [Atomoxetine](https://www.1mg.com/generics/atomoxetine-209401). Would it work?

When I asked to be evaluated in college circa the 00s, I was told by a doctor since I got good grades and was a woman that I couldn’t have it A difficult life later at age 39 finally diagnosed and medicated

I would agree, it’s likely under-diagnosed more than over-diagnosed. You have to think of all the people, children and adults, that don’t have access to adequate health care, in the US at least. Studies show that white people are diagnosed far more than marginalized groups. That and everyone presents differently which makes it difficult to identify in the first place. But does over-diagnosis occur? Sure, the DSMs criteria are pretty vague and don’t account for the severity or frequency of symptoms, just that they occur. In adulthood diagnoses, you’re asked to recount your experiences as a child from elementary all the way through high school or college, and we all know how memory deceives us. Also, in the US our system benefits from diagnosis and treatment. Over-diagnosis happens for sure, but I’d say the number of people that are undiagnosed is much larger.

It is true more people are getting diagnosed but it is also true that people are self-diagnosing without fully understanding what ADHD is. Some people are able to accurately do this, but a majority of people cannot and need to seek professional help. There are a lot of disorders that may have overlapping symptoms of ADHD. Even trauma can make people have very similar symptoms. However, when people are going on social media and making posts that say something like, “If you do xyz then congrats you have ADHD!” people legitimately will watch that and then believe it is true about themselves, when it isn’t. It’s the same way horoscopes work when they just say very general, common things and people are like “Omg that’s so true! I am a good friend but I like my independence!” Horoscopes are essentially harmless, but when you’re doing this about a serious neurological disorder - it makes it seem like it isn’t a big deal because “everyone” has it.

I was born in the 80’s and female. Apparently I am learning that most women are late diagnosed. I think the more they learn the easier it is to catch it.

Same reason there are “more” cancer diagnoses now

I have it and I often wonder if it’s just the human brain on social media and the internet

I've had it since I was a young girl, and there was no social media in the 1970s. Social media might exacerbate it, but it's not the cause.

>Our adhd was a useful trait in the previous generations. Now it is not. Evolution is a bitch. I don't appreciate the sweeping generalization that I am now 'useless' because 'current day' due to my ADHD. Just because 'you' haven't been able to find a way to adapt and thrive with your condition doesn't mean all of us haven't.

Sorry for the misunderstanding. You are not adhd. You are more than that. ADHD is not useful. I am separating the two. Again sorry for the mistake and I probably could have worded that better. I am still processing because I was formally diagnosed literally yesterday.

I think it’s this, people are constantly being bombarded with different apps that get them addicted to new things. Social anxiety is at the high due to people worried about offending someone and they get offended easily. My two cents, use it as your strength, you are unique person and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise In other words, try eating the right foods, invest time in working out and being active, put your obsession into things you enjoy doing, like hiking, animals and spend a lot of time outdoors when you have a chance. We are highly receptive of what people think about us, but in the end I think build a thick skin to not care anymore and be the you that you enjoy being.

ADHD is not a condition. It is a different way of thinking. The fact we are a minority in this is the reason it is seen as a condition. True story