Is ADD real?

[BlazerXX]

I have heard people say its legitimate and others say it is not. I am leaning towards it being fake. What do you think?

[stronglime]

no it's not

[CubZ]

Yes it is. I am married to it.

[DADEO]

I was told i had it and took medicine for it. Real or not I dont know, but when I did and didn't take the medicine people knew and so did I.

[JayHen]

yep it is. as real as any other mental disorder.

[aCb123]

i think its real but i also think a high percentage of the people diagnosed with it dont really have it.

[deep_squatter]

im have adhd. whats the difference

[G T]

Of course it's real. Anyone who says it isn't is clueless.

[BlazerXX]

Of course it's real. Anyone who says it isn't is clueless.

how do you tell who has it and who doesnt?

[Future-Swole]

im have adhd. whats the difference

Attention Deficit Disorder
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

[madguna]

thx for the add

[DANDIESEL]

not a believer of all these new disorders
back in the day you were just considered dumb
now everyone has a special disorder they use as an excuse...
its bullsht

[tj6]

yes, but there are varying degrees of severity.

[liftstrong101]

nope, some mental disorders are real but alot of them are bull****.

[RedSoxfan1978]

i think its real but i also think a high percentage of the people diagnosed with it dont really have it.

THIS

They like breaking out the prescription pads a little bit too much. They give you pills for the ADD, then as you get older, pills to cope with the side effects and other nonsense that comes along. When the kid grows up they wonder why he is a drug addict.

Its just like that ODD crap. READ the "symptoms" of ODD. That sounds like very single kid ever born on earth. Its nonsense on so many levels.

I think they only companies with more money than the oil companies are the pharmaceutical ones.

[DANDIESEL]

its obvious the government wants everyone on medication so they can continue to violate our rights without reprisal

[BartholomewHunt]

It's real. But it's WAY overdosed. I think laxed parenting contributes to it's onset.

[funnybug]

i think its real but i also think a high percentage of the people diagnosed with it dont really have it.

this


i feel like there is a subtle difference between kids who actually have ADD/ADHD and those who are just energetic.... there is a different demeanor in the kids who have ADD...

[disphugginflip]

You guys are all idiots! Of course it's not real.

When I was young, I went to see the psychiatrist. And as I was in the waiting room I was reading this magazine, it was pretty cool. I did some connect the dots, read the funnies, and I wanted to color but didn't have any crayons. But the magazine had a cool ad for this video game I wanted. It was about surfing, I like surfing because we went to Hawaii on vacation. And I see these guys surfing and it was cool, but scary because of the sharks. Cause it remidns me of Jaws, and jaws was a huge fish... or are they mammals? Mammals give birth to live young, while reptiles lay eggs. Dina sours were reptiles I think...

[shreCk2k7]

I have ADHD which is the same thing but with added hyperactivity. It's real. And ****ing annoying. Sometimes when i was in school, if i wasn't writing as fast as i was thinking my leg would start to twitch out of my control. I'd have to get up and walk around for a second. And i can't read, like, i can read. but when i try to read a book or something, i forget i am reading it and start looking around the room and ****, most people just think about other **** as they read, but i literally look around the room for a solid 20 sec before i realize I'm not even looking at the page anymore. And i sing EVERYWHERE I GO, i sing as I'm on the computer miscing, walking to my car, driving, during the dull parts of movies, at the gym very quietly, and when i go for runs. When i have a long story to tell i say "uhm" every other ****ing word because i keep forgetting what i was going to say.

Doctor told me the singing and twitching is a part of the hyperactivity, And the only things that keep me focused are extremely fast paced activities like sports or video games. And being humored or angry. if it does not involve those things then my brain wants nothing to do with it.

They say it's all in my head but the fact of the matter is i thought it was total bull**** when i was diagnosed and refused to believe that there was something wrong with me, i wouldn't touch the meds they gave me (ridilin, stratera, adarol) but i refused. My mom begged me to try them for her, so i did. They made me feel like a million bucks. SO relaxed and focused all the time. But what came with that was an entire personality change, my friends would ask me if i took my medicine every morning because they HATED ME with it in my system, i just sat there. I didn't say anything, and when i did it was usually just calling somebody stupid for laughing at something i didn't think was funny but would if i wasn't on meds. **** is real as can be. Better believe it, i look at myself as living breathing proof.

EDIT:

I was told i had it and took medicine for it. Real or not I dont know, but when I did and didn't take the medicine people knew and so did I.

He knows...

[yoj]

Have you ever been on wikipedia or youtube and found yourself browsing through a chain of five, ten or even more videos? You will be reading one wiki page only to find something else interesting to click on mid page! Next thing you know, you ended up on the nuclear waste disposal wikipedia page when you originally started on the wiki page for d-day omaha beach! ADD is like that... except in my brain 24/7.

Its real. I went 19 years of my life struggling with it on my own. For 19 years I was angry, frustrated, and depressed with myself as I struggled to overcome my attention difficulties. The term 'attention deficit' really doesn't describe it accurately. It is more like an attention that is so large that it can't be focused on any one thing for more than a moment. If I am sitting in class listening to the professor lecture, it will only take 30 seconds to a minute before I think about something else that is important to me. From that thought I may end up thinking about ten, twenty, maybe fifty different subjects before I remember that I am supposed to be listening to the professor. I honestly have no control over my thoughts until I snap out of it... which can be anywhere from 5 minutes to hours long. I just get so wrapped up in them that I lose any focus on the reality before me until I finish the train of thought and 'snap out of it'.

I started taking dexedrine 20mg/day prescribed by my doctor after I pretty much had a breakdown. Imagine trying to read a book when for every 30 seconds of reading you would get lost in your own mind for minutes. The drugs help me immensely with this problem and I am able to focus my attention on a single thing for longer periods of time. I was always a smart kid in high school so I got by without any special attention. I even managed a 3.5 GPA in first year of university without the help of any drugs or bringing up my problems to anyone. I (and everyone around me) just thought I was lazy and unmotivated... my parents thought I just wanted to coast through school and that I was happy with my results so I didn't want to put in more effort. But trust me, I had tried and tried to fix myself and it never worked. The drugs were like flicking a magic switch. I can say with 100% certainty that I would never have been able to overcome the problem on my own.

[Tsudo]

[FryDude]

Have you ever been on wikipedia or youtube and found yourself browsing through a chain of five, ten or even more videos? You will be reading one wiki page only to find something else interesting to click on mid page! Next thing you know, you ended up on the nuclear waste disposal wikipedia page when you originally started on the wiki page for d-day omaha beach! ADD is like that... except in my brain 24/7.

Its real. I went 19 years of my life struggling with it on my own. For 19 years I was angry, frustrated, and depressed with myself as I struggled to overcome my attention difficulties. The term 'attention deficit' really doesn't describe it accurately. It is more like an attention that is so large that it can't be focused on any one thing for more than a moment. If I am sitting in class listening to the professor lecture, it will only take 30 seconds to a minute before I think about something else that is important to me. From that thought I may end up thinking about ten, twenty, maybe fifty different subjects before I remember that I am supposed to be listening to the professor. I honestly have no control over my thoughts until I snap out of it... which can be anywhere from 5 minutes to hours long. I just get so wrapped up in them that I lose any focus on the reality before me until I finish the train of thought and 'snap out of it'.

I started taking dexedrine 20mg/day prescribed by my doctor after I pretty much had a breakdown. Imagine trying to read a book when for every 30 seconds of reading you would get lost in your own mind for minutes. The drugs help me immensely with this problem and I am able to focus my attention on a single thing for longer periods of time. I was always a smart kid in high school so I got by without any special attention. I even managed a 3.5 GPA in first year of university without the help of any drugs or bringing up my problems to anyone. I (and everyone around me) just thought I was lazy and unmotivated... my parents thought I just wanted to coast through school and that I was happy with my results so I didn't want to put in more effort. But trust me, I had tried and tried to fix myself and it never worked. The drugs were like flicking a magic switch. I can say with 100% certainty that I would never have been able to overcome the problem on my own.

This describes minus being diagnosed. I got through high school because it was high school, there wasn't a lot to it. First semester of post secondary school has me going ugh...

[yoj]

have you tried the meds frydude?

[G T]

how do you tell who has it and who doesnt?

Because there is a diagnostic list of symptoms, like with any other illness.

not a believer of all these new disorders
back in the day you were just considered dumb
now everyone has a special disorder they use as an excuse...
its bullsht

Should we also consider someone with diabetes to simply be "sick" That's effectively what you're saying.

Are you anti-medicine?

THIS

They like breaking out the prescription pads a little bit too much. They give you pills for the ADD, then as you get older, pills to cope with the side effects and other nonsense that comes along. When the kid grows up they wonder why he is a drug addict.

Its just like that ODD crap. READ the "symptoms" of ODD. That sounds like very single kid ever born on earth. Its nonsense on so many levels.

I think they only companies with more money than the oil companies are the pharmaceutical ones.

That's bull****. Most doctors are extremely reluctant to prescribe ADD drugs (stimulants). Being amphetamines, they are also very old drugs with many generics made by many different companies.

its obvious the government wants everyone on medication so they can continue to violate our rights without reprisal

Are you serious? Amphetamine makes people more alert and focused, not dumbed down, let alone docile. Many do-gooder politicians campaign AGAINST ADD medication and complain about "overprescription" to capitalise on community ignorance and fear of medicine.

this


i feel like there is a subtle difference between kids who actually have ADD/ADHD and those who are just energetic.... there is a different demeanor in the kids who have ADD...

ADD is primarily about attention, not energy. ADD is usually brought up when someone can't focus on a task.

Have you ever been on wikipedia or youtube and found yourself browsing through a chain of five, ten or even more videos? You will be reading one wiki page only to find something else interesting to click on mid page! Next thing you know, you ended up on the nuclear waste disposal wikipedia page when you originally started on the wiki page for d-day omaha beach! ADD is like that... except in my brain 24/7.

Its real. I went 19 years of my life struggling with it on my own. For 19 years I was angry, frustrated, and depressed with myself as I struggled to overcome my attention difficulties. The term 'attention deficit' really doesn't describe it accurately. It is more like an attention that is so large that it can't be focused on any one thing for more than a moment. If I am sitting in class listening to the professor lecture, it will only take 30 seconds to a minute before I think about something else that is important to me. From that thought I may end up thinking about ten, twenty, maybe fifty different subjects before I remember that I am supposed to be listening to the professor. I honestly have no control over my thoughts until I snap out of it... which can be anywhere from 5 minutes to hours long. I just get so wrapped up in them that I lose any focus on the reality before me until I finish the train of thought and 'snap out of it'.

I started taking dexedrine 20mg/day prescribed by my doctor after I pretty much had a breakdown. Imagine trying to read a book when for every 30 seconds of reading you would get lost in your own mind for minutes. The drugs help me immensely with this problem and I am able to focus my attention on a single thing for longer periods of time. I was always a smart kid in high school so I got by without any special attention. I even managed a 3.5 GPA in first year of university without the help of any drugs or bringing up my problems to anyone. I (and everyone around me) just thought I was lazy and unmotivated... my parents thought I just wanted to coast through school and that I was happy with my results so I didn't want to put in more effort. But trust me, I had tried and tried to fix myself and it never worked. The drugs were like flicking a magic switch. I can say with 100% certainty that I would never have been able to overcome the problem on my own.

Yes, real ADD, as far as focusing your attention on something, is like trying to balance on an oiled up ball while spinning plates on your leg, mouth, and hands with sticks.

The problem with amphetamine is tolerance, so it's not really a long term solution. The effect will wear off and you will need to use the drug simply to be the way you were before.

[yoj]

Yes, real ADD, as far as focusing your attention on something, is like trying to balance on an oiled up ball while spinning plates on your leg, mouth, and hands with sticks.

The problem with amphetamine is tolerance, so it's not really a long term solution. The effect will wear off and you will need to use the drug simply to be the way you were before.

Yes I agree with the tolerance... and the negative side effects start to creep up slowly over time as well. I try and limit my use of them to only during the semester and usually not on the weekends. Its all part of managing my life...

THIS

They like breaking out the prescription pads a little bit too much. They give you pills for the ADD, then as you get older, pills to cope with the side effects and other nonsense that comes along. When the kid grows up they wonder why he is a drug addict.

Its just like that ODD crap. READ the "symptoms" of ODD. That sounds like very single kid ever born on earth. Its nonsense on so many levels.

I think they only companies with more money than the oil companies are the pharmaceutical ones.

There is a reason that psychiatry requires an 8+ year education (and thats only the beginning of becoming an MD)... you must be really ignorant or really retarded to think that any person reading a list of symptoms on the internet is capable of making these kind of distinctions. The human body is extremely complex and the brain is orders of magnitude more complex than any computer we have now. The intricacies are far beyond our understanding at this time, so to completely disregard the possibility of mental disorders is beyond ignorant and a very egocentric point of view. Even the best and the brightest professionals are capable of misinterpreting mental disorders because the brain isn't so clearly understood as something simple like diabetes.

[NyC_BosaNaC]

no, its just an excuse for lazy retarded ppl to get adderol

[Random Guy]

lol

[jsVR-4]

I was diagnosed at 28 as having ADHD.


I couldn't tolerate high school and wound up getting a GED. I then went on to get an Associates in computer science and a bachelor's in psychology.

With ADHD, classes that were interesting to me were generally easy. The typical blowoff classes in college were horribly difficult. If it couldn't hold my attention, it was mind numbing to do the work (but I worked through it and got good grades in college).

I don't think ADHD is a "disorder." I think it's a set of characteristics of certain people's brains. Just like certain people have a natural gift for music, some of us are wired to have "ADHD" which isn't necessarily bad. You just have to learn how your brain works and how to apply it.

My "ADHD" became overwhelming when I had a job that was mostly paperwork review. The tedious, repititious paperwork was too much and I had to get ritalin. The ritalin helped but I only take it as a last resort now, or before I play racquetball.

I like having the characteristics that get my brain labeled as ADHD. I can monitor lots of things in my brain at once. I think it makes me a better driver, a more alert father, and allows me to completely immerse myself in something of interest to me.

You can't diagnose yourself over the Internet. You need to explain your thought processes to someone who specializes in this sort of "disorder." Is it a disorder? I don't think so... I think too many people use it as an excuse.


Instead of it being an excuse, it just needs to be understood that those with ADD/ADHD will have natural abilities in certain areas of life and natural difficulties (that can be overcome) in other areas.

[DADEO]

He knows...

My twitches were shaking my legs, standing without realizing, and pulling out hair. Meh, as I got older is seemed easier to control, now I am starting to have troubles again.