The rapid increase in media exposure to ADHD is a considerable factor contributing to the recent influx of ADHD diagnoses.
Students everywhere are claiming to have ADHD despite never being formally diagnosed. Social media platforms portray ADHD as a trendy and relatable condition.
Incomprehensive clips on platforms such as TikTok and Instagram describe symptoms of ADHD that are ultimately applicable to anyone. A study done by researcher Anthony Yeung MD and his colleagues in 2022 concluded that approximately 52% of ADHD related videos on TikTok were misleading. The relatability of these videos tends to lead adolescents to identify with the condition and even self-diagnose.
Academic and social pressures significantly impact adolescent mentalities. Managing several stressors at once can cause a student to have difficulty focusing on simple tasks throughout the day. Anxieties about grades, workloads, or relationships also have the potential to affect sleep patterns, further impacting an individual’s memory, focus, and impulse control. However, episodes of mental dysfunction cannot be directly associated with ADHD.
Everyone navigates anxieties, forgetfulness, and impatience. These imperfections make us human. Due to the influence of social media, conflating simple human characteristics with this real disorder has become more prevalent than ever before.
Normalizing ADHD invalidates individuals who truly possess the disorder. The disorder can, at times, be extremely difficult to manage and many social media posts discredits this struggle by addressing the issue as if it is simply something everyone experiences to varying degrees.
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, or ADHD, has the following subclassifications: inattentive, hyperactive-impulsive, and combined. According to the DSM IV diagnosing criteria, only when an individual consistently meets a certain number of outlined symptoms over an established period of time can they be officially diagnosed with one of these types of ADHD.
The symptoms of ADHD often align with symptoms of other mental disorders such as obsessive compulsive disorder, social anxiety disorder, and autism. Individuals that self-diagnose will undergo ADHD treatment methods despite the potential presence of a completely separate disorder. Seeking out professional diagnoses will ensure that a patient receives appropriate treatments to ratify adverse symptoms.
The drastic climb in demand for ADHD medications results in shortages of these drugs, limiting the resource accessibility for individuals who more objectively require such medications. Those that have ADHD and regularly take medication for it can experience withdrawals when these medications become inaccessible.
ADHD can be seen as a spectrum with varying degrees of symptom severity, but it is also a condition. Although an individual may possess certain symptoms on occasion that are affiliated with ADHD, this does not inherently confirm the existence of a psychological disorder.
We put so much pressure on ourselves to be successful both academically and socially. It is normal to negatively react to overwhelming situations and it is important to recognize that these reactions do not necessarily result from ADHD.
Before assuming you have ADHD, it is crucial to seek official medical guidance in order to avoid the detriments of succumbing to the trend.
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