Do you believe in metal disorders such as ADHD?

I think psychiatry on a whole thing is big scam. I dont believe that a child is mentally deficient if he or she likes to frolic and be adventerous. I have heard of some crazy things like arithemitic disorder and avoidant personality disorder etc. I think too many people refuse to take responsibilty for themselves and blame their faults on genetic 'flaws'. I dont think I should stuff my kid with pills if he misbehaves, struggles with reading or would rather play in a park rather than do home work. If a person decides to party every night or become criminal it is because they choose to and not because of some chemical imbalance. Very few of these diseases have been proven to exist and there is a huge market for selling drugs to 'cure' these unknwon diseases. What do you think?

Yes, I do believe that ADHD can be diagnosed.

The only problem is that a lot of kids get the stamp or people say they have ADHD and so can't help being restless or not being able to concentrate.
It's so sad that so many parents accept Ritalin as the solution, because it's not.
It's a dangerous drug that suppresses the child's character.
Ritalin is an amphetamine.
Nowadays a lot of children are under stress. They have to accomplish much more than they are able to cope with.
This feeling in adults causes burn outs and they can express that in several ways.
A lot of children are burnt out at an early age, dealing with problem that are family related. Dealing with parents in a non-happy marriage ( even when you are not arguing in front of your child they'll still feel the pressure to act right), or loosing a grand-parent, some other loved one.

Children in the US get a lot of home work and have not much time to relax after work. they build up a huge amount of stress they can't release. Causing parents and teachers to think they have ADHD.

Another bottle of the drug Ritalin gets ordered to suppress the child instead of taking time to teach them how to cope with the situation and not being a hassle in class or at home.

I have worked as a social work for 7 years and heard many cases of children eventually going for the stronger stuff.
Even my husbands best friend from high school started to go for speed( where it is related too) and eventually cocaine.

I'm highly against Ritalin and I believe that children need to become a priority of society again and need to be looked after far more.

Did you know that a US school gets extra financial benefits from the government for every child that's diagnosed? No, wonder they want all these kids tested.

Having been a Behavioral Science major, naturally, I do believe in mental disorders. HOWEVER, I do find that there often is a tendency to over-diagnose. I think that society in general has a problem coping with anything that is not clearly labeled, and that this tendency spills over into the Mental Health realm. Anything that seems outside of the "norm" has to be labeled in order to be explained or the world is uncomfortable with it. What's worse is that the circle that defines "normal" anymore seems to be ever shrinking.

A couple of other things that I feel encourage these diagnoses are policies and societal problems. One example of policies dictating treatment is that, often times, insurance providers will not pay for a person's treatment unless they have a specific diagnosis. It's really no different than if a person goes to a medical doctor. An insurance company is not going to shell out money unless it can determine that there is a very good reason and that said treatment is imperative.

An example of social problems dictating treatment: I see a terrible trend with today's parents taking a more "hands off" approach to child rearing. Many children have little discipline and many parents have too little control. Families are not the strong, healthy units that they once were and, naturally, this is going to have an effect on the children's behaviors, attitudes, etc. When parents are at wit's end, they seem to turn to the Mental Health realm as a last resort. And, now, we are back to the issue of policies that I stated earlier: Make the parents' happy and slap a label on the kid. The parents' will feel better thinking their kid is the problem rather than their child rearing approach.

It's a sad state all around and it certainly isn't getting any better. The final result is that so often these children turn up for counseling as adults, long after they have been suffering the consequences of this trend and have become adults with little or no coping skills to use in life. It gets worse with each generation because these dysfunctions keep trickling down to the next generation.

For starters, clearly add is over-diagnosed. yes its real, but its driven HEAVILY by social factors and is about as legitimite as "restless legs syndrome" hahahaha.

but bipolar disorder is over-diagnosed too. and not just for teh benefit of the medical community. its a trend that says something more profound and scary about our society.

That being said,

As the son of a psychotherapist and the product of an intensive 4 year psychology program at a very prominent college, I can tell you this:

therapy is wonderful in its purpose: to help people improve their lives through self-discovery.....

and meds are necessary to help people with dibilitating mental problems such as schizophrenia to function in the world as it stands.

the issue is that, like any other business, therapy is corrupted by the rich and bored. too many people use it as a self-serving crutch that allows them to feel like they are the center of their universe and also use the dsm classifications as doors to hide behind and to excuse their actions.


so the answer to your question is that therapy, particularly behavior modification is very effective and beneficial... the larger question remains: is therapy in the western sense just another tool to promote individualism and selfishness?

I don't believe that you should put your children on medication at the drop of a hat, but I do believe in mental disorders and if your child is suffering in school and in other areas maybe you should consider it. It's called a chemical imbalance. As an adult you can easily say if there is something wrong...anxiety, hard to consentrate...but when you are a kid you need your parents to pick up the signs of some of these things. Your Dr. knows way more than you may think. They know certain signs of certain issues. Trust your Dr.
Also, if you don't want to put your child on meds. try to limit the sugar intake...it really help a lot!!!

Duh, I believe in it. I have it. My whole family eighther has ADD or ADHD.
And some disorders ARE "generic flaws", passed down through families. And people with ADHD already do take responsibility for themselves. It's not a question of if they should.
Disorders like ADD and ADHD don't have anything to do with misbehavior, or struggling with reading or rather playing in a park than doing home work. And people don't stuff thier kidds with pills if they do. Medications like ridlein are for helping extreme cases of ADHD to gain focus and calm the person down. ADHD is Atention Deficate Hyperactivity Disorder. So they have trouble paying attention and can't sit still.But Some are really bright like my brother. He had to take ridlein when he was in third grade, but he was super smart. he was quiet too. But he read a book during class or couldn't sit still in class. Some people have reading problems because of ADHD, because they can't focus long enough. And of course you don't stuff you kid with pills if they misbehave - there are a hundred possibilities of whats wrong - like He's just misbehaving!! Wow! imagine that! or struggling with reading, that doesn't mean they have ADHD. Or rather playing in the park than homework - Who wouldn't!!!
ADD and ADHD have been proven and do exist! There are tests and such. But no drug can cure ADHD. and sadly yes, some people claim they can, but that is not true.
I KNOW ADHD is out there.

i was diagnosed with adhd and i have seen other people out there that have it as well. it is a problem i have bursts of hyperness, and most of the time in school i cant concentrate on what is going on. medicine does help it alot. i know now we are overdiagnosing or young and some people dont have a problem and some really do. its all the parents out there that would rather medicate there children to be mindless zombies than whip there kid in to shape. unfortunatly, that plays off on to the people who do have disorders, and really do need the medication

Your are completely and utterely wrong. If you saw your child struggling in school and misbehaving in class and you knew that you could do something to fix that I am certain that you wouldn't do it. As a mother I assume that you would only do what is best for your child and do anything for them because you love them. Even if that means going against what you feel is right and wrong. Because later in life you'll see that was the right decision.It is a chemical imbalance and if you have it it can change your life forever.