Adult ADHD

There are many people who believe that problems exist with the diagnosis and treatments of ADHD, with some even questioning the validity of the existence of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder as a genuine medical disorder.  Some experts point out that it is easy to diagnose the disorder because the symptoms, such as attention and concentration problems, are very common. Also, the drugs that are commonly used are usually effective in treating only the symptoms, and this does not necessarily mean that the real problem has been addressed.

Attention and concentration problems can stem from many other things, including mental health conditions like depression or anxiety, and just general life situations such as bad relationships, poor sleep patterns, and problems around the home or work place.  With ADHD now recognized in adults, it makes it even harder to be totally sure of whether these problems are due to a disorder or are in fact related to other inherent problems in the life of the patient.  It is precisely because of the stressful and complex nature of adult lives in the modern world that it becomes possible for some people to question the existence of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or at least to bring to attention it’s possible over diagnosis and miss treatment.

Some skeptics suggest that the diagnosis of ADHD is being stretched so that drug companies can sell even more behavior-modifying drugs.  Symptoms resembling ADHD were first described in 1845 by Dr Heinrich Hoffman, but they weren’t thought to be a problem back then when people were more likely to do manual jobs and less likely to notice any problems associated with concentration and mental focus.  This illustrates the skeptical viewpoint that perhaps looking at ADHD as a disorder is unproductive when it is perhaps best described as an inability to fit in with the norms of modern industrial society, a point even more valid when applied to an adult population who are relied on to produce goods and services for this society.