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Comment by Retra | Hacker News Reader

Having read hundreds of internet posts describing anecdotal symptoms of ADHD, I can confirm nothing about what ADHD actual is or whether or not I have it. ADHD is, as far as I can tell, a condition whereby a person exhibits habits of some kind and feels the need to either judge themselves or not.

Granted, I am not a doctor, but I have yet to meet a person that I've felt has the apparently superhuman diagnostic abilities required to identify ADHD.

So I wouldn't worry about it either way. Live your life and try not to die or be unhappy.

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It shows you're not a doctor, but you're right: it's complicated condition (maybe even "configuration") and on top of that it's hard to diagnose in adults, because they tend to have formed habits around this condition.

There's a crude test though: Take (a small dose) of Ritalin, Adderall or other stimulant that increases activity in the striatum and see:

* Do you mainly feel sweaty, agitated and super-alert: probably no ADHD.

* Do you feel like you're able to think properly for the first time in your life or get sleepy even -> hints to ADHD.

I'm not willing to say that ADHD is a fabrication or anything. I'm just somewhat skeptical that it could be diagnosed without long term observations. (In lieu of self-reported descriptions of symptoms.)

Your crude test really is crude, though: by itself, it invents a condition to match the result of the application of a drug. You could do the same with any drug: "You have VPFP if you use [insert drug here] and feel it improves your life, and you don't otherwise. Let's start writing prescriptions to treat VPFP."

That's probably not the most reliable test to be honest.

Really, the crux of it is this: When you need to concentrate on something that you aren't interested in, are you able to?

As far as I can tell, the only purpose for calling it "ADHD" is to make you eligible for drugs that would otherwise be illegal or therapies that are specifically targeted at people with the symptoms of ADHD.

If the drugs or therapies increase your quality of life, you're "ADHD" because you have a prescription. If they make you feel worse, you're not "ADHD" because you don't need ADHD treatments.

This works because people only ask doctors about ADHD if they need help with the symptoms that we all culturally think of as ADHD.

> I can confirm nothing about what ADHD actual is or whether or not I have it.

You don't need to confirm what ADHD actually is or whether or not you have it. What you want to figure out is if ADHD treatments help you live a better life.

Also keep in mind that a lot of people that could benefit from ADHD drugs don't seek treatment, and don't think of themselves as "ADHD", but instead they self-medicate with things like coffee to avoid seeing a doctor and taking the diagnosis.

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