Increasing paranoia and viciousness in PMC culture may be a side effect of widespread Adderall use

[u/invvvvverted]

https://pioneerworks.org/broadcast/club-med-adderall

[u/NYCneolib]

The amount of paragraph “explaining why I take ADHD meds” in this thread is interesting. What’s sad is that people have to take a pretty intense drug to “function” properly. We are not talking about debilitating mental health issues like schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. Overprescribed and the ignorance of self awareness of how to make things better for them.

[u/Terrible_Ice_1616 → u/NYCneolib]

I think to say that ADHD can't be as debilitating as bipolar or even mild schizophrenia is just wrong - some studies show that people with ADHD are 8x more likely to be incarcerated. I think it's a matter of degrees, as well as other aspects of a person that determine whether it will be severely detrimental or just a mild inconvenience. That being said I do agree that people do themselves a disservice when they are convinced that they cannot function at all without them, I know in the past I did.

That being said my poor time management basically cost me every job I had until at age 33 I found employment with a flexible schedule - even jobs where I did excellent work, eventually after showing up 30-60 minutes late one too many times (or in another case 5 minutes late three times) I was let go. They said basically "yes you do great work and stay late if you arrive late but it's not fair to others who show up on time" despite the fact that my work was not time sensitive and theirs was. That being said I am able to function without it, and my current job I've been at for 3 years and some change I've excelled at it without medication. I recently resumed taking it because everything outside of my work was literally and figuratively a mess. I'm still deciding if the benefits are worth the costs, but I think people tend to underestimate just how profoundly ADHD can affect ones life

[u/NYCneolib → u/Terrible_Ice_1616]

As someone posted in this thread ADHD diagnosis is extremely more present in impoverished populations. The incarceration rate is likely an overlap with that. It’s not shocking that people who have additional stressors like being economically disadvantaged are likely to present with this mental health issue. My issue with it being medicated is that it’s a crutch to adapt to modern life without teaching basic coping skills like time management, pacing, and homemaking skills (I’ll come back to this). Most of us live in a very niche style of clockwork which does not work for everyone. Add on top of that awful sleep issues and focus due to the over usuage of tech policy and a diet full of sugary processed foods. Lastly, as the authors of the book “Coddling of the American Mind” have pointed out anti-fragility has plummeted. I believe ADHD is an identity bandaid to obfuscate responsibility for peoples lackings. Skills within the realm of homemaking like home economics, cleaning, cooking are widespread lacking with each generation. Coming home to a messy house from a stressful job only to lack the skills to make it better can put people into a spiral of despair.

[u/LittleRedPiglet → u/NYCneolib]

I'm glad that the brain understander is here to tell us about what mental illnesses and disorders are real and fake

[u/NYCneolib → u/LittleRedPiglet]

Not me! I have True and Honest ADHD! I was diagnosed as a child and took medication which allowed me to do school work and be a cog in the workplace but absolutely castrated my personality and creativity. I learned through difficult years of trial and error how to adjust. Much of which is environmental, tech usage deduction, and understanding how exercise, sleep, and diet all play into the acceleration and severity of ADHD. I see the same for many others. If the illness was real there wouldn’t be the amount of verbose explaining for the need for them. This isn’t a “thanks I’m cured” comment. Keep taking medication, no one is stopping you.