General Science Discussion Thread!

[GalacticPetey]

i never understand why people are so eager to diagnose themselves with ADD, ADHD, OCD, and the like

Self-diagnosis is NEVER a smart thing to do. I'm clinically diagnosed with ADHD, so I know what I'm talking about. All of this self-diagnosis business is merely a form of confirmation bias.

Look, having some urge to 100% game and perfect things is NOT OCD.

This pisses me off so much. I know a lot of people who say "Oh my god, I had to readjust those books on the shelf I'm so OCD."

No. That's not what being OCD is at all.

 

[Xiahou Ba]

This pisses me off so much. I know a lot of people who say "Oh my god, I had to readjust those books on the shelf I'm so OCD."

No. That's not what being OCD is at all.

Yeah. It's called "Being a Neat Freak"

 

[Xiahou Dun]

i never understand why people are so eager to diagnose themselves with ADD, ADHD, OCD, and the like

what anton said, plus doctors and teachers also seem to be more eager to diagnose kids with it these days

i nearly got labeled as ADHD by my kindergarten teacher before my mom was like "no you're stupid, he's just too advanced for this class because he can read"

i don't know where i'd be today if i was constantly drugged on ADHD meds

Ahahahaha no.

While "eager diagnosis" is a valid problem, the biggest reason more people are diagnosed with ADHD is that there is more research and awareness being done about this reality for many people, including me. Girls and people scoring high intelligence quota are still underdiagnosed (ADHD is better noticed externally; "boy's behavior"; intelligent people compensate, so while they aren't struggling as much in school, they are still struggling that they're called "underachievers" or worse, "lazy and not using their potential"). All in all, underdiagnosis is a much bigger problem than overdiagnosis. Hell, I'm a case study. I haven't been diagnosed with ADHD until somewhere in 7th-8th grade, in Middle School, obviously after a lengthy suffering of academic agony.

This "constantly drugged on ADHD meds" statement, I find very offensive, implying that me and other people who take Metadate and Ritalin, are "drugged". I understand that the teachers who assume you have ADHD by pulling *bleep* from their colon are inconsiderate *bleep*s, but don't go around assuming about people who have a valid diagnosis.

Finally, I don't understand why people call themselves "OCD gamers" because that's just abusing the term and marginalizing the real problems people with OCD face.

i don't know where i'd be today if i was constantly drugged on ADHD meds

Probably dead. Or high. Or highly dead.

Do you have any idea how ADHD medications work?

i never understand why people are so eager to diagnose themselves with ADD, ADHD, OCD, and the like

what anton said, plus doctors and teachers also seem to be more eager to diagnose kids with it these days

i nearly got labeled as ADHD by my kindergarten teacher before my mom was like "no you're stupid, he's just too advanced for this class because he can read"

i don't know where i'd be today if i was constantly drugged on ADHD meds

You become completely different on those meds. Truly, you do. I took myself off of them about a year ago and I feel so much better without them than with them.

Not necessarily. ADHD medications work different per person, so that's why there are so much different varieties that a psychiatrist can prescribe. I take Ritalin and Metadate; the stronger ones make me lose my appetite, but I still retain my personality.

 

[Dr. Javelin]

This "constantly drugged on ADHD meds" statement, I find very offensive, implying that me and other people who take Metadate and Ritalin, are "drugged". I understand that the teachers who assume you have ADHD by pulling *bleep* from their colon are inconsiderate *bleep*s, but don't go around assuming about people who have a valid diagnosis.

the fact is that if i was taking medication that i didn't have to, from a very young age no less, i would probably have turned out a lot differently.

if the adhd is a real thing and the doctors are absolutely 100% certain, sure! go ahead! take medication! there's nothing wrong with that

i don't see what you find so offensive. sure, you're drugged all the time, but that's not a bad thing if you're supposed to be

 

[Xiahou Dun]

This "constantly drugged on ADHD meds" statement, I find very offensive, implying that me and other people who take Metadate and Ritalin, are "drugged". I understand that the teachers who assume you have ADHD by pulling *bleep* from their colon are inconsiderate *bleep*s, but don't go around assuming about people who have a valid diagnosis.

the fact is that if i was taking medication that i didn't have to, from a very young age no less, i would probably have turned out a lot differently.

if the adhd is a real thing and the doctors are absolutely 100% certain, sure! go ahead! take medication! there's nothing wrong with that

i don't see what you find so offensive. sure, you're drugged all the time, but that's not a bad thing if you're supposed to be

Maybe you will, but it won't kill you. Medication targets neurotransmitters and other areas of the brain, but they aren't neurotoxic or anything (unless, in Ritalin's case, you have a MAO inhibitor). Ritalin is actually a stimulant. I have taken my mother's ADHD medication one time =P and I decided to never take it again because I didn't feel quite right. I really think the Ritalin scare is overblown, with people saying it's "kiddie crack" or something like that, but that fear has little substance.

"Drugged" carries negative connotations, though, and because of this, it draws parallels to drug abusers, which is something I don't want to be associated with.

 

[Xiahou Ba]

The way you juxtaposed "drugged" means that you're comparing it to the likes of meth and stuff when the drugs' functions are to make it easier for us to adapt to a society where orderly and rigid behaviors are expected and that ADHD is a detriment to those expectations. No, you don't undergo a personality change when you're taking Ritalin or stuff like that.

Yes, I've been "drugged" before. The only reason I stopped taking it because it significantly hinders my appetite (I already eat less than average to begin with). But if it didn't have that side effect, I'd take it to assist me in this society. I'm not any different than I am several years ago when I was taking it.

 

[Dr. Javelin]

the point is that it would be altering my brain chemistry. from a young age. drastically altering my life as it is now, whether it's an inhibitor or not

so yes! by your definition of "drugged", i would have indeed been drugged because i wasn't supposed to be taking that medication. so i don't see where i'm out of line here

whether or not you're "drugged" is just semantics anyways. you should be taking medication, you do. that's good. i shouldn't have been, and i didn't. that's good.

what's the problem here

 

[Xiahou Dun]

the point is that it would be altering my brain chemistry. from a young age. drastically altering my life as it is now, whether it's an inhibitor or not

so yes! by your definition of "drugged", i would have indeed been drugged because i wasn't supposed to be taking that medication. so i don't see where i'm out of line here

whether or not you're "drugged" is just semantics anyways. you should be taking medication, you do. that's good. i shouldn't have been, and i didn't. that's good.

what's the problem here

I still wouldn't call it "drugged" either way. Just because your teachers evaluate you for ADHD, it probably wouldn't fly past numerous tests you have to take with psychiatrists. And even if you are tested positive, you won't get a strong drug, and it won't affect your life in the way you described it.

The problem is that your word choice isn't ideal.

 

[Dr. Javelin]

wow okay, that's a huge issue that we should definitely be arguing about