Posted by PoohBear on July 15, 2004, at 11:23:32
In reply to Re: Does Effexor work - ADHD poem - Good book » PoohBear, posted by corafree on July 15, 2004, at 8:56:38
Cora:
As to whether all people have ADHD to some extent or other, I would agree with Pablo, that many people exhibit ADHD-like symptoms at certain periods of their life. In Britain they don't even have a diagnosis for ADHD, feeling that it is over-indicated in American psychiatry...
That said, the difference, I think, is that the "symptoms" for the person with "true" ADHD are much more intense and persistent. It's normal for almost anyone to have lazy periods, but is this something that has been a persistent pattern in a person's life, and if so, why?
I really do think that there are so many things about the brain and our nervous system that are either not understood or are MISUNDERSTOOD that it sometimes makes correct diagnosis an real issue. Not all psychologists "believe" that there is such a thing as ADHD. If that were not the case, there would be far fewer doctors preaching the "no medication for children" message. The key is doing enough research on your own to be versed enough in the subject that you understand the disorder and its variations so that you can carry on an effective treatment program with your therapist, who will hopefully be trained enough to diagnose and guide.
There is a test that you can take online from the Amen Clinic:
http://www.amenclinic.com/ac/addtests/adult.asp
Take the test and then take it to your therapist and see what they recommend...
I have personal theory as to why there may be so many people in the US that exhibit ADHD symptoms.
I believe that based on genetics, one can make a case that since 99% of the population originally came from somewhere else, that the people that came here were the adventurous types who were in one way or another disatisfied with were they were, their station in life or who simply were driven to seek new horizons. These people then "bred" that brain wiring into many of the general population.
There are those as well who feel that ADHD symptoms are brough on by environmental stimuli, like mercury. I think if you look at Dr. Amen's research with brain scans, you'll agree with me that there must be some other mechanism at work.
Best wishes!
Tony
poster:PoohBear
thread:13781
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040714/msgs/366479.html