ADHD and Stigma
ADHD and Stigma
What is ADHD/ADD?
ADHD stands for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, a condition which involves symptoms such as impulsivity, hyperactivity, and inattentiveness. Both children and adults can have ADHD, but symptoms become noticeable in childhood. Symptoms differ from person to person.
Common Myths about ADHD
A. ADHD isnt a real medical condition
Research shows that it runs in families, meaning, it might be genetic. The National Institute of Health and the American Psychiatric Association, both recognize ADHD as a medication condition.
B. ADHD is the result of poor parenting
People attribute the childs behavior to a lack of discipline. They fail to understand and realize that symptoms such as inattentiveness, constant fidgeting and hyperactivity, all of these are signs of a medical condition.
C. Only Boys have ADHD.
Boys are more than twice as likely as girls to be diagnosed with ADHD, that does not signify that girls dont have ADHD. They are more likely to be overlooked and remain undiagnosed.
D. Kids with ADHD will outgrow it.
ADHD is a lifelong condition. Symptoms will change overtime, but thats not the same as outgrowing them.
Stigma surrounding ADHD
1. People with ADHD are often seen as defective whereas individuals with ADHD can be competent and skilled too.
2. As said earlier, many people fail to recognize that ADHD is a medical condition. They often perceive it as an excuse for laziness and sloppiness.
3. The fact that ADHD can undermine academic performance worsens the stigma attached to it. Society often uses poor grades as a base for judging the worth of the individual.
Who is affected by this stigmatization?
1.Girls and young women, as people tend to believe that ADHD is an exclusively male problem.
2. Adults, since a lot of people think of ADHD to be a childhood disorder and their thinking seems to be that adults make it up to compensate for failures in life.
3. Stigmatization can be difficult for anyone with ADHD.
What damage does the ADHD stigma cause?
1. Discrimination at work and in other domains of a persons life.
2. Self-stigmatization, people tend to internalize the negative stereotypes and this results in feelings of shame and hopelessness, which results in lack of interest and motivation in wanting to be successful.
Break the Stigma
1. Get educated- read books and articles to learn more about this disorder.
2. Spread awareness.
3. Speak up- correct others when they make misinformed comments about ADHD and speak up when you see another person being treated unfairly.
Discussion Questions
1. What are some misconceptions you have heard about ADHD?
2. What causes people to stigmatize others?
3. How do you think the stigma impacts those living with ADHD?
4. Do you have any other ideas that can help with reducing the stigma attached to this disorder?
5. What are some things you can do to offer support to someone living with ADHD?
6. Can you share any resources that may help someone with ADHD?
7. What did you learn from this forum discussion today?
@GrahZeymahzin
Love this post!
@GrahZeymahzin excellent post
1. What are some misconceptions you have heard about ADHD?
The most absurd: ADHD was "created" by pharmaceutical industry to sell drugs. I have ADHD, in I know it's real
2. What causes people to stigmatize others?
In my experience, is because people believe that everyone should be whitin a normall standard, anything above or below it's wrong
3. How do you think the stigma impacts those living with ADHD?
It cause depression and a low self-esteem to be excluded, bullied, ashamed
4. Do you have any other ideas that can help with reducing the stigma attached to this disorder?
spread awareness as you said, I think the problem is the ignorance and the myths around ADHD
5. What are some things you can do to offer support to someone living with ADHD?
Empathy and encourage to initiate a treatment
6. Can you share any resources that may help someone with ADHD?
The book: Is it you, me, or Adult ADD? by Gina Pera, teachs a lot and helps to understand ADHD, but I haven't end it because it's a little bit hard, it's more a book for someone who lives with a person with ADHD, so it's hard to see ADHD from how people around you feel about your actions
7. What did you learn from this forum discussion today?
I learned that I must not lose hope
@SolitSoul
ADHD was definitely not created to sell drugs!! Those who struggle from ADD or ADHD sometimes don't need drugs to deal with their symptoms. It is better to talk to a doctor regarding it but there are so many coping strategies and support systems that don't require it that would not benefit the pharmaceutical industry!!
it can definitly be a big thing for those that don't have it to assume that because they don't have it that it isn't real or that nobody else could struggle with things that they don't struggle with themselves!!
Struggling with ADD or ADHD can be really hard without the stigma!! Then adding in the stigma people may think that they shouldn't be struggling and try to hide it and deal with things which can lead to other issues and make things even harder to deal with!!
Empathy and awareness and even encouragement are both really big to supporting those with ADD or ADHD or any other disorder!!
Thqt book seems really cool. I actually haven't heard of it before but I am going to look into trying to locate it to see if I can learn anything from it!!
And definitely never lose help. There is always someone here for you and we all want you to be successful!!!
The biggest thing I hear is that ADHD is just an excuse for laziness. I hear this from everyone. And it's hard not to internalize it.
I had a conversation with my boss about my adhd because I was always late for work. I explained it and her first question was "isn't there a medicine you can take for that" as if medicine would suddenly cure me. I told her yes, I was on medicine but it wasn't a cure. Her response? "Do better then". Like ok yeah I'd be doing better if I could. It's not like I'm not trying.
I feel like that's one of the biggest things with the stigma. People feel like we aren't trying. That we aren't attempting to do better. But we are. It's just so hard for a lot of us.
money resource I'd suggest is Twitter as weird as that sounds. There's a big adhd community there and a lot of adhd advocates. I learned so much from them. I was diagnosed but never really told what that diagnosis meant. It was through that community I learned that the things I struggled with weren't exclusive to me. I wasn't alone. That these things were all a part of my adhd. I honestly cried. It's good support.
@easyApple3195 So sorry your struggling right now. Hope things get better for you. Maybe reach out to a listener hear at 7cups,if that might help.
I am really glad you put this out there because if more people see this then peeps with adhd like me have a better time
Hi @GrahZeymahzin
Cool post! *thumbs up* I'll answer some.
1. What are some misconceptions you have heard about ADHD? ● That ADHDers just not trying hard enough.
2. What causes people to stigmatize others? ● lack of understanding about the topic.
3. How do you think the stigma impacts those living with ADHD? ● it hurts, upsetting and may make one feel invalidated.
4. Do you have any other ideas that can help with reducing the stigma attached to this disorder? ● I'd say in personal level, you can learn further about ADHD and if anyone ask, you can explain it best.
Love this 💜
