Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
Patients Waiting to See the Doctor, with Figures representing Their Fears Rosemary Carson (b. 1962) Photo Credit: Wellcome Collection [CC BY] Why does everyone suddenly seem to have ADHD? It's a question that many of us working in mental health have been asking each other recently. Just a decade or so ago I rarely saw anyone in clinic with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder; now I see at least one case a day. It's bewildering. Have all these people simply been undiagnosed for years? Is it a medical fad? No one knows. ADHD used to be mainly diagnosed in children, but more and more people are now getting a diagnosis in adulthood. These adult patients tend to assume that they have had the disorder since childhood but what they don't grasp, is that even the existence of childhood ADHD as a condition is up for debate. Research suggests that far from being under-diagnosed in children, ADHD is wildly over-diagnosed. - and this is dangerous... It's easier to whack a la...