I think it's possible that some of the comorbid disorders seen in people with ADHD are not separate but actually caused by the ADHD itself. If you treat the ADHD you treat the anxiety/depression. Substance use seen in those with ADHD may also be due to ADHD's impact on self-esteem and impulse control. But, great video. Glad to see videos that show all aspects of this disorder from all angles.

Is it possible that many adult ADHD folks have just found the right niche so their ADHD is not a problem as much- not that it has gone away? I mean, how many ADHD accountants do you know? Maybe not many. But adult ADHD seems to be very present in mechanics and oh yeah - ER docs. All jobs with lots of physical activity and intense mental focus on one complex thing at a time. But really want to thank you as you talk about how the demands of present society are not congruent with how evolution selected for brain function. I wish we would change education, but that is not going to happen. So I prescribe medication for individuals to function in a society at odds with how thier brains function. ADHD was probably a huge benefit when we were hunter-gathers, but not so much a benefit in modern society. I am really enjoying your videos and learning a lot. Please keep making them!!!!

Hi, I have ADHD and I want to share my opinion: ADHD is definitely being overdiagnosed. People make kids sit for hours at a time and expect them to sit still. Suddenly they are diagnosed with ADHD and put on meds. But ADHD is absolutely real. I have a form of it that makes it near impossible to function so no, for some of us it’s not just a slight deviation. I can’t even do things I want to do because of it. If the ADHD symptoms don’t continue into adulthood (don’t say someone’s symptoms didn’t continue just because they present differently now. I mean if that aspect stops altogether) then they probably didn’t have it in the first place. I need meds to function in society. Many of the people put on meds don’t really need them (usually because they never had ADHD- it was because the school system makes them appear to have it. In many cases it is the school system’s problem, not the kid having ADHD). The kid doesn’t need a change, the school system does. But for the many of us who do have it, we need extra support through the meds.

I'm a speech therapist who works in schools and am an adult with ADHD and only recently medicated. I agree, we are asking kids to sit for ridiculously long periods of time and therefore is drug therapy the real answer? I don't think so. That said, when there is reference to children outgrowing ADHD or the original ADHD is realized to be a comorbid psychiatric condition this is also muddy because as an adult diagnosed as an adult, I definitely acquired anxiety and other psychological challenges due to undiagnosed ADHD. I don't know any pediatrician or psychiatrist who is pushing stimulants now - in addition, there is a nationwide shortage of generic and name brand stimulants due to reasons related to production and also over prescribing. I found this video to be just a little fearmongering but overall, it was informative and touched on some good things that would be excellent topics for deeper dives. In my experience, personally, and in the students I work with, I definitely see the overlap of ADHD and ASD. And that's obviously, a broad stroke. But, especially in the academic setting, I see students who are definitely on the ASD spectrum but only have an ADHD diagnosis which would perhaps make the prescribing of ADHD medication inappropriate.

The one thing that makes sense is the reason on a map that it's so much more on the east coast of the United States is because 80% of the US population lives on the east half of the United State. Just like as the East Coast has around 90% of all railroads which ties to the history of the United States.

This was such a great video and topic. I think you've said all the things about ADHD (which probably extend to other conditions as well) that others are afraid to talk about/don't admit may be true. Psychiatry's mission creep into more and more of variations of normal is kind of concerning. Follow-up questions: in which cases do you think ADHD meds are appropriate? Are there diagnoses in the DSM that you think have gone too far into variations of normal?

What's the TLDR version of this? I thought this was a psychiatric vs neurodevelopmental talk but I haven't heard that part much. I wish learning about ADHD didn't require so much focus lol I keep watching (restarting) this but somehow I'm still not sure what you're saying and I feel I'm not going to get your point unfortunately.

tried to learn a bit more about my disorder, zoned out 15 times, didn't hear a word he said

I think the answer is both. ADHD is real, but it's not necessarily a disorder as it's part of a continuum of normal variation in attention. However, speaking as someone with ADHD who is also autistic... This doesn't make it, in some cases, less damaging to my everyday life. I wasn't diagnosed until early adulthood with either. As a kid, my school was an amazing environment for ADHD and neurodiverse people. I had access to fidgets, in a natural environment, small class sizes with excellent teachers, flexibility in work, and so forth. I didn't really need medication, it wasn't necessarily causing me problems. When I went to college, though... I was falling behind my peers, but the biggest struggle was to structure cooking, cleaning, and generally scheduling my time and managing money. But the thing is, I think the reason this is really a problem is because society is fucking forcing conventional narratives of success on me that require focus, attention, and impulse control out the wazoo. I don't think society fits how our brains really are in any way at all. ADHD may have been a benefit in 'the wild'. But medicine also can cut out organs like kidneys, appendix, tonsils.. we don't get nearly the same amount of physical activity.. our diet is fucked.. we're all drinking coffee to be productive anyways.. living far outside of natural environments. I don't think that ADHD being a naturally occurring phenomenon really needs to come into play for ADHD to still be a problem. As for the medications used, I think stimulants need to take more of a backseat. I'd love more work done to develop other non-stimulants. Things that work 24/7 like atomoxetine and guanfacine. Between possible dangerous effects, desensitization of the dopamine receptors, and tolerance causing dose escalation are all problematic for a disorder prone to forgetting a consistent medication schedule.

I agree questions should be asked , in that regard i wonder this: 37y female diagnosed with innatentive type (even went to two dif doctors and made extensive tests) , how can a stimulant be so calming to me ? I have tried to make sense of this but i cannot. I dont get mad at things like i used to, my mood is better and i feel so much calmer ( i even eat and drink at slow pace now ) . I have seen people go nuts and rave and hyper with stimulants but that is just not my experience at all. I used to have a lot of wakenings during the night and even that is so much better. Any reason for this ? Thank you :)

This is off topic, but have you tried the gene sight testing with your patients or heard of it? What are your opinions on this for helping find the right medication. Do you think gene testing is accurate? My psych said it is a guideline to help choose a new antidepressant since Lexapro seemed to cause too many side effects and loose its effectiveness after a year. Could you possibly make a video on this? Thanks

Thanks for this informative video! I always wondered about amphetamines as treatment when it's been demonstrated to cause brain damage. Your explanations are easy to understand and very insightful

This is so interesting and TBH as someone who was diagnosed adult adhd my first medication I was prescribed was Adderall which did not help with my attention at all though it did help me with procrastination. I've heard of non stimulants which now taking both Strattera and Tenex and my attention has been improved a lot which I'm so glad. Not going to lie I don't want to take stimulants for the reason for neurotoxicity and the stigma that comes with it.

This neuropsychologist 100% agrees with this analysis. I think this conversation needs to continue and would love to contribute from an assessment standpoint.

It's an interesting take and it's mostly valid and I understand the reasonas and all the concerns regarding medication, the only thing I would like to comment or suggest a different point of view is the late diagnosis in adults. You stated that some ppl didn't have An ADHD diagnosis as children which you took as making the diagnosis less valid (if I misunderstood I apologize) but have you considered that there are probably outside reasons why these individuals weren't diagnosed as children? It could range from neglect to not being able to afford an evaluation, cultural background, misdiagnosis etc. While it is True that if you didn't have ADHD as a child you usually can't have it as an adult, a diagnosis isnt the same. As I stated maybe they couldnt get a diagnosis when they were young but were finally as a adult able to get one. So anyway this is the only thing that bothered me about this video,,, cool take tho

saving you having to read the question preface, i will simply ask: Have you noticed whether or not suboxone has an affect on ADD in a non medicated person(not taking adderall, etc)? i have a friend that it seems to make his symptoms worse. just curious. While I've got you here, i have another question. off topic... i have noticed some people that suffer a brain injury, after recovery, seem to become more talented in a certain field. for example, math, physics, etc. is there anything to that? or is it just coincidence of the people i have known? :)

Probably this way of being leads to more anxity, sleeping problems (for exemple I can sleep 2 hours a night and wake up, ready to do so many things until I collapse after a few days), depression and burn out (when you spent years and years in working all night long and take no rest, just because it is enthousiastic, or thinking at so many things I want to do) Now, I am exhauted at 37. Never took ADHD medecine (diagnosed a few months ago). How to deal with this ?

I’ve had adhd since I was a kid and just thought I’d outgrow it but it developed into anxiety in my adulthood and my adhd has gotten worse. I have never taken any medication and recently was prescribed buspar to deal with the anxiety foremost. 5 days in my sleep is worse, i feel dizzy after taking jt. I feel very minor improvements, thinking that stopping drinking coffee might help this medication. Do you have any suggestions on if this is the route that’s best and if buspar will eventually help? Thanks!!

Thanks Dr. This was a breath of fresh air.

As someone diagnosed in my 20's with both ADHD and depression then in my 30's - 40's with treatment resistant major depression and PTSD related to childhood trauma, I guess I would say it would be extremely hard to parse out what is what where one begins and the other ends. Add a terrible mental health family history including my mother who wound up homeless, and lived her entire life with some form of undiagnosed personality disorder, depression, addiction (possibly cocaine) hoarding and animal collecting -- she lived with 30 feral cats at one point -- as well as her cousins both of whom killed themselves (both with addictions one by hanging due to cocaine addiction and the other by intentional heroin overdose) and I'm iust not sure how one would begin to distinguish them? She was verbally, often physically and always psychologically abusive, but she was mostly suffering. My ADHD symptomology is textbook on steroids but how much is depression versus ongoing trauma is so interlinked at this point it seems near impossible to parse out? Mercifully I didn't get the addiction piece. Indeed I'm extremely sensitve to most drugs but most especially psychiatric ones. All SSRI's cause heightened anxiety in me. Wellbutrin and Remeron caused intense disproportionate rage and extreme irritability. Ritalin was OK but I could only take an slower release version otherwise the anxiety was soul crushing. Adderall was nightmarish -- lasted a week. Combining a stimulant and an SSRI's triggered hypomania and a 10 day psych ward stay in 2019 although we now think my elevated blood pressure was contributing much of that. Unlike many people I can absolutely tell when my blood pressure is elevated. I want to crawl out of my own skin. Nefazodone was "okay" but they discontinued that. Effexor was awful and the discontinuation was even worse. Weed? Awful reactions with extreme irritability emerging 48 hours after taking and lasting weeks. Intuniv caused severe irritation and it's still ongoing after a month of discontinuation and only taking it for 3 weeks. That sensistivity to drugs has been a blessing and a curse. At 55 my heart and blood pressure are also huge factors limiting treatment options. At this point its Modafinil for cognitive and Trazodone for sleep. But the former is a sleep killer and the latter only helps get me to sleep it doesn't help with staying asleep. I have a loving wife. I'm in weekly therapy but the convergenge of all these factors and the symptoms of them have left me exhausted and ready to die. I'd check out tomorrow if I didn't think it would hurt the people who love me. So adult ADHD converging with untreated depression and childhood trauma or whatever the hell this is has near destroyed my life. I could be homeless and alone tomorrow. That's just the grim reality of it all. ADHD or similar type of symptomology is a stone cold killer in the US for adults. There is zero compassion and zero understanding. This countrt will chew you up and spit you out with zero care given. I exercise as best I can. I used to ride 200 miles per week and do 10 foot elevation gains but a random assault while biking that caused a traumatic head injury ended that for me. I backpacked 90 miles in a weekend routinely but that's done. I do more reasonable distances now. It doesn't really help the symptoms. Even a 50 mile ride would maybe calm me or help for about 5 hours or so. I do it for overall health not mental health.

I highly aggree adderall is unhealthy and neurotoxic and shouldn’t be used long term daily, I do however think they still should be prescribed but warnings should be given and psychiatrists should warn not to use it daily. Personally adderall addiction heavily worsened my depression and my depression wouldn’t be so bad had I not used it daily for a long time

Is the Hypocampus decrease also present with bupropion or methylphenidate?

I believe that it should be on the Spectrum I have ADHD what sucks is medication varieties generics are not the same and achieving therapeutic effects from different brands it's a struggle and it's discrimination just trying to get the medication filled and how controlled it is I feel like after a year of taking medication they shouldn't be that regulated for the patient I should be able to get three months h my supply and not call every month also like the visual aspect when it comes to ADHD is really affected how you perceived details and colors I feel like everything started to 4K HD 60 frames per second when regards to my vision how am I able to analyze and materials

I like the Jungian approach to the DSM-5-TR. Mental wellness is within a spectrum with extremes and specifiers.

And then having the inability just to be like in the moment present like in time and just quiet mind and being able to just relax and you know not you constantly like bouncing all over the walls thinking from

I like your channel...just foumd you. Im a former heroin addict and struggling with all sorts of issues and on suboxone. Weaning off it is really hell....but it destroyed my teeth.

is sluggish cognitive tempo realz?

It's a possibility I have ADHD along with my intellectual disabilities and CP and I have little bit of anxiety sometimes TBH

Finally, more people recognizing this. I can't believe it's widely accepted to prescribe children fucking speed for life because they are slightly different from their peers

Can I take 120mg of adderall per day?

The rise in adhd diagnoses not being due to better recognizing adhd today argument also applies to autism diagnoses. It’s just that autism diagnoses doesn’t often lead to “fun” medication being prescribed. But the rise of autism diagnoses is also very suspicious to me and isn’t fully explained away by it being better recognized.

❤❤❤❤❤❤thank you for doing this video!!!!!! Adults in their 30s and 40s keep wanting the diagnosis of adhd due to tik tok and its so false.

didnt even need to finish the vid but its time to get off my stimulant meds now lol fuck my psychiatrist thank you for opening my eyes, I also just stopped my antidepressants bc people are talking about how those are a scam and overprescribed. At least now I will be saving hundreds of dollars now from like 3 different meds

ADHD meds gave me bad side effects. Took Adderall XR for one year and had high heart rate issues. The only way the medication would work was while intermittent fasting. Also a chore to try and have the script filled every month. Just learned to live with it.

cherry picked analysis of data , lacks experience, a lot of nuanced data ignored.

ADHD in Israel is 25% +

Children treated for ADHD being more likely to develop substance-abuse problems in the adulthood? A very simple explanation for that would be if as a child do you noticed that taking a pill made your life better - when you become an adult you may be more apt to think taking a different substance might also make your life better.

Once my ADHD son turns 18 and he doesn’t smarten up then he is more than welcome to join the homeless/street community. I am so tired of having to treat him special like his dietary preferences.

This is a Scientology channel now.