Thoughtful and useful article by Will about the ‘ADHD’ label, its implications and consequences. The writer too believes the exponential increase in diagnosis and drug treatment makes sense in political and financial terms, rather than in terms of the science; is ultimately about behaviour control and securing social compliance, rather than individual, familial or social holistic well-being; and thereby illustrates some profoundly disturbing aspects of our current cultural paradigms. And a lot of what Will says is accurate for many other ‘disorders’, besides ADHD – for example about the impact of the blame culture we inhabit, the pathologising of masculinity (or femininity, or other aspects of diversity, depending on the context), the philosophical tautology of the DSM ‘mental disorder’ classifications, and the psychiatry/Big Pharma enmeshment.
‘The behaviours associated with ADHD are real, and the problems they cause can be very hard to live with. Yet however desperate they are for help, all parents should be cautious and sceptical about the “cure” they are likely to be offered. Equally, children should be reminded that “failing” at school is not failing as a human being. Many of the most creative and successful people only find their path through life in adulthood. Being different is not an illness.’
Those last words in particular – ‘Being different is not an illness’ – resonate in terms of the ‘ADHD’ debate, and more widely in terms of the work we do here.
Here is Will’s book:-
And here are some earlier posts on this theme:-
https://palacegatecounsellingservice.wordpress.com/2014/02/10/adhd-eisenberg-fact-and-fiction/
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Counselling Exeter since 1994
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