“Oh, everyone has a little bit of ADHD…”

ADHD: A diagnosis that is increasingly being openly displayed on Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram. Often, it's either flaunted or trivialized in a clownish way. This is unfortunately a disservice. Because for those affected, ADHD isn't a comedy show.

"Everyone has ADHD these days. It's because of the internet and smartphones."

"Yes, everyone gets distracted, nervous, or short-tempered sometimes. Get your shit together."

"If you don't listen to me when you're stressed and hide away with your phone...don't blame it on ADHD!"

Heard that many times. Something like that? We're lucky, because the world seems to be populated by ADHD experts. We could actually save ourselves the trip to a psychologist, since they help us for free. Medication is probably unnecessary, too – let's get our energy or inner peace from the calm and energetic know-it-alls.

Three good questions for self-proclaimed ADHD experts

Knowledge needs to be tested – that's why the following 3 questions are helpful when you once again run into a newly unleashed ADHD expert without any comprehensible training:

1. Do you know what percentage of adults actually have ADHD?

2. Do you know which symptoms of ADHD are particularly characteristic in everyday life?

3. Have you ever taken Ritalin or one of the amphetamine-based ADHD medications and slept like a baby?

Most "ADHD experts" then become a bit subdued. Which is probably good for them.

But before we answer the three questions, we would like to explore the reasons why – much less by the media than by the know-it-alls – a veritable “ADHD epidemic” is being painted on the wall.

A life “on speed” and a society of people with ADHD?

Consumerism, urban stress, and family squabbles: It really seems as if more and more people are exhibiting symptoms of ADHD: everyday overwhelm, inner restlessness, hyperactivity, unfinished projects, circling thoughts, and running high emotions. Nothing feels routine or easy...

Yes, the "VUCA world" is a whirlwind of change, unfolding at an ever-increasing pace. And the pressure to keep up with this pace is growing. You have to have iPhone XYZ (a slightly better camera), get this and that training, get your body in shape, and somehow bring your soul back into balance. SO THAT YOU STILL HAVE A CHANCE TOMORROW AND WILL BE IN Demand. Because: YOU NEVER KNOW. And anyway: Chakras need to be balanced. Love and sex should be like they are in the movies. If we stay the way we are for a bit, someone is guaranteed to cut us off.

There's a lot of bullshit in there, if you please. But these thoughts and wishes aren't all that far-fetched in a world that, for example, has recently been transformed by a technology called artificial intelligence in a way that was never thought possible .

Do you need expertise on a specific topic? Or a finished concept for your next project? Five new images for your blog? Planning your family calendar?

Just ask the AI ​​Chat GPT 4 or the image AI Midjourney (and many others ). They won't answer you as slowly as your moderately to well-educated colleague, but they'll give you answers that are much more comprehensive, structured, and differentiated.

There it is: life on speed. None of us will ever be able to keep up with the speed of an AI. Certain jobs will soon fall like trees in a forest fire – and even creative minds have to brace themselves.

That it can be frightening...that it causes RESTLESSNESS , even INATTENTION, due to all the stress...and that it can make us impulsive : Yes, that's kind of obvious. So, welcome to a society that embraces ADHD. Because abundant inattention, restlessness/hyperactivity, and excessive impulsivity are the winning answers to question 2 in the first section ("2. Do you know which symptoms are particularly characteristic of ADHD in everyday life?").

“But not everyone has ADHD, right?”

No, Bruno, Linda, Grandma, Uncle Herbert, Werner from the Stammtisch, and Mr. Bess R. Wisser. Thankfully not. Life can be stressful enough as it is, right?

So here are the facts:

• Just 3 to 5 percent of people in Germany/Switzerland are diagnosed with ADHD (i.e., a maximum of one in twenty)
• These people – children, adolescents, adults – all too often struggle with a life full of restlessness, uneven attention and impulsiveness
• Over 80% of adults with ADHD suffer from a comorbid mental illness, e.g. depression or anxiety disorder, 60% even suffer from several
• Approximately 20 to 60 percent of children with ADHD have learning disabilities. The disorder affects reading, math, or writing, and most have problems in school.
• Substance abuse is twice as common among people with ADHD as in the general population (i.e. drugs, the worst of which, as always, is alcohol)
• Girls and women with ADHD are significantly more likely to experience unwanted pregnancy. Sexually transmitted diseases are also more common.
• The risk of being involved in a road traffic accident is three times higher for children with ADHD than for children without attention deficit or hyperactivity disorder
• Adults with ADHD tend to have lower levels of education, experience more job changes, commit more criminal offenses, and experience more separations/divorces. They visit doctors ten times more often and have significantly more car accidents.
• In prisons, the rate of ADHD sufferers is approximately 20%
• ADHD children experience rejection/criticism from their environment about 20 times more often than neurotypical children

That's enough, right?

Enough for now.

When does ADHD become a disorder and should it be treated?

We don't know exactly what Bill Gates, Richard Branson, Jim Carrey, Emma Watson, and Salma Hayek have been up to. But they all have an ADHD diagnosis. It seems they haven't fared too badly with it . Sometimes, though, we do make a lot of noise in public. See Will Smith and the famous slap during the Oscars ceremony.

ADHD becomes a disorder when it negatively impacts one's life —when it sabotages goals, education, relationships, career, finances, or parenting. This increases the risk of depression, anxiety, learning disabilities, and risky behaviors. Which, in turn, isn't far removed from substance abuse and crime.

It's somehow still important to take a closer look, right?

Even.

And if you still feel like it, then you should continue with this blog here:

“ This is how the brain of people with ADHD works.”

After that, you'll definitely no longer be a know-it-all. Maybe you weren't before, sorry. But you'll know a lot better than Werner (above).

Yes, we're always very direct. But: We also just don't give up... There's even a theory that we're the hunters of old —a genetic normative variant. As human as it is deadly. Thanks to a shorter connection to the evolutionarily ancient parts of the brain (or less inhibition from the deliberative and hesitant frontal lobe):

Hunters in a world of farmers?: The hunter-farmer hypothesis on ADHD

Anyway, we have come to stay.

PS: Question 3 from the first section hasn't been answered yet, yes. If you don't have heart problems or extremely high blood pressure, you can probably give the experiment a try (after consulting your doctor or pharmacist). You won't be pacing around your apartment at 2 a.m. afterward, and you'll actually sleep like a baby? At your usual time? Even better? Then please write to us ... We need to talk.