Psychiatry is a scam.

 
1. This isn't the first time this stuff about ADHD came up on GC.. probably won't be the last. I've done plenty of research after the first time someone came on here and tried saying that the "inventor" of ADHD made a deathbed confession that it is a fake disease, which he never said. A quick Google of "is ADHD real" will show you a mixed reaction with more leaning towards it being a real condition. And books? You do know that if a doctor is putting his name on a book, that they are a doctor that is in it for the profit right? Hysteria sells..
 
Here is one against ADHD being real: http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/mar/30/children-hyperactivity-not-real-disease-neuroscientist-adhd

I don't know if disease was his word or not, but any doctor that considers ADHD in itself to be a disease is an idiot. I will give you that, ADHD is not a specific disease. Like all mental conditions, it is an umbrella term. Schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression, autism, ADHD.. they are all umbrella terms to describe conditions with a variety of causes and variety of severity. What he said about the label of ADHD can be applied to all the other labels too. We all go through times in our life where we would fall under those labels. Just wake up from a dream and having a hard time telling what is real and what isn't? Schizophrenia. Having a day or week where you're really happy one moment and sad and depressed the next? Congratulations, you have bipolar disorder. Have social issues and pick at scabs? Autistic..
 
That is the brain for ya.. a complex mess that is on par with outer space and the ocean floor in terms of what we actually know. Any condition that effects the brain is going to be just as complex.. and ADHD is not a cut and dry condition. If anything, look at it like it is a symptom of an underlining problem(s). Being that the brain is so complex and we don't know what the underlining problem is, we currently have to go off of what we've learned through the trial and error process of medical science and use what we know works. Like most all other things, we learn what works before we learn why it works.. and we are still working on the "why" of many many mental conditions.
 
2. Sitting and listening for hours on end isn't what I am talking about. I have a feeling you have a very black and white view point on what ADHD is.. cause what you said would not help someone with actual ADHD. A person can have ADHD without having a ton of energy to burn too.. it's just that they can't sit still. Someone with chronic fatigue can have ADHD. Parents do the same thing you just did.. assume that if a child has too much energy and bouncing off the walls that that means ADHD, when it's typically not the case. Circling back to putting the blame on the parents.. for not getting themselves educated on what they think their child has. Instead, they take them to a doctor who's job it is to give them pills and call it a day. You do know that right? A psychiatrist is where you go when you want pills and medication for your problem.. a psychologist is where you go when you want to talk about your problem to get to the root of it. So when a parent takes their child to a doctor whose role is to provide medication, what do you think is going to happen? They're going to get medication.. If the parents didn't fail and take them to see a psychiatrist in the first place, the psychiatrist wouldn't be able to prescribe the medication.
 
Anyway, ADHD is a real thing.. I know because I am an adult with it. I've never taken medication for it because I don't take medication in general, but I had a few doctors try. I don't know if it is from being a left handed autistic born from a schizophrenic, or from a few severe head injuries, or from Lyme disease, or from lacking an essential vitamin/mineral, or from being a smoker whose parents were smokers, or from any other causes. It's not a disease in itself, it is a condition brought about by a plethora of factors.. and is very real. I've typed enough as it is and seeing as you already have it in your mind that it's not real, there is no point in me going on about what it is like to be an adult with ADHD.. but it can effect your emotions and even your hearing. When the brain can't focus, it can't focus.. and that lack of focus can transfer to your hearing. If you're the type of person who can pay attention to 2-3 conversations going on around you or if the sound of a fan running 10 feet away comes in at the same volume as someone talking to you 5 feet away.. you might fall under the umbrella of ADHD. People seems to have this assumption that ADHD means you'll be bouncing all over the place.. and that just means you have ADHD and energy. The hyperactivity is more so talking about brain activity.. the brain is hyper and all over the place, unable to focus.. and if the brain is being effected a certain way, that transfers to the body.
 
As I said earlier, it is completely over diagnosed. That is actually what the "inventor" of ADHD was talking about.. how he discovered a real condition and people hopped on it like it was going out of style, throw a pill down your throat out of convenience rather than working on the problem. I agree that children shouldn't really be on ADHD medication, they are young enough that proper parenting will make a huge difference.. but there are some children who really have it. If your main issue is the children on medication, then focus on that issue rather than regurgitating propaganda meant to make ADHD appear nonexistent in order to combat the child medication aspect of it..

 

Everyone knows that fraud and conspiracies happen, and that people are generally selfish.

But the idea that the medical industry might be taking advantage of consumers by selling them perpetual treatments instead of permanent cures, is somehow a conspiracy theory.

-yuri

 

 
Raised levels of anxiety chemicals like cortisol and a host of others. Do some reading on the biology of stress and anxiety.
 
Of course there are individuals who don't fit the model because everyone copes with stress/anxiety differently and everyone's physiology is different, just like how you have anomalies in physical diseases (though that difference is also a grey area since a chemical/neural indicator is a physical thing)
 
I think you should take a step back and realize that while psychiatry has short comings that doesn't mean that everything that psychological/neurobiological science has told us is false. I agree that alot of psychiatrists are just salesmen for pharma companies but that doesn't mean everything about psychiatry is shit. I bet you watched a documentary about this and now you are all passionate about this stuff. I heard these same arguments 7 years ago when I was in college studying psychology. Realize that who ever made a documentary made it to make that documentary entertaining (IE: to make $$) not because they are just such good people they want everyone to know about X.

 

 
Confused if this is for me or not.. seeing as I never talked about that. The topic of discussion is ADHD being real or not. If it is to me, I am assuming you're talking about when I called that whacked out doctor a shitty conspiracy theorist.. which is 100% accurate. Just read what he said..

First he states he is about to provide evidence.. then basically just says that everyone else doesn't care. I find it hilarious that he basically slandered the entire medical industry.. but since he considers himself a doctor (lol) he had to throw in "most" when it came to doctors.
 
Then he follows that up with saying that the media is intentionally hiding this information.. and doesn't even attempt to provide evidence of that.
 
That is a conspiracy theory.. no question about it. That the entire medical industry, minus himself, actually doesn't give a damn about you and then it is being hidden by the media. It is a weak argument from a weak minded conspiracy theorist whose only talent is preying on other weak minds and trying to sell them books and audio tapes for asinine amounts of money.
 
But since YOU brought it up.. what disease are you talking about that has a permanent cure where the medical industry instead only provides ongoing treatment? Cause I can tell you right now, not a single disorder of the brain has a permanent cure yet (unless you count deep brain stimulation).. nor does HIV/AIDS.. nor does most cancers aside from physical removal. So what disease does your personal conspiracy revolve around? Type one diabetes? Nope, no cure yet. ALS? Nope. It's kind of funny too.. "they" used to say that a 30 day antibiotic would cure Lyme disease.. and now it's looking like it actually doesn't cure it, only sends it into a dormant period at best. Yet this medical industry that loves to string people along for their money is saying that there is in deed a cure for it.. and Lyme disease is spreading at a crazy rate. If what you said is true, why aren't they jumping on the chance to say there is no cure and that you'll need ongoing treatments?

 

 
That is exactly what we were taught in 400 level psychology classes..... thats not a revolutionary thought. Even wikipedia says that....

 

 
It's not good to be able to focus on something for hours on end?
 
What about a person who CANNOT focus? No matter how hard they try? There is nothing wrong with them? (now i'm sure you'll probably want to try to say "But man theres like no such thing as right or wrong! MAnnnn soo deeppp" Well heres the thing, most people like to be able to focus if needed, so you don't think a person who can't focus might desire to focus? It is a valuable tool to be able to modify your own behavior, but I don't think you'll understand what I mean from that statement because you probably also believe you are 100% in control of your behavior and your environment isn't dictating your behavior.)

 

 
Not one bit.. because nobody is forcing anyone. People go to the doctor on their own free will and take the medication they prescribe on their own free will. It's like you're giving this authority to doctors so you have something to complain about.. when a doctor has no authority over you, unless you willingly give it to them.
 
Back when I used to frequent the doctors, I had one who tried putting me on an anxiety medication once and I flat out told her I would not take it. It's plain and simple.. they have no authority. Why give it to them aside from creating a scapegoat?
 

 
Technically.. nothing requires a drug.. but you do notice how you said "may not". To me, that says that you really don't know if they need a drug or not.. yet you're going about it all like it is a fact. Doctors and big pharma can't make money unless the people willingly give them money.. so if you want to fix the health care system, you're first going to have to fix the people who want to pop a convenient pill rather than deal with their problems.

 

 
Cortisol is associated with a number of physical stimuli, mostly stressors. A hormone is a chemical. Hormone is a chemical within the body. 

 

 
Dude I agreed with you. Medication is a last resort for extreme cases,. And I'm not a professional, I'm just trying to give you perspective that these ideas are not new, this debate has been going on forever.
 
It is all one field. They all inform each other.

 

 
This is nothing worthy of a congrats.. it's common sense. You do not have to take the medication your doctor prescribes you.. even if you get the prescription filled, you can simply not shove it down your throat.
 

 
What I acknowledged is what I said, that it is over diagnosed. That does not mean:

Because they're only allowing themselves to be mislead.. even if they actually are being mislead. I don't think they are cause if you haven't noticed.. drug commercials are typically listing side effects for half the commercial. I know the pamphlets they hand out on medication list the side effects too. If you're seeing a doctor, chances are you have the internet.. and can simply Google the drug. If you're going to be putting a medication into your body.. it should be common place to at least give it a few minute search. For fuck sake, if you're a parent I'd think it'd be your instinct to at least check on what you're allowing to be put into your child.. yet somehow doctors are misleading people? No.. more like people WANT to take the easy, pop-a-pill route.. even with their own children.
 

 
Why didn't you call out the "doctor" in your OP?

 

My stance is that a doctor has no authority over a person's body and those who give doctors that authority are weak minded.. people don't really need to read the label more carefully, they just need to read it. I'm sure you've seen drug commercials.. do you not notice how they spend the majority of the time verbally listing side effects? "Here is a new drug for depression.. some of the side effects include suicidal thoughts, bleeding of the nipples, increased risk of getting heart disease and a brain tumor, water poop, and death." They list all the possible side effects they know about.. and it's usually a long and daunting list that should deter them and at the very least, encourage them to look into it for themselves if they want to take it. Every time I had a doctor try giving me a prescription, they either told me a long list of side effects or gave me a packet of information on it. Even when you get your prescription filled, you typically get another packet of information and side effects on the drug. People need to learn to take responsibility for themselves rather than blame a system they're willingly taking a part of. A doctor can't make you take shit, they can try to push a drug on you.. but it is your body, your decision in the end.

And I know you didn't call out that hack doctor because the propaganda pseudoscience that he was spewing confirmed what you already believe. Good job admitting that you're under the influence of confirmation bias on this issue, now I know it is completely pointless to try to tell you something that goes against what you think you know.. so have fun believing in "doctors" who try to make money off of people by selling them books full of information they can get for free.

 

ill give you an obvious example

Prilosec

-yuri