ADHD diagnoses are becoming more common quickly, but the reason for the lost ability to concentrate can also be found in lifestyle.
Interior projects left in the middle, things lost, trash not taken out and piles around the apartment. This is how life with ADHD is described in one Finnish-language Tikok video.
In the comment field, viewers write: “Story of my life”, “Do I have ADHD too?” and “I identify, but not yet diagnosed”.
The person making the video may have ADHD, but the scene could just as well be from anyone’s life without a neurodevelopmental disorder.
On Tiktok, videos with the ADHD hashtag have been viewed 14 billion times, and the #adhdsuomi videos have already collected almost seven million views.
In the videos, usually people in their twenties talk about their lives with ADHD. Tiktok content can, on the one hand, increase ADHD awareness, but on the other hand, reinforce the disorder related misunderstandings (you switch to another service) and leads to unjustified suspicions of ADHD becoming more common.
ADHD content started trending on Tiktok during the corona pandemic restrictions. At the same time, the use of ADHD drugs increased explosively in Finland.
The most common drug used to treat ADHD is methylphenidate. Its user base grew According to Kela (you switch to another service) last year about 30 percent. The use of another ADHD drug, lisdexamfetamine, increased by about 40 percent in the same period.
Diagnoses are not increasing as fast. According to THL, their number has approximately doubled in the last four years. The attention problems of those left without a diagnosis are usually something other than ADHD, for example a stressful life situation.
asked a number of experts whether our current lifestyle causes attention problems, why the number of ADHD suspicions among young adults has multiplied, and what to think about the sharp increase in the use of medication.
The interview was given by a docent of adolescent medicine Silja Kosolaa psychologist Mona Moisala and psychologist-writer Henna Helmi Heinonen.
Why are so many now experiencing attention problems?
Excessive performance pressures, bad lifestyles and remote work strain our ability to concentrate.
– People set demands on themselves for performance in a work or study environment, which can be quite unreasonable, says psychologist Mona Moisala.
The constant “pling” of smart devices became a part of most people’s everyday life at the latest with the corona pandemic, when work and studies began to be done remotely more than before, explains psychologist-writer Henna Helmi Heinonen.
Self-control is one of the last things that develops in the brain. Therefore, it is more difficult for young people to withstand external pressures and stimuli than adults.
Silja Kosola, associate professor of adolescent medicine, hopes that society would pull the brakes and guarantee young people peace of mind.
– You shouldn’t constantly have the feeling that everything depends on one exam, he says.
Although it is difficult to influence external circumstances, everyone can make changes to their lifestyle if they wish. You can revive your ability to concentrate by investing in sleep, reducing screen time and multitasking, and increasing exercise.
Can ADHD be self-inflicted?
The background of ADHD is a neurological developmental disorder, which cannot be caused by the lifestyle itself – but concentration difficulties can.
– We may spend the whole day quickly bouncing from one thing to another. It causes changes in the brain. Not so much that we cause ourselves an irreparable inattention disorder, but enough that ADHD-type symptoms can occur, says psychologist Mona Moisala.
Why are ADHD diagnoses increasing rapidly?
With the increase in awareness, people seek examinations even more sensitively, and there are therefore more diagnoses.
For a long time, ADHD was considered more of a boy’s disorder, which always includes hyperactivity and impulsivity. Girls who only had attention problems often went undiagnosed. Now ADHD in girls is well recognized.
Is ADHD being diagnosed in vain?
ADHD occurs in people as different and varying degrees of symptoms. Its diagnosis is not entirely clear-cut, and some cases still go unnoticed.
ADHD studies are thorough, and getting a diagnosis requires persistence.
– ADHD diagnosis is not handed out on easy grounds. Evidence of symptoms must be present since childhood. I don’t think it’s about overdiagnosis, psychologist Mona Moisala says.
In certain parts of the population, ADHD still too often goes unnoticed, according to experts.
– There are a huge number of people in Finnish prisons who have not received a diagnosis as children. Untreated ADHD may have taken life on the wrong path. These people would have benefited from medication, says Silja Kosola, associate professor of adolescent medicine.
Are ADHD medications already being prescribed too much?
Medicines are prescribed today for perhaps milder symptoms than in the past.
– I suspect that when the matter has been talked about more, and awareness has increased, there will be those suffering from not-so-serious ADHD among those who are medicated. They come from a background where they know how to demand treatment and medication, says Silja Kosola.
Using medication is an effective way to make life with ADHD easier. However, medicines should not be prescribed on a frivolous basis.
In the United States, ADHD drugs have been used as brain doping for a long time in top universities and in challenging specialist jobs. There are indications of the phenomenon becoming more common in Finland as well. Although anyone can temporarily improve their performance with amphetamine-derived drugs, their long-term non-topical use exposes them to burnout, for example.
– Lifestyle change is the primary and easiest form of treatment for attention difficulties. It shouldn’t be like that, that we maintain bad lifestyles with medication, says Henna Helmi Heinonen.
What thoughts does the story evoke? You can discuss the topic on 27.8. until 11 p.m.
See also Mix’s episode “Overdrive!! This is what ADHD feels like”