From this series, I have a few things I can conclude. I am of course not an authority on this so the best I can do is try to present what I know and let you decide what you want to believe. To me medicine is a science and while personal experiences help to shape how we view things, it is too anecdotal to be used as fact.
1) ADHD is not a personality flaw that can be easily changed
So there is no definitive link from the many studies and meta analysis done that can tie ADHD to bad personality traits. It’s easy to draw conclusions based on what little knowledge we have when we do not know how extensively people have researched this.
While temperament cannot be altered, we can change how it affects personality and that means emphasizing early detection and treatment during childhood before the person develops dysfunctional coping mechanisms and irreversible cognitive errors in adulthood.
If relatives, friends and teachers know that what is happening is something that cannot be changed, it may change how they respond to the child’s traits. Instead of constantly reprimanding or invalidating, they would probably try to assist the child to overcome it.
2) Do not confuse personality traits with ADHD traits
The dangers of being able to easily share knowledge online means there are too many people with superficial knowledge passing off as experts. You can’t do that in medicine. Before a doctor becomes a surgeon or a psychiatrist, they have to go through all the medical specialities in order to make sure while they can diagnose diseases in their field, they do not miss other diagnosis not involving their speciality.
For example if a jittery, anxious person goes to a psychiatrist, they have the knowledge to pick up hyperthyroidism and pheochromocytoma before slapping the patient with an anxiety disorder diagnosis.
So, having knowledge about ADHD alone without knowing the full complexity of anatomy, physiology and psychology doesn’t mean we know more than experts. Fundamental attribution error can cause people to jump to conclusions too easily which is why, as much as the healthcare system is flawed, experience trumps what you read online.
3) Getting Treatment is Not a Weakness
People with ADHD get diagnosed and treated not because they are a little bit quirky or different and cannot fit in. We get treated because these differences cause impairments to our functions much like how high blood pressure can destroy your kidneys.
We don’t tell people with hypertension that they should try yoga and go gluten free. Or that taking antihypertensive medications equals taking the easy way out.
Like I said, ADHD is not a personality trait. It is an innate neurobiological deficit that cannot be easily altered especially when late diagnosed. Trying harder is doable but logically, not sustainable long term.
These Are the Contents of My Head 