If you still believe ADHD is a mythical diagnosis, you haven’t been paying attention for the past few hundred years

In spite of our refined understanding of ADHD over the past half century, current myths about ADHD are a many headed Hydra, and are often self-contradictory.

One of the most common myths is that “ADHD is not real or valid”.

“People with adhd they’re just like you and me…”

A popular assertion from sceptics (or ‘critics’) of ADHD is that it is a fabricated concept, driven by neoliberalism, and exploited by psychiatry in the pursuit of the ‘perfectible’ individual attempting to conform to social norms and expectations about acceptable behaviour. Some suggest neoliberal workplaces create conditions that lead more people being diagnosed with ADHD/neurodivergence, leading to it becoming the new normal, as Lucy Johnstone, Clinical Psychologist writes: “..if the trend continues, everyone will be neurodivergent, and we will be back to square one”.

ADHD diagnosis is presented as a social media contagion, suggesting that people learn about symptoms on TikTok or Instagram, by influencers who commodify viewers’ vulnerability.

“People with ADHD need to pull themselves together”.

In 1902, Sir George Frederic Still described 43 children with what he called an "abnormal defect of moral control," highlighting issues with attention, self-regulation, and emotional control.”

More recently, the retired psychologist Phil Hickey asserted, “Lots of people know what prompts children to careen frenziedly around homes and busy streets…the discipline and self-control to refrain from this kind of activity has not been instilled at an appropriate age.”

An additional angle to this myth ironically comes from the social media trauma therapists who portray ADHD as a trauma response and an “understandable” reaction to adversity, including bad parenting, historically, this means the “bad mother”.

The physician Gabor Maté argues that ADHD is a way of coping with childhood trauma, emotional pain, and unmet needs of the child, rather than as the highly heritable pattern of neurodivergence that it is understood to be. This view appears to entirely dismiss the genetic contributions to ADHD, reframing it as part of a generalised stress response.

Viewing the rise in diagnosis of ADHD as the product of neoliberalism, TikTok, poor moral behaviour, or trauma is far simpler than than recognising the fact that the rise is driven by increased awareness, more accurate diagnosis and formal recognition, patient advocacy, and reduced stigma surrounding neurodevelopmental disorder.

ADHD is very real, and it is complex, persistent, and disruptive.

Far from being a modern phenomenon, ADHD has been recognised since the 18th century, when Scottish physician Sir Alexander Crichton described the pattern as "the incapacity of attending with a necessary degree of constancy to any one object".

ADHD was formally recognised in the late 1960s by the American Psychiatric Association, as Hyperkinetic Disorder, but since the 1980s, our greater understanding of the different presentations of adhd has led to revisions and updates in the diagnosis, and recognition of its subtypes.

One of the most straightforward definitions of ADHD can be found on the AADD-UK website: “ADHD is a disorder that is defined through analysis of behaviour. People with ADHD show a persistent pattern of inattention and/or hyperactivity–impulsivity that interferes with day-to-day functioning and/or development”.

The DSM-5 defines ADHD (Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder) as “a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by persistent patterns of inattention and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity that interfere with functioning or development”.

By reviving the denial of the reality of ADHD they revive stigma and shame.

Stigma and shaming of ADHD, continue to be perpetuated by myths and unfounded theories about its causes. Ignoring the long history and modern evolution of how we recognise patterns of ADHD implies that those spending years waiting for a formal diagnosis are easily manipulated stooges who, desperate for an identity and self-validation, trust strangers on social media rather than their own subjective experience. With greater recognition of the genetic and neurodevelopmental origins of ADHD and greater advocacy for comprehensive and accurate assessment and treatment, we can discard the archaic moral judgements those struggling with ADHD currently face.