ADHD Awareness Could Spur False Self-Diagnosis

Remember when we blamed MTV for our attention spans?

STARTER STATS

• Global prevalence of ADHD in adults is estimated to be 2.5-3%

• 1 in 4 young adults has expressed beliefs that they might have ADHD, with no formal diagnosis

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If neurospicy TikTok videos are any indication, ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) is the self-diagnosis of our time. Considering our intense digital habits — and social media's obsession with pathologizing every issue — it's no wonder. Although well-intentioned, increased awareness programs around ADHD may be leading young adults to believe they have the disorder even when they meet none of the clinical criteria.

Self-awareness of symptoms when studying disorders is not an uncommon psychological phenomenon, and is often called 'medical student syndrome' or 'intern syndrome'. Now, researchers at the University of Toronto have found that misidentification can delay appropriate help or shift attention away from other possible causes of the symptoms.

During the study, self-diagnosis beliefs jumped from 30% pre-workshop to 60% immediately after, and remained at about 50% one week later, even though actual symptoms did not change. Meanwhile, in the group that also received the “nocebo” ADHD lesson that addresssed false-self-diagnosis, rates were cut in half immediately and disappeared after one week.

“Believing you have a disorder can help make sense of confusing or messy experiences that are actually completely normal.”

— Dr. Dasha Sandra

The findings suggest that while ADHD awareness is important (especially for under-diagnosed groups), education programs need to incorporate nuance. For instance, awareness campaigns should include symptoms that are common in everyday life and higlight the ones that warrant professional assessment.

Otherwise, awareness campaigns may turn normal experiences (like tiredness, irritability or fleeting concentration lapses) into perceived disorders. This can divert resources from true cases and obscure other underlying issues like anxiety, sleep problems, or stress.

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