View topic - The overdiagnosis of Bipolar Disorder
I'm not discounting the fact that there are people who legitimately have bipolar disorder. I know it exists. I've met a few people who actually have it.
What I'm saying is, this has become a "popular" disorder for psychiatrists to diagnose. It has grown to the rate of the AD(H)D epidemic, where everyone can get diagnosed with this now when they don't actually have it.
You see, in America we eat like crap. There's no denying it. We consume massive amounts of sugar, carbs, and caffeine...and people don't take in to consideration the negative effects that these things have on the body. Caffeine causes irritability. Carbs and sugar cause severe spikes in mood followed by falls in mood. Pretty much, it can mimic bipolar disorder.
So why do you think that people are so quick to assume they have a mental illness and take a pill for something they don't actually have...which ruins their health further...rather than just correcting their diet and getting some exercise?
What I'm saying is, this has become a "popular" disorder for psychiatrists to diagnose. It has grown to the rate of the AD(H)D epidemic, where everyone can get diagnosed with this now when they don't actually have it.
You see, in America we eat like crap. There's no denying it. We consume massive amounts of sugar, carbs, and caffeine...and people don't take in to consideration the negative effects that these things have on the body. Caffeine causes irritability. Carbs and sugar cause severe spikes in mood followed by falls in mood. Pretty much, it can mimic bipolar disorder.
So why do you think that people are so quick to assume they have a mental illness and take a pill for something they don't actually have...which ruins their health further...rather than just correcting their diet and getting some exercise?
Quote
honestly i had ADHD as a kid and i am so fucking sick of people telling me that i didn't actually have it and i was misdiagnosed. so if someone tells me i am bipolar i believe them. i'm not a doctor. doctors take diet into account when seeing clients. yes people get diagnosed that dont actually have it but that happens all the fricking time with pretty much every disease. doctors are humans too. shit happens.
previously known as Mereep
I'm honestly annoyed with how many kids I see get off easy at school because "They have ADHD" or "They're bipolar." I was raised pretty strictly by my mother to get good grades, be respectful, and don't cause trouble. I was able to get straight A's in school just by listening. So when kids with these so-called "disorders" being disruptive in class and scoring low on tests because they have a behavior problem, I get extremely frustrated. I was raised with spankings and I believe it truly helps behavior, and that's all these kids need. A good beating.
Now, in response to the above paragraph, I do believe that there are people out there with real disorders like this. But when you tell a kid that they act a certain way because they have a condition and they can't help it, they will play into it and never even try to behave accordingly.
I apologize if I offended people, but these are my true feelings.
Now, in response to the above paragraph, I do believe that there are people out there with real disorders like this. But when you tell a kid that they act a certain way because they have a condition and they can't help it, they will play into it and never even try to behave accordingly.
I apologize if I offended people, but these are my true feelings.
Click for my gallery, auction, and temporary selling thread~
for your information i never got below a b before my senior year in high school. i never cause problems in school and i never had behavior problems. and my mom never once laid her hands on me. but thats outside the scope of this topic.
just because someone has a condition does not mean that the behavior is alright and i dont know one parent that has ever told their child to act like a brat because of adhd. if you have then the parents are idiots but believe me thats not the majority. and i know enough family with kids with shit like this to know that.
just because someone has a condition does not mean that the behavior is alright and i dont know one parent that has ever told their child to act like a brat because of adhd. if you have then the parents are idiots but believe me thats not the majority. and i know enough family with kids with shit like this to know that.
previously known as Mereep
Mereep wrote:honestly i had ADHD as a kid and i am so fucking sick of people telling me that i didn't actually have it and i was misdiagnosed. so if someone tells me i am bipolar i believe them. i'm not a doctor. doctors take diet into account when seeing clients. yes people get diagnosed that dont actually have it but that happens all the fricking time with pretty much every disease. doctors are humans too. shit happens.
Actually, psychiatrists don't take diet in to account when diagnosing someone. They look at symptoms but nothing behind it. Yes, doctors are people too. Doesn't mean they're not wrong.
I've spent the past 2 years of my life in and out of psychiatric hospitals where the predominant disorder is bipolar disorder. They feed the patients at hospitals high fat, high carb, and high sugar diets. And then can't figure out why the patients can't calm down or are so irritable.
It's actually a common problem in the USA that medical professionals only look at a list of symptoms rather than a reasoning behind the symptoms.
In Georgia, there are MASS amounts of children diagnosed with ADHD every year. The questionnaire to get diagnosed includes "is your child hyperactive". Children are hyperactive by nature, this is normal and healthy.
You also have to look at the education system in the USA. School's are more focused on test scores than anything else. So they prefer to have children that can sit and pay attention for hours on end.
Also, how did you cure yourself of your ADHD? I'm not attacking you at all, and I hope it's not coming across that way. But how can you "had" a disorder that is a chemical imbalance in your brain and now no longer have it? Those things don't just go away.
The reason I bring up my original topic is that you have to look at the rates of illness in our country. There was no where near as many problems of this sort when people ate well, had regular exercise, and had a life focus. You look at people around the world in countries that don't have such poor diets. Why is that they don't have the unbelievable rate of bipolar disorder and ADHD like america does?
I'm not trying to discount anyone's experience. I suffer from trauma based mental illness.
I wouldn't throw that on diet alone but cultural values as well. The whole idea of toughening it out and doing what you have to do is loosing more and more steam with people it seems. Instead, we're replacing it with the idea that we have the right and privilege despite actions to have it as easy as possible and to have as much as possible. When reality contradicts that attitude, many act out or begin suffering from any plethora of mental disorders. It gets passed along indirectly to children as well and unless their specifically shown restraint, humility, respect, etc. they're going to seem a bit more out of control than their adult counterparts. They watch us and mimic more what we do than what we say, even if we don't want to admit they are.
Diet would certainly help, but I'm thinking a shift in values would help more. personally.
Diet would certainly help, but I'm thinking a shift in values would help more. personally.
Poot wrote:
Also, how did you cure yourself of your ADHD? I'm not attacking you at all, and I hope it's not coming across that way. But how can you "had" a disorder that is a chemical imbalance in your brain and now no longer have it? Those things don't just go away.
No one "cures" themselves, and if you've been in a mental institution that long you should know that. People just learn to cope with it.
I was diagnosed at the age of 5 with ADHD. I never learned to ride a bike, I almost drowned because I didn't know how to swim and went in the water anyway, and it took me 3 years to manage to tie my shoes. I struggled in school because I had to work twice as hard to learn anything. And you know what? I still do. But I've figured out ways of keeping myself focused because I'm an adult and if you manage to live with something for 14 years you tend to know ways to get past it.
Doctors can misdiagnose things, naturally, but just because some kids are "hyperactive" by nature does not mean ADHD is always misdiagnosed as just kids being kids. Hyperactivity is only ONE of the three criteria for ADHD. It's hyperactivity, attention, and impulsivity. Same with bipolar, there are several criteria people have to meet.
Diet and exercise may help some people, but I don't think that's the only reason for a growing number of mental health issues.
Whenever you feel small, remember this: you were created in the core of a massive star.
Drew and I have been together for over a year now~
lateralus es helica wrote:I wouldn't throw that on diet alone but cultural values as well. The whole idea of toughening it out and doing what you have to do is loosing more and more steam with people it seems. Instead, we're replacing it with the idea that we have the right and privilege despite actions to have it as easy as possible and to have as much as possible. When reality contradicts that attitude, many act out or begin suffering from any plethora of mental disorders. It gets passed along indirectly to children as well and unless their specifically shown restraint, humility, respect, etc. they're going to seem a bit more out of control than their adult counterparts. They watch us and mimic more what we do than what we say, even if we don't want to admit they are.
Diet would certainly help, but I'm thinking a shift in values would help more. personally.
I hadn't thought too much on that aspect of it, but it does make sense. Diet and culture seem to play a huge role in all this.
Xerxies wrote:Poot wrote:
Also, how did you cure yourself of your ADHD? I'm not attacking you at all, and I hope it's not coming across that way. But how can you "had" a disorder that is a chemical imbalance in your brain and now no longer have it? Those things don't just go away.
No one "cures" themselves, and if you've been in a mental institution that long you should know that. People just learn to cope with it.
I was diagnosed at the age of 5 with ADHD. I never learned to ride a bike, I almost drowned because I didn't know how to swim and went in the water anyway, and it took me 3 years to manage to tie my shoes. I struggled in school because I had to work twice as hard to learn anything. And you know what? I still do. But I've figured out ways of keeping myself focused because I'm an adult and if you manage to live with something for 14 years you tend to know ways to get past it.
Doctors can misdiagnose things, naturally, but just because some kids are "hyperactive" by nature does not mean ADHD is always misdiagnosed as just kids being kids. Hyperactivity is only ONE of the three criteria for ADHD. It's hyperactivity, attention, and impulsivity. Same with bipolar, there are several criteria people have to meet.
Diet and exercise may help some people, but I don't think that's the only reason for a growing number of mental health issues.
I am extremely aware that no one ever cures themselves of a mental illness. I asked because you said "I had ADHD when I was a kid", and when reading that statement it gives off the impression that you no longer have it.
I know the diagnostic criteria for adhd and bipolar disorder. However, it is a known fact that ADHD is severely overdiagnosed. And, unfortunately, bipolar disorder is also now severely overdiagnosed. Please don't think that this means that no one has it. There are many people that do.
The problem that the USA is presented with is that clinicians are dumbing down diagnostic criteria and prescribing medication to people that don't actually need it. It's absurdly easy to get a prescription for addictive ADHD medications. Not kidding, hundreds of kids at the uni I used to attend literally just walked in to a doctor's office and said, "I have a hard time studying and paying attention in class" and get diagnosed as ADHD and get meds to abuse. Hell, I did it.
Bipolar disorder has gotten to the point that you can meet a kid on a sugar high and call it mania. Of course, when the sugar high wears off, the kid crashes and this is then labeled as depression. You get kids who are going through normal teen independence seeking and parents label them as "out of control" and rather than seeking therapy for a behavioural problem, they label them as bipolar and put them on medication.
I challenge this thought, because the USA has a HUGE problem with diagnosing people with mental illness and medicating them for things that could be worked on through therapy and learning self discipline. Look at the rates of mental illness in the USA vs the rest of the world. How is it that here in the USA we are so much "sicker" than the rest of the world? How is it that no one will look at our horrid diet and (as the poster above you said) our societal values that are deteriorating?
Poot wrote:
I am extremely aware that no one ever cures themselves of a mental illness. I asked because you said "I had ADHD when I was a kid", and when reading that statement it gives off the impression that you no longer have it.
I know the diagnostic criteria for adhd and bipolar disorder. However, it is a known fact that ADHD is severely overdiagnosed. And, unfortunately, bipolar disorder is also now severely overdiagnosed. Please don't think that this means that no one has it. There are many people that do.
The problem that the USA is presented with is that clinicians are dumbing down diagnostic criteria and prescribing medication to people that don't actually need it. It's absurdly easy to get a prescription for addictive ADHD medications. Not kidding, hundreds of kids at the uni I used to attend literally just walked in to a doctor's office and said, "I have a hard time studying and paying attention in class" and get diagnosed as ADHD and get meds to abuse. Hell, I did it.
Bipolar disorder has gotten to the point that you can meet a kid on a sugar high and call it mania. Of course, when the sugar high wears off, the kid crashes and this is then labeled as depression. You get kids who are going through normal teen independence seeking and parents label them as "out of control" and rather than seeking therapy for a behavioural problem, they label them as bipolar and put them on medication.
I challenge this thought, because the USA has a HUGE problem with diagnosing people with mental illness and medicating them for things that could be worked on through therapy and learning self discipline. Look at the rates of mental illness in the USA vs the rest of the world. How is it that here in the USA we are so much "sicker" than the rest of the world? How is it that no one will look at our horrid diet and (as the poster above you said) our societal values that are deteriorating?
I said no such thing. I was merely replying to your post to another user. You may feel free to ask them what they meant.
It makes me furious when assholes who have no actual problems ask for performance-enhancing or psychotropic drugs just to make them work or feel better. It's incredibly rude to people with real disorders who spent their entire lives on medication and struggle with life just to be free of them, and no one who achieves things only because of those drugs who doesn't actually have a disorder that would require their help deserves to be where they are.
While many mental illnesses are misdiagnosed and overdiagnosed, it is not only the fault of poor diet and lazy doctors but also pressure from drug companies to sell as much medication as possible. The US is also not the only country with poor food and diet standards, there are quite a lot of obese and poorly nourished people in other first-world countries. It is also the fault of the parents who don't bother to get a second opinion before medicating their children. Mine took me to two doctors and a psychiatrist first before putting me on meds. Also the fault of adults who can't be bothered to get a second opinion before going on serious medication like that. So, in short, diet is by far not the lone reason for overdiagnosis.
Whenever you feel small, remember this: you were created in the core of a massive star.
Drew and I have been together for over a year now~
Pharmaceutical companies and the health industry in general make more money if they're prescribing pills. A patient who is diagnosed with bipolar disorder and prescribed a whole-foods diet and regular exercised is not paying for mood stabilizers.
Let's also remember that America's lower and middle classes are poorer now than they once were, especially in the current recession. Most people can't afford the kind of food it takes to live on a completely low-fat, low-sugar, low-carb, gluten-free diet. Sure, they could buy those things, but they also need time to find it (not every grocery store carries those options), obtain it (in addition to their regular shopping and taking into account the frankly ridiculous cost of whole foods as opposed to ordinary, less-healthy foods), and then prepare it seven days a week. Most people (especially parents with children of the ages being described here) do NOT have that kind of time, or that kind of money.
Let's also remember that America's lower and middle classes are poorer now than they once were, especially in the current recession. Most people can't afford the kind of food it takes to live on a completely low-fat, low-sugar, low-carb, gluten-free diet. Sure, they could buy those things, but they also need time to find it (not every grocery store carries those options), obtain it (in addition to their regular shopping and taking into account the frankly ridiculous cost of whole foods as opposed to ordinary, less-healthy foods), and then prepare it seven days a week. Most people (especially parents with children of the ages being described here) do NOT have that kind of time, or that kind of money.
Xerxies wrote:Poot wrote:
I am extremely aware that no one ever cures themselves of a mental illness. I asked because you said "I had ADHD when I was a kid", and when reading that statement it gives off the impression that you no longer have it.
I know the diagnostic criteria for adhd and bipolar disorder. However, it is a known fact that ADHD is severely overdiagnosed. And, unfortunately, bipolar disorder is also now severely overdiagnosed. Please don't think that this means that no one has it. There are many people that do.
The problem that the USA is presented with is that clinicians are dumbing down diagnostic criteria and prescribing medication to people that don't actually need it. It's absurdly easy to get a prescription for addictive ADHD medications. Not kidding, hundreds of kids at the uni I used to attend literally just walked in to a doctor's office and said, "I have a hard time studying and paying attention in class" and get diagnosed as ADHD and get meds to abuse. Hell, I did it.
Bipolar disorder has gotten to the point that you can meet a kid on a sugar high and call it mania. Of course, when the sugar high wears off, the kid crashes and this is then labeled as depression. You get kids who are going through normal teen independence seeking and parents label them as "out of control" and rather than seeking therapy for a behavioural problem, they label them as bipolar and put them on medication.
I challenge this thought, because the USA has a HUGE problem with diagnosing people with mental illness and medicating them for things that could be worked on through therapy and learning self discipline. Look at the rates of mental illness in the USA vs the rest of the world. How is it that here in the USA we are so much "sicker" than the rest of the world? How is it that no one will look at our horrid diet and (as the poster above you said) our societal values that are deteriorating?
I said no such thing. I was merely replying to your post to another user. You may feel free to ask them what they meant.
It makes me furious when assholes who have no actual problems ask for performance-enhancing or psychotropic drugs just to make them work or feel better. It's incredibly rude to people with real disorders who spent their entire lives on medication and struggle with life just to be free of them, and no one who achieves things only because of those drugs who doesn't actually have a disorder that would require their help deserves to be where they are.
While many mental illnesses are misdiagnosed and overdiagnosed, it is not only the fault of poor diet and lazy doctors but also pressure from drug companies to sell as much medication as possible. The US is also not the only country with poor food and diet standards, there are quite a lot of obese and poorly nourished people in other first-world countries. It is also the fault of the parents who don't bother to get a second opinion before medicating their children. Mine took me to two doctors and a psychiatrist first before putting me on meds. Also the fault of adults who can't be bothered to get a second opinion before going on serious medication like that. So, in short, diet is by far not the lone reason for overdiagnosis.
Whoops, got you and mereep confused. But it's the reason I was asking her, because I know no one can cure themselves of a disorder.
I'm not saying it's only the fault of poor diet. But diet does contribute significantly if you look at the physiology of what we put in our bodies. If you look at the rate of obesity along side the phenomenon of over diagnosis, there is a huge correlation. In the 60's, less than 10% of the population was obese (we had a healthier diet then). Currently, about 40% of the population is obese, and an even higher percentage puts toxic foods into their system, which lines up alongside with the raising rates of over diagnosed ADHD and bipolar disorder.
I agree that people shouldn't use meds to enhance themselves. But I also think that meds should be used as a last resort, rather than a first one. Loads of people can learn how to manage their..."faults" (I hate that word, but I can't think of any other way to put it). And I think that what first should be considered when someone has a problem is behavioural therapy, nutrition, exercise, and coping skills.
I'm not arguing about people who legitimately have a mental disorder and are seeking help. I'm very aware of how detrimental such things can be. I'm arguing the overdiagnosis of such disorders, and what should be done about it.
@Matsunaga: What would you suggest, then, that people do to maintain their mental health? For low and middle income people with no or poor health insurance, those pills can cost hundreds of dollars a month, and yet they find the money to pay for things that are starting to show have horrible long term effects on the body. You can go to a regular grocery story and buy foods that keep you fit and healthy and make a quick, easy meal out of it. Going health-nut isn't necessary. But keeping hoho's, McDonalds, and 90 gallons of coca cola a week at a safe distance would help tremendously.
The original poster had some fair points.
I think there's a biig gray area in the diagnosis of Bipolar and ADD/ADHD. Myself, I was diagnosed Bipolar 1 after a prolonged psychotic episode. I was out of my mind in a textbook response to an antidepressant that is known to trigger bipolar episodes in such individuals.
There're two questions here. First, how do you diagnose someone with such a disorder? Such disorders are a collection of observed symptoms and reactions; human mentality exists on a spectrum that's difficult to pigeonhole with the particular problems we seek to treat. You can only really diagnose by first establishing which symptoms are necessary and sufficient to comprise a syndrome, and then checking those against the patient's symptoms (after considering other causes of symptoms).
The second question is, what do you do with this diagnosis? If the symptoms can be treated by particular dietary and lifestyle changes whether the mental problem is immediately triggered by chemical imbalances caused by food, or by a traumatic trigger, or whatever else is causing the imbalance, perhaps those should come before using medication -- especially if a cause is easily removed.
Even if someone is giving herself the full symptoms of a mood disorder by stressing herself out, going overboard with carbs, caffeine, sugar, drugs, whatever have you, if the resulting symptoms and biochemistry are the same as another person who could be correctly diagnosed Bipolar, they shouldn't be thought of as any different, except in the advantage that their triggers are easier removed. I'm sure there're plenty of people who would have a bipolar-level reaction in their lifetime if the trigger it took to affect them were activated. If I hadn't been through the specific things I had, I still might be apparently just the same as anybody else.
It's not fun being on medication because you have to be. I can tell you that.
I think there's a biig gray area in the diagnosis of Bipolar and ADD/ADHD. Myself, I was diagnosed Bipolar 1 after a prolonged psychotic episode. I was out of my mind in a textbook response to an antidepressant that is known to trigger bipolar episodes in such individuals.
There're two questions here. First, how do you diagnose someone with such a disorder? Such disorders are a collection of observed symptoms and reactions; human mentality exists on a spectrum that's difficult to pigeonhole with the particular problems we seek to treat. You can only really diagnose by first establishing which symptoms are necessary and sufficient to comprise a syndrome, and then checking those against the patient's symptoms (after considering other causes of symptoms).
The second question is, what do you do with this diagnosis? If the symptoms can be treated by particular dietary and lifestyle changes whether the mental problem is immediately triggered by chemical imbalances caused by food, or by a traumatic trigger, or whatever else is causing the imbalance, perhaps those should come before using medication -- especially if a cause is easily removed.
Even if someone is giving herself the full symptoms of a mood disorder by stressing herself out, going overboard with carbs, caffeine, sugar, drugs, whatever have you, if the resulting symptoms and biochemistry are the same as another person who could be correctly diagnosed Bipolar, they shouldn't be thought of as any different, except in the advantage that their triggers are easier removed. I'm sure there're plenty of people who would have a bipolar-level reaction in their lifetime if the trigger it took to affect them were activated. If I hadn't been through the specific things I had, I still might be apparently just the same as anybody else.
It's not fun being on medication because you have to be. I can tell you that.
Currently selling: two Wizard Apprentices.
Verb all of the words.
Verb all of the words.
Poot wrote:
@Matsunaga: What would you suggest, then, that people do to maintain their mental health? For low and middle income people with no or poor health insurance, those pills can cost hundreds of dollars a month, and yet they find the money to pay for things that are starting to show have horrible long term effects on the body. You can go to a regular grocery story and buy foods that keep you fit and healthy and make a quick, easy meal out of it. Going health-nut isn't necessary. But keeping hoho's, McDonalds, and 90 gallons of coca cola a week at a safe distance would help tremendously.
I don't know how much of your own shopping you do, but fresh produce, milk, eggs, and un-processed cuts of meat are among the most expensive things in my local grocery, and I'm given to understand that's not uncommon in many parts of the country. I don't know if you have kids (I don't, but I have friends and neighbors who do), but that drives up the cost of any home-cooked meal just for the sheer amount of food you have to buy, especially if those kids are teenagers (God help you if you have more than one teenage boy on a school sports team!).
Three pancakes with syrup, two hash browns and a milk at McDonald's will run you about five bucks. A box of pancake mix, a carton of eggs, a gallon of milk, a bottle of syrup and a bag of potatoes and onions will run you close to twenty.
The McDonald's meal will take about two minutes to obtain. That same breakfast cooked at home will take about an hour, depending on how crispy you like your hash browns.
Are there four people eating the meal? Does the person cooking have a full-time job? If the first answer is "no" and the second answer is "yes", most people would see a trip to Mickey D's as the better thing to do. It would be nice if we could all spend that extra hour getting up early, cooking a nice breakfast for the family and cleaning the kitchen afterward, but lower and middle class families (God help you if you're a single parent) just don't have both the time and the money to make that a reality. We can't afford to invest in the long option: our problems aren't going to wait for solutions. Yes, it may be cheaper in the long run to make three meals out of those groceries, but it doesn't matter if you can't find the time to cook.
Yes, cutting out the snack cakes (which are still cheaper and take less time than say, celery sticks) and soda (which can be found even on some elementary school campuses nowadays) and McDonald's would all be good ideas. But food isn't just a health issue, it's a class issue; we love to look down on people who eat poorly, but what can we expect, when the average family can't afford to feed everyone at their tables without cutting at least a few corners? My five-person family ate a home-cooked meal almost every night, but that came at a huge cost: both my parents worked full time jobs, often sixty or more hours a week and were usually irritable and had very little time to do anything but come home, eat, and go to bed, our food budget was about a thousand dollars a month, and there were STILL nights where I went hungry because my brothers would leave nothing for me on the table, and we couldn't afford to make extra. We lived in a trailer in the boondocks. And in a general sense, we were miserable, but it had nothing to do with our diets. And I should point out that this was before the housing market crashed and the recession hit: that same food budget would run in the $1200-$1500 range today.
The solution isn't pointing the finger at people and shaming them for their problems. The solution lies in making healthy options affordable for everyone. About the only one of those things that can be instantly solved with a cheaper option is substituting soda with tap water. And that's only if you don't suffer any ill effects from drinking chlorine.
Matsunaga Kaede wrote:Pharmaceutical companies and the health industry in general make more money if they're prescribing pills. A patient who is diagnosed with bipolar disorder and prescribed a whole-foods diet and regular exercised is not paying for mood stabilizers.
You may also have doctors and psychiatrists who will have patients come back every so often to get a prescription, or to get a prescription change, and every appointment means more money. I know when I saw a psychiatrist I went every three months, especially after I started a new medication, or every six months when I was a teenager. And those appointments were short, and basically consisted of: "How are you? That's good. Here's a prescription. I'll see you soon." Of course, I didn't go to a good psychiatrist.
Let's also remember that America's lower and middle classes are poorer now than they once were, especially in the current recession.
You bring up a good point here. For a family that doesn't make much money, and only makes end's meets, it may be hard for them to pay for doctor's visits, medication, and good food. I know that a lot of school systems, if not all offer extra help, such as a special education program, but even then it doesn't help the fact that they may not be getting the help, or the right help at home. I know that some schools, like the one I went to, offered free or reduced lunch, but these lunches were far from good. They weren't even good for students without any major issues, so what about students who might of needed a more specific diet to prevent certain behaviors, or health issues from appearing? Then again, some food is better than no food.
Three pancakes with syrup, two hash browns and a milk at McDonald's will run you about five bucks. A box of pancake mix, a carton of eggs, a gallon of milk, a bottle of syrup and a bag of potatoes and onions will run you close to twenty.
I have noticed that. I go grocery shopping for my parents, so I'm aware of how much food can cost.
I went to a psychiatrist when I was like 12-13 and was diagnosed with a whole ton of stuff. They wanted me to get on a bunch of mood medications and everything but I didn't really want to take any of that stuff because of the side effects.
Now I'm 20 and I'm fine. I don't have any hyperactivity, depression, attention anythings. And if I would have said yes, I'd probably HAVE all those symptoms from taking the meds. Which would probably lead to more meds.
So yeah, I can see where those sorts of things can be over-diagnosed in children and teens.
I learned a "trick" in medical school. If you think your kid has ADD, you give them a cup of coffee. If they calm down and are no longer hyperactive, then they probably do have ADD because when you give stimulants to someone with a hyperactivity disorder, the stimulants kind of cancels all that out (having a hard time explaining this xD). If they get even more hyper, then you are feeding the kid too much junk and need to adjust their diet and exercise better.
Now I'm 20 and I'm fine. I don't have any hyperactivity, depression, attention anythings. And if I would have said yes, I'd probably HAVE all those symptoms from taking the meds. Which would probably lead to more meds.
So yeah, I can see where those sorts of things can be over-diagnosed in children and teens.
I learned a "trick" in medical school. If you think your kid has ADD, you give them a cup of coffee. If they calm down and are no longer hyperactive, then they probably do have ADD because when you give stimulants to someone with a hyperactivity disorder, the stimulants kind of cancels all that out (having a hard time explaining this xD). If they get even more hyper, then you are feeding the kid too much junk and need to adjust their diet and exercise better.
