Tech
Why ADHD Diagnoses Have Exploded In The U.S.
The rate of ADHD diagnoses has been rising in the U.S. for the past two decades, and experts hypothesize that social media and the pandemic may be a catalyst. More Americans are seeking out treatment for ADHD all at once, which is putting strain on an already stretched thin health-care system.
Stories about attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, have been having a resurgence in the social media zeitgeist the past several years, and it may be leading more people to seek out diagnosis for the condition.
“A lot of my patients would hold up their phone to the camera and be like, ‘Here’s this video that I saw on TikTok and this is why I have ADHD,'” said Dr. Sasha Hamdani. She is a psychiatrist and ADHD specialist who also is a content creator about the condition with more than 800,000 followers on TikTok.
This influx in people seeking out treatment all at once can cause a problem of supply and demand.
“What I see in my practice is that we have a six-month waiting list to get in. And we’re incredibly busy,” Adler said. “Some of that’s from the pandemic, but I think there’s a general need for services at this point.”
The CDC announced in October that there was a shortage of both the brand name and generic form of Adderall in the U.S.
Watch the video above to learn more about the rise in ADHD in the United States and whether the health-care system can handle the increase in demand.
Produced by: Charlotte Morabito
Edited by: Amy Marino
Graphics by: Mallory Brangan, Jason Reginato
Additional Camera by: Nathaniel Lee, Andrea Miller, Talia Kaplan
Supervising Producer: Lindsey Jacobson
» Subscribe to CNBC: https://cnb.cx/SubscribeCNBC
» Subscribe to CNBC TV: https://cnb.cx/SubscribeCNBCtelevision
About CNBC: From ‘Wall Street’ to ‘Main Street’ to award winning original documentaries and Reality TV series, CNBC has you covered. Experience special sneak peeks of your favorite shows, exclusive video and more.
Connect with CNBC News Online
Get the latest news: https://www.cnbc.com/
Follow CNBC on LinkedIn: https://cnb.cx/LinkedInCNBC
Follow CNBC News on Facebook: https://cnb.cx/LikeCNBC
Follow CNBC News on Twitter: https://cnb.cx/FollowCNBC
Follow CNBC News on Instagram: https://cnb.cx/InstagramCNBC
#CNBC
Why ADHD Diagnoses Have Exploded In The U.S.
source
@indigoneutral
December 21, 2023 at 7:51 pm
Inability to focus on the mundane and boring topics has created a bubble of hyperfocus that's worsened by the increase in anxiety and depression, often caused by ongoing sleep deprivation. It's a vicious cycle, often driven by dopamine seeking behaviors. We seek greater and greater experiences, which we often have to work longer and longer hours for, leading to sleep deprivation. Or, we are device and stimulus addicted. All the same effects on the brain. Not saying the medication doesn't help. I'm sure it does. But a medication alleviating side effects does not imply that a disorder is present, especially with ones as vague as all the mental health diagnoses that are entirely based on subjective self aware accounts and behaviors. I'm not saying mental health doesn't matter, but I am saying at the end of the day, you MUST be the one responsible. Mental health is a reason for disordered behavior, habits, and thought. It is NOT an excuse for disordered patterns that harm others and cause societal disruption. Once again, a reason, not an excuse. This is coming from somebody who was stuck in mental illness for a long time. Pity and empathy helps, but responsibility is the only thing that can actually heal.
@jamesbell739
December 21, 2023 at 7:51 pm
What I'm sick of is that we don't realize just how much this country has screwed over it's citizens since coming into existence.
Just in modern times, we have the tuskegee experiment, lead poisoning from leaded gas, lead poising from old pipes, lead poisoning from paint, asbestos and other chemical poisoning, radiation poisoning across the midwest and southwest from atomic testing, factory dumping in our clean water sources…. I can go on all day…
And yet we are surprised that the health of people in the US is getting worse instead of better. All those things that have poisoned us affect mental development in and out of the womb.
@memcache88
December 21, 2023 at 7:51 pm
If your a person of color and grew up in America no need to consume this uninformed video from a news source that covers just the very tip of the iceberg vs actually doing the due diligence of proven statical data from the official United States Government website NIH on the racial and ethnic disparities in diagnosis and treatment of ADHD from kindergarten to 8th grade is EVIDENT. Hey news caste gaslighters can we also cover this government proven recognized published article?
@barbzfurbernie4560
December 21, 2023 at 7:51 pm
Remember when liberals hated big-pharma? Now they spend their entire lives trying to get some type of diagnosis. So strange
@helenalovelock1030
December 21, 2023 at 7:51 pm
Pharmaceutical companies have marketed ADHD !!!! 💰
@TotallyNotBrandon
December 21, 2023 at 7:51 pm
Because millions of people aren't conformist? ADHD isn't a real diagnosis. It's an idea to prescribe addictive drugs that help the body produce dopamine, which helps the brain concentrate. It's a stimulate. This is in returns makes big pharma loads of money. I was on Concerta for years & was diagnosed with ADHD at the age of 5. I was on that crap for 13 years, & now I have a high dependency on dopamine aka social media & the internet. In reality I most likely have AD, which is now a part of ADHD diagnosis, go figure. This is more about not wanting to admit that a generation developed autism on a grand scale due to the gas lead crisis when motor vehicles were first introduced. It's also the food we eat & other things that affect the way our brains develop, though most people get addicted to social media & have a dopamine dependency in today's society. It's completely for natural for the brain to detect this, & that's why people feel like they ADHD & struggle paying attention. Dopamine will do that to the brain. It takes some people years to finally grow out of their dependency for their addictions, dopamine isn't no different than substance abuse
@carlosduran6474
December 21, 2023 at 7:51 pm
I realized that I had ADHD when I was 57 years old, I am now 61 and it is so depressing for me to think about how different my relationships, my career, and my life in general would have been had I been diagnosed when the symptoms started to appear as a child; I am so glad that there is more awareness for this terrible condition than there was during my childhood.
@blackdragon7803
December 21, 2023 at 7:51 pm
ADHD is one of the biggest hoaxes ever! I’m glad people are starting to see the cracks in this fake diagnosis. 😂
@urmok6iv
December 21, 2023 at 7:51 pm
Almost everybody I know has ADHD diagnosis right now. What do all these people have in common? Lot's of screen time. I had a partner who got her first smartphone during our time together. It quickly absorbed her to the point where the first thing she did in the morning was to check her emails in bed and then she started browsing memes and it was really hard to compete with the new device for her attention. I waited for hours laying next to her to be acknowledged. She became more and more unorganized and her clothes started to pile up, she kept procrastinating and when she tried to focus on school, she couldn't. Before she was an over-achiever, always stayed on track with projects and her grades were perfect. Now, years later I learned, that she also got diagnosed with ADHD. And I makes me really worried… She didn't have ADHD before she got addicted to her smartphone. The screens are an endless pit of dopamine and the need to check our phones is a huge distraction that breaks our attention and line of thought. Is it a coincidence that people who come to seek help are referring to tiktoks as their source of information? I suspect that's where they got this "brain-virus" from. There are loads of studies indicating a link between screen time and lower executive function, decreased attention span and impulsivity. Now, instead of taking a closer look at what is going on with the explosion of ADHD we are prescribing stimulants to people who are screen addicts and I'm worried that this won't end well. They are already susceptible to addiction. I'm already seeing some people taking the leap towards street amphetamines. This will not end well, I'm afraid.
@kenrickbautista6141
December 21, 2023 at 7:51 pm
Along with autism and bipolar disorder, I seem to be showing some signs of ADHD. My sister has ADHD, too. However, compared to my sister, I was in the special ed program throughout my school years.
@mininme
December 21, 2023 at 7:51 pm
Adhd is a result of television
@mitchburton7740
December 21, 2023 at 7:51 pm
ADHD IS A MYTH AND A PHARACISTAL SCAM THIS PERSON PUTS ON A PERSONA THATS FAKE THEN WHEN HE GETS A GRIP THEN HES STRONG HE IS HEAVILY MIS DIAISONGED, ONLY STUPID PEOPLE CAN CLASSIFY A HYPER ACTIVE CHILD AS A DISORDER IN MOST SINGLE MOM HOUSEHOLDS THAT CANT CONTAIN IT, THEN GOES ON TO 30 YEARS OLDER HOLDING A VICTEM MINDSET NEVER CHANGING CRINGE BEHAVIOR…….. HAIL ROME!!!!!
@tricialoreto702
December 21, 2023 at 7:51 pm
I don’t understand why we just normalize the fact the our foods are being poisoned & they clearly damage the brain. When do we hold big pharma & all the company’s poisoning us accountable and stop allowing stuff like Apeel on our foods or the trisodium phosphate that’s put in foods when Wikipedia defines it as a chemical that if ingested we should contact poison control and it’s also added to makeup and cleaning products!! All they’re doing is renaming the stuff on the labels. It’s a brain based disorder alright and we are doing it to ourselves by continuing to consume the poisons even though we know they’re harmful! Make it make sense!!
@nicolekent9518
December 21, 2023 at 7:51 pm
Some of those creators are just listing common things to get more clicks tbh
@AmberKingmusic
December 21, 2023 at 7:51 pm
My mother and brother were both diagnosed and we always knew I had ADHD but didn't seek a diagnosis until I was 17 and my symptoms were severely impacting my life and I knew I wouldn't be successful in college without accommodations and to get those I needed to be diagnosed. I'm honestly kind of regretful that I didn't try to get diagnosed when I was younger, because I wouldn't have overlooked so many symptoms and gotten to the point that I was at had I spoken up about my struggles earlier. My parents were awesome and made many common struggles easier by default of my mom understanding ADHD since she deals with it herself and them having learned tools for helping my brother so I didn't speak up until nothing helped anymore and I was not ok. My mom helped by doing homework with me and having me have snacks and taking breaks to go jump on the trampoline or us doing a page of homework every commercial break of a show I liked. My mom always helped me with my papers for school because organizing my thoughts was such a struggle so she would be my transcriber I would talk about what I wanted to write and she would type what I said, then I would be able to edit my thoughts since they were already organized and typed (she never did my work for me but she helped me). Sometimes I am happy I was 17 when I got diagnosed so people understand it wasn't the stereotype of a hyper kid getting labeled but pretty much every parent teacher report noted at least 3 symptoms but since I wasn't disruptive in class my teachers never pushed for me to get diagnosed either.
@ilovetattoospty3656
December 21, 2023 at 7:51 pm
Americans loge being the victims. Anything to make yall feel better.
@GabrielaMendoza-bu2tk
December 21, 2023 at 7:51 pm
Honestly im dyslexic and i have a lot of similarities with people with adhd so chances are that most people who feel like they have adhd probably have some other nuerodivergence that doctors dont generally screen for in adults unless requested. And for a lot of people that have these other diagnosis there arent medications used to alleviate symptoms
@beeeboopbeepboop
December 21, 2023 at 7:51 pm
the reason why there is a rise in ADHD is because the school districts and doctors get kickbacks for every child they have diagnosed, the same as it was in the 90s.
@jjyy9791
December 21, 2023 at 7:51 pm
more medication more toxin items in your body good luck everybody. new way for big pharma to make money of you be carefull.
@EFlorida121
December 21, 2023 at 7:51 pm
Turn to homeopathy and heal from ADHD once and for all 🙏🏼
@GungaLaGunga
December 21, 2023 at 7:51 pm
Why? Because prescription drugs are very profitable.
@whitelutik
December 21, 2023 at 7:51 pm
For one, the numbers are up because they started diagnosing the other half of population- girls and women
@KingGameReview
December 21, 2023 at 7:51 pm
What, you don't want to sit still and stare at a screen all day long? Your mind wanders to literally anything else? Wow, there must be something wrong with you.
@reyrey8562
December 21, 2023 at 7:51 pm
Psychiatrist are agents of the pharmaceutical companies. The DSM did more damage than good and yet its science is not that conclusive. Have a sense of skepticism people. These are predominantly american culture trying to sell a problem and a solution