Adhd, or, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

Most people have heard of this disorder before. ADHD is a disorder you are born with and cannot be cured.

The main symptoms include:

-Forgetfullness
-Procrastination
-Disorganization
-Hyperactivity
-Impulsivity
-Trouble with focusing

ADHD is usually genetic and runs in families.

You might be looking at the symptoms and thinking,

"But Rennie, I do all of those things!"

And, for some of you, you will in fact have the disorder. But, everybody procrastinates sometimes - and may be impulsive, or perhaps a little forgetful. But ADHD is when all of those symptoms become frustrating to live with and may affect your school, work or social life.

Sometimes, people with ADHD experience what is called a 'hyperfixation,' where someone gets REALLY involved in a certain topic/interest. And these are intense and usually last from about a week to a couple of months, depending on the person.

Sometimes, people with hyperfixations will even skip meals or lose out in sleep just to be involved with whatever it is they're interested in.

You may have also heard of another disorder called 'ADD' (Attention Deficit Disorder). This is no longer a diagnosis in the USA, but is in other places like where I live (the UK).

Now, you will just be diagnosed with ADHD - mostly because females were diagnosed the most with ADD due to masking.

If you don't know what masking is, it's when someone with a mental disorder/illness pretends to act like someone without it in order to fit in.

This is more common in females - not because of genetics - but more so with how society treats them differently.

Personally, I think removing the ADD diagnosis was a good idea on the USA's part and think that we should do the same.

ADHD is classed as a learning disability in the UK and it's the same in the USA if it affects you severly. 

Myths

-Only males can have ADHD
-ADHD is just an excuse for laziness
-Caffiene makes ADHD symptoms worse
-People with ADHD can NEVER focus

Facts

-Anyone can have ADHD
-ADHD isn't just an excuse
-Caffiene can help with ADHD symptoms (but shouldn't be used as often as medication of course)
-people with ADHD can focus REALLY hard on something if it's something they enjoy