I can understand that frustration, but your posting style amounts to very short arguments from authority made on the basis that you're 'tired' or you 'don't want to get into it'. What's worse is that you promise these authorities but never actually deliver, as well as pretending to a level of expertise that you haven't yet actually demonstrated.
Well, that's fair enough, but these opinions can be dismissed just as easily as they are delivered, because you're not actually saying or arguing anything. You're just making statements.
Nobody is arguing that, say, ADHD isn't a real, identifiable thing, merely that it might be improperly considered a 'disorder', just like homosexuality used to be considered a mental illness and transexuality might be someday.
What I'm asking about is if you have anything interesting to say about this - the categorical criteria we use to label something as a 'disorder' or a 'mental illness' and what the basis of that is or ought to be.
The problem is that if you did engage with this question, the 'authorities' you'd be posting would be from the fields of philosophy of psychology and philosophy of psychiatry (subfields in philosophy of science) since what we're dealing with are disciplinary and classificatory boundaries rather than strictly empirical questions. That is, you are literally unable to settle this question according to the empirical authorities that you're claiming to be conversant with.
Trying to ignore your hostile approach here- as you are maybe having a bad day-or maybe it’s your posting style to antagonize a person into interacting in the way that you have deemed you somehow deserve. I don’t know you and I certainly couldn’t guess how you are thinking in this moment as much as you have no idea anything about why I might be reluctant or actually incapable of explaining complex neurological aspects of particular entity du jour on a online forum full of people I don’t fucking know. I don’t know your education levels- I have no idea where to begin here. You aren’t a bunch of grad students. Maybe, just maybe- I don’t come to an online forum trying to learn about a particular personality type to then be thrust back into my job as scientist and professor. Have you considered that that is a hell of a lot to ask or expect of anyone? What is your job? Do you want to come service me on demand? Why do you believe you are entitled to a neuroscience lecture because a neuroscientist gave her opinions on a topic? Why do you believe that I work for you? Or should? Or that I don’t have every fucking right to be exhausted and stressed out to a breaking point enough to ask an online forum full of supposed empaths for some grace and patience without one of you coming at me with sadly veiled implications that I may not be exactly who I say I am. Maybe you are the one with an issue here, as I posted a very simple statement and you wanted more than I felt I wanted or had to give in that moment. Also- I never deliver? Hmmm. I’ve been here a week. I’ve responded that way twice. I didn’t know that signing up for this forum meant I was responsible for adherence to your demands. Hyperbole and judgement much? Jesus.
Also, there is more within this thread than the discussion you have boiled it down to- you do not have ownership of my interpretation.
Having said the above- by your interpretation of all of what has been posted - you are misusing the clinical word “disorder” in your thinking. When clinicians use the word disorder it means there are patterns of behavioral or psychological symptoms that impact multiple areas of life. Period. It is not a judgement on the worthiness of an individual nor is it a representation of all that may or may not be beneficial if society was structured differently. In this society, with these social, economic, Relationships, familial, and just getting the fuck along standards- these behavior and symptom patterns cause significant issues. For instance, Post Traumatic Stress “Disorder” is pretty goddamned adaptive if there is ongoing threats around every corner- not so much if the behaviors are happening at a restaurant or on a date, or at work in an office where threats are only perceived. The debate about it being a “disorder” or not Is taking the clinical word we use as a baseline definition used for diagnostic purposes- out of context.
ADHD is often misdiagnosed. I had multiple patients who came to me with the diagnosis and on further examination actually clearly had PTSD from childhood traumas. The clinical presentation, to an untrained eye- look similar. The treatment for the two are radically different. With ADHD there is a disregulation of the dopaminergic signaling the prefrontal cortex that is aided by using a medication that upregulates dopamine. For PTSD you have a disregulation of the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex through strengthening the synaptic power of the amygdala to depress the activity of both of them. There is a problem in the bidirectional signaling between the three structures that is disregulted through excitatory glutamatergic, depression In GABA, and endocannabinoid retrograde signaling. There is a serious cortisol depression in PTSD patients that is generally an effect of a burned out HPA axis and it’s negative feedback loop due to long term allostatic load. Any blip in cortisol causes a hyperactive sympathetic net system response and the last thing you want to do is give them adderall- a central nervous system stimulant. Our clinical evaluation and adherence to set guidelines for diagnosis is really important so, back to my original point- yeah- the disorders are real. You may not like the word disorder- but that’s the word in clinical parlance- it is not a moral or character judgement as used in your question. My point is that there IS a change in the brain operating system between neuro typical and those that carry these diagnosis. It’s not bullshit or man made. They are real and cause people significant functional problems as per the requirements to carry the diagnosis, if diagnosed properly. Is it morally fine that people struggle within the constraints of our society? I don’t have an answer for you- but the brain is structured differently In both ADHD and Autism, and that’s a fact.
Sounds like you are offended by a word clinicians use as a tool to communicate a set of criteria a patient does or does not have.
I am sorry for being salty but your approach was offensive and I don’t appreciate it. I don’t owe you anything, if you have a specific question- I’ll try to answer that but I am not obligated to construct a layperson clinical lecture on broad swaths of extremely complex neuroscience on a forum where I came to try and gain some knowledge and maybe some empathy here and there, hoping to offer that in return.
