To think most online adult ADHD diagnoses are bullshit?

Anyone on the make for benefit money is unlikely to have the money for a private ADHD diagnosis,

I'm so sorry @Canwedoit4- this is exactly why OP's opinion is so damaging.

I could have written your post. Please speak to your GP- it's a long road, and it's not easy, but now I have my diagnosis my life is much improved.

Ignore the OP and opinions like it.

But who doesn’t have at least one trait? I doubt whether you would find an example of a completely “normal” - whatever that is - human being if you searched the whole world over.

Unfortunately it seems to have become an excuse now, and if you Google it immediately up comes “can I get benefits/PIP for ADHD?”

Does having ADHD through a proper diagnosis mean you get the green light to be an arrogant fuck as well?

I am older and I think we have all known people who were scatty. This seems to be now what is called ADHD. So I think it is real, but over diagnosed.
I also agree with the OP that life is hard and very few people can have the kind of life that social media and the media generally say we should be living.

my house is messy as all my mental energy goes into work and I constantly miss appointments, am late for other commitments etc

But that could apply to many people?

Yes well why are people doing it - what do they gain??? OP criticises them but I’m not sure why.
I have a diagnosis and feel sad that I didn’t know before -could have made such a difference to me - instead I was depressed and terrible anxiety - now I know why people were unpleasant to me,irritated by me - I avoid all risky social situations now. Life is good.
Am not on an amphetamine but can support and empathise with my ‘slow at school’ or ‘naughty’ children.
it’s an inherited trait and adults need to know to support future generations.

@LlamaNoDrama If some private providers diagnose everyone who pays to see them, then you are paying for a diagnosis. Some of those people will have ADHD, and some will not.

I genuinely don't understand this topic. I'm sure there is such a condition and it must be challenging for children and adults to live with. A friend underwent one of these on line diagnosis. The woman said she could " tell she had it within minutes" Such behaviours as collecting books by one author were put forward as evidence, being awake in the night with an active mind was another.
I don't see the point of it really.

That should say 6 not five

And that's exactly why GPs aren't qualified to diagnose such things ....

5 is ridiculous anyway. Most places won't assess unless there is evidence of difficulties in more than one setting, usually home and school. Even if it's picked up on early (and most are very dubious about diagnosing adhd at a very young age) they'd sit on a waiting ing list for likely a year or two. Chances of being diagnosed before 5 are slim!

@LoudHam I sympathise with you - your left feeling like a fake/fraud/attention seeker and it's this that has stopped me being able to seek out help when maybe my life could be so much easier if I wasn't so afraid. I will fight for everything my children deserve but when it comes to me I just can't advocate for myself.

I agree OP. You basically pay for a diagnosis with some companies, even if you do not realise that is what you are doing. There are those who say anyone seeking a diagnosis must have it, but this does not work with any other diagnostic condition, so why would it for ADHD? Loads of people think they have cancer, or other illnesses and do not.

I agree.

At least half the adults I know who claim to have ADHD patently don't and its so bloody offensive.

Many private diagnoses are bullshit and aren't worth the paper they are written on. That's why gp surgeries often won't accept them.

These companies/tik tok influencers etc..are vultures preying on unhappy people and its disgusting.

But having adhd/asd has no bearing on how clever you are. You could be a genius, you could have low iq or you could be perfectly average.

Of course you could also have adhd and a learning disability or difficulty but they are separate not part of.

There isn’t a link between ADHD and intelligence.

What happens is that among average or slightly above average middle class people, sometime in their academic or professional life they reach the limits of their intelligence.

Rather than admit they are not as smart as they thought they were, actually it was ADHD the entire time. It’s only due to their incredibly high intelligence that they could create masking strategies, unlike all those other ADHD people who struggle to keep or job or pass a single exam.

Now with their ADHD diagnosis they will be able to achieve all the things they thought they would! Except they don’t and loads end up not bothering with the medication in the end.

(I have seen this with 5 people now)

It is certainly true that anyone can buy an ADHD diagnosis online if they familiarise themselves with the condition so they can give the right answers.

I suppose the question is how many people consciously or unconsciously seek a spurious diagnosis, and why? It is not as if it gets you much in itself. Maybe validation for someone who struggles with life but for whom no other diagnosis really fits either.

I do think people, as others have said, that people are turning to private diagnoses due to the long waiting list in the NHS at the moment.

I was recommended ADHD-360.

I don't actually know if I'm ready to tackle another diagnosis so close to my last one. Nobody realises just how traumatic the whole procedure is as an outside to neurodivergence.

I have passed on the recommendation to a friend who is going through with the diagnosis although he has said he wants to use more natural methods to manage his ADHD, not stimulants. I can sort of understand where he is coming from but I also think he doesn't need an official diagnosis to advocate for accomodations for himself or use a supplementary management plan for his symptoms as opposed to paying hundreds for a diagnosis that won't necessarily get him additional support he isn't already entitled to.

@OptimismvsRealism - although I actually really agree with you in some ways, I don't think you can judge if someone has ADHD by the state of their home/events organised etc. I have a tidy home partly as I live with a very domesticated DH, but also bc I have learnt it makes me feel better. However work procrastination is out of control. And I am not mediocre - first class degree from redbrick, straight As at A level etc, professional job. However I grew up before SM and internet was ubiquitous and I think I'd struggle more nowadays to achieve what I have. I am struggling to achieve anything further. But due to being from a 'good background' and marrying someone solid, you wouldn't really know how I really am unless you were a very good friend. It was a running joke growing up though how 'dappy' I was, despite being bright.

I feel the same as you @Canwedoit4 so you are not alone. I'm early 40s. Definitely feel like peri menopause could be a factor. I pretty much hate myself atm! But I don't want a bandwagon diagnosis, nor do I want to wait an age.