Dr. Annick Vincent, psychiatrist and ADHD (Attention Deficit Disorder) expert in adults, presented on the portrait of ADHD from childhood to adult life during the LDAQ’s conference. I attended her 2 conferences on April 4th, one was for health professional and the other to the public.
An interesting statistic she mentioned was that 3 to 4% of adults have ADHD (some experts think the figure is closer to 10%). What was the most surprising what the fewer than 10% of adults with ADHD are diagnosed and treated! Imagine! 90% of ADHD adults are not diagnosted nor treated.
ADHD adults suffer many problems at work, in their interpersonal relationships, in their home lives, and their finances. They’re more likely to suffer from depression, anxiety, cigarette and drug addictions, car accidents, bankrupcies, etc. Without knowing why they have so many problems, they tend to think that it’s their fault and that despite strong efforts, donc seem to be able to overcome them. Treatment with medications help 70% of ADHD adults; however, these adults alos need to learn about ADHD and create, often with the help of an ADHD Coach, strategies that will allow them to improve their life. At times, psychotherapy is necessary. Dr. Vincent also mentioned that it is one of the easiest disorders to treat.
What do you think? Why are so few adults with ADHD treated? What could be done to improve on this?
I think it’s hard for people to accept that medication alone is not enough. Part of that is we are used to being fixed with meds for a lot of things, but the stigma that our society has about mental health interferes with peoples willingness to believe that they need to work on mental health regularly the way physical therapy needs regular work.
With my own experience it’s been challenging to find the right medication levels, and each time I make an adjustment there is a long period where my productivity falls. It can be very discouraging. I also have people who are very supportive of my efforts but they don’t understand what I’m going through or what I need, and it often makes transitions harder for me. I have wanted to quite and give up every time, especially when my supporters do and say things inadvertently that make it harder by making me feel alone and like a failure.
So I think that a lot of people that get diagnosed just give up after a while. I won’t, but I want to often. I think I’m just lucky enough to have to little boys that I don’t want to let down.