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| Mouth-Offs | ADD and Mind
ControlIt is hard to understand why people insist on calling themselves "disordered". My whole argument calling ADD fake, is largely based on my disagreement for using a negative term for a normal and common condition. If you find "normal" insulting, then please ignore me. But also understand that others find motivation in the idea that they are normal and that their condition can be cured or controlled.
I have found a few reasons why people insist on calling themselves ‘mentally disordered". Many people have serious problems in school, work, relationships, etc. and haven’t had much success in solving those problems. But after finding a doctor who calls them "mentally disordered", they take drugs, work on changing habits, and finally see improvements in life. Then they credit their success and improvements to their label of "disordered". I applaud positive changes to improve life, but you don’t have to call your brain defective in order to make those changes.
Another reason people seem attached to the label "disordered" is because it justifies the use of drugs. Personally, I am not against the use of drugs. Caffeine increases your energy, but that doesn’ t mean you are disordered. Alcohol lowers inhibitions, but that doesn’t mean you are disordered. And apparently Ritalin helps people focus, and that also is not proof that your brain is disordered. But since many people were prescribed that helpful drug after being told their brain is disordered, they get mad at me when I say they are normal.
The other main reason that people call themselves disordered comes from too much respect for authority. A boring teacher tells the student that they are "disordered" because they don’t pay attention. A kid who thinks highly of himself may say "I am not disordered, you are boring". But a less confident student may agree that they are somehow defective just because the teacher told them they are.
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