SQUIRREL!

Today, everyone has ADHD! AHH! SQUIRREL! SHINY!

We medicate it, suppress it, and generally get on people’s case that have it. Sometimes with good reason, sometimes simply because parents are annoyed that their children have an inability to sit still.

Biologically speaking though, there was an evolutionary advantage for ages to having the ability to respond quickly to many different stimuli. If you are a traveler in a new area with stranger creatures and surroundings, the ability to react would have made the difference between life and death.

Since it’s an evolutionary trait, is it even a disease, as we have a tendency in the U.S. to treat it as?

This article considers that it’s more of a cultural and societal issue, in that people with ADHD, especially children- who don’t get to pick their environment- get bored easily. In a society where we make kids sit down and concentrate for hours it makes perfect sense that kids, who naturally have a lot of energy, would have difficulty sitting for so long in the first place.

Take a look at the article for the science of dopamine, reward system, and the biological differences in those with it versus without it. It also goes through whether it is an issue of maladaptive for current society or if it is a disease. This article is well written, as well as accessible to those without a scientific background! I love it!

If you are interested in more differences in ADHD, search online for how French people deal with ADHD. Their rates of diagnosis are surprisingly lower, and it’s all in the way they go about ‘treating’ kids, behaviorally rather than medication!