We all have the symptoms of ADHD. Right?

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This week I consulted Dr. TikTok, to find out that maybe I have ADHD. According to the millions of diagnostic “tools” that proliferate on the platform, I seem to exhibit the vast majority of “signs”.

See user @neuronush (“sharing mindfulness” with her 95.5k followers), who explains that ADHD sufferers hate loud noises, noisy eating, slow walkers, and making plans. Well, I absolutely hate slow walkers. And I’m weirdly sensitive to bangs. Meanwhile, @doctorshepard_md red flags that I’ve been labeled “moody and sensitive” and “squirming in my chair”; @usamedical offers an ADHD test for adults where she asks me if I’m “having trouble remembering appointments” or feeling “overly active”; while @connordewolfe suggests that I may have “hyperfocus”, whereby I become obsessed with random tasks.

Although ADHD was first diagnosed in the late 18th century, it is today the quintessential modern malaise. According to ADHD UK, around 2.6 million people in the UK have the condition, with the incidence among adults being 3-4% of the population. Data from the ADHD Foundation charity suggests a 400% increase in the number of adults seeking a diagnosis since 2020. In the US, 9.8% of children aged 3-17 have been diagnosed with ADHD, according to a national survey of parents using data from 2016-19.

This week, a BBC Panorama documentary explored the rapid increase in adult diagnoses, through the boom in private clinics and the rise in the use of powerful ADHD medications. As NHS treatment waiting lists can last up to five years, people are increasingly paying specialists and private clinics to be seen. Unsurprisingly, when outsourcing healthcare and the use of expensive methylphenidates (the main component of Ritalin and Concerta), the honesty of some private clinics may be slightly compromised. As the BBC documentary maker discovered, he was diagnosed with the condition three times on video calls, while a final appointment with an NHS consultant concluded he did not have ADHD.

Although ADHD was first diagnosed in the late 18th century, it is today the quintessential modern malaise.

I’m not an ADHD denier, but it can sometimes seem like everyone has a claim. A colleague who was diagnosed with ADHD when he was in his 20s says it clearly when he says, “when the primary tool of diagnosis is asking if you feel distracted by things that don’t interest you, everyone has ADHD.” He does not feel stigmatized by having a neurodevelopmental disorder, nor by the problems it causes for his mental health. But he resents the assumption made by many that, by taking drugs, he is somehow taking a “performance-enhancing drug.”

Certainly, there’s a brisk ADHD drug trade on the playground, especially in exam month, where half a Concerta, a can of Red Bull, and a donut will ensure a 14-hour uninterrupted review buzz. (I tried to score some Ritalin for this column as a research, but unfortunately a geography student got ahead of me and the ADHD trader is closely monitoring his stock.)

And if it seems like everyone has ADHD symptoms, that’s probably because they do. In his book Scattered minds, physician and ADHD expert Dr. Gabor Maté argues: “If someone who displays any of the traits were to be diagnosed with ADHD, we might as well put Ritalin in their drinking water and enroll most of the industrialized world in group psychotherapy.” “. He goes on to quote Drs Edward Hallowell and John Ratey, authors of Driven to distraction, which paved the way for a broader understanding of ADD, who state that “ADD is a diagnosis not of category but of dimension.” We all probably have small traits. Furthermore, in times of extreme stress we may find that our brain flips into more extreme behaviors: ADHD can strike us and disappear again, at different points in life. The main problem, argues Maté, is not whether symptoms are manifested, but how pronounced they are: the problem arises when the characteristics become so overwhelming as to “impair a person’s functioning to some extent”.

Yes, I get bored easily with the things that bore me. I am forgetful, distracted, and often feel an “incessant lack of stillness” (as Maté puts it) in my brain. In 1934, The New England Journal identified “organic drive” as a distressing quality in some people’s lives. And I totally get that feeling. I also need the threat of failure or the promise of reward to fulfill the tasks. I mean, look – right now! I have a crazy deadline! What further evidence do you need? And did I mention I hate noisy eaters? However, as far as I can ascertain, I’m still able to lead a fairly unhindered life.

Rather than suffer from severe mental illness, I’m simply managing some of the minor and fairly harmless traits of the condition. Basically, I’m just a very cranky human being, who might need some help someday.

jo.ellison@ft.com