a
Social Psychologist & Personal Advisor

Why ADHD is Not What Some
Psychiatrists Say it is!

It takes wisdom . . . to recognize wisdom
The music is nothing, if the audience is deaf!
- Walter Lippman.

What I am about to explain is "music" that the vast majority of society is not hearing — they are "deaf" to this music, because they have blindly accepted the conditioning of certain cultural institutions. Much mental "deconstruction" is needed to escape the imprisoning effects of Flat-Earth Assumptions—ideas assumed to correspond with reality, but do not! As to the task of deconstructing commonly held beliefs, that are false, French philosopher Derrida said this:

Do not feign a "naturality" that does not exit.
One of the gestures of deconstruction, is to not naturalize
what isn’t natural—to not assume that what is conditioned by history,
institutions, or society is natural.
- Jacques Derrida.

Attention Deficit and Hyperactive Disorder:
Normal Active Behavior vs. Neurological Disease
by Matt Moody, Ph.D..

It is true that some children demonstrate a lack of attention upon certain things (just as some adults do). And it is also true that some children simply cannot sit still (just as some adults cannot do, either). But exactly what is the typical context for determining a so-called attention deficit and hyperactive disorder? Most often, the criteria and context for diagnosing "ADHD" is this:

A child is unable to sit still in a school classroom and quietly listen to a teacher talk.

Require an adult to sit still and listen to a teacher (possibly a very boring one) and suddenly, that adult will immediately be stricken with ADHD too. And this is just one of my points: You don't "come down" with ADHD, as if it really were a disease. Since when was "sitting still in a classroom" a NORMAL thing for children to do, let alone NORMAL behavior for adults?

Truth is, if you could take all the children labeled as A.D.H.D. and place them in settings that were NORMAL for the first five-thousand years of human history, these same children who supposedly "have" a mental disorder, would instantly become the high achievers within a "hunting and gathering" curriculum.

Therefore, as you change the expectations of what is "normal," you change the definition of what is considered a "Dis-Ordered" behavior. Truth is, children who are full of energy to run, jump, and play . . . are just normal children.

Again in the "hunting and gathering" curriculum or an "agrarian" curriculum, such children would be the high achievers — they will be the superior hunters, gatherers, sowers, and harvesters because they have MORE ENGERGY than everyone else! In contrast, in the contrived contemporary expectation of "sit still in your seat and listen to the teacher talk," these high achievers are demoted and labeled as HAVING a Mental Disorder, A.D.H.D.

Nope,they're just NORMAL children and adults who are evaluated against ABNORMAL expectations — the expectations of a modern society, as opposed to an agrarian society.

The Medical Model of Mental Illness is being grossly misapplied to normal children. Here's the reason for the misdiagnosis: Because children act in unnatural ways, given unnatural settings, we assume that something is wrong, when really, it is the EXPECTATION placed upon the child that is wrong.

Put the child a natural setting . . . and that child will thrive! The Flat-Earth Story that is sold by many psychiatrists and therapists is this:

Your child has a neurological disorder which affects their ability to pay attention . . . OR . . . your child's brain chemistry is out of balance, and this is why he or she is hyperactive and can't sit still in a classroom.

Searching for a biological basis for an assumed abnormal behavior is the default orientation of psychiatry and psychology. And this often incorrect orientation comes from atheist assumptions. Here's the flawed logic: Because there are no spirit beings in a Big Bang world, all undesirable behaviors must be explained by biological causes — where else could they come from?

Here’s an excerpt in my book that offers further explanation:

* * * * * * *

You DO your Dis-Eases. Certain psychological paradigms for explaining why you do what you do offer enticing excuses for bad behavior. Here are a few: "It's not your fault because you're Bipolar," or "You're not responsible for acting wacko because you have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder," or "You can't help yourself, because you have Attention Deficit Disorder."

In this world, there are millions of people paying good money for bad psychological service; specifically, people who are paying to be diagnosed and labeled as HAVING a Disorder—when they don’t really have one, they’re doing one! Since the Mental Illness Paradigm maintains that you GET mental disease, like you GET Malaria, of course you would need a prescription of pills to cure the assumed biological cause—it’s not your fault, it’s just bad biology!

* * * * *
When you pop a pill to chase away supposed mental illness,
when you awake from a drug-induced dream, Life
will be waiting for you, right where you left it.
.* * * * *.

Logically, if you actually could GET Bipolar or A.D.D. like you GET Malaria, then why do those diagnosing such disorders proceed to invest hours in trying to talk you out of your condition? In contrast, a medical doctor diagnosing Malaria simply supplies the anti-Malaria potion, and the pill alone does the job. Medical doctors don't require further interventions to make Malaria go away, least of all, trying to talk the disease out of you!

Some who hold to a Disorder Paradigm play both sides of the issue: On one hand, they say you HAVE a disease and "it's not your fault," thus a pill is prescribed, YET they YACK at you for months thereafter as if talk-therapy would do you any good! (Changing Your Stripes, 2nd Edition, pages 146-147).

Bottom Line: It is natural and normal to expect children . . . to be children. Part of being a child, is to be immature and to have a short attention span for thinking about things that may be BORING. In contrast, just give the so-called ADD child a video game to play, and voila: The ADD child is miraculously cured! Now, it's not that "video games" are a natural activities — it's because it is interesting and motivating to the child.

Children need adequate motivation, just like adults.

Now, an important point of clarification: What people mean by the statement "there is really no such thing as ADD" is this: The so-called ADD disease does not exist, but the very observable hyperactive behavior and short attention span does clearly exist. HELLO! This is the definition of a normal child: Hyperactive, energetic, with a short attention span — especially on topics that a child may consider boring!

In terms of so-called disease of ADD, our expectations of children absolutely need adjustment. It is the Expectations that is Dis-ordered. Again, just require an adult to read the phone book for an hour, and. . . abracadabra . . . that adult will suddenly COME DOWN with ADD. That boring old phone book will instantly cause a chemical imbalance in the brain — NOT!

* * * * * * *

Ascending to the pinnacle of Healthy and Happy Living will not happen by applying the techniques and skills of today's most popular paradigms; further, any mental or emotional malady is mostly made worse through the fatally flawed assumptions of "It's-Not-Your-Fault Psychology." This pervasive paradigm tends to deprive people of the very thing that will deliver Healthy and Happy Living:

To fully and wholly accept Response-Ability for what comes out of you!

The key to emotional health and happiness is fundamentally about YOU and Changing Your Stripes!

"The Greatest Prize
for Life's labors isn't
in material possessions
or impressive accomplishments,
but in the progress of personal character.
You labor for your own becoming, this is your richest reward.
Who You Become is your greatest possession,
make it your Masterpiece!"
(Changing Your Stripes, The Manual, page 3-78).

You Need to Put your Peepers
on the Words in My Book.

You'll be so much Smarter and Happier if you do!

My new book, "Changing Your Stripes" presents principles for:
Getting out of the ditch in which you've been dumped, . . .
the difficulties of which you are a Victim, . . . and/or
Getting out of the ditch in which you've jumped,
the difficulties for which you Volunteer.

"Mastering a challenging situation
is ultimately a matter of
mastering yourself!"
- Matt Moody.

"Changing Your Stripes," teaches you the principles that lead to lasting change,
making you a new kind of creature capable of responding
with calm, even as storms of adversity swirl.

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Changing Your Stripes is a
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Changing Your Stripes

a
Social Psychologist & Personal Advisor