kestrel wrote:
I agree. I take what they say with a grain of salt, as the saying goes. I've never had much opinion on my own mental condition because I don't have insurance and can't get a professional insight into things. I have ADD - I've been diagnosed with that earlier in life, but the impact on my life of whatever-it-is keeps me occupied with two hobbies, respectively, to the exclusion of nearly all human contact; orchids, and reading/writing. It doesn't seem as if ADD fits. At one time, I had a friend with aspergers, and I spent more time with her than nearly anyone I've ever known; she actually empathized with why I avoid crowds (overwhelmed - as if the entire world of people were grumbling and growling in my ears at once). Now I'm in a different state and spend time with my plants and my books. Like I said, I'm just weird. I miss having people to talk to, though. I'm not very good at it.
If it makes you feel any better, I do have health insurance, and it has been my experience that my money would be better spent flushing it down the toilet. My experience has been that mental health "professionals" do far more harm than good--at least they did to me. I'd rather be "sick" personally.
I too was diagnosed with hyperactivity as a kid, and took the Ritalin to prove it. I do think ADD exists as a predisposition that we can aggravate or mitigate. I'm referring in particular to TV, which has reduced the attention span of most Americans to about three minutes.
This is important since problems that can be properly understood are much more amenable to solution than those not understood. In other words, for me it was simply a matter of getting rid of my TV in 1992--it's been almost twenty years! In the place of TV I read the most challenging books I can find on the things that interest me. Now, that weird, hyperactive kid has an attention span that is well above average, though far from perfect.