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‘Live until 2024’
This is one of the New Year’s resolutions for 2023 posted in a community of ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) patients. It’s a short phrase, but you can get a glimpse of the suffering of patients suffering from the disease. On the bulletin board, phrases such as ‘Let’s not hate me’ and ‘Let’s not give up’ are hanging on shoulders as if cheering each other.
A disease in which you act too impulsively, have no plans, do not get along with people, and do not complete work or study properly due to lack of attention. Adult ADHD is one of the mental health disorders that have received the most attention in recent years. Over the past six years, the number of adults diagnosed with ADHD has exploded more than fivefold. According to the ‘ADHD status’ data submitted by the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service by Rep. Kim Won-i of the Democratic Party of Korea, the number of adults (20s to 80s) diagnosed with ADHD over the past six years increased from 7,748 in 2017 to 40,000 in 2022 (January to September). It increased by about 5.81 times to 5018 people. The proportion of adults among all ADHD patients also increased from 14.59% to 38.30%.
It seems to be summed up in simple words, attention deficit and hyperactivity, but it is difficult to simply count the joys and sorrows of life that adult ADHD patients experience in everyday life.
Kim Gyeong-soo (53 years old), who was diagnosed with ADHD and started taking medication last year, said, “Looking back on the past few decades, I have mixed feelings.” Mr. Kim said, “Even though I feel fortunate to know now, there are times when I cry because I wonder why I only found out now.” He visited a counseling center through a local government welfare support program and had considered himself a depressed patient for a very long time. He went to the hospital and tried medicine, but he always stumbled upon an unknown stumbling block. With only a narrow path left to walk on, the only resting place was a room full of trash.
Mr. Kim’s life was lonely for a long time because of the interpersonal relationship that was not smooth. In his youth he was also involved in so-called ‘pseudo-religions’. After many twists and turns, he managed to drop out of school, but he had already missed many things.
Director Song Min-kyu of the Sungmo Empathy Mental Health Medicine Department, who had an interview with Comedy.com on the subject of adult ADHD, said, “Many people visiting the hospital (with adult ADHD) regret that they were diagnosed ‘only now'” and added, “I knew about the disease earlier. Many patients say that if they had, their job, their grades, or their entire life would have changed.”
Opportunities in life that disappear without you knowing
ADHD sufferers often experience setbacks in important life events such as schoolwork, employment, and marriage. This is because even if you make an effort, it often produces disappointing results due to lack of attention or control. There are also cases of easy indulgence, such as alcohol or gambling addiction.
Although more people are visiting the hospital than before, there are still many adult ADHD patients living a difficult life without proper treatment. In the case of adults, unlike in childhood, the outwardly revealed hyperactivity is reduced, so it is not properly diagnosed,Some suffer from the disease for a long time and then live while getting used to the life of an ADHD patient. It is to live knowing that the symptoms caused by ADHD cannot be fixed, and as the original personality.
Director Song said that the most regrettable part of meeting ADHD patients was the ‘limitation of opportunities’.
“Although ADHD is difficult only with the symptoms of the disease itself, it is also difficult for patients to have a lot of coexisting diseases such as depression and bipolar disorder. Of course, not all coexisting diseases are caused by ADHD, but a vicious cycle can be created as they affect each other. If mistakes continue despite their efforts, they will shrink themselves, and the patient will have no choice but to live in a limited area of life (blocked by the symptoms of the disease) regardless of his or her abilities or talents.”
Because of parental prejudice, many children and adolescents do not properly cope with ADHD symptoms, and thus grow into adult ADHD patients.
Director Song said, “It varies from study to study, but the rate of children with ADHD in childhood becoming adults with ADHD is at least 50%.” You can see that there was,” he said.
“There are often parents who say, ‘My child plays games for a very long time’ and that it is not that they cannot concentrate for a long time. However, the ability to focus on things you don’t like is noticeably diminished.”
Medication is the most effective… management rather than prevention
If ADHD is suspected, it is a good idea to find a psychiatrist near you. Diagnosis can be made by combining various methods such as diagnosis method through questionnaire, brain wave test, and intelligence test.
“Because ADHD can be viewed as a biological disease, most psychiatrists can diagnose it. Although drug treatment is very important, there is no problem in finding a nearby hospital because the prescribed drugs are almost the same. If you have serious symptoms and want professional help, mental health associations provide information on specialized hospitals, so you can look for them.”
Experts agree that medications are most effective in treating the core symptoms of ADHD. This is because it is a brain disease in which problems are found in neurotransmitters, circuits, and the thickness of the prefrontal cortex. In the case of children and adolescents, drugs help the development of cranial nerves. It not only relieves current symptoms, but also helps normalize brain development in the long term.
“In adults, it is not until the brain develops, but drugs help relieve the daily discomfort caused by the disease. In the case of adults, there is an analogy that says, ‘It’s similar to wearing glasses.’”
Fear of drug side effects still lingers on the Internet.
“Drugs can be used and prescribed because the benefit is greater than the risk. Some examples of side effects that come up on the Internet are very confusing to patients. All drugs must pass strict standards for their efficacy and safety before they can be prescribed. I want you to know that if there were too many side effects, it would have been impossible to obtain approval and prescription for the drug in the first place.”
ADHD is an organic disease, so it needs to be managed rather than prevented. There is a field of psychological treatment in non-drug methods, and in the case of ADHD, cognitive behavioral therapy and behavioral therapy are widely used. to manage life. It is representative to cultivate the habit of taking notes or limit situations that distract attention, such as cell phone alarms. Education and behavioral control training can help with medication.
Psychotherapy does not greatly help improve core symptoms, but in the case of ADHD patients, there are many cases of shrinking due to frequent mistakes at school or work, so it can help improve coexisting disease problems such as depression or bipolar disorder.
Song Won-jang said, “ADHD patients suffer from diseases, but psychiatric diseases do not appear as visible numbers like blood test results or X-ray findings, but as emotions, thoughts, and behaviors. There are many cases in which people around the patient express their emotions, such as criticism or criticism, by asking, ‘Why are you behaving that way?’ The patient’s family and friends are no exception. Patients are hurt too often. Illness is not the realm of right and wrong. First of all, it is important to acknowledge that you have a disease and make an effort to understand it.”
