\n<\/p>\n
SINGAPORE \u2013 It can be crushing to learn you do not have ADHD.<\/p>\n
After consuming hours of social media content about attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, some arrive at a clinic convinced that their struggles with focus, motivation and impulsivity finally has a name.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese individuals can be devastated when told they don\u2019t have ADHD and that their experiences with inattentiveness or impulsivity fall within normal variations,\u201d says Dr Gangaram Poornima, a senior consultant at the Institute of Mental Health (IMH).<\/p>\n
\u201cIn clinics, we spend considerable time helping them work through this strong identification with ADHD.\u201d<\/p>\n
At the other end of the spectrum is someone like Ms Lau, a 23-year-old who declined to share her first name. Ms Lau was first diagnosed at the age of 17, after a seven-year journey that began when her parents first sought help from a psychiatrist for her absent-mindedness and poor focus when she was 10.<\/p>\n
That first doctor recommended a computer game to improve her working memory at Primary 5. When her symptoms persisted through her secondary school and polytechnic years, a second psychiatrist diagnosed her with ADHD. This was seven years later. <\/p>\n
Ms Lau, now a local university student, looks back with frustration on how things could have turned out differently had she received the help she needed earlier.<\/p>\n
These experiences \u2013 the growing number convinced they have ADHD, and the people who spend years struggling to cope with it \u2013 highlight the unusual double bind facing those living with the condition in Singapore.<\/p>\n
On social media platforms such as TikTok, content about ADHD is everywhere. However, the condition remains poorly understood and is prone to stereotypes that trivialise it.<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes, we end up getting lumped in with the people who throw the term around loosely. Thus, people who don\u2019t know any better just assume you\u2019re saying it for the fun of it,\u201d says Mr Chan. <\/p>\n
The 26-year-old human resources worker received his ADHD diagnosis in 2023 after years of feeling overwhelmed in situations that others would find normal or bearable. He declined to share his first name as he does not want the condition to \u201cmark\u201d him for life and impact his career.<\/p>\n
Singapore\u2019s healthcare institutions are seeing more Singapore residents, especially adults, come for testing.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am seeing more people coming forward with ADHD concerns, but that is not the same thing as overdiagnosis,\u201d says assistant professor Celine Wong, senior consultant at the National University Hospital\u2019s (NUH) department of psychological medicine.<\/p>\n
More assessments do not necessarily mean \u201cmore ADHD\u201d in society, notes Dr Wong. While there has been an uptick in adults and parents taking their kids for assessment, much of this stems from awareness catching up with reality.<\/p>\n
Many adults were never identified in childhood and seek assistance only when their coping strategies fail during difficult life transitions like university, new jobs or parenthood. Growing awareness of the condition also means families seek assistance earlier.<\/p>\n