In recent years, there’s been a surge in adults seeking ADHD diagnoses, and I couldn’t help but wonder: why now?
People who once saw Big Pharma for what it is are now turning to the same system for answers, labels, and solutions. Something isn’t adding up, so on today’s episode of My Mama Summer, I decided to dig deeper.
In this episode, we’ll look at the bigger picture. I explore the cultural, environmental, and medical forces driving the rise of adult ADHD. From the shaky origins of psychiatric diagnoses to the way modern life—packed with endless distractions and mounting stress—can leave us all feeling overwhelmed.
I’ll also share insights from Kim John Payne’s Simplicity Parenting and his game-changing research, which suggests that simplifying our environment might be the key to soothing attention issues (in kids and adults) without rushing to medicate or test out a trendy new identity like an “ADHDer”.
What if the “symptoms” we’re feeling are simply messages from our body to slow down, take stock, and adjust? And could embracing simplicity, instead of an on-trend diagnosis, be the solution we’re craving?
Tune in as we unpack the ADHD trend and explore how a little less noise and a little more calm could transform how we live.
If you prefer to read, rather than listen, you can do so here.
Warning: This podcast is not a highlight reel. (And I think that's a refreshing thing in a world of superficiality and false pretences.)
Go behind the scenes of my life as I build an online business, raise a family with intention, live abroad in a new country, and unpack trauma, programming, and reparent myself openly in the public realm.
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Your Host
Aimee Q Devlin is an Australian writer, online business owner, and mother currently living in Mexico, committed to personal growth and evolution, and uncovering how slow motherhood looks in a fast-paced world.
Aimee is the co-founder of the Online Freedom Hackers community where she and her husband Brendan Murphy (https://truthiverse.com) mentor unconventional parents to build freedom-based businesses that buy back their fun, family, and freedom in 5-10 hours a week. Get started here: https://links.onlinefreedomhackers.com/mymamasummer
References
These references are all listed with relevant quotes in the article version of this episode here.
https://medlineplus.gov/druginfo/meds/a682279.html
https://www.verywellmind.com/the-diagnostic-and-statistical-manual-dsm-2795758
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2006/05/how-do-new-disorders-get-into-the-dsm.html
https://karger.com/pps/article-abstract/75/3/154/282469/Financial-Ties-between-DSM-IV-Panel-Members-and
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2006/05/how-do-new-disorders-get-into-the-dsm.html
https://sci-hub.se/https://doi.org/10.1159/000091772
https://www.law.uh.edu/hjhlp/volumes/Vol_13_1/Bearden.pdf
https://www.verywellmind.com/dsm-friend-or-foe-2671930
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41380-022-01661-0
SSRI’s accounted for 47% of the antidepressant drug market share in 2024.
https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/antidepressants-per-capita?time=2021
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41380-022-01661-0
https://www.law.uh.edu/hjhlp/volumes/Vol_13_1/Bearden.pdf
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4602739/
https://www.cchr.org/documentaries/marketing-of-madness/all-in-favor-say-aye.htm
https://creyos.com/blog/adhd-brain-scan
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9871920/
https://add.org/adhd-dsm-5-criteria/
https://add.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/adhd-questionnaire-ASRS111.pdf
https://adhduk.co.uk/adult-adhd-screening-survey/
https://www.rdsforneurodiversity.com/neurodiversity-affirming-model
Ibid.
https://theconversation.com/neuroaffirming-care-values-the-strengths-and-differences-of-autistic-people-those-with-adhd-or-other-profiles-heres-how-227449
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/dmcn.15384
Simplicity Parenting
The Anthroposophical Society of America and the Medical Section sponsor the project. It is kindly funded by the Anthroposophical Society, the Research Institute for Waldorf Education, The Rudolf Steiner Foundation, the Fetzer Foundation, Weleda AG, The Hawthorn Foundation, Dr Hauschka Products and donations from individuals.
Clinically dysfunctional is defined here as clinically above the 92nd percentile on the Barkley scale (the commonly accepted psychological testing scale for hyperactivity and inattentiveness). Clinically functional is defined as below the 72nd percentile on the same scale.
Simplicity Parenting
Ibid.
Ibid.
https://www.allconnect.com/blog/screen-time-stats
https://datareportal.com/social-media-users
https://hbr.org/2019/01/how-to-spend-way-less-time-on-email-every-day
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/jun/02/tiktok-trends-or-the-pandemic-whats-behind-the-rise-in-adhd-diagnoses
Em Rusciano’s National Press Club address:
Simplicity Parenting (page 240)
16 mins in on this episode:
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder-adhd/symptoms/
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