CNN Narrator: If you've seen videos like this, or this, chances are that you've 2wandered into the world of ADHD TikTok. ADHD, or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, is one of the most common 3neurodevelopmental disorders in childhood, according to the 4CDC. People with ADHD may be hyperactive or have trouble paying attention or controlling 5impulsive behaviors.
Dr. Anthony Yeung is a clinical 6psychiatrist with the University of British Columbia and has a particular interest in ADHD. He and his colleagues became 7intrigued when they started to notice an 8influx of patients seeking help for their focus and concentration, all of which 9coincided, he says, with the rising popularity of so-called ADHD TikTok.
So Yeung and his team set out to look at what kind of information was being shared. What they found was shocking. More than half of the top 100 most popular videos at the time about ADHD contained 10misleading information.
Dr. Anthony Yeung, Clinical Psychiatrist, University of British Columbia: I think the whole conversation around mental health, of course, has changed for the better in the sense that people are actually quite open and honest about talking about their individual struggles.
¡°I don't know why I'm crying.¡±
But the challenge or the flip side of it is that it almost becomes a talked-about-term in the popular sphere where clinical terms might start to get misused. For example, there was one video that talked about 11object permanence in ADHD.
¡°Remember we talked about how I have ADHD, so I also have object permanence issues? Yeah, it's like an out of sight, out of mind thing.¡±
The term, object permanence, really 12has nothing much to do with ADHD. Object permanence is really a more 13fundamental 14developmentalconcept for babies. And it's really whether or not the babies understand that people still exist if you can't see them or hear them. There's another term that's very commonly used, something called 15rejection sensitivity dysphoria.
¡°Did you know that 100% of people with ADHD experience rejection sensitivity dysphoria?¡±
And if you actually really dive down into even where this term came from, it's a term proposed by one psychiatrist, but it's not a 16universally-accepted-term, and it's certainly not a term that I would say the vast majority of psychiatrists use.
CNN Narrator: Yeung worries that for people who have ADHD, the trend of self-diagnosis could potentially lead to more 17stigmatization of the condition. Around 10% of children in the U.S. have 18been diagnosed with ADHD, the CDC 19estimates.
