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Neurodivergence, fashion or fact?

In recent years I've noticed a trend towards claimed neurodivergence within the online community.

This is especially true of "influencers" who create content for social media.

I really can't believe the number of these people who have come out with claims of ADHD, Asberger's or other neurodivergent maladies.

A lot of those people are now on medication for these complaints and I have to say that the whole thing has become rather concerning.

There are influencers who I've watched for years that, on the surface, appear to be regular folks with perfectly good mental and physical health -- yet suddenly they are ADHD sufferers and have been put on mind-altering substances as a treatment.

Was this "trend" just my own imagination?

Am I wrong?

Have the number of people suffering from neurodivergent conditions remained the same and perhaps I'm just more aware of it now?

Well this report from The Sunday Times would suggest I'm actually right.

According to that article, conditions such as autism, dyslexia or dyspraxia are now the norm rather than the exception, at least in the UK.

Until the massive rise of social media and the influencer community, cases of these conditions were rare or at least very few people were being diagnosed and treated for them. So what has changed?

Is it simply that people are more willing to seek help and accept diagnosis/treatment?

Are the number of cases unchanged and it's simply that sufferers are now able to come "out" and publicly speak about their issues whereas previously there may have been a social stigma that prevented them?

Or has it simply become fashionable to claim neurodivergence when you have an audience of thousands or even millions of followers on social media?

Hell, even Elon Musk has just come out with the claim that he suffers from Asperger's and he has over 200 million followers on X.

What's going on?

Is it the lure of being legally prescribed cool CNS stimulating drugs such as Methylphenidate (Ritalin) so as to enjoy a legal high that encourages folk to jump on the ADHD bandwagon?

Perhaps we have a pandemic of neurodivergence with some kind of organic cause. If this is the case then surely we ought to be investigating and protecting people from contracting this often debilitating condition.

As someone who was brought up in an era where any form of mental divergence was seen as a stigma and the most oft-rendered prescription was "take a teaspoon of cement and harden up" it would be easy for me to suggest that far too many of these poor influencers are simply jumping on a bandwagon designed to elicit sympathy and attention. That would obviously be unfair and unreasonable, wouldn't it?

I'm an influencer; I have over half a million people subscribed to my various YouTube channels; I have my ups and downs -- good days and bad days. Hell, I even have Parkinson's which really messes with your brain (anxiety, insomnia, movement issues) but rather than bathe in the symptoms I've taken that old advice and just got on with getting on. Maybe I'm lucky that I can do that, I know a lot can't and instead succumb to the effects even when they do put up the best fight they can.

However, with 787 per cent jump in the number of diagnoses between 1998 and 2018 in the UK for autism disorders, isn't it about time some solid research was done on the causes of this trend?

I for one would love to know what role social media is playing in the marked deterioration of our mental health.

Carpe Diem folks!

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