Why does everyone I know have ADHD? (Part 1) - by Ava

“There’s nothing wrong with you. You’re just a hunter in an agrarian society.” That’s what my college psychiatrist said when I came to him complaining that I had trouble paying attention in lectures. Questionable analogy, I thought, but I nodded along quietly. He didn’t ask much of anything at all, just prescribed me Concerta, Ritalin, and eventually Vyvanse when the first two made my heartbeat spike in disturbing ways. I stayed on Vyvanse for about two months, and then promptly forgot to refill my prescription and didn’t think much about it for the next three years. At that point of my life I wasn’t really sure I actually had ADHD. Sure, I had the behavioral tics—my college dorm room was terrifying, I had a lifelong problem with procrastination, and I could not tune in during lectures for the life of me, but I’d always been able to turn in assignments on time, and I could spend hours reading and writing without too much effort. I was having a terrible semester, but it seemed to me tha

“There’s nothing wrong with you. You’re just a hunter in an agrarian society.” That’s what my college psychiatrist said when I came to him complaining that I had trouble paying attention in lectures. Questionable analogy, I thought, but I nodded along quietly. He didn’t ask much of anything at all, just prescribed me Concerta, Ritalin, and eventually Vyvanse when the first two made my heartbeat spike in disturbing ways. I stayed on Vyvanse for about two months, and then promptly forgot to refill my prescription and didn’t think much about it for the next three years. At that point of my life I