Diagnosing mental health conditions need not be a case of yes/no | Letters

"If we treat ADHD as binary (you have it or you do not), we are missing the possibility that we all lie somewhere on a continuum with diagnosed ADHD towards one end (and perhaps an ability to focus and concentrate at the other). A diagnosis of ADHD then depends on where the line is drawn. I suggest that this line has been moved in recent years, so that a large group of people have been caught up in the positive ADHD group, who would not have been previously."

"If we all lie on this continuum many of us may benefit from recognising that, and self-help tools may be useful. Only a minority, as now, may need intervention. The concept of diagnosis may be less useful and we may all, more readily, accept each other's differences."

"Young people are indeed often growing up in a more challenging era than their parents. However, challenges aren't a new phenomenon historically. Their 20th-century counterparts lived through two world wars, the Spanish flu pandemic, the Great Depression, deindustrialisation under Margaret Thatcher, and the cold war."

The discussion examines whether increased mental illness diagnoses in young people represent genuine overdiagnosis or reflect other factors. While terminology changes, awareness, and reduced stigma contribute to higher diagnosis rates, an alternative perspective suggests ADHD exists on a continuum rather than as a binary condition. The diagnostic threshold has shifted over time, capturing a larger population previously undiagnosed. This continuum model implies most people could benefit from recognizing their position on the spectrum, with self-help tools useful for many and formal intervention needed only for a minority. Additionally, young people face contemporary challenges, though historical generations experienced significant adversities. The question arises whether reduced resilience from protective parenting and structured school environments may contribute to increased mental health reporting.

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