There has been a surge in cases of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, with much of the awareness about the condition driven by influencers on TikTok and Instagram. But has incidence of ADHD truly increased, or are we simply more alert to the symptoms than we used to be?
That question is considered, though never satisfactorily answered, by Dr Karan Rajan, a British surgeon, in his enjoyable Do You Have ADHD? (Channel 4, Tuesday, 8pm).
Rajan doesn’t pretend to be a definitive expert on the subject, and he’s upfront that the documentary is an introduction rather than a deep dive. He goes out on the street to talk to people with ADHD about their experiences. “My brain feels as if there are all these particles firing,” one of them, Ellie, says. “It feels like there is always a swarm of bees in my brain trying to fight each other,” another, Milly, explains.
There is also a guinea pig of sorts in Dr Clare Bailey Mosley, widow of Dr Michael Mosley (a relatively obscure figure in Ireland but a national treasure in Britain), who believes that both she and her late husband had undiagnosed ADHD.
She puts that theory to the test by going for a professional diagnosis; Rajan advises those in a similar situation to first complete an ADHD screening questionnaire devised by the World Health Organisation.
He is at pains to point out that the questionnaire is not itself a diagnostic tool. Still, it could indicate whether it might be helpful to seek a professional assessment. That’s sufficient for Bailey Mosley, who answers “yes” to a question about having trouble wrapping up the final details of a project. “I do kind of fade towards the end,” she says.
Is a diagnosis recommended in every case? It depends, according to the ADHD researcher Val Harpin.
For children, the answer is always yes: “There are no downsides.”
For adults, the question can be more nuanced.
“Older people have different responses. The biggest is relief,” she says – “‘Yeah, that explains it’” – but “sometimes it makes them feel resentful: ‘My life could have been different if I’d known.’”
Rajan acknowledges that there’s an element of faddishness to some of the online conversation about ADHD. He points to TikTokers who diagnose “T-rex arm” – which is to say holding your arms close to your body, with your wrists limp – as a trait. “Be mindful,” he warns, “of internet diagnosis.”
That said, ADHD is not at all uncommon. It seems to affect about 5 per cent of people – more than epilepsy or autism, at 1 per cent each – according to Prof Stephen Scott. But experiencing symptoms doesn’t mean you need professional assistance, as Bailey Mosley discovers. She goes for an assessment but “falls” at the final hurdle after it’s concluded that she doesn’t experience any “impairment” in her day-to-day life.
She sounds relieved rather than disappointed – though others believe ADHD is, in the round, a benefit. A journalist with the Ladbible website says the condition has given him the ability to “hyperfocus” at work.
The point is taken up by the daredevil George King, who was jailed after scaling the Shard skyscraper in London. He says his ADHD played a huge part in his climb. “When I have something that means something to me, all those [out of control] thoughts get compressed,” he says. “The universe gets out of the way.”
