Some psychiatrists and mental health workers complain that the very subject of mental health, as well as mental health patients themselves, have a social stigma to overcome. The mental health workers say there is not enough mental health coverage due to this “stigma,” and that those with mental health issues are ostracized and may go untreated.
One wonders if the purpose of this “concern” is to create a false demand for increased mental health services. It is a self-perpetuating machine, resulting in increased revenue for pharmaceutical companies and the mental health professionals who distribute their drugs.
Many, however, strongly disagree with the under diagnosis theory, and insist that there is a distinct over diagnosis of mental health.
For example, school-aged kids diagnosed with ADHD is up to 11% overall. At least 19% of high school aged boys have received this label. Girls follow with a 10% rate of labeling. This is according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
To put it in perspective, 6.4 million children from age 4 to 17 have, at some point in their young lives been hit with this psychiatric appellation. And of those diagnosed as ADHD, two-thirds are prescribed drugs such as Adderall or Ritalin, which can lead to anxiety, addiction and psychosis.
A December 2013 article in The New York Times had this to say about the over diagnosis of ADHD:
“So many medical professionals benefit from overprescribing that it is difficult to find a neutral source of information. Prominent doctors get paid by drug companies to deliver upbeat messages to their colleagues at forums where they typically exaggerate the effectiveness of the drugs and downplay their side effects. Organizations that advocate on behalf of patients often do so with money supplied by drug companies, including the makers of A.D.H.D. stimulants. Medical researchers paid by drug companies have published studies on the benefits of the drugs, and medical journals in a position to question their findings profit greatly from advertising of A.D.H.D. drugs.”
An ADHD diagnosis foisted upon a child who may be merely rambunctious, creative or bored creates an unjust stigma, one that may follow him or her throughout life. It is a stigma invented, created and perpetuated by the mental health professionals, who then weep over the fact that a mental health stigma exists. It would be laughable if lives were not so regularly and tragically ruined by this scheme.
Here is a quick review of the side effects a person, including a young child, may experience with the use of Adderall:

• Vomiting
• Loss of Appetite
• Insomnia
• Mental or mood behavior changes-may include aggression, agitation, mood swings, depression and abnormal thoughts
• Movements that cannot be controlled
• Chewing movements or teeth grinding
• Sudden outbursts of words or sounds
• Change in ability or desire for sex
• Prolonged or frequent erections in males
• Shortness of breath
• Fainting
• Severe headaches
• Blurred vision
• Stroke
• Slurred speech
• Confusion

Dr. Peter Breggin, outspoken whistle blower for his own psychiatric profession, warns against the dangers of drugs like Ritalin and Adderall:
“A new study, published today in the American Journal of Psychiatry, confirms what I’ve been warning about for years in my scientific books and articles. The stimulants used to treat children for so-called ADHD can cause sudden cardiac arrest and death in kids.”
He goes on to report that children and young people age 7-19 who were prescribed Ritalin were 4 to 5 times more likely to die of sudden cardiac arrest than their peers not taking the drug.
No caring parent wants to see his or her child suffer the excruciating side effects of ADHD drugs. It is imperative that the truth about mental health over-diagnosis be known.