Disorderland
Disorderland
E07: It's Not You, It's My ADHD
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E07: It's Not You, It's My ADHD

Can your brain tell the difference between the love of your life and a sandwich?
5

Jess and Ayesha discuss a New York Times article that wants us to think all our relationship problems are caused by an undiagnosed brain disorder.

Tangents include: navigating conflict in relationships without reducing our loved ones to a diagnostic label, the usefulness and limits of the word “neurotypical”, how very not cute those #ADHDWife TikToks are, misapplying the concept of “object permanence” to relationships, and why we keep forgetting to put the laundry in the dryer.


Show Notes

  •  The NYT Article: A.D.H.D. Can Strain Relationships. Here’s How Couples Cope.

    A major theme throughout this article is the idea that people diagnosed with ADHD do not have agency, as articulated here by conservative libertarian psychiatrist and nemesis of the show, Russell Barkley:

    “Our loved ones with A.D.H.D. cannot help behaving the way they do,” Dr. Barkley said. It is a biological disorder, he added, “not a lifestyle choice. It is not simply something they could change in their mind over time if they wanted to.”

  • Shire’s 2006 Divorce Ad:

Shire ad, 2006

This “2X more likely to be divorced” stat was based on a study of 500 people and look who’s the first author:

It’s Joseph Biederman! The psychiatrist whose work contributed to a 40-fold increase in the diagnosis and pharmaceutical treatment of childhood bipolar disorder! Who neglected to disclose that he took over a million dollars from companies that make antipsychotics! It’s a small world out here in Disorderland lol

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Appears in episode
Ayesha Khan, Ph.D.
Jesse Meadows