Experiences and explanations of ADHD: An Ethnography of Adults Living with a Diagnosis

Series editor's introductionPrefaceAcknowledgements1. Introduction   Aim of the book   A diagnosis of our time   An anthropological approach to ADHD   Clarifying concepts: ADHD as experience and diagnostic category   Structure of the book2. An old disorder or a recent product of medicalization?     A story of ADHD as an ever-present disorder      The incapacity of necessary attention      Children suffer from immortality      Minimal brain damage and anti-school behaviour      A question of neurology: the rise of medical treatment      The DSM era   A one-sided story of ADHD   A critical explanation of ADHD      Medicalization of society      Social, political, and cultural factors behind the emergence of ADHD      Ritalin on the market      Diagnosing adults with ADHD   Concluding remarks3. What is a diagnosis?     Diagnostic criteria and clinical guidelines   What is diagnosis for?   Creating mental illness   Putting a name to it   Living in a diagnostic culture   A neurochemical era      A shift in thinking about the human being      The self in medical terms   Conluding remarks4. Experiences and implications of getting an ADHD diagnosis   The explanatory force of a diagnosis and questions of responsibility   Restructuring narratives and self-perceptions   Evaluating yourself and considering new questions   Restructuring practices and crafting skills   Ambivalence towards the diagnosis   Taking medication and experimenting with experiences   A moral concern: becoming the person you want to be   Concluding remarks5. Explaining and making use of an ADHD diagnosis      Dynamics between explanations and experiences   Identifying with ADHD   Distancing from ADHD   Explanations of ADHD and expectations of treatment   Having or being ADHD?   Concluding remarks6. ADHD as a temporal phenomenon     Studying rhythms and experiences of time   The rhythms of the body   When the world is at a different pace   Social synchronization: trying to keep up but lagging behind   Developing time-work strategies   Is society catching up on ADHD   Concluding remarks7. Conclusion   Becoming someone with ADHD   Explanatory models of ADHD   ADHD as a relational phenomenon   Avenues for future research   Implications and recommendations for practiceIndex