I haven't given this book a star rating as I don't feel it's the type of book that can or should be rated. It's somewhat out of date, but that's not nI haven't given this book a star rating as I don't feel it's the type of book that can or should be rated. It's somewhat out of date, but that's not necessarily the book's fault and I think for the time it was written, the facts were accurate, and even now, most of them do stand. I am neurodiverse but am in the process of diagnosis so I don't yet know what conditions I do or do not have but was loaned this book by someone who is diagnosed and had noticed similarities in me and suggested giving this a go as it has some helpful information that would work for someone with or without ADHD.
I've read so many self help books that are just... dreadful, but this is more of a health/informative/educational book and it's written by actual qualified professionals, not Joe Bloggs who thinks he can cure people with conditions he hasn't dealt with or has no understanding of because "if you just think differently" everything will get better. Not only that, but BOTH contributors to this book are diagnosed with ADHD, making this book Own Voices.
I would definitely recommend this to anyone with ADHD - particularly newly diagnosed adults - or parents/relatives/friends of someone on the spectrum as it will definitely help give you more insight into the disorder with an unbiased view towards things like medication. The author makes it clear why they agree with medication but that they know it doesn't work for all and that it's ultimately your choice etc. I also recommend this to people in my situation - undiagnosed but know something just isn't the same in your brain. This book has really helped me understand myself a bit more and even without my diagnosis yet, I already feel more comfortable in myself and the way I behave.
I guess if I were to rate this book, I'd give it five stars, but I won't due to what I previously mentioned, and also the fact the book is written by Americans with a main focus on the USA's system, therefore I can't really judge the accuracy of that or get much from it on that front....more
This book definitely has some good points in it and I appreciated certain aspects of what it was saying... however, it read I have a lot of thoughts.
This book definitely has some good points in it and I appreciated certain aspects of what it was saying... however, it read like it was written by two people who had never experienced mental health issues in their lives.
One part that has really stuck with me was the way they talked about medication. Now, these men aren't professionals - they say this themselves - so they don't dive into some things very deeply. What that does mean, however, is they make a statement without any facts or statistics that reads very much like they are saying taking medication is bad. They talk about how taking meds makes you "numb" and "dull" and thus you can't ever learn how to deal with bad situations. Then they move on. There's nothing to explain that if your medication is making you feel that way, maybe you aren't on the right one for you. They don't talk about how for some people, the right medication actually makes them feel alive and able to cope and move on with things. It's just a very harmful message in the book that many people could take the wrong way. It could cause people to avoid meds without any further information and end up suffering far worse and for longer. I would highly implore the publisher to remove that part of the book or at the very least for there to be an updated edition where the authors talk a little more about meds and their benefits. It's fine to be anti-med for yourself and to suggest trying non-medication methods, but it's not okay to give false information, something that is true in only certain cases and treat it like fact.
There were a few other situations like this that i just can't bring myself to get past. Whilst I agree with some things, such as not holding grudges - put new loo roll on the holder instead of getting angry that someone left it empty - I don't agree at all with the discussion of a 22 year old vlogger with dissociative personality disorder and practically saying that "maybe she doesn't feel connected with the world because she's a vlogger". This is what set alarm bells ringing for me that perhaps they hadn't experienced mental health themselves, or maybe it's because they're white men and are more likely to be believed and taken seriously but no young woman can walk into a doctor's office and be diagnosed off the bat without a LOT of testing. I guarantee you she will have been told by medical professionals that social media is the problem and blah blah blah. But guess what, mental illness doesn't discriminate and it will affect bloggers, technophobes and everyone in-between.
So I guess what I'm saying is, whilst this book does have some great tips for getting your "shine" and finding your purpose etc etc, it's geared towards those who are neurotypical and are perhaps just plodding along. It disregards mental illness and for that, I honestly can't believe I'm even giving it three stars... I think I'm changing it to 2 now that I think about it.
If it had been published 5+ years ago then maybe I could understand, but it was published in 2018 and honestly, I know stigma and ignorance is still around but I truly thought we were somewhat more understanding by now....more
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