Picture it. You are watching TV and the following commercial comes on. "Does your concentration drift in and out?"
Yeah, especially in my three-hour class.
"Do you often feel distracted or disorganized?"
Hmmm...come to think of it, yes. AIM is the devil! Hey, where are my keys?
"Are you unable to finish projects?"
Well, I am in the middle of five books.
"Maybe YOU have adult Attention Deficit Disorder."
Oh no, maybe I do! ADD, also known as ADHD (the H stands for hyperactivity), is a very real disorder that affects both children and adults. For adults, symptoms include lack of focus, disorganization and restlessness as well as difficulties at home and work. In addition, those diagnosed with the disorder tend to procrastinate on detailed projects, forget appointments and misplace things. Currently, it affects about four percent of adults nationwide.

Before I continue, I would like to stress that I am not belittling those diagnosed with the disorder, nor arguing the credibility of its existence. ADHD is real, and there are many who have a daily struggle to work past the symptoms. The classification of these symptoms as a disorder has enabled many to seek help and receive appropriate treatments. However, there is a fine line here. How do we know, especially as college students, whether we are experiencing symptoms of a clinically defined medical disorder or a normal reaction to our social and environmental situation?

According to WebMD, I should contact my physician.

I have endured every single one of the symptoms mentioned above repeatedly. I am assuming that you have experienced some, if not many or all of them yourself. Have you ever heard any one of your friends say casually, "Man, I feel like I have ADD?" I have even said it myself, before I became aware of what it actually meant to have the disorder. Because the symptoms are very much a part of the college experience and day-to-day life in the stressful and fast-paced working world, it becomes easy to perhaps attribute our shortcomings or limitations to a medical condition.

As stated by the Chronicle of Higher Education on Sept. 26, 2003, "the number [of college students with ADHD] has increased steeply in recent years, as more children have been diagnosed with the disorder." In the case of college students, there is concern that many are using ADHD as an excuse for their academic performance and as a way to receive special privileges. Aside from those diagnosed, there are a growing number of students who take Ritalin (the drug commonly prescribed for hyperactivity) illegally in order to enhance their academic performance. Ritalin production has rose 740 percent between 1991 and 2000. As a result, there is trepidation that the growing commonality of ADHD undermines its legitimacy.

There is a great deal of information readily available that affirms the increase of ADHD diagnoses. But as the number of cases is rising, so is skepticism. The most prominent speculation is that society is the problem that leads to ADHD's symptoms, not neurological inefficiencies. American society can be demanding, stressful, and fast-paced. A college campus is no different. There are rigorous classes, exams, clubs, meetings, part-time jobs and many other obligations that we have to fulfill as students.

WebMD states that ADHD is often confused with a stressful lifestyle. In addition, today's technology has gotten us accustomed to having our desires instantly fulfilled. Perhaps the fact that we have the capabilities to perform many tasks simultaneously (watching TV while chatting on the phone while instant-messaging friends while typing a paper while downloading that song you haven't heard in forever) curbs our ability to sit down and focus on one task. However, this is just a hypothesis.

I do not wish to question the legitimacy of ADHD. Rather, I want to raise valid questions that broaden the way we view our own behavior. It is hard not to relate to the commercial that describes your faults almost perfectly; it is tempting to think that Ritalin can help us gain focus in our sometimes-chaotic lives. There are many things out there that make it easy for us to think that we may possibly suffer from ADHD. The hardest and most important distinction to make is whether the symptoms are impairing a person's capabilities, or if they are a result of a specific lifestyle. This differentiation will continue to be a difficult issue to address.