My mom reads The Douglass Report, and in fact gets his newsletter in her e-mail. She happened to quote some of his 'wisdom' on ADHD to me today, so I looked up what he had to say about it. (I was already not a fan of the guy because one of his reports was incredibly fatphobic and basically said that eating disorders like binge eating were not genuine disorder, but just bratty fatties eating more than they needed to because, well, fatties.)

Well, I was not disappointed in his assessment of ADHD being moar fail:

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The so-called attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a bogus condition… and the proof is in the pudding, or anything else you can use to bribe one of these little brats into good behavior.

BRATS BRATS BRATS... it's like WHORES WHORES WHORES, in a way.

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Researchers created a video game for a group of ADHD kids that involved aliens and points and all the stuff these games have. Probably a bunch of explosions, too.

Don't forget the hula hoops and that newfangled "rock" music, either!

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In any case, the researchers used EEGs to monitor the kids’ brains, then began altering the game to feature incentives for less impulsive behavior. And they found that these incentives affected the bratty brains much like Ritalin, according to the study in Biological Psychiatry. They believe that out in the real world, giving an ADHD monster a quick reward can make him behave — something most parents have known for about as long as we’ve been raising kids. The researchers say their study also shows how you can lower the dose of meds like Ritalin for some kids by using a simple reward system. PUH-leaze!

Did... did he just turn into a Valley Girl before our very eyes?!

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As I’ve said before, most ADHD kids just need a better diet and a kick in the rear, and a good parent will deliver both. After all, the carrot-and-stick approach only works when you’ve got a pretty good stick. And if you really do suspect a problem in your child’s brain, see a neurologist — not a shrink, not ever.

Yes, because problems like depression and ADHD and shit like that don't exist.

Eat your way to happiness, depressed people!

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No matter what your local shrink tells you, the answer to depression isn’t always in your head…and even when it is, he’s the last person you should ask for help. Nope, the real culprit is the slop you stuff down your yaw.

Wow, it's like a real-life Dr. House, except not played by Hugh Laurie.

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A new study published in The British Journal of Psychiatry found that people who ate the most processed foods had the highest risk of depression. It was a clear case of cause- and-effect: The worse the diet, the higher the risk. Another study in the American Journal of Psychiatry found that women who ate diets heavy in processed foods over a 10-year period were 50 percent more likely to suffer from depressive disorders. The researchers took it a step further and found that women who ate primarily fresh meat and vegetables were 30 percent less likely to suffer from depression. It’s basic nutrition, really. The real recipe for good physical AND mental health is the low-carb lifestyle I’ve been backing for years.

Maybe there are other factors in play, as well, such as higher risks of poverty amongst those who eat 'worse', hmmm? Correlation is not necessarily causation.

Now... I'd link y'all to that article where he bashes the very idea of eating disorders that cause weight gain, since we all know the blame for weight gain rests solely on the shoulders of fat people and no one else, but I can't find it - maybe he took it down since it WAS pretty damn inflammatory.

Growing Obesity Problem - hurrr, "growing"

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For all the ink I give to the growing (no pun intended) problem of obesity, you’d think I would have become desensitized to the disease by now-that I’d no longer be so shocked by the obscene prevalence of this epidemic.

Obscene. Yes, obscene. FAT ROLLS ARE HIDEOUS - DEMONIZE THEM!

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But I haven’t. I will always marvel at people’s willingness to keep eating all the wrong things while ignoring what they see in the mirror

Because fat people are morons who are not aware that they are fat - and if they are aware, then DAMMIT THEY NEED TO BE TOLD THEY ARE HIDEOUS!

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And I’ll always be amazed at their ability to blame others (the food industry, their parents, the movies, etc.) for the problem.

The... movies? Wha?

Are horror movies too bootylicious for ya, babby?

Anyway, it then becomes VOTE WITH YOUR DOLLARS yada yada yada. Here's how you can whack your infants in the womb with your bootyliciousness!*

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You’re playing with fire any time you pack on the pounds… but if you’re fat and pregnant, two lives are on the line. In fact, a new study shows how obese women could be setting their babies up for an infant-size coffin. But the baby won’t be alone too long — if you’re morbidly obese, you’ll be making your own way to the grave soon enough.

And nothing of value was lost, amirite?

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Researchers say obese women have a 15 percent increased risk of delivering babies with a congenital heart defect… and the fatter the woman, the higher the risk. Morbidly obese women are 33 percent more likely to give birth to a baby with heart defects than a normal-weight mother, according to the study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Women who were simply a little overweight didn’t have a higher risk. But if you’re so fat you fall into the “morbidly obese” category, you shouldn’t need more research to convince you that all that weight is bad for you and your baby. But when morbidly obese women manage to get pregnant, the problems begin almost immediately. Docs can’t even get a good ultrasound from a fat belly, so it’s hard for them to monitor the fetus — or even find it in the first place. Obese women also have a higher risk of giving birth to babies with neural tube defects such as spina bifida, hydrocephaly (fluid in the baby’s brain), abnormal limbs and even cleft palate and lip. All that… for a condition completely within your control.

So stop being so fat, fattie.

*Oh, and no, that persnickety filter isn't on, I just like using the word "bootylicious". It's so... bootylicious.

Actually, the diet thing has a point. Just not the one he's making. Removal of processed foods and dyes and all that crap actually has been shown to help kids with ADHD. They still need behavioral therapy to teach them methods to control their outbursts and all, but it can help them function without meds.

The same is true for depression. It's not just food though, it's exercise, and it is a hard way to do it. I should know, because I'm following it right now. It is pretty regimented with what you are allowed to eat, and what you have to stay away from, and how much exercise you have to have, and what kind. But it is working. I haven't had an episode in months. (It's not a low-carb diet though, just a balanced one)

This is not true for everyone though. A girl in my therapy group couldn't make it work, and had to go back to meds. But the thing is that it is possible, and a lot of people are trying it. Meds suck ass. They have side effects like whoah, and with me, I lose my motivation to do anything.

This guy is an ass, but there is that kernel of truth there.

What Lapin said. Also, I do believe that a lot of kids don't actually have ADHD, they just spend too much time with TV and horrible food. Unless of course you define ADHD as a condition brought on by your lifestyle.
My point being, I think a lot of kids could do without Ritalin and with more playing outside and eating healthy, and a lot of adults would do well to accept the fact that sometimes kids are loud and bouncy and that doesn't call for medication.


All that said, this guy here is taking facts and good arguments and using them to rationalize his opinion. He's in good company here on the internet.



e: Disclaimer from your resident fattist: This guy is full of shit regarding obese people, too.

I was under the impression that the medical professionals in that area are pretty sure that eating disorders are linked to a kind of OCD, which is obviously a real-deal disorder. Eating disorders are thought to be a different kind of manifestation or something.

I don't know, its been awhile since I took Psych.

I am of the opinion that children are overmedicated. I have, however, known one child who was genuinely ADHD, and the introduction of meds made a world of difference.

My mother babysat when I was growing up. The first day she had him after he was on Ritalin, his mother called to ask what how he was doing. When told that he was sitting on the floor playing with blocks, she burst into tears; prior to that, he was more likely to be painting his own shit on the walls.

In summary, this guy needs to remove his head from his ass and take a look at something that isn't the recycled dregs of a valid point.

Kid is wired bonkers and completely unbearable half of the time and this man think it may be because he has WAY too much sugar and other shit in his diet?

Clearly he you are a fucking moron. It might not be the only possible cause for that behavior, but it's probably a good explanation for it in a LOT of the kids who supposedly have ADHD.

Also, you're once again losing your shit because someone doesn't like fat people. Settle the fuck down, no one cares.

I'm not sure who Mikey is talking to. Everyone who posted so far agreed that 95% of hyper kids need better food, not Ritalin.

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It's like, sometimes you need to disagree/argue so bad, you just do it with no one, pretend someone said something they didn't, or just imagine a buddy from scratch.

I was talking to Mally, and she seemed skeptical. And she was babbling about fatsomethingorother and actually used the word "fat-phobic" (making her eleventy billion times more retarded than the people who say "sheeple").

But about the nuerologist, wouldn't that be something of a good idea, assuming money wasn't an issue? I mean, you can babble all you want about mental and emotional problems, but those stem from physical problems in the brain, like chemical balances and such.

Yes, and it would be GREAT if neurologists completely understood what those balances are supposed to be. But they don't. And even if they did, suddenly putting brain chemistry to right may not completely fix the problem when a pattern of behavior has been so ingrained.

Also, this dude seems completely unaware that there is an entire branch of psychology that deals specifically with the physical brain. Cognitive neuroscience FTW!

Oh, found the article where he slams counseling for people with binge eating disorders:

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A flurry of new studies make the absurd claim that a head shrink can also shrink your belly… or at least help you to control your eating. But if you want to believe that mental disorders are forcing you to load up on chips and soda, you’re suffering from a different problem: delusion. The leading cause of obesity isn’t in your head — it’s in your fridge and cupboard.

Yeah, I mean, it's not like people ever have problems with compulsive eating to try to soothe troubled emotions. People never ever use pleasurable activities or sensations to try to patch over problems in their lives. No, it's always about what those stupid fatties choose to stuff down their greedy gullets, isn't it.

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One study, published in the Archives of General Psychiatry, compared interpersonal psychotherapy, behavioral weight- loss treatment and guided self-help cognitive behavioral therapy. Don’t waste your time trying to understand the different forms of babble… but the researchers claim two of those three provided better “remission” from binge eating after two years. To me, the only real measure of success is weight loss — and after two years, more than 70 percent of the patients in all three groups were unable to maintain a 5 percent loss in body weight. The other study, published in the International Journal of Eating Disorders, was so small that it’s not even worth talking about. The researchers found that teen girls who undergo psychotherapy were more likely to lose weight or “stabilize.” In other words, girls who simply didn’t get any fatter were considered success stories.

OH NOES THEY DIDN'T ALL GET STEREOTYPICAL BEACH BODIES HEAVEN FORBID

...seriously this guy considers a person stabilizing their weight to be a bad thing?!

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They are right in one regard: Eating problems and mental problems go hand in hand. They just have the order reversed. Mental problems don’t cause obesity. Obesity causes mental problems.

FAT PEOPLE ARE CRAZY AND MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES DON'T EXIST LALALALA

To his credit, I will grant him that he doesn't entirely shut his mind to differing ideas.

You people are absolutely wrong, ADHD is in fact under-diagnosed- especially with girls -and children are not "over medicated". Having a disorder of the mind has a stigma attached to it and most parents want to believe their child is a prefect little darling and has no fault so they refuse to believe their child needs the help they so desperately need. There are tons of adults who have suffered academically as a child because of under/miss/undiagnosed ADD/ADHD. Learns people, you go gets them.

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I admit to most it being based on vague memories, but I've met some people who were eager to put their kids on pills (whether the kids were the ones taking it is another matter entirely), and a lot of people whose first reaction to a kid throwing a tantrum was "the parents should put the kid on some meds".

But I do know that there are people will drag kids from doctor to doctor to get the diagnosis they want--and the diagnosis they want isn't always "your kid needs pills, plz take this delicious prescription." For those that just want the kid there's like ten who are deep in denial that anything could be wrong with their precious child/want to avoid the stigma of having a kid with a brain disorder.

Gj making that clear in the first post, self. I APPEAR TO BE STUPID TODAY, DON'T MIND ME.