Psychiatry Professor Claims ADHD Was Vital to Survive Many Years Ago
Psychiatry Professor Claims ADHD Was Vital to Survive Many Years Ago – Having ADHD is often labeled as an unfortunate condition, but a professor of psychiatry says it may have been what kept nomadic forebearers alive in the wild. Friedman cites a study which found nomads were better nourished than those who stuck more to their homes.
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is considered a learning disability today, but a new theory claims that it may have been vital for survival. A Weill Cornell Medical College psychology professor writes in The New York Times that adventurous, hyperactive and impulsive human species were more likely to survive in harsh environments. Professor Richard Friedman cites a study done by Northwestern University which found that tribesmen and women in Kenya that had an ADHD gene were more nomadic and better nourished than their peers who didn’t.
Friedman said these more nomadic tribes people had, what we now label as ADHD, with shorter attention spans and novelty seeking tendencies. That made them “a paleolithic success story” with an ability to survive dynamic environments.
It’s estimated that about 5% of the US population has ADHD. The condition is usually first detected in young children.
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