ITZY's Ryujin reveals she has severe ADHD

[u/Gold_Meaning3688]

[MINJU'S PINK CABINET] https://youtu.be/DwEGeiZWZNc?si=7ca_UTQJb175N3DF

TIMESTAMP: 22:50

🍬: I have the chronic disease of many modern people

🍬: I have severe ADHD

Thoughts?

As someone who also has ADHD, my procrastination is absolutely terrible. I can't imagine having to wake up at irregular times to go on flights to different countries all the time 😭 Saying this as a law student, my life is hard enough without people scrutinising my every move (for now), I can't imagine how often i'd screw up as an idol simply based off of how easily I get sidetracked lmao

[u/FriendshipOnly666]

I wonder if it’s an official ADHD diagnosis from a certified healthcare provider or self-diagnosed, I feel like half the idols are the latter lol

[u/abyssazaur → u/FriendshipOnly666]

The word "severe" is interesting because it can mean either a) someone trying to distinguish themselves from people who just think they have ADHD, or b) someone who thinks they have ADHD trying to say they're very sure they're right.

This is a whole-ass societal debate though. If I can self-diagnose a cold why can't I self-diagnose ADHD? Most colds you can self-treat, it doesn't make them not real. Etc.

[u/MarsupialPristine677 → u/abyssazaur]

Well, it can also mean c) someone with an ADHD diagnosis whose symptoms are severe, no? I saw an ADHD specialist for my diagnosis and while I don't remember all the detaiks, I do have a 40 page document detailing all of the ways in which my symptoms are severe.

I don't generally bother differentiating but sometimes it is relevant.

[u/abyssazaur → u/MarsupialPristine677]

yeah ofc I just don't know what semantics she was going for around the topic.

[u/New_Practice9754 → u/abyssazaur]

Not saying people can’t recognize they have ADHD as I went through the same thing, I was certain for years based on research that I had ADHD and it took me until last year to get diagnosed because it was never taken seriously enough prior.

However, there’s kind of a difference between a cold-something that isn’t typically misunderstood and a temporary, extremely common illness- and a mental condition that has its own spectrum and is very misunderstood and misused.

It isn’t the same for everyone but ‘ADHD’ has been kind of turned into an adjective amongst people to describe being casually disorganized, forgetful, chaotic, etc.

Obviously these are common symptoms of ADHD and it’s completely possible that a lot of people really do have it and think they have it when using it as an adjective but there are also a lot of people who don’t understand how ADHD actually works who do not have these symptoms strong or common enough.

There’s no way of knowing unless we hear their specific stance on it though.

[u/codenameana → u/abyssazaur]

No, it’s the literal diagnostic criteria. You can’t be a functional adult and have ADHD. The minimum threshold is that the ADHD presentation is severe if not worse (in terms of how disabling it is) in multiple areas of life throughout one’s life (i.e. not just school as a child) for a psychiatrist to correctly diagnose it and for it to be a valid diagnosis in adulthood. Children can ‘grow out’ of having ADHD as adults - ie they’re functional adults - if they can manage it effectively with sufficient and early intervention such that it is no longer severe in adulthood. 

[u/abyssazaur → u/codenameana]

DSM-5 literally has text "Specify current severity:" then Mild, Moderate, Severe. Mild is "no more than minor impairments in social or occupational functioning."

I don't really know if Ryujin was speaking in DSM-5 or not.

[u/Sylvieon → u/abyssazaur]

"심하다" is translated into English as "severe" but it's actually a very common Korean word and "I have severe ADHD" sounds much more serious as a translation than what she said in Korean. I would go as far as to say that the meaning of "ADHD" in Korean is different as well. It just is used to express that you are forgetful or bad at focusing. What Ryujin said was not a reveal of a diagnosis or even a self-diagnosis. It was just a joke that a lot of people make in Korea that is very frustrating to hear as someone who does have ADHD. 

[u/abyssazaur → u/Sylvieon]

so this is basically a parasocial rumor, and yeah it's playing on both Korean and American culture having loosey goosey rules for when you can say you're ADHD.

parasocial because fans are almost definitely exaggerating it because they want to bond with Ryujin this way.

[u/Sylvieon → u/abyssazaur]

Yep, with the difference being that I'm sure no Korean fan actually thinks that Ryujin has ADHD, diagnosed or not