ADHD or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is a "disorder" that is not well understood by most people. TV and popular media generally portray it as a kid that is hyperactive, loud, lazy, naughty. Or maybe they question whether ADHD even exists, whether it is just an excuse to drug children and make them easier to manage. In general, whatever they are saying, it is often very polarising and puts ADHD in a terrible light.
This is really harmful to those who have ADHD because it can be a major struggle to survive as a neurodivergent person living in a neurotypical society. It can also be very difficult for a neurotypical person to understand why they're struggling. This is because people with ADHD often struggle with what are considered simple tasks, things that most people take for granted. Things like:
- Remembering to call someone back
- Not losing your things all the time
- Finishing work on time
- Regulating emotions
- Focusing on one task at a time
- Not interrupting people when they talk
- Staying motivated
What makes this worse is that people with ADHD don't even know why they're like this, and that means that they can't explain it to neurotypical people. This is understandably frustrating for them because all they see is someone who seems inconsiderate or lazy or just needs to try harder. That's because neurotypical brains are wired for everyday tasks like that, whereas, ADHD brains aren't.
But why does that all matter?
It matters because ADHD is something that affects millions of people across the world. To be more exact the National Institute of Mental Health estimates that 3-5% of people worldwide have ADHD or between 237 million and 395 million people. And what's surprising is that those are conservative figures.
I am one of those millions of people and I have struggled with ADHD my whole life. I wasn't diagnosed until I was 21 years old and that meant for most of my life I didn't understand myself fully. And neither did other people. That made life very challenging at times. For most of my life I struggled to cope in a system not designed for people like me.
One area in particular that I struggled was at school. And a big reason for that is because I was smart. I liked learning things but most educational systems aren't designed for impulsive people that get distracted all the time and can't meet deadlines. So I got by on my smarts (sometimes by the skin of my teeth) but I was constantly being told I needed to work harder, that I just wasn't trying hard enough when I failed, that I had so much potential. Hearing that for most of your life destroys your confidence little by little. But I liked learning so I tried harder or as hard as I could and I was able to get by.
Then I made it to university and I was so excited but I still had the same problems as before. It is a completely different ball game at university compared to school, the workload is much higher and the learning more difficult. But I was doing a degree I was really interested in and I was determined. Spoilers, that wasn't quite enough. I almost failed my first semester but then someone pointed out to me that I might have ADHD.
I didn't really know much about it so I decided to do some research into it. I read about symptoms, other people's stories & experiences (ADHD Ted Talk), journal articles, etc. With every new bit of information I read it was like puzzle pieces that I had been missing about myself suddenly being found. It was surreal because I felt like I was reading about myself online. I just thought it was me, that what I was experiencing was normal, and that I just had to work harder.
That was a real turning point for me. I now had a name for what I struggled with, I could ask people for help, I could find other people with ADHD and see what worked for them. Most importantly I could stop being so hard on myself for something that had been out of my control.
I started my journey in understanding myself better, doing more research into ways to cope with my ADHD, how to better structure my time and uni work. I also got officially diagnosed for ADHD and was then able to start medication.
I am happy to say I am now in my third year of university and I am doing much better thanks to that turning point and a lot of hard work to better understand my problems. It has been a very difficult journey, even since that turning point almost 3 years ago, and I am still learning more about myself (and my ADHD) all the time. But what has stuck with me through that experience is that even when you feel completely alone in your struggles that there are other people out there who feel just the same and more importantly, there are always ways for you to overcome any of your obstacles.
Thank you for listening!!
For more information on ADHD I've linked some resources below
YouTube:
Articles:
Thanks Sami that was very interesting and educational. I hope others who read this will get a better insight into the daily struggle for people with ADHD.
ReplyDeleteI agree, I think the subject is interesting and reminds me of my colleague years 40 years ago.
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