Thread by @AdhdAngsty

I’d rather live in a world where some people mistakenly think they have ADHD before doing more research, than a world where ADHD has no visibility. A psychiatrist confirmed my self-diagnosis, but I never would have known to look into ADHD without memes and social media.

ADHD's diagnostic criteria is based on what it looks like to others- how much we seem like we're not paying attention, how much we seem like we're not listening, how much we talk "excessively" (who determines what excessive is, by the way?).

Conversely, memes and threads and stories capture how ADHD *feels*. I remember going onto the ADHD women’s subreddit and seeing posts about losing keys and letting friends down and having 15 mugs
on your desk at once. I remember seeing myself.

I think it’s a disservice to act as though people seeing this content automatically jump to conclusions about themselves. I didn’t go “oh yup, I need chewing gum to focus, I have ADHD too lmao!”. But I did go and learn more and start reflecting on my experiences in the world.

For me, that reflection and learning made me realise I had ADHD. For others, it won’t. The more accessible information is and the more we talk about our experiences, the more others can identify themselves, or determine that they don't relate.

The biases in the medical and education system mean women and PoC are far less likely to get diagnosed as children. If your ADHD presents as more inattentive than hyperactive, adults are less likely to see your behaviour as a problem and look deeper.

If you make it out of childhood without a diagnosis, it’s unlikely anyone is going to tell you you have ADHD. Most people are not going to see ADHD traits as a sign something more is going on. They’ll just interpret your behaviours as character flaws. You’ll likely believe them.

For many of us, social media is the first time we encounter people LIKE US talking about their experiences with ADHD. It’s the first time we think “wait...is that not how everyone experiences this? Is life not supposed to be this hard?”.

Misleading tiktok videos are not the problem- the lack of mainsteam understanding of neurodivergence is. I’ve heard more incorrect stuff about ADHD from my GP than social media. Maybe if a doctor or teacher had noticed me as a child, I wouldn’t have had to find out from reddit.