Apparently, I’ve superpowers. However not like common superpowers — invisibility, shape-shifting skills, laser-beam eyes — my superpowers are a bit extra prosaic.
So prosaic, in reality, they don’t look very like superpowers in any respect: Lethargy. Impulsivity. Substance abuse. Continual distractibility. Abject frustration. Unemployment. Neuroses. Irritability.
The Misadventures of ADHD-Man
Who can neglect Marvel Comics #27? ADHD-Man rises after midday to defeat leftover takeout and doom scroll on Twitter whereas nursing a nagging urge to do one thing productive.
That clearly isn’t an actual comedian. And ADHD isn’t an actual superpower. Not after I was a child, and never right this moment as others proudly brandish the irony-tinged proclamation throughout social media.
Don’t get me unsuitable: I perceive why some individuals would check with their ADHD signs as superpowers. I perceive that it’s meant, partly, to speak the neuroatypical benefits we now have, like hyperfocus, boundless vitality, and creativity. However these traits are a small a part of the ADHD puzzle. As a result of what good is a artistic mind, say, if it’s unable to use itself? That isn’t cool; that’s Kafka.
[Read: 7 Myths About ADHD… Debunked!]
And sure, I additionally get that “ADHD is my superpower” is a defiant two-finger salute to a world that tries to tear neurodivergent individuals down. It’s additionally a pleasant factor to say to youngsters who’re scuffling with identification and ADHD.
I do know what you’re considering: Why am I getting labored up over one thing pretty benign? As a result of I used to be ADHD-Man for a very long time. In my darkest days of pre-treatment, I used to be a substance-abusing, suicidal mess. I didn’t really feel like a superhero. I didn’t even really feel human.
Let’s Be Trustworthy: There’s Nothing Romantic About ADHD
Traditionally misunderstood circumstances take pleasure in higher recognition right this moment than ever earlier than. However there may be way more work to be performed. I’m sure a “What’s ADHD?” vox pop on my metropolis’s streets would produce quite a lot of shoulder shrugs and remarks like, “Oh, is ADHD the one the place all the children run about loopy and the dad and mom give them ricin, or nutritional vitamins, or no matter to calm them down? That one?”
Within the ongoing struggle to lift much-needed consciousness round ADHD, it’s very important we don’t romanticize it. Pithy expressions do little to assist individuals with ADHD after they’re referred to as unproductive at work or disruptive within the classroom. As a substitute of being cute, we ought to be clear.
[Read: 10 Things I Wish the World Knew About ADHD]
We must always clarify the countless love-loss sample of hyperfixation that scuppers our probabilities of gaining proficiency in a pastime and sometimes leaves us with litter: unstrummed guitars within the closet; squash-racquets-turned-fly swatters; forgotten knitting needles threatening to rise from beneath the sofa cushions. Others ought to find out about our inner chaos and whole incapacity to use ourselves regardless of having the will to do one thing, something, apart from carry out an infinite start-stop loop.
We must always clarify the actually ugly facet of ADHD. The stuff that, left unchecked, can cap an individual’s potential and spoil their life. The implications of lacking a analysis in childhood. The yo-yoing employment standing in maturity. The susceptibility to substance abuse and different damaging outcomes.
However no one’s going to place all that in a Twitter bio.
Remedy Is the Actual Superpower
The antidote to ADHD isn’t #slogans; it’s remedy, remedy, and train. It’s formulating a sport plan and working it each day so that you don’t find yourself like ADHD-Man.
Once I assume again to my life earlier than I used to be recognized with ADHD at age 32, it makes me doubly grateful for the place I’m now.
To me, the true superheroes are the individuals — far cleverer than I — who have been capable of devise options to assist these like me. Because of them, I’m capable of take a capsule every morning that enables me to make wholesome choices, offers me higher management of govt capabilities, and helps me consider duties to a degree that ADHD-Man by no means thought attainable.
ADHD Superpowers: Subsequent Steps
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