Does anyone think they DONT have ADHD?

[Frenchtoastie]

I keep seeing posts on instagram with various reasons why someone has ADHD and then hundreds of comments below reporting these people also have all of these symptoms.
Just wondering if anyone reads these and doesn’t relate to them? To me they are just part of being human, but maybe I am completely wrong and I have ADHD🤣

the posts generally include statement along these lines…

• I find it hard to get going or impossible to stop
• I can put off a tiny task for weeks but worry about it for hours but when I finally complete it it takes 5 minutes
• I can distracted and start cleaning after the shower and suddenly I’ve cleaned the whole house whilst wearing my towel
• Having a chair covered in clothes
• having multiple drinks on the go in the house
• needing a calender because if not I would forget appointments

Exactly. And that is NOT adhd. It has to have affected your childhood and learning to be diagnosed clinically. Lots of people online are self diagnosed.

Life is generally overwhelming isn’t it! 😞

Yep the symptoms appear universal. I don't doubt the existence of the condition but the listed symptoms are always things every human struggles with.

It’s exactly this - the diagnosis is based on the impact it has on your ability to function. Both my sons have ADHD and having supported them through the clinical assessments I am certain I do not have it.

I’ve had several people at work tell me they think I have it.

Overwhelming is just not a term I associate with life most of the time tbh. I appreciate and understand that lots of people do though.

My DD is diagnosed autistic and is on the waiting list for ADHD. My nephew is non verbal autistic. My brother is diagnosed ADHD and autistic. My other nephew is diagnosed ADHD and medicated. Some people diagnosed with ADHD can live a normal life.

I do think I have it but I function well and don't need medication. I have broken my front tooth because one of my body focused repetitive behaviours is to pull out tiny hairs from my fingers so I do need to try to stop that. I do have a chair with clothes on it but don't we all!

I think almost everyone with a smartphone has ADHD symptoms. They are rotting our brains.

My DB was diagnosed with ADHD in the 80s before it was even called ADHD. He was the kid who always got pulled out of assembly to stand at the front, or outside the Head’s office every single day. He would run round for hours at a time, and never sat still. Hardly slept. He used to perform dangerous stunts like clinging onto the backs of buses, or blowing up petrol cans, even at a very young age (I’m talking like 7 years old). He left school with no qualifications and became an alcoholic and drug addict by his late teens. He was textbook ADHD.

He’s now a Dr of neuroscience and has been clean and sober for 25 years. He’s still scatty as hell and never sits down. He’s great!

I get these sorts of posts all the time about ADHD & autism, then the endless comments section of people claiming the diagnosis for what I look at as just pretty ordinary behaviours.

I also get ones all the time about spoons. And it’s spoons being unwrapped from a towel to be judged by the autism panel. Now, I also actually quite fussy about spoons but surely we’re not using that as confirmation that I must therefore be autistic.

One of the ways to distinguish if it’s affecting you to the point where diagnosis is necessary is the degree of the ‘dysfunction’…..

So yes a personality trait might be ‘unable to successfully start a task without a lot of effort/ need for reward’ , but does it affect your ability to live within reason? It might be an inconvenience for some to live with clutter and mess but to others they cannot tidy or clean up after themselves to their detriment (chaos/ infestation/ needing to rebuy lost items etc)

All the symptoms listed can be part of anyone’s character but it’s the degree to which it impacts that means you might need support through medication, intervention or external support (outsourcing/ paying for services) and therefore most likely equates to a diagnosis of some sort of ND.

Those first three are all very relevant as they relate to task initiation, goal-directed persistence and hyperfocus on certain activities. I see variants of all of those symptoms in my diagnosed ds and strongly suspected adhd dh.

The rest occur frequently in both adhd diagnosed and NT people and are not in and of themselves especially unusual, but the whole list taken together as examples of a general pattern of behaviours could indicate adhd.

That said, I too am tired of the social media mantra of everyone having some kind of ND. It detracts from the fact that the real cases are diagnosed because they have a significant impairment to everyday functioning. It also plays into the narrative that there's an overdiagnosis of these conditions. See also: "Everyone is 'a little bit' adhd or autistic". No, they're fucking not. Character traits don't make a diagnosis, a pattern of behaviours that impact on everyday life do.

Modern life can be overwhelming and we all feel it, but be thankful that you don’t have ADHD because it can be incredibly destructive when not managed well.
One friend couldn’t hold down a job for more than a year at a time, finds it impossible to take responsibility for her actions - it’s always someone’s else’s fault, is late for everything ALL the time - like an hour late or more, it’s incredibly unreliable and can change plans minutes before she due to do something, and has made some very risky choices when it comes to men in the past. She’s either asleep or at full pelt with little in between.
Thankfully she’s now taking her diagnose and meds seriously so it’s all a bit better but she’s never going to not be a bit chaotic.

Fail proof test for ADHD: take an Elvanse. If it makes you more clearheaded and more able to focus on tasks, you probably have ADHD. If it turns you into a tweaking lunatic who is unable to sleep for 48 hours then you probably don’t have ADHD.

Also, top tip: don’t store your kid’s Elvanse right next to your own meds that look exactly the same when you don’t have your glasses on.

I can relate to many of those 'symptoms' but I don't think I have ADHD. I'm a busy, working mum, I run a business and I have a million things to think about, reminders and calendars are in daily use, as are lists, but it's being organised.

I have a chairdrobe, because I'm tired and want to go to bed, it gets sorted weekly.

Lots of it is just life, very few people are super organised and super tidy all the time IMO, especially if they have a job and a family

Ugh yes I hate those videos. I also have favourite cutlery etc. I am absolutely not autistic.

I have an AuDHD daughter who will vomit if someone puts a sticker on her clothes. Sensory differences are not just “I like this mug more”.

I can put off things for weeks.
I use a calendar to stay organised.
I often have a chair covered in clothes.
I can get distracted by a household task and keep going without having intended to.

I 100% do not have ADHD. I am human.

The ‘every day’ adhd that seems to be worn as a badge now is basically where your behaviour doesn’t fit with the very stiff conformity of the past. Childhood behaviour, including how some children’s developing brains interpret play and interaction with others, is labelled before they’ve even had chance to mix properly with others and just have fun.

As adults, the majority of us have some or all of those symptoms- might be as simple as ‘the friend who is never on time’ and they struggle to be organised - so maybe they shouldn’t work in an industry where time keeping is essential- instead of being employed there anyway and wearing the ADHD label as an excuse for not being the best fit for the role. In the commercial world they would lose their job, then cry on social about it. In the public sector, they have colleagues accommodating them, but still have the energy to post on social media about how the struggle is real. I find the ADHD ‘trend’ tedious, I wish there was more support for families and children with disabilities and chronic illness.

I have struggled all my life amd never felt that I fit in a have been isolated . I have ADHD recently diagnosed and its clarity that helps . It makes no difference, I will still, struggle and not fit in but at least I know !!!

I agree. There are also characteristics like “rejection sensitivity dysphoria” and “hyper focus” that I was previously skeptical of but describe my son to a T. Again, two things we all experience to a degree but that my son experiences to a degree that severely impacts his ability to make friends and function in school.

The thing is, I have friends that have very stable lives, successful careers, long relationships, top set at school, and yet they've still been formally diagnosed with ADHD.

So glad your friend is doing better with meds ❤️

I think the problem with people thinking overwhelm is ADHD is that it makes it more tricky for those in genuine need to be taken seriously.

I too thought the constant monologue in your head was totally normal. My friend (who has Autism too) looked at me like I was mad

I have some of those symptoms mentioned in the OP. But I have other complex neurological things including a head injury which explains them

😓

I have some very weird and obsessive interests and can often get very focused on them. I have decided this means I am human

I’m getting really cross about this the more I think about it. Being a parent to a SEND child I realise what is privilege it is to be able to live a “normal” childhood. Hate to see adults jumping on the bandwagon claiming an identity when they managed to cope with childhood perfectly well and met all their regular milestones.