To be Black in America is to need to utilize every tool at one’s disposal just to keep one’s head above water. According to experts, it happens that some of those tools can be found in a diagnosis that historically carried with it a negative stigma: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
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ADHD — a genetic neurodivergence that was once misdiagnosed and misunderstood — has two signature “superpower” characteristics: Pattern recognition and “hyperfocus.” The latter benefits Black folks’ ability to achieve in professional and educational spaces that weren’t conceived with us in mind, and the former allows us to more easily parse out the racism and white supremacy that bottlenecks us in every aspect of American living.
As such, many would consider ADHD a “superpower” of sorts– though for Black folks that moniker threatens to make light of the fact that Black people with ADHD tend to be punished while their white counterparts are “treated.” Some find “superpower” to be an overly simplistic (and perhaps insulting) designation, but it fits for many considering ADHD is now considered in the context of its strengths by neurodiversity experts.
Here, we dig into the complicated nature of ADHD and why can be both a boon for and detriment to Black folks.
Your Brain is Constantly on a Journey
If you’ve ever had a conversation with someone living with ADHD, you might think they’re not a part of the conversation at all. But as comedian Trevor Noah explains, they are keeping up with the conversation. It’s just that something you said has triggered their brain to go off in a million different directions.
“I’m fully present to me, but what’s happened is my attention has shifted in a way that people can feel,” he said. “So in my head, you may have said something that has just taken me to go like, huh…I’m gone.”
The Way You See the World is Next Level
Most neurotypical people go through life focusing on one thing at a time. You know…kind of like watching a black-and-white movie on an old television set. But as TikToker Quantum Creation explains, life for someone who is neurodivergent like watching “your favorite action movie”Mission Impossible” in 4K.
“The average person, they only pay attention to so much at one time, if they’re paying attention to anything at all,” he said. “When you’re neurodivergent, you pay attention to everything. It’s like, you’re absorbing the world in 4D while everybody else is observing it in 3D or even 2D.”
You’ve Got a Lot Going On
Impulsiveness can be fun when you’re planning a last-minute girls trip to Cancun. But it’s also one of the hardest ADHD symptoms to manage, especially when you’re trying to get things done. On the flip side, you might find yourself getting things done that weren’t on your list at all.
TikTok from Becomingrich hits it on the head:
“You ain’t cleaned your room in three weeks, because when you started, ten different ideas popped in your head, so you went to go build a spaceship instead.”
“My bedroom messy as hell but once a week i teach myself a new craft😂😂,” someone wrote in the comments.
You’re Either All In, Or All The Way Out
A person living with ADHD can’t go hard all the time. But when they aren’t going all in, they’re usually all the way out.
“So, you either eat nothing or you eat way too much? You either do like 30 things at the same time or you do nothing?” TikToker Stephy said in a hilarious TikTok explaining what it’s like when a friend of someone with ADHD finally gets it. “You either don’t care about anything or you care way too much about everything?” Pretty much.
It Can Come With Depression
Even the most highly-functioning person with ADHD can start to feel overwhelmed by all they have going on. According to ADDitude Magazine, adults living with ADHD are nearly three times more likely to experience depression than others.
“If I’m not careful in how I sleep, how I eat, how I manage my routine, I can become overwhelmed, and it can feel like the whole world is just too heavy to bear,” Trevor Noah told CBS News in an interview.
The Chaos in Your Brain Can Lead to Chaos in Your Home
TikToker Jordan, who posts as ADHD While Black, does a weekly reset to get her house in order.
“If you have ADHD, the chaos in your home is most likely a reflection of the chaos in your brain,” she said.
When she does make time to clean, Jordan adds that she does her best to take the pressure off, stopping when it becomes too much and giving herself grace for the countertops or floors that she may have missed.
“Cleaning is not self-care when you have ADHD,” she said.
People May Think You’re Aggressive
Black women are already so often misunderstood. Those living with ADHD often say their heightened energy can be misinterpreted as aggressive.
“When you’re a Black woman with ADHD, people think you’re trying to fight them when you get animated,” she said on TikTok.
Pattern Recognition Comes With Strengths
Pattern recognition is one of the most common symptoms of people living with ADHD. But it’s more than recognizing a sequence of shapes and numbers; in fact, neurodivergent people can read a room like no one else, often letting you know what you’re going to do before you know it.
If you want someone who is a good judge of character, check in with your friends living with ADHD.
“I can walk into a room and have some intuition and really get a feel for the context of that situation. If I dive a little bit deeper…so that people can give me some more context, I’ll essentially be able to predict the future of that room somewhat accurately,” he said.
But Once You See Things, You Can’t Unsee Them
Pattern recognition can also be frustrating for some living with ADHD, especially when you’re waiting for everyone around you to get on your level and see the thing you saw months ago, according to TikToker @asoutherngirlsgream.
“Pattern recognition has ruined my life in so many ways, because once I see it, I can’t unsee it,” she said. “And once I see it, I can’t let it go. And then I have to wait 6 to 12 months for the neurotypicals to catch on and then come back and say, ‘you were right,’ like I always am.”
Being Unfocused Has Its Benefits
Comedian Trevor Noah says one of the reasons he’s chosen not to treat his symptoms with medication is that some of them are perfect for a career in comedy, including the tendency to be unpredictable.
“I actually need to be erratic and unfocused when I’m doing comedy, and I’m lucky that I live a life where I don’t have to be in an office at a time and do a thing in a certain way,” he said.
But Self-Sabotage is a MF
Anyone living with ADHD knows that having trouble with focus can leave you with lots of unchecked boxes on your to-do list. But ADHDWhile Black explains that for the neurodivergent, your internal thoughts can lead to self-sabotage when you’re forced too far outside of your comfort zone.
“Once you start marking those things off your checklist, you think, ‘What’s next?’ ‘What do I do now?’” she said. “You’ve never been in a place where things are going well all the time, so in order to stay in your comfort zone, you start making up excuses in your head to not do the things that you know that you should be doing.”
Find Ways to Put Your Strengths to Work
Although living with ADHD can make it hard to have a 9-to-5, there are plenty of career opportunities that can give you life and allow you to put your strengths to work. According to ADDitude Magazine, jobs in tech, journalism and the arts can offer more flexibility and allow you to lean into your creativity.
Steer Clear of The Same Old Thing
For a person with ADHD, there’s nothing worse than busy work. Your tendency to be more impulsive and your aversion to monotony would make a job in data entry or accounting painful AF. Just ask TikToker Tina.
“Why are you asking me to input information into a document when I have sent you several other documents with that information?” she asked in a post “B*, are you trying to piss me off?
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