A normal society would look at ADHD kids like this:
How the * does this person extract so much more energy from the same amount of food? How do they do that?
It's almost like people with ADHD are playing with the laws of physics.
But we don't. Like many things, we've turned it into something "meh."
Same with creativity: we don't look at people with ADD and say, "How can this person do this with their mind?" No, we look at the fact that they always seem distracted.
We like autism when it's a cool party trick, like someone who has memorized every day and the weather on that day.
A person with ADHD can also say to you, "Why do you talk and think so slowly?"
Someone with ADD can say, "Why are you so unimaginative? You can't even throw out a new concept. Here, I've thought of five new angles in one minute."
For many people with autism who are exceptionally good at something, looking at "normal people" is like watching the blind debating the blind (no offense, of course).
What is ADHD? Having a lot of energy.
You can spend that extra energy on:
- Working out
- Doing something creative
Where does that energy come from? From food. So the other thing you have to fix is your diet. Some foods make ADHD symptoms much worse.
It's literally that simple.
Be careful with "not being able to focus" kinds of remarks. People with ADHD are incredibly fast thinkers who form new connections very quickly (which looks like being distracted) and who spend energy differently (which also looks like being distracted or hyper a lot of the time, but they balance that with hyperfocus).
We have built this weird society, filled with sitting and listening, bad food, screens, and we've made that the norm. This makes ADHD extremely visible, but that has nothing to do with kids with ADHD—they are the first victims. If we spent all day running around or walking, eating normal food, and making real connections, you'd think of kids with ADHD, "How do they do that?" They would be the pinnacle of civilization, not the other way around.
Why a Lot of the Things We Do Nowadays Generate "ADHD Output"
We eat a lot of sugary, processed foods. These foods give a more ADHD-ish output, with small, unstable bursts of energy. Oatmeal, for instance, gives a different output than a sandwich with sugar. Not that either is better than the other, but it's important to notice these small things.
Also, the content we consume is extremely fast-paced and based on what we find interesting, or not interesting at all. This mimics ADD and ADHD. You jump to a lot of thoughts at an unbelievable pace. The time between thoughts is small.
If you are someone who suppresses emotions, this also gives an ADHD-ish kind of output. Since you spend a percentage (let's say 95%) of your energy suppressing something you don't like (let's say 5%), this creates instabilities, small bursts within your energy, as if the information is fragmented and fast-paced within yourself.
Does this mean our lifestyles cause ADD and ADHD? Of course not. But it's important to realize that a lot of the things we do actually matter in the output we produce. In my opinion, ADD and ADHD are not a problem in the first place. It's also a valid strategy to eat a lot of fast-paced energy foods and then enjoy the ride.
Let's say you make a brain scan and compare ADHD brains versus non-ADHD brains.
You find some differences.
What does that prove?
Literally nothing.
What you're looking at is billions and billions of choices, food intake, body posture, emotional distress, environmental factors, learned behaviors, and suppressed intelligence over dozens of years. So you're looking at billions of different influences squeezed into one brain image.
So you can't say anything meaningful about that. That is the whole point. You'll find some vague, generalized links, and then you're going to wonder whether they are significant or not, because you have no clue what you're actually looking at.