Imagine that you are a bird that found itself raised by fish. As a chick, no one questioned your difficulty swimming. But as you grew, the judgements of the fish became more and more apparent. “You just need to focus and paddle your fins harder.” “I don’t understand if you’re so good at diving why you can’t do the simple task of swimming.” “If you cared enough and showed enough discipline, you would swim better.”
The fish are used to getting around by swimming, and that’s just fine. But you don’t swim. You fly. And that involves completely different muscle movements than swimming. But instead of being taught how to fly, you were continually chastised for not being able to swim well.
This is the experience of many people who have an ADHD brain. They were raised with good intentions by parents and teachers who were flabbergasted at how their children and students could do some things so well but struggle with seemingly more simple tasks.
The answer may not be that they didn’t care enough, nor that they were lazy, nor that they were undisciplined. Those characteristics can be true regardless of brain type. The answer may be that they complete tasks and process information differently than someone with a neurotypical brain.
Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder is not a moral failing. It isn’t a disease that you contract. It isn’t a disease at all. ADHD is a type of brain, with its own strengths and limitations that are different from a neurotypical brain. To unlock your potential, you need to lean into your abilities instead of perceiving them as flaws.
Three Tips to Unlocking the ADHD Brain
Take advantage of your ability to multi-task.
When someone with a neurotypical brain cares about a task, they tend to give it their full attention. Singular focus is associated with respecting the importance of a task. However, this is not necessarily true for someone with ADHD. While a person with ADHD can find themselves distracted from being productive, they also tend to be able to accomplish several productive things at once.
You will almost always find that people with ADHD prefer to have more “irons in the fire” than someone with a neurotypical brain. Lean into that. If you find that the work gets completed on time, then allow yourself to complete it by your preferred method of multi-tasking.
Place yourself in areas where you can practice divergent thinking.
Many people with ADHD have a natural predisposition to divergent thinking (coming up with ideas) over convergent thinking (selecting an idea and discarding the others). Many of my clients come to work with me specifically to practice convergent thinking.
However, it doesn’t mean that divergent thinking is wrong. In fact, it can be incredibly powerful. People with ADHD tend to find themselves excelling as innovators or “ideas people”, whether it be in the art studio or the board room. Finding areas where you can ask “What if we tried this?” may be incredibly fulfilling for you and helpful to those around you.
If you allow yourself to engage in divergent thinking, while also be open to eventually converging on one idea, you may shock yourself with what you’re capable of creating.
Don’t stop yourself from recharging your battery.
Sometimes you will try to complete something tedious, and it won’t work out. That basket of laundry is still there, and you’ve been scrolling on your phone for three hours. People with a neurotypical brain might be able to motivate themselves to complete the task by denying themselves (“I’m not going to allow myself to do anything fun until I complete this task”).
However, people with an ADHD brain generally need the dopamine of looking forward to something to compensate for the lack of dopamine involved in doing the chore. So don’t deny yourself. Set up an evening out with a friend or buy a movie ticket. Then, try the laundry again while you think about how much you’re looking forward to your night out. This isn’t rewarding bad behavior. It’s working with your brain to actually accomplish the tasks you want to accomplish.
Learning to Fly
For too long, the ADHD brain has been thought of as a problem to be fixed rather than as a different mode of processing information altogether. The truth is that the ADHD brain has just as many strengths as a neurotypical one, they’re just different strengths. If you’re interested in learning more, perhaps pick up the audio book for “Your Brain’s Not Broken” by Dr. Tamara Rosier, a healthcare professional who both has ADHD and has made it her life’s mission to empower others who have ADHD.
You could also visit a therapist at Avance Care experienced with ADHD. Avance Care offers assessment through the NIH Toolbox, an ADHD Intensive program to assist with task completion, and ADHD group therapy. Learn more by visiting our Behavioral Health page!
Resources
- www.tamararosier.com
