Usually, when we hear of a child, teenager, or adult with ADHD, the stereotypical image of a hyperactive person unleashing chaos is the first one to strike our minds. However, you would be surprised to know that some of the most successful people in the world today live with ADHD. Renowned Canadian, Rick Green, who wonderfully stated the real picture behind life as an ADHD,” I used to suffer from ADHD, but now I just have it.”
Since most of the audience’s knowledge about mental health and its disorders is still limited to talking about depression and anxiety, thanks to the increasing awareness, we know we have barely scratched the surface of the scope of mental health illnesses or conditions. To bridge the gap, our blog will help talk about the not-so-obvious aspects and the role of support groups in ADHD.
Uncommon Facts Regarding ADHD
1. Medication does not heal ADHD:
This is the first opinion of most people who hear about children having ADHD. However, medications are used to only suppress the symptoms (aggression, anxiety, emotional regulation); there is no treatment for the root cause. ADHD is more than a diagnosis, it becomes a personality type where people need help keeping stock of their priorities and lives productive. Medication is merely a blindfold that numbs them rather than equipping them with the tools to live well.
2. Not all people with explosive energy are ADHD:
It can be tempting to label highly energetic people as ADHD, but please don’t. While many celebrities and business people may be outspoken about their ADHD, a lot more struggle to get out of bed or quiet in nature.
3. ADHD does not mean they have a problem paying attention:
On the contrary, they may struggle to pay attention to priorities. Instead of focusing on the upcoming papers or projects, they may hyperfocus on an unrelated subject or get lost in a videogame that interests them. In short, their ability to pay attention is highly selective and can be dysfunctional if not regulated.
4. Intelligence and ADHD do not correlate:
The IQ of a person and ADHD have no relation. However, the current educational standards and learning methods aren’t ADHD-friendly, making it difficult for them to learn in a regular environment.
5. ADHD diagnosis is not a one size fits all list:
There are several traits unique to each ADHD-diagnosed person. Throwing around the term loosely or using it to stereotype their behavior is factually incorrect.
The reality of ADHD
When speaking about ADHD, there are so many people from the lost generation and the ones later who were not diagnosed because of the lack of proper assessment tools and taboo that surrounded mental health. Several countries around the world still have these reservations, not completely understanding the nature of ADHD or even autism.
Raising an ADHD or living with ADHD can be challenging if the degree of their diagnosis is on the adverse side of the spectrum. You may think all of them are hyperactive, but a vast percentage of these kids are either already mellow or calm down on the outside by the time they attain adulthood.
This is why we are seeing higher instances of even adults being diagnosed with ADHD, which was thought to affect only children at first. Research has shown about 4.4 percent of the adult population to be severely affected by ADHD.
To empathize fully with the adults who have ADHD, especially fully functional adults, here is a glimpse into their lives.
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An undiagnosed or diagnosed adult ADHD may:
- Change too many professions and jobs.
- Struggle to retain meaningful relationships in the long term.
- Be forgetful and highly distracted.
- Be a chronic procrastinator or perpetually late no matter how much they try.
- Make impulsive decisions on opportunities and purchases, only to regret them later.
- Have a “squirrel” mindset that makes the mental chaos or inner critic unbearable at times.
- Fall prey to self-sabotage, substance abuse, anxiety, and depression frequently and easily.
- Not understanding why their life is more difficult to control in comparison to the others even with all the self-help and deep work.
A Helping Hand of Support Groups
In short, these are traits we see in mild or adverse propensities in all adults, but someone who has all the signs may feel like a perpetual trainwreck with no helping hand of understanding to stop them from self-destructing. While people may show compassion towards children and teens with ADHD, adults are much less likely to receive the same because of the lack of research or information that makes this more than “a diagnosis blown out of proportion”.
For the adult ADHD population, finally finding a diagnosis for their patterns and behavior can be decompressing and relieving because it opens the door to the biggest mystery of their lives, allowing them to hope and better yet, accept. When someone is fighting with their own psyche, the effects can be quite devastating, starting from low self-esteem, self-doubt, sensitivity to criticism, all leading to explosive anger or self-harm.
In such a case, having ADHD support groups is a huge blessing, because this is a group of people who know and understand what it feels like to be one. The support groups have the primary purpose of helping ADHD children, teens, and adults from spiraling out of tangent and slowly regaining control of their lives to be productive and healthy citizens.
The coordinators, therapists, and directors of such support groups have extensive experience in handling mild to severe instances of ADHD and can help them understand concepts, norms, and patterns in ways they wouldn’t be able to on their own. An ADHD support group also acts like a listening board that can help the participants in healing from the rejection, trauma, and abandonment they may have experienced or are experiencing due to layering conditions.
We hope that you got to learn a lot more about ADHD than you did before you clicked on our blog!
