{"id":6176,"date":"2025-10-06T10:38:24","date_gmt":"2025-10-06T10:38:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/?p=6176"},"modified":"2025-10-08T21:33:55","modified_gmt":"2025-10-08T21:33:55","slug":"i-have-a-debilitating-condition-its-not-a-superpower","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/2025\/10\/06\/i-have-a-debilitating-condition-its-not-a-superpower\/","title":{"rendered":"I have a debilitating condition \u2014 it\u2019s not a \u2018superpower\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\t\t\"Metro\t<\/div>
This ADHD Awareness Month, it’s time to stop calling ADHD a ‘superpower’ (Picture: Metro\/Eleanor Noyce)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

TikTok told me that my ADHD was a superpower. And I believed it – but only for about five minutes.<\/p>\n

Scrolling on the app after I was first diagnosed, I was desperate to find \u2018my people\u2019 – the ones who would make me feel seen. Less like a jigsaw puzzle that simply didn\u2019t fit, and more like a person who simply thought differently.<\/p>\n

My feed was suddenly inundated with people who were just like me: chaotic, creative, chatty, and crucially, late for everything. <\/p>\n

But then, on countless podcasts and social media posts, I saw other neurodivergent<\/a> people encouraging their fellow ADHDers to view their condition not as something to hold them back, but as a \u2018superpower.\u2019<\/p>\n

For a fleeting moment, I wanted to believe it. Understanding my true self and unlocking the answers to questions I\u2019d chased after for so long was liberating, but afterwards came a heavy realisation: I\u2019d spent more than 20 years not understanding my own brain. I mourned that loss of time.<\/p>\n

The problem is that that version of ADHD doesn\u2019t exist for me. I wanted to believe that I could sugarcoat this diagnosis – and that reframing it might somehow make it easier. I could let the subsequent grief destroy me, or I could take another spin on it.<\/p>\n

Pretty quickly, though, I realised that it simply wasn\u2019t going to work for me.<\/p>\n

Looking at ADHD like some kind of Marvel origin story is toxic positivity<\/a> at its finest, trying to force us to perennially see the \u2018good\u2019 in the condition while ignoring the difficulties that come with it.<\/p>\n

It plays into the idea that, for people living with ADHD to be palatable, we exclusively need to play into our strengths \u2013 and ignore how debilitating living in a world designed by and for neurotypical people is. <\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\"\"\t<\/div>
For as long as I can remember, I’ve felt different (Picture: Eleanor Noyce)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

That\u2019s why I believe that now is the time for us to stop perpetuating this rhetoric \u2013 because not only does it misrepresent ADHD as something that can and should predominantly be used to our advantage, but it also suggests that we can almost \u2018girl boss<\/a>\u2019 our way out of the ableism<\/a> that still oppresses neurodivergent people every single day. <\/p>\n

Trying to lean on my \u2018strengths\u2019 all the time is exhausting – and this mentality doesn\u2019t solve the fact that this world wasn\u2019t built for a brain like mine.<\/p>\n

For as long as I can remember, I have perpetually run late (which was so common that my friends had developed a term for it: \u2018Ellie time\u2019); I\u2019m so clumsy that I trip over my own feet; I leave virtually every task until the last possible minute, and I\u2019ve always struggled with my mental health.<\/p>\n

I vividly recall telling my mum at 15 that if a doctor were to look at my brain, the scan would light up in bright, colourful hues. I was convinced that I was hard-wired to process information differently and always felt that I experienced emotions on a deeper spectrum than the average person. <\/p>\n

Doctors thought I had anxiety and depression<\/a>, and I was prescribed SSRIs, beta blockers, and recommended meditation and talking therapy. Nothing worked, because none of it addressed what was actually going on.<\/p>\n

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I was diagnosed with ADHD in 2021, at the age of 23 (Picture: Eleanor Noyce)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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\n\t\t\t\tKeep up with the conversations shaping Britain\t\t\t<\/h2>\n
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Hi, I\u2019m Ross McCafferty, Metro\u2019s acting first-person and opinion editor.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Here at Metro, we\u2019re passionate about giving a platform to unheard voices. You can read more real-life stories like this one with our News Updates newsletter<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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I look after Metro\u2019s first-person and opinion pieces<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

From championing marginalised communities to tackling taboo topics, we help people from all walks of life tell stories that inspire, educate and spark change.<\/p>\n

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Finally, in November 2021, aged 23 \u2013 after an assessment with a psychiatrist \u2013 I got a diagnosis of combined ADHD. There are three types of ADHD: inattentive, hyperactive, and combined, which means that I display elements of both hyperactivity and inattentiveness.<\/p>\n

I have trouble focusing, but my mind can also be incredibly frenzied. I can be pretty disorganised at the best of times, but there\u2019s equally a lot of energy passing through me: my leg is always jittering up and down, and I\u2019m often fidgeting.<\/p>\n

Hearing those words come out of his mouth was a complete relief, as though years of struggle had been validated in one fell swoop. It taught me that I wasn\u2019t broken \u2013 my brain was just a little bit different. For the first time, everything made sense.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t get me wrong: I completely see why someone \u2013 neurodivergent or otherwise \u2013 would try to focus on the many positives that living with ADHD can bring. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s not a one-size-fits-all experience, but I personally know that I\u2019m constantly overflowing with ideas, I can jump into action in a crisis, I\u2019m highly creative, and I\u2019m incredibly passionate. So much so that I can end up hyperfixated on my special interests for hours. <\/p>\n

But when I\u2019m crying on my bedroom floor because my room\u2019s a mess and I physically can\u2019t tidy it up; I\u2019ve forgotten to pay a bill, or my mind has been racing so much that sleep has been replaced by insomnia, these positives don\u2019t always come to me. And in these low moments, I certainly don\u2019t feel as though I have a superpower. <\/p>\n

All I can feel is frustration. It\u2019s dark, and it can be lonely. These aren\u2019t moments that trend on TikTok.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\tADHD Awareness Month 2025\t\t\t<\/h2>\n
\n

Taking place every October, the theme for this year\u2019s ADHD Awareness Month is \u2018The Many Faces of ADHD.\u2019<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s not just neurodivergent people who should care about ADHD: there\u2019s value in those without the condition understanding it, too. No amount of awareness is too great, and one of the best things neurotypical people can do for us is give us allyship.<\/p>\n

With that in mind, Metro Lifestyle will be embarking on a weekly series of ADHD content throughout October that aims to demystify what it truly means to live with this vastly misunderstood condition. <\/p>\n

Our brains are a little bit different, and that\u2019s okay. Now, let us tell you all about it. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Calling ADHD a superpower might sound positive, but it glosses over the reality that living with it can be genuinely debilitating. It suggests we can turn our struggles into assets if we just try hard enough.<\/p>\n

When we think about superheroes and special \u2018powers,\u2019 we might conjure up images of benevolent saviours in capes. In one way or another, they\u2019re usually there to save the world.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t see how I\u2019m supposed to fit that trope. The reality is that ADHD still holds so much stigma and misunderstanding \u2013 and likening it to a \u2018superpower\u2019 completely downplays the reality that the estimated 3 million Brits living with it face every single day. <\/p>\n

In 2024, one study from pharmaceutical company Takeda found that 96% of people with ADHD said they were hesitant to tell their workplace about their diagnosis. <\/p>\n

Almost three-quarters attributed this towards fear of judgment, while around half worried that it could be used against them. <\/p>\n

Against that backdrop, we\u2019re perpetually inundated with misleading headlines about our community: that ADHD is being \u2018overdiagnosed\u2019 now. In 2023, the BBC went as far as to send a reporter out to private ADHD clinics to see if he could obtain a diagnosis, despite not having the condition. <\/p>\n

In the aftermath, charity ADHD UK polled 2,203 people living with the condition and found that 90% believed that ADHD stigma increased in the aftermath of its airing, while 88% were concerned that it wasn\u2019t fair in its representation. <\/p>\n

And so, this ADHD Awareness Month, the best thing that we as a community can do for ourselves is to leave behind this \u2018superhero\u2019 narrative. I wouldn\u2019t change my diagnosis for the world; understanding who I am and how my brain works has forever changed my life. But ADHD doesn\u2019t need a motivational spin or a cape; it just needs understanding.<\/p>\n

To suggest that it\u2019s not a completely disabling condition that so many continue to misjudge is, for me, a complete falsehood. Society owes us more than that.<\/p>\n

Do you have a story to share?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Get in touch by emailing MetroLifestyleTeam@Metro.co.uk<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p>\n


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