What is ADHD?

ADHD is an acronym for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

It is widely agreed in the ADHD community that this is not a fitting name for what ADHD in reality is!

ADHDers don’t have an attention deficit, they can pay attention really well actually. What they lack is the ability to choose what to pay attention to.

ADHDers are motivated by interest, whereas neurotypical people are motivated by importance.

This can lead to difficulties functioning well in society, where being on time and doing uninteresting tasks in the moment for a favorable future outcome are required and expected for most jobs and interactions.

ADHD brains are wired differently and have a different chemical balance. This means that ADHD is not curable.

However, it can be extremely well managed with a combination of informed treatment options like stimulant medication, ADHD Life Coaching, CBT or DBT, nutritional changes, exercise, sleep management - just to name a few.

Hyperactivity can often be seen in young children with ADHD. However, there are forms of ADHD that don’t show in physical hyperactivity, but rather a hyperactive brain - a vast amount of thoughts at any given time, without the ability to organize and prioritize them.

It is estimated that about 8% of children and 5% of adults worldwide have ADHD.

ADHD occurs in all cultures, ages and genders, and it does not affect the intellect. Many very successful people have ADHD.

Some positive traits of ADHD are: the ability to stay calm in stressful situations, a huge amount of empathy, curiosity, creative “out of the box” thinking, an entrepreneurial wit, spontaneity.

Some darker sides of untreated ADHD are a heightened risk for drug addiction, risk seeking behavior leading to a higher accident rate and to more criminal activities - an estimated 75% of the prison population has ADHD. 

Untreated ADHD can lead to issues with keeping relationships and jobs, finishing education, a loss of confidence, a feeling of not reaching ones full potential, depression, loneliness, poverty, confusion, a lack of concentration... the list goes on.

Properly treated ADHD reduces all the above risks tremendously and can lead to a happy, fulfilled, integrated and successful life.