Why does everyone suddenly have ADHD?
A genuine question
Before anyone starts furiously typing into LinkedIn about harmful narratives, let me make something clear. ADHD is absolutely real. I know people whose lives have been transformed by finally understanding how their brains work and getting proper support. This is not about mocking that at all.
But surely I’m not the only one who’s noticed that recently, half the internet has apparently self-diagnosed itself after watching TikTok or reading an article on a newsfeed after they forgot where they left their glasses. Suddenly every mildly chaotic bit of human behaviour is being reframed as a neurological condition.
Can’t concentrate in meetings? ADHD.
Started three jobs and finished none of them? ADHD.
Walked upstairs and forgotten why you went there? ADHD.
Bought an air fryer at midnight after three margaritas and a scroll through Instagram? Apparently also ADHD.
At some point we need to acknowledge that modern life itself has become completely bonkers. Most of us are juggling work, ageing parents, grown-up children, mortgages, menopause, WhatsApp groups, twelve passwords, unread emails and a brain that’s had about six hours interrupted sleep and too much caffeine for the last decade.
Honestly, if you can still remember where your car keys are at all times under those conditions, you deserve a commemorative plaque from the King.
I also think we’ve forgotten that the human condition is naturally anxious, distracted and forgetful to some extent. We all sit somewhere on a spectrum. Some people absolutely need diagnosis and support. Others are simply overloaded, exhausted and permanently “on”.
You can only process so much before your brain starts waving a tiny white flag.
The problem is that we now live in a world where nobody is ever properly off duty. We stare at screens all day, consume information in eight-second bursts, answer messages while cooking dinner and feel vaguely guilty if we sit quietly for twenty minutes without “being productive”. Then we wonder why we can’t focus.
Some of the most entrepreneurial people I know are gloriously chaotic. They interrupt themselves, lose notebooks, get distracted halfway through conversations and have brains that move at 900 miles an hour. They also happen to build businesses, solve problems and create opportunities.
Perhaps instead of pathologising every bit of ordinary human frazzle, we should spend a bit more time looking after ourselves. Stop listening to podcasts while simultaneously replying to emails while waiting in the car to pick up your kids. In other words, give your poor brain a fighting chance. Go for a walk without your phone. Read a book slowly. Sit in the garden.
Because not every forgotten password is a disorder. Sometimes you’re just a knackered middle-aged human being trying to hold together modern life without accidentally putting the washing tablets in the fridge.
Which, to be fair, I’ve done twice.
If you genuinely think you may have ADHD, don’t get a cheap online diagnosis. Find out for sure by going to see a properly qualified clinical psychologist.