ADHD is a perplexing, frustrating, and disruptive condition still too often questioned and misunderstood. We are smart, people say. We just need to try harder, or get organized, or stop procrastinating. If only it were that easy. Here's the truth about why we can't always do what is good for us.
by June Silny
1. ADHD is Real
If you have ADHD, you know
it’s real. Too real. Inescapable and undeniable, in fact. But to anyone standing
outside our brains, ADHD is a confusing, contradictory concept.
My loved ones
scratch their heads, trying to reconcile my intelligence with my sometimes
careless, spaced-out, and clueless behavior. “How can such a smart, capable
person makes such foolish choices,” they ask. They become convinced that I just
don’t care or I’m not applying myself. “If you wanted to, you could do it,”
they say. When I insist that I can’t, the response is something like, “Don’t say you ‘can’t.’ That’s nonsense. You’re just
making excuses for something you don’t want to do.”
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