Disclaimer: I have no quarrel with the mods using the term in the creation of this community. I understand why they chose it, as even if they share my disagreement with the term when applied to ADHD, there’s not really a better inclusive term. “Mental illness” is really the only other option, and naming a community that would probably invite darker discussions that the mods might not be prepared to handle.
Another disclaimer: I think the term is perfectly valid when applied to autism, as autism is not, to the best of my knowledge, a mental illness so much as a difference in processing. Being autistic is only “bad” in the sense that our society discourages autistic traits. (Apologies if this is wrong; I’m neither autistic nor especially knowledgeable about autism.)
The term “neurodivergent” implies that there’s nothing wrong with you if you have ADHD–you’re just special and different. But my ADHD is an illness that requires treatment. A lot of people will tell you that the only reason ADHDers struggle is because society is set up wrong, but I don’t think that’s true, at least for me. Being unable to remember anything, unable to self-start, and hypersensitive to rejection would be massive problems in any world. Sure, the world today is particularly brutal for ADHDers in a way we could probably mitigate if we reorganized society to be kinder, but that doesn’t mean ADHD isn’t ultimately a disorder that some people need to treat with medication and therapy.
I think ADHD is absolutely only a mental illness because of the way society is set up. But that doesn’t mean society is set up wrong, there simply is no longer an evolutionary need for anyone to have ADHD. I don’t need medication and therapy, I just need it to be a modern civilized person. If society required me to go hunt for food then I wouldn’t bother taking my medication.
See, this is the precise opposite of how I feel about it. I put off getting food when it’s as easy as walking to the kitchen and putting it into the microwave. How would I survive if getting food was actually hard? The more difficult I expect something to be, the more I procrastinate on it. I’d put off foraging or just forget about it until it was too late in the year, then starve. Or I’d impulsively eat half my stores. The hunter brain hypothesis is unproven, and I find it uncompelling because of how antithetical it is to my experience. My brain wiring is actively detrimental to my own continued existence.
There’s also the not insignificant factor of ADHD-related conditions like depression, anxiety, and RSD having taken a signifcant toll on my mental health. The likelihood that I would just kill myself without meds is high.
And this is a minor point, but I would be so bored as a hunter-gatherer. There would be hardly any stimulation.
I think you’ve had a much different experience than I have. I guess I just rely on medication less than some people do. But, I still think neurodivergent is a fine term to use for ADHD. I don’t think it implies that there’s nothing wrong you are just different. Different does not mean negative or positive, its just irregular. So something negative is just as much a form of neurodivergence as something neutral or even positive.
I think a hunter-gather with adhd would definitely be the hunter. Constant stimulation, problem solving, and thrill. Our ability to get distracted by things around us would keep us safe from predators. Our ability to forget to eat would help while we were out in the field. Hunting then would not being like now, sitting in a tree stand for hours until something walks by. It would be traipsing through the forest, looking for clues of animals, listening for animals hunting us, and then getting praise for our efforts when we brought back the kill. The forest is full of stimulating sites and sounds, much different than an office or a cubicle.
Then again, my adhd is minor, I don’t rely on medication, so my perspective could be way off. Just what I think.