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 feel very differently about my ADHD and my queerness. My queerness is only a problem for me in that some of the people I share this world with want to eradicate me for it. There’s nothing wrong with it inherently. I like being queer, or at least I would if it didn’t result in so many people wanting to kill me.
I don’t feel that way about my ADHD. If I could cure it, I would. The problem with my brain isn’t that other people don’t like the way it works, it’s that the way it works is actively detrimental to my goals, desires, and very existence. Social change could mitigate but not erase the problems I face due to having it.
You have actually inadvertently highlighted one of the reasons I’m a little uneasy about the term “neurodivergence.” It feels less like a term for people who struggle than a fun club people can join to be rebellious, and I’m not sure how I feel about that. I’m okay with anyone who identifies as queer being allowed into the queer club, no questions asked. Pretty much the only requirement I have for the label “queer” is that you not be a (literal or figurative) cop. But it seems to me that the label “neurodivergent” takes a pre-existing label, “mentally ill,” and expands it to just… anyone who doesn’t like The Man keeping them down, I guess. I’m not sure I like that. I feel like maybe it dilutes the meaning of having a neurological difference a little.
I think I disagree with how you’re defining neurodivergence and I certainly feel differently about my ADHD.
ADHD is part of who I am, I really like how my brain functions and there are lots of benefits to thinking the way I do. The structure of society and to a large extend capitalism is what causes conflicts with my way of thinking. I am not wired to sit at a desk for 8 hours a day for the rest of my life. But that is what society demands it isn’t a problem with me
Yes my ADHD can make some of my personal goals more difficult, but I can manage that through medication and strategies like anything else that may prevent me from achieving my goals.
Lactose Intolerance prevents me from eating cheese, but I still want to eat cheese and am happy that I can take medication to do so; it’s a good thing that our economy isn’t built around a requirement to eat cheese though, treating those who can’t as lesser, other or wrong.
I don’t like the term mentally ill because it implies there is a normality or standard. It creates a false dichotomy between the ill and the not ill. I don’t accept that.
My brain is how it is, my ADHD is how it is, my depression is how it is. But it is my brain chemistry, it is unique to me, is is part of who I am physiologically and shapes who I am intellectually & spiritually.
I am not ill. I simply do no fit in society’s false idea of normality. I diverge from that idea.
I mean no disrespect, but does the fact that you have to take medication to achieve your personal goals not suggest that something is wrong, or at least that you would still need those meds in a socialist utopia? I don’t think there’s anything wrong with taking meds, but I wish I didn’t have to take meds in order to achieve my goals.
Lactose intolerance is actually perhaps a good analogy. Because, yes, life thankfully does not revolve around eating cheese, and you would certainly be much worse off if it did… but that doesn’t change the fact that eating cheese without your medication will make you sick. It’s still a problem you have to take meds for, even in a world where it’s relatively easy to avoid cheese.
That’s basically how I feel my ADHD would be without capitalism. Less bad, sure, but still a net negative that requires treatment and makes my life harder.
For more on why I consider my ADHD an illness, see my replies to Gaywallet later down the thread. It’s literally tried to kill me.
I don’t think taking meds are a bad thing or a suggestion that something is wrong
I brush my teeth with toothpaste to keep my mouth healthy, I wear shoes on my feet to keep them safe, people wear glasses to see and protect themselves from UV, I put on sunscreen to avoid cancer, I consume protein to help with the gains, I turn on the heater when I’m cold.
Humans make accommodations for our fleshy meat sacks all the time, I don’t subscribe to the idea that one is “wrong” compared to other because it’s classified as medication; our fleshy meat sacks don’t care it’s called medication.
I see taking Ritalin to help me focus no different that drinking coffee for the same purpose or using shampoo to stop my scalp getting all flakey.
If you’re speaking from a personal perspective about your own experience with your mental health, I understand. I’m more replying to your assertion that ADHD shouldn’t be a “neurodivergence” thing
I will say if your meds aren’t working for you, maybe try alternatives? I have loads of friends with ADHD and a bunch of us are on different scripts
I think the things you compared to meds are a little different in that most of what you listed is preventative, but point taken.
I’m not even necessarily saying that nobody with ADHD should call themself neurodivergent, even. It’s your choice how you identify. It’s just that some of the ideas people take away from that really bother me. Some people seem to have concluded that because they don’t think their ADHD is a detriment, it must not be a detriment for anyone, and you’re only suffering from a disease of capitalism. I’ve heard far too many people with otherwise decent politics claim that psychiatry should be abolished because under socialism, no one will need treatment.
My ADHD meds do work, I think. I’ve been on a couple kinds and these seem to work the best. There are certain things that none of the meds have made me not struggle with, though.
Some people are gonna have bad takes, but I don’t think that undermines neurodivergence as an umbrella term/identity people may resonate with