Can ADHD Be a Good Thing?

If you have been diagnosed with ADHD, you may feel like the world has something against you. After all, the word “disorder” is right there in the name, and disorders tend to be bad things. However, if you ask the average person with ADHD, they’re liable to tell you that there are just as many benefits as drawbacks. In fact, if you view the drawbacks as nothing more than minor inconveniences, then you can actually think of ADHD as a great thing.

Modern mental health practices have come a long way and do great things for people, but there’s definitely something a little misguided about putting negative labels on so-called “disorders” that are really just unconventional personality traits. The world would be boring if everyone’s minds worked the same way, and we should in fact consider ourselves lucky to live in a world with such diversity.

If ADHD is a “disorder,” then the ideal mind is like this: Slow and deliberate in its thinking, able to focus and concentrate on things at length, and capable of multitasking. If you look at the opposite of this—that is, a mind that can’t think deliberately, can’t focus, and can’t multitask—and call it ADHD, then there’s no doubt that it is a disorder. But ADHD can just as easily be cast in a more positive light. For example, what if you had a mind that was capable of thinking quickly, grasping broad concepts without getting bogged down in details, and was enthusiastic about a broad variety of topics? This wouldn’t be so bad.

Whichever type of mind you would prefer to have, there’s no denying that there are attributes of the ADHD mind that can be regarded as positive. In addition to those qualities I just mentioned, people with ADHD also tend to be able to think outside of the box. They are passionate and creative, and they tend to have a lot of energy. And here’s the thing about the issue of focus: When an ADHD person works on something that he or she is truly interested in, their level of focus will be unmatched. They just have trouble focusing on things they don’t care about—and really, who can blame them for that?

Fortunately, these ideas are beginning to catch on, and there have been numerous books and scientific studies that actually find much to praise about ADHD. The condition is likely to be saddled with its unfortunate name for a long time, but the reality is that the ADHD mind is just different, and it’s certainly nothing to be ashamed of.