TW: mentions of gr***ing

Khushi Kumari Gupta is neurodivergent. Yep, I said it. Specifically undiagnosed ADHD. I’m no psychologist but there’s so much evidence in the show to imply her neurodivergence (ND).

(I also have adhd-nd and she’s very relatable).

I’ll attempt to skim the show and find specific instances in a later post if anyone is interested but from the top of my head, the one example that I can recall that showcases her ND, is when she accidentally slaps Arnav. This scene highlights her impulsivity and her being out of touch with social norms. Her general personality is much like this, she’s very offbeat, I think it goes deeper than general ‘quirkiness’ or ‘manic pixie dream girl’ syndrome. Just generally will go over some of her traits that indicate her ND/ADHD; excessive daydreaming, impulsivity, inclination for drama, poor understanding of social norms (not in the same way a person with autism struggles, people with ADHD can read the room but their reactions may be inappropriate at times - suicide track ), fixations, self soothing behaviours (fidgeting, making jalebi when upset), her childlike behaviour/immaturity for her age (expanding on this below).

(Pic from Pinterest)

People with ND take slightly longer to mature, it’s a bit of paradox as when they’re children they’re seen ‘mature’ for their age but that becomes the opposite at early adulthood (this is a generalisation and not every person with ND fits the same narrative, but myself and my friends experienced this dynamic and a lot of people with ND relate to this phenomenon). Khushi seemingly also fits into this narrative, when we first meet her, she first comes across as ‘mature’ (on surface level), she’s also heavily masking but we see her childlike nature as the show progresses, this also quickly becomes dark in hindsight, ( TW) Shyam essentially grooms Khushi, yes she’s an adult but she’s a young adult (be it 18 or 22), an on top of that a young adult woman with ND. I don’t mean to infantilise women with ND but there is a marked difference in development and understanding; young adult women with ND are also known to be more likely at risk of s***** abuse and grooming as predators are drawn to their lack of boundaries, experience and understanding.

But I digress, I know this is a controversial take and I hope I didn’t offend anyone making this post; especially women with ND who might read this, I honestly went of my own experience, my friends (I have many friends with diagnosed ND who had the same experience of feeling mentally younger and being infantilised) and basically what I did at uni, I worked with people learning disabilities - for the life of me, I wish I could reference the last claim, I vividly remember reading it somewhere (online article/book) but I couldn’t find it 😭💖 - but please remember that this was a generalisation and it doesn’t mean every individual with ND has the same experience xx