getting diagnosed with adhd as an adult is basically having a doctor tell you that a bunch of the things you thought of as universal human experiences were actually Symptoms of Problems Disorder so it shouldn't be surprising that someone can say "enjoying content consumption is actually a symptom" and a bunch of people will go "oh goddammit, another one?"
like, the last time you tried to say "no, everyone does that" you turned out to be clinically wrong so the best you can do is just
[Image ID: "That doesn't sound right but I don't really know enough about not having ADHD to dispute it."]
and yeah there's also the fact that a lot of the ways that adhd manifests are just "Normal Thing, But Too Much"
like if i said "i can't stop eating chips which is a symptom of adhd" as if neurotypical people do not also eat too many chips that would sound fucking bonkers but i am on my second bag of salt and vinegar chips, i cannot stop, i want to stop, i feel sick, i have chemical burns in my mouth and my teeth hurt, my tongue is numb, i keep trying to put the chips away but they're good so i just keep picking them back up again and as soon as they run out i will want to go to the store for more chips, skin is sloughing off the inside of my mouth and i know i need to stop but like it's good tho
and if i said "watching bad tv is a symptom of adhd" as if neurotypicals haven't been watching garbage shows since the tv was invented, that's fucking stupid, but i am so fucking tired and i haven't eaten and i need to shower, i don't even like this show why am i still watching it, i need to stop watching it, i have to be awake in three hours but every time i try to turn off the tv and go to bed i just keep thinking about this show and i can't fall asleep so i just turn it back on hoping that maybe i'll pass out and maybe my brain will reset once i'm asleep and i can be free of this, i want to be free of this, it's not even a good show why am i being disgusting for this terrible show, i don't know where the last twenty hours went because it doesn't feel like it's been that long
so like. eating chips and watching tv is not a symptom of adhd. but if i see someone talking about how they can't stop eating junk food or watching a show they don't even like, maybe i will think back to Bad Times and wonder if this person is like me, if they are trapped getting hooked on random stimuli, and maybe i will mention it. because maybe things would have been different if someone had mentioned it to me.
