A friend recently called my adhd a disease and it got me extremely angry and hurt. They didn’t have bad intentions, I don’t think they think that I need to be “cured” but it probably came from a more ignorant perspective.
But how do you feel about it? How would you handle that situation?
To me calling it a disease implies that my neurodivergence is wrong, that I should seek some sort of cure, which I find stupid and mostly laughable, but I guess hearing it from them hit some nerve and it felt like a personal attack. As if they were saying that as long as I have adhd I am not okay and that my struggles are my fault for not seeking a cure.
Just somehow it instantly made me so hurt and angry and I couldn’t help but feel insulted and small.
More accurate than calling it a superpower. I hate that crap.
It’s a disorder, something that makes daily life more difficult. Yes it can be treated, but never cured (thus far).
Parkinson’s is adisease of the mind, and it often garners pity and sympathy. ADHD is treated as an “excuse” for bad behavior, since it’s invisible (save for behavior that is undesirable).
More than anything, how ADHD is seen by the ignorant majority is why it has any stigma at all.
Yeah fuck the whole “it’s a superpower” bullshit. It really fucking isn’t, it’s debilitating and it’s hell to deal with to try to function at all.