ADHD is a terrible name.
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.
That doesn’t sound like me. In fact, when my wife first suggested I look into ADHD after hearing some symptoms from a friend, I immediately said “there’s no way I have ADHD.”
“I can’t have ADHD because I have no problem focusing on the things I’m interested in.”
That’s what I thought ADHD was. No ability to focus on anything for more than a few seconds. The kid who always got in trouble in class, literally bouncing off the walls.
That version didn’t really sound like me so I ruled it out.
Then I learned about hyperfocus, and how people with ADHD often had no problem focusing on the things they are interested in. In fact, they often get lost in the things they’re interested in. Spending hours hyperfocused on some hobby without even realizing how much time was passing.
Uh oh. That did sound a lot like me.
So why was I so quick to dismiss the idea initially before learning more about it?
Let’s break apart that name, Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.
“Attention-Deficit”
Right from the start, we have a phrase that doesn’t really sound like how my attention works. My attention is not in deficit. It is in SURPLUS. I’m paying attention to so many little details that it’s hard to keep them straight.
Even when I am distracted by something and stuck in hyperfocus, it does not feel like a deficit of attention. It feels more like I’m focusing a massive amount of attention energy at a single thing.
The label of “attention-deficit” simply doesn’t sound like how it feels to have ADHD.
We don’t lack attention. We just lack the ability to regulate it.
“Hyperactivity”
The truth is, many people with ADHD simply don’t have any outward hyperactivity at all. This often leads to people going undiagnosed because the “hyperactive” language just doesn’t apply to how they actually feel.
And even if you have a hyperactive brain with lots of internalized hyperactivity like racing thoughts, so many ideas they drown each other out, or reliving past experiences that distract you from the present... none of those looks outwardly hyperactive so the label just doesn’t seem to fit.
A Better Name
Sometimes I wonder if I would’ve been diagnosed earlier if the name had been more accurate, so I could identify myself within the name instead of dismissing it.
Kind of like the concept of RSD (Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria), a name that I almost immediately thought, “Ooh I think I have that, what is that?”
A few years ago, I asked on social media for some alternative things ADHD could stand for, and these are a few of my favorite:
Another Day Has Disappeared
Always Dehydrated Hydration Disorder
Appointments Don’t Have Dates
Always Doing Happy Dances
What would you rename ADHD if given the chance?
This week’s worksheet: The Name Doesn’t Fit.
Another Discussion Heavily Distracted or more seriously Serotonin Dysregulation Syndrome.
I say it's high time to ditch the negative optics of "deficits" and "dysfunction" (noting of course that these accurately describe psychomotor metrics that fall outside of the 95% normative distribution and are therefore abnormal) and perhaps call it what it is from a functional perspective: Hyper-vigilance Hyper-focus Syndrome.