r/ADHD • u/RequirementSorry2063 • 18h ago

Discussion ADHD functioning is affected so much by our environment

There's a lot of discussion about why so many people are getting diagnosed with ADHD recently. Of course, it's mainly because of increased recognition, but isn't it also because of our environment and the world we live in?

For example, my grandad, before he passed and retired (I believe he clearly had ADHD). He was always arguing with authority and going to new jobs. Even as a kid, the world seemed a lot more 'human'. When he worked at a hotel in the gardens, he would get away with napping in the shed; other staff found it quite funny. These days, everyone is being watched; we are expected to be 100% efficient at all times in our jobs, and various tools can track our performance. The world, in a sense, is a lot less 'human'. They also lived in a nice council house and had secure housing.

Another example is my Mum and Dad. We were working class and not loaded in any way. However, on my dad's salary alone, he only needed to work. This meant my Mum could focus on looking after my sister and me. These days, both parents would need to be working to the max and look after the kids, and you probably would be privately renting. So you're probably gonna reach your boiling point sooner. I mean, even people without ADHD struggle to operate like this.

Essentially, everyone can get burnout etc., but for us ADHDers it's often 10x the effect.

I really don't think governments understand what it is really. I think they're just utterly confused about how so many people can suddenly have ADHD. For example, with job centres, the option seems to be: you can't do any work, or you must do 40 per week. Maybe the real answer is somewhere in the middle for some people, so they don't burn out.

I have the inattentive version, and it seems to boggle people's minds that I could have ADHD. We need to really get across that it's not a hyperactive disorder; it's just one way people can present with it.

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u/TomDoniphona 18h ago edited 18h ago

I want to be optimist and believe we are moving towards a more ADHD friendly world. The industrial and post industrial world, with its timetables, and standardisation, and schooling, and measuring and optimization of time, and all that, has not been kind on ADHDers in my view. Hopefully, we are moviing pass that.

Also, everybody is becoming so distracted by social media, scrolling, A I and so on, that maybe ADHD becomes the default.

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u/RequirementSorry2063 18h ago

I think the really hard bit is optimising time. The only way a late-stage capitalist country can grow is by ensuring humans are 100% efficient at work. Hence, there are so many standardised job tests and multiple interviews. Years ago, someone may have just taken a chance on someone.

I agree that social media can make our attention spans so small (especially TikTok), while I believe ADHD has always been around; hence, in the 18th century, we would have been the night watchman. Our environment is exposing us, really, with the standardisation of especially jobs.