Nah, that’s the thing with mental disorders and other things: They’re usually just an imbalance of otherwise normal behaviors/moods/etc. Most people should be able to relate to most mental disorders.
They just shouldn’t do the, “lol I’m so OCD!” thing, because that trivializes how nasty the real disorders get. The people with the disorders don’t just have flashes of silly desires or emotions (usually), but rather a literally debilitating to normal daily life disorder that no one would want to deal with.
I always find this interesting because my story went something like this:
“ADHD are just people with normal impulses, but more frequent and less able to control them”
“I’m smart and able to multitask really well. Sure I fixate on things sometimes but everyone does. And of course I can have that espresso before bed. Caffeine doesn’t affect me.”
“Everyone creates patterns in their life to remember basic things. Counting steps in my daily routine, time boxing tasks with alarms, and giving myself lots of little rewards is just efficient time management. I wouldn’t call it a coping mechanism”
“Having kids is stressful and my patterns are broken, that’s normal right? I should talk to someone.”
“What do you mean I’m ‘ADHD as fuck’. You’re a doctor, that’s not appropriate language”
“This medication reduces a lot of my internal anxiety and let’s be be in control of my life. I had no idea normal people felt like this all the time”
So, please, tell us how neurodivergent traits all seem normal to you. And welcome to the club.
ADHD is a great example, because EVERYONE has flips of attention or forgets what they were saying. They ARE normal behaviors, they just happen way more often to people with the disorder.
That’s also why they’re so easy to rationalize away.
I say this because there is too much self-diagnosis going on and too much trivialization, not because people excuse their disorders instead of seek help. Most people that need help cannot even consider getting it due to cost.
The gross harm trivialization does should not be sidestepped just because it can be said to happen sometimes. I do not speak from personal experience, but from talking to ‘normies’. THEY do not understand how nasty the real disorders are, and they also use this exact kind of joke to dismiss it.
I want to DE-normalize the use of the medical terms by non-medical people, not to raise awareness of how many people have disorders. The joke as portayed in the post is normalizing the disorders, not raising awareness. Someone disinterested in their task shares A LOT of qualities and thought processes of an ADHD person. Of course a psychologist or psychiatrist should easily tell the difference… but do the uneducated? Are the teenagers and immature who are willing to wear a condition without diagnosis able to tell?
Mind, I still laughed at the joke, I just want to push back against some interpretations of it.
I would agree with you except that there’s a massive disparity of diagnosis based on gender and race and age. There are a lot of absolutely valid self-diagnosis out there, by people who have been overlooked by the system.
“ADHD are just people with normal impulses, but more frequent and less able to control them”
I mean that is a pretty good description of it. The impulses aren’t a neurodivergent trait, it’s the frequency and reduced ability to control them that are neurodivergent.
Yeah but it’s really funny to say “I’m so ocd” to the sorts of shit that got me diagnosed with it. “I’m so ocd my panic takes a spiral pattern” or “I’m so ocd I have to check if I locked my car door 3 times, not 2, not 4, maybe 6, but sometimes 9”
Nah, that’s the thing with mental disorders and other things: They’re usually just an imbalance of otherwise normal behaviors/moods/etc. Most people should be able to relate to most mental disorders.
They just shouldn’t do the, “lol I’m so OCD!” thing, because that trivializes how nasty the real disorders get. The people with the disorders don’t just have flashes of silly desires or emotions (usually), but rather a literally debilitating to normal daily life disorder that no one would want to deal with.
"I have to sort my books!’ she cried,
With self-indulgent glee;
With senseless, narcissistic pride:
‘I’m just so OCD!’
‘How random, guys!’ I smiled and said,
Then left without a peep -
And washed my hands until they bled,
And cried myself to sleep."
Sprog??
I always find this interesting because my story went something like this:
“ADHD are just people with normal impulses, but more frequent and less able to control them”
“I’m smart and able to multitask really well. Sure I fixate on things sometimes but everyone does. And of course I can have that espresso before bed. Caffeine doesn’t affect me.”
“Everyone creates patterns in their life to remember basic things. Counting steps in my daily routine, time boxing tasks with alarms, and giving myself lots of little rewards is just efficient time management. I wouldn’t call it a coping mechanism”
“Having kids is stressful and my patterns are broken, that’s normal right? I should talk to someone.”
“What do you mean I’m ‘ADHD as fuck’. You’re a doctor, that’s not appropriate language”
“This medication reduces a lot of my internal anxiety and let’s be be in control of my life. I had no idea normal people felt like this all the time”
So, please, tell us how neurodivergent traits all seem normal to you. And welcome to the club.
You just described me perfectly. I’m currently at the “What do you mean ‘I’m ADHD as fuck’” step.
ADHD is a great example, because EVERYONE has flips of attention or forgets what they were saying. They ARE normal behaviors, they just happen way more often to people with the disorder.
That’s also why they’re so easy to rationalize away.
I say this because there is too much self-diagnosis going on and too much trivialization, not because people excuse their disorders instead of seek help. Most people that need help cannot even consider getting it due to cost.
The gross harm trivialization does should not be sidestepped just because it can be said to happen sometimes. I do not speak from personal experience, but from talking to ‘normies’. THEY do not understand how nasty the real disorders are, and they also use this exact kind of joke to dismiss it.
I want to DE-normalize the use of the medical terms by non-medical people, not to raise awareness of how many people have disorders. The joke as portayed in the post is normalizing the disorders, not raising awareness. Someone disinterested in their task shares A LOT of qualities and thought processes of an ADHD person. Of course a psychologist or psychiatrist should easily tell the difference… but do the uneducated? Are the teenagers and immature who are willing to wear a condition without diagnosis able to tell?
Mind, I still laughed at the joke, I just want to push back against some interpretations of it.
I would agree with you except that there’s a massive disparity of diagnosis based on gender and race and age. There are a lot of absolutely valid self-diagnosis out there, by people who have been overlooked by the system.
I agree it is a problem as well. These are two sides of the same coin.
I mean that is a pretty good description of it. The impulses aren’t a neurodivergent trait, it’s the frequency and reduced ability to control them that are neurodivergent.
I’m so quirky my new kitchen was delivered and in boxes while I microwaved everything for 14 months 🤷♂️
Yeah but it’s really funny to say “I’m so ocd” to the sorts of shit that got me diagnosed with it. “I’m so ocd my panic takes a spiral pattern” or “I’m so ocd I have to check if I locked my car door 3 times, not 2, not 4, maybe 6, but sometimes 9”