Eleanor Noyce, a lifestyle reporter, has written a personal essay arguing that the popular 'ADHD as a superpower' narrative is a form of toxic positivity that ignores the real difficulties of living with the condition. She describes her own experience with combined ADHD, diagnosed in November 2021 at age 23, and explains why she believes the community should abandon this framing.
The 'Superpower' Narrative and Its Appeal
Noyce recalls that after her diagnosis, her social media feed was filled with neurodivergent people encouraging others to view ADHD as an asset. She cites Paris Hilton, who also has ADHD, telling People magazine: 'My mind is constantly racing. But I see it as a superpower because it's fuelled so much of my creativity, my imagination, my ability to think outside the box.'
Initially, Noyce wanted to believe this framing, but she soon realised it did not work for her. She argues that the 'superpower' version of ADHD does not exist for everyone, and that it glosses over the reality that living with the condition can be genuinely debilitating.
The Reality of Living with ADHD
Noyce describes her own struggles: running late, clumsiness, leaving tasks until the last minute, and ongoing mental health difficulties. As a teenager, she was prescribed SSRIs and beta blockers and recommended meditation, but nothing worked because none of it addressed the underlying issue.
She notes that there are three types of ADHD – inattentive, hyperactive, and combined – and that she displays elements of both hyperactivity and inattentiveness. The diagnosis brought relief, but also grief for the more than 20 years she spent not understanding her own brain.
Stigma and Misrepresentation
The article highlights that ADHD still carries significant stigma. Noyce references a 2023 BBC investigation in which a reporter obtained a diagnosis from private clinics without having the condition. In its aftermath, charity ADHD UK polled 2,203 people and found that 90% believed ADHD stigma increased, while 88% were concerned about the fairness of its representation.
Data cited in the piece shows that between 2000 and 2018, there was a twenty-fold increase in ADHD diagnoses, and an almost fifty-fold increase in prescriptions to men aged 18-29. The ADHD Foundation estimates that between 50% and 70% of the 1,000,000 women in the UK living with ADHD are undiagnosed. The condition still only impacts between 2% and 6% of the world's population.
A Call for Understanding
Noyce concludes that ADHD does not need a motivational spin; it needs understanding. She writes: 'To suggest that it's not a completely disabling condition that so many continue to misjudge is, for me, a complete falsehood.' She adds that society owes people with ADHD more than the simplistic 'superhero' narrative.
