A lot of people complain here. What set the following to motion in my mind was someone complaining that ADHD is not a good thing and taking exception to people who celebrate certain aspects of ADHD.

I'm in my 40's now. My hyperactivity has worn away. And I miss it. There were things I liked about myself that I no longer am without the hyperactivity. Oh well.

I guess I was "high functioning". No one suggested it it as possible when I was a child, so I dismissed it until I'd screwed myself out of so many possible life paths. After diagnoses and meds I began to see how much ADHD did effect my life.

I can say, now, that ADHD does not seem to be a good thing.

But can we also stop thinking ADHD has to be a bad thing?

ADHD is a "disorder" because it impairs our ability to function successfully in today's society.
Society enforces unnatural norms.
Look at obesity and other health related statistics. It's not natural and it's not really healthy. Society has evolved much more rapidly than human brains can.

ADHD is hereditary. As such, its existence assuredly predates cubicle farms and the assembly line school system that was created to service the needs of the industrial revolution.
We've been here longer than the current society.

But everyone has to conform and, unfortunately, we have difficulty with this.

Societies sanction (i.e. punish) deviations from norms and mores. They do it with actual punishments and by labeling and stigmatising the violators of norms.

So, allegedly, we're lazy, we lack discipline, we lack moral fibre, or we're rebelling, or we're stupid. And now, we're "disordered."

But that's all bullshit. Look at history, and see how many societies were kinda fucked up.
Centuries from now, this society will be judged similarly.

Why should we ever accept any of those labels from this society?
We have to survive in it, move through it, and try to get along with it, but do we need to accept a society (and its judgements) when it tries to alienate us?

Some people here worry that taking ADHD meds feels like "cheating" and that blows my mind.
We have few options if we want normative success, or even just to get by, so I'd suggest that we're virtually forced to drug ourselves to conform.
That's not a "cheat" that's a fucking tragedy, just like all the self hate I see being posted.

There are places where we could be considered talented, assets even. But things just aren't organised in such a way that we can reach our potential. That's also tragic.

I'm not trying to give anyone excuses for giving up.
What I'm saying is that as long as we feel we've given our best, there's no reason to feel guilt or shame.
We're a bunch of square pegs. Why should we get all screwed up inside because we don't fit those round holes?
Get over it. Fuck the round holes.