We know… but nice to have it scientifically proven
this post was submitted on 14 Oct 2025
2 points (100.0% liked)
ADHD
12142 readers
1 users here now
A casual community for people with ADHD
Values:
Acceptance, Openness, Understanding, Equality, Reciprocity.
Rules:
- No abusive, derogatory, or offensive post/comments.
- No porn, gore, spam, or advertisements allowed.
- Do not request for donations.
- Do not link to other social media or paywalled content.
- Do not gatekeep or diagnose.
- Mark NSFW content accordingly.
- No racism, homophobia, sexism, ableism, or ageism.
- Respectful venting, including dealing with oppressive neurotypical culture, is okay.
- Discussing other neurological problems like autism, anxiety, ptsd, and brain injury are allowed.
- Discussions regarding medication are allowed as long as you are describing your own situation and not telling others what to do (only qualified medical practitioners can prescribe medication).
Encouraged:
- Funny memes.
- Welcoming and accepting attitudes.
- Questions on confusing situations.
- Seeking and sharing support.
- Engagement in our values.
Relevant Lemmy communities:
lemmy.world/c/adhd will happily promote other ND communities as long as said communities demonstrate that they share our values.
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
How does one quantify "creativity?" Seems like a pretty subjective kind of thing.
My guess is because we have to develop creative problem solving skills in order to mask symptoms to avoid the stigma of ADHD or accomplish a similar level of productivity or accomplishment in work/life as those without ADHD.
Creativity and ADHD/neurodiversity has long been associated with each other but I don’t think the reason is predominately due to the brain wiring but more due to the environment in which we live. It is a coping mechanism for living in a world not built to accommodate.
True, though it's also possible that the more "chaotic" nature of thoughts and neural connections in ADHD individuals inherently puts us at an advantage in creative tasks which expect people to make new connections between ideas. Like most things in psychology, the answer is likely a combination.
True as well, it is most likely a combination of many things, both nature and nurture related.
When is there ever a single cause for a behavior when we are studying a complex disorder with decades of unique life experiences layered on top of each person that affect the symptoms of that disorder?
There are an infinite number of variations and to boil it down to one thing is not helpful.
I didn’t intend for my statement to infer that, apologies if it did.
As a psychologist myself, it's a running joke in my domain that the answer to every question is "it depends"
Also I didn't take your statement as definitive, I just used it as a jumping off point to discuss other potential variables
I dunno, I've seen the shitty memes on the ADHD community. Every one is just: look at this totally normal behavior that I've randomly decided to attribute to adhd. Doesn't seem that creative
That's old news in research circles. ADHD has features you may or may not have: impulsivity, hyperactivity, and inattentiveness. Supposedly these traits are from a weakness in the brain that controls the "turning off" of other parts of the brain-- that is, you can't suppress as easily the thoughts and behaviors. I'm simplifying, btw, and why things like Adderall sometimes works or not kinda depends on what's causing that weakness (e.g. neurotransmitter uptake, underdeveloped section of brain, etc).
Now, imagine where creativity comes from. When your brain gets to just run without suppression, you think of weird shit. Those untethered thoughts can lead to creative inspiration, outside the box thinking, and so on.
There's other strengths to ADHD, too. Impulsivity under another label is initiative. Hyperactivity under another label is high energy. ADHD is often defined by how inconvenient it is for neurotypical folks, but it shouldn't. I mean, job posts frequently call for high energy free thinkers with initiative--- little does HR know they're asking for folks with ADHD! Lol
"workn in a fast-paced, dynamic environment."
It's kinda funny how we need a bit of structure and routine, but also absolutely need some chaos to make it work.