So I'm somewhat sure I have ADD but I just can't shake the feeling that it's all learned behaviour that's reinforced overtime as a way to deal with stress and obstacles. Is that true or is there actually a mental disorder component to it? That being said Ive followed the same patterns since I was 6 so it would be pretty damn hard to undo it now. Not trying to minimize it or anything I just feel so conflicted about the whole thing.
Posted Mar 4, 2022, 5:51 PM UTC
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theres a real problem for people who have ADD/ADHD bc our literal transmitters don’t work right. theres a lot about the neurological online regarding the topic. (:
It's not a weird question AT ALL! We all wonder that same thing sometimes.
Everything that is learned, is learned because it was reinforced/rewarded. By definition it's more rewarding to do things the easy way than the hard way - for everyone. People with ADHD avoid doing things that other people find fairly easy because it's not as easy for them.
I had an epiphany when I was really struggling with depression a few years ago. I wanted to get better and everyone told me "Just get out of bed. Just do something, anything, outside of your bed." So I tried to sit in the living room (the only other room in my tiny apartment). I couldn't do it. I could not spend time anywhere except my bedroom.
And then one day I realized it's because I have no curtains in the living room and the sunlight worsened my migraines.
That's it. A set of fucking CURTAINS practically cured my depression. Not just because I could get out of bed, but because I realized it wasn't my shitty personality or laziness - there was a REAL obstacle. I learned to avoid the living room because it literally hurt and all the encouragement to "try harder" was bullshit because I was never ever going to "try harder" to give myself a friggin migraine.
??????????? If you actually have add then it’s literally a neurological disorder, it has nothing to do with learned behaviour that’s just internalized ableism and ignorance bs. You brain is literally different
I think that to a point it is. Our brains are different that’s true. If it’s a situation where we grow up without an understanding of why we do what we do, or even if we lack self awareness about our behaviors then we’ll try to get the same results as our non adhd peers. We might learn to cope by acting defensive, working around our disorder, or falling into learned helplessness behaviors. Our neurological differences impact how we react to situations in our daily lives and that could result in unhealthy behaviors.
Oh I completely agree that we can and do develop unhealthy behaviour and it impacts the way we react but the post asks if it’s ALL learned behaviour. That implies that they believe that ADD is a learned behaviour that can somehow be undone. And is not asking about our habits that are formed because of it. That’s the part I was referring to.
Ohhhh, I must’ve misunderstood the post and then thought you meant that adhd has nothing to do with it at all 😂. My apologies broski ✌️
I just gotta get tested for it coz otherwise I'll go around in circlesin my head thinking I'm lazy. But it's good to hear what yall had to say. Just gotta find someone in my small town who can do it