3 Superpowers My ADHD Gave Me

Why I love my ADHD and wouldn’t change it for the world

Hi, thanks for stopping by. I’m Eliza and I have ADHD. This isn’t something I’ve always known. If you’d asked me two years ago, I’d probably describe myself differently.

Hi, I’m Eliza, and here’s what you can expect from me:

• I’ll never forget your birthday and I’ll always get excited about it
• I’ll be open to any creative or learning endeavor and become good at it in record time
• I’ll help you with anything you need while not neglecting my own responsibilities

These are just a few of the things I love about my brain. I write about ADHD a lot. I have two articles that have taken readers here on Medium by storm — and they both share some pretty bizarre habits of people with ADHD.

I also have a few articles detailing how my brain goes from one extreme to the other, and I reference how my ADHD makes me chaotic and inconsistent in every article I write after weeks of not writing at all.

But I haven’t yet written about the great things ADHD offers. I know this might sound surprising. There are good things about being neuro-divergent. My brain has caused me extreme confusion and dysfunctionality all my life, but I wouldn’t change it for a neurotypical one. Huh. Intriguing.

The truth is that ADHD isn’t all we believe it is. It’s not just hyperactivity, inattention, sensory issues, and extreme procrastination. It’s much more than that. So today I decided to share some of the silver linings of ADHD. Because there are many significant ones.

1. Learning skills wicked fast

ADHD comes with a need for dopamine and stimulation. That means learning new things and trying new hobbies constantly. All my life I’ve been told how good I am at everything and how smart and eager to learn.

Well, it’s not exactly like that. I’m good at something at one point, then get good at something else because I get bored. It’s never all the things all the time. But the truth is that ADHD brains allow us to learn new skills extremely fast and master them in record times.

That we drop said skills after months of obsession…that’s another story altogether. Makeup, hair styling, sewing, embroidery, jewelry making, baking, sign language, ancient history, email marketing, knitting, and singing, are all skills I mastered and dropped throughout my life. But I wouldn’t change that. It’s incredibly rewarding to seek new endeavors all the time, and I’m always dedicated and passionate about each one.

Seeing some of my peers struggle to be creative or stick to a new hobby makes me sad. I’ve never had this issue, I never get bored. I’m this close to buying a guitar and teaching myself how to play, and I regret nothing.

2. Being incredibly thoughtful

ADHD comes with a huge range of symptoms that makes me pretty bad at making friends. That being said, when a person comes along who I connect with, I become a very dedicated friend. I’ll never forget their birthday or their loved ones’ birthdays, and I’ll get weirdly excited about every little thing they care about.

This is not something I can control, so I’ve learned to embrace it. I’m incredibly thoughtful with the people I love. I like making them happy, doing things for them, and arranging little surprises to see them smile.

This is because my brain is scattered in a million directions — sometimes having several thought processes going on at the same time. Within those, there always seems to be room for the people I love. While ADHDers are notorious for forgetting some people in their lives exist at all (hello, out of sight, out of mind), if someone is really close to us and we care about them a lot, the opposite happens.

Because we’re unable to regulate our emotions and reactions, we’re either too distracted or distant, or we’re too dedicated. But today is all about the positives, so I’ll celebrate the latter.

3. Multi-tasking like a pro

The chaotic way my brain functions has helped me master multi-tasking. I’ll be over here doing my full-time job, cooking a full meal, belting a favorite song, and texting my best friend out of a meltdown and I’ll be thriving in the chaos.

Because I crave stimulation when things need to get done, I’d much rather do multiple things at once than focus on just one task at a time. Sometimes I overdo it, forgetting the water is running while I take a phone call, or letting less important tasks slip through my fingers.

But this way of functioning has so far served me well, allowing me to thrive in a busy environment, deal well with deadlines, and not get stressed if a new responsibility comes through. Again, different thought processes going on in my head at the same time. Imagine I grew up thinking everyone’s brain was like this.

And there you have it, three ADHD superpowers that don’t make me regret in the slightest that my brain doesn’t work like the majority. It’s awful when the darkest signs of my ADHD kick in. But for the most part, the people around me are used to my weird way of being, I’m happy with myself and proud of where I got to so far in life. And all of that while being unmedicated.

If you’re neurodivergent, what’s one thing you love about your brain? This is your sign to celebrate yourself and the things you do that most people aren’t so good at.

Eliza Lita is a freelance writer based in the UK. She covers books and reading, ADHD and health, fitness, and lifestyle. For more of her stories, please consider signing up for a Medium membership through her referral link.

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