The Life Advantage People With ADHD Have Over Neurotypicals, According To 16-Year-Long Study
They possess an unexpected superpower.
Dragana Gordic | Shutterstock Approximately 15.5 million adults in the United States had a diagnosis of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in 2023, per the CDC. That’s a significant number.
Typically, it’s assumed (and perhaps, even stereotyped) that those with ADHD have difficulty focusing — it's listed by the Mayo Clinic as a symptom of the disease. Yet, researchers have discovered something surprising about those with the disorder that goes against those prior beliefs
A 16-year-long study found that people with ADHD have an easier time focusing when things are hard.
The study published in The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry examined 483 people with ADHD for 16 years — from the time they were 8 to 25. Rather than discovering a difficulty focusing, as some would expect, researchers found evidence to the contrary.
Research showed that instead of becoming flustered and overwhelmed in difficult and chaotic situations, those with ADHD actually become more focused and dialed in.
Dr. Margaret H. Sibley, a psychologist and author of the study, said, “We expected the relationship between environmental demands and ADHD symptoms to be the opposite of what we found."
"We hypothesized that when life demands and responsibilities increased, this might exacerbate people’s ADHD, making it more severe," she continued. "In fact, it was the opposite. The higher the demands and responsibilities one was experiencing, the milder their ADHD.”
Those with ADHD thrive under pressure.
“This might mean that people with ADHD perform their best in more demanding environments (perhaps environments that have stronger immediate consequences, like needing to put food on the table for a family or pay rent monthly)," Sibley added.
ADHD lifestyle mentor @adhdvision agrees. "If you have ADHD, your brain can paradoxically become very calm and focused in high-pressure environments because things that make others nervous or anxious provide your brain with the chemicals it needs to become focused and engaged,” he explained.
“This is why once a deadline approaches, you can usually work nonstop to reach the finish line,” he noted.
Neurotypical people, on the other hand, easily become overwhelmed when life gets hard.
While people with ADHD work best under pressure, the same cannot be said for most neurotypical people, especially when they experience overwhelm.
VeryWell Health described overwhelm as "an engulfing feeling of dread or worry often related to responsibilities, self-expectations, relationships, health concerns, and more.” It is often caused by an overload of responsibilities and leads to physical symptoms like anxiety, depression, stress headaches, insomnia, and more.
Unfortunately, none of us are immune to overwhelm — except, maybe, those with ADHD.
Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer with a bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism who covers news, psychology, lifestyle, and human interest topics.