ADHD is a Rollercoaster
By Dr Torrance Merkle, GP · · ADHD
ADHD is a condition with dysregulation of attention, energy, and emotion. ADHD life doesn't run in a steady, manageable line; it operates on a volatile rollercoaster with essentially two settings: do everything all at once, or do nothing at all.
Key takeaway: The label "Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder" is no longer the best fit for our current understanding of ADHD.
The label "Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder" is no longer the best fit for our current understanding of ADHD.
It implies a simple lack of focus and an excess of fidgeting. In reality, ADHD is a condition with dysregulation of attention, energy, and emotion. ADHD life doesn't run in a steady, manageable line; it operates on a volatile rollercoaster with essentially two settings: do everything all at once, or do nothing at all.
It plays out across three relentless swings:
⚬ Attention dysregulation: It isn't just a deficit; it's constantly fluctuating between all or nothing. You cannot summon focus for the mundane, necessary task, yet you fall into intense, sticky hyperfocus where five hours vanish in an instant. This attention goes for time as well (time blindness), you're constantly running behind.
⚬ Physical and mental hyperactivity: The ADHD brain will be thinking about everything irrelevant to the task at hand, interrupting people, always on the go, and too restless to sit down - until you run out of gas. You don't just wind down; you crash straight into executive dysfunction, exhaustion, and days spent "bedrotting" on the sofa trying to recharge.
⚬ Emotional dysregulation: The piece that often catches people off guard. It swings from surges of intense excitement and being positively dysregulated straight into irritability, low moods, boredom, and rejection sensitivity (will write more about RSD and shame soon).
It’s a classic boom-and-bust cycle of mental and physical energy expenditure.
ADHD brains are essentially Ferrari engines fitted with bicycle brakes. Proper support and medication aren't meant to dull you down or flatten your personality; they just give you slightly more reliable breaks. They can act like training wheels, and over time, help you to develop that space between stimulus and response (which is why traditional therapy doesn't always help a fast brain).
The goal isn't to completely flatline in the middle all the time. It's just to soften the peaks and the troughs, allowing you to spend a little more time in the middle, so you can leave the house with your phone, wallet, and keys about 80% of the time.