Journalist Yashar Ali, who also inspired the towel meme, has gone viral again, this time for sharing a 26-part Twitter thread about ADHD and urging many others to share their own struggles.
“What people need to understand about those of us who have ADHD is we are not homogeneous,” he wrote.
1. I want to talk about ADHD. I was diagnosed with ADD when I was 13-years-old. To say it's misunderstood (both by people who have ADHD and people who don't have it) is an understatement. What people need to understand about those of us who have ADHD is we are not homogeneous
— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) February 26, 2019
7. Those of us with ADHD don't need your sympathy, we need your empathy. We need you to understand that we are capable of so much but just need you to understand what our limits and challenges are. We don't want you to see our limits/challenges as excuses…they're explanations
— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) February 26, 2019
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is defined by the National Institute of Mental Health as “a disorder that makes it difficult for a person to pay attention and control impulsive behaviors.” While many of the symptoms are classified as the tendency “overlook or miss details, make careless mistakes,” failure to follow instructions, or having difficulty paying attention or listening, Ali explained in the thread it’s not that simple and shouldn’t be generalized.
Mostly, he used the opportunity to clarify misunderstandings that people have about ADHD. “It makes it seem like it’s is just an issue of distraction. Wrong! For example, I read 2-3 books a week! I don’t know many people with ADHD can do that. But for me taking clothes out of the dryer & folding them, that’s like climbing Mt. Everest,” he wrote.
6. Whenever someone brings up ADHD. It makes it seem like it's is just an issue of distraction. Wrong! For example, I read 2-3 books a week! I don't know many people with ADHD can do that. But for me taking clothes out of the dryer & folding them, that's like climbing Mt. Everest
— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) February 26, 2019
He explained the nuances of ADHD, like having “difficulty starting things.” “The simplest things can be exhausting and feel impossible to begin/finish,” he said. “It’s stuff that doesn’t make sense to people without ADHD.”
He even gave examples of how it affects everyday life, like paying bills.
10. Which is often why we hide these things that we find challenging because they can be embarrassing. I once had someone with ADHD, who made a good living, tell me that for years they would pay bills when things got shut off. It was a cycle they found nearly impossible
— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) February 26, 2019
11. To get out of, it destroyed their credit, and it was only when they got married and their wife took over that they fixed their bill paying issue. People with ADHD hide a lot of shame in this and we hold it in because people don't understand our diagnosis.
— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) February 26, 2019
12. Because of this shame, we don't talk about ADHD generally. We may talk about it with close family members or a psychiatrist but we don't talk about it with our friends & certainly don't talk about it at work (I know this is a generalization and may not be true for you)
— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) February 26, 2019
He also made a crucial point about gender disparity and diagnosis. A little over six percent of children were diagnosed with ADHD in the U.S. in 2016. But as Ali writes in the thread, ADHD tends to be diagnosed less among adults and women.
“We know that if someone isn’t diagnosed… [as a] child, they’re less likely to be diagnosed as an adult. Many people see ADHD (because of the hyperactivity component…which not all people with ADHD have) as a boy/man’s disorder…which leads many women to not be diagnosed.”
Another educational moment in the thread shows how a request for quick chat, though seemingly harmless, can completely tip those with ADHD off their balance. “In the past (before I learned what systems I needed in place) I would see an email come in from a friend or colleague asking to chat,” he wrote. “I would tell them I was focused on work and they would often say, ‘it’ll just take a minute!’ They didn’t get if I gave them that minute…That there was a good chance I wouldn’t be able to get back to my work. People would get annoyed and think I was being difficult.”
He even went back to his towel meme and used it to explain an aspect of his ADHD.
18. Want to know why I have so many towels? Yes, I can be bougie…I'll admit it. But its because it allows me to keep my bathroom organized. I found that it was very hard for me, especially when I have a lot of things going on in my life, to lay my towel over the bar.
— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) February 26, 2019
19. My towel would often end up on the floor and I didn't want to live that way anymore. So I realized that if I just put a basket in my bathroom I could toss towels in there. Is it crazy to use a towel once and wash it? No doubt…but the alternative wasn't very attractive
— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) February 26, 2019
His thread soon spiraled into many others sharing their own experiences and finding comfort in being able to speak out.
This was so useful to read. I wasted years of therapy trying to analyze my inability back in high school to work, even on subjects I enjoyed. (Something something father?) Feel like a failure every single day, even after being diagnosed. This helps, thanks @yashar https://t.co/XQlvMhWtVf
— Joss Whedon (@joss) February 26, 2019
I was a studious if dreamy girl, so I had NO IDEA that the problems I’ve had all my life could be ADHD until I had a son who was diagnosed. If not for that, I’d still be completely baffled and depressed by the ways I can’t make my brain or body behave as I want. https://t.co/NX4NCNImWX
— Jennifer de Guzman Strikes Again🪲 (@Jennifer_deG) February 26, 2019
great thread. really appreciate it.
— Imani Gandy (Orca’s Version) ⚓️ (@AngryBlackLady) February 26, 2019
I’m all about baskets myself. And I couldn’t pay bills on time until auto pay became a thing. I haven’t balanced a checkbook in 20 years—I had to come to grips with the fact that’s it’s just something I can’t/won’t do.
https://twitter.com/ricci_sergienko/status/1100269103963488256
I have ADHD and can totally identify. Especially about being able to focus and read many books per week yet doing a simple task feels like climbing Mount Everest. Many people on Bway also have ADHD. You can live a productive life…esp. if your friends/family/coworkers help! https://t.co/gmyYtptWrB
— Seth Rudetsky he/him (@SethRudetsky) February 26, 2019
It me. I can’t clean a room because my brain cannot look at a room and know what to do first. I can tidy an already-clean-ish room, but if there’s any actual mess, I am frozen by it. And then when the house is messy, the dominoes start falling. https://t.co/KInHq19x3d
— Megan Romer (@meganromer) February 26, 2019
I have ADHD. It makes every day a challenge. This thread from @yashar is a wonderful dive into what the experience is/can be like for those of us that have it, and how you can help us. https://t.co/1V98QcF5u8
— Brian Michael Scully – brianscully.bsky.social (@brianscully) February 26, 2019
And for those who have at some point joked about and/or commented on ADHD in an ignorant way, here are a couple of notes of repentance to ponder:
I have spoken negatively about this disorder in the past, and for that I am sorry. Here is a good explainer thread for people like me (in the past). https://t.co/TDwB8rLJqh
— Joel Birch (@joelfcbirch) February 26, 2019
https://twitter.com/ProperOpinion/status/1100280018436087809
Some pointed out the humor in a 26-tweet thread about an attention issue. But even that received a carefully crafted response about the uniqueness of ADHD.
Oh, but those of us with ADD/ADHD often hyper focus on things that interest us.
— Mary Green Howle (@MaryHowle) February 26, 2019
At 20,000 likes and counting, it seems Ali is getting through.