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Hi ADHDers!

Is It ADHD Or Brain Rot?

You can experience ADHD symptoms but not have ADHD.

Rach Idowu | @AdultingADHD

Nov 9

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We are living in a time where many people are noticing that their attention spans are getting shorter.

The ability to sit through a video that is longer than 60 seconds is diminishing. The thought of reading a paragraph that is longer than 140 characters gets the “I ain’t reading all that, I’m happy for you though, or sorry that happened” treatment.

Message that has become a meme: “I ain’t reading all that, i’m happy for you though, or sorry that happened — Credit: Original poster

This phenomenon of declining attention spans has led some people to question whether they might have ADHD.

I’m here to tell you that you can experience ADHD symptoms but not have ADHD. Difficulty Sustaining Attention is 1 of the approximately 18 ADHD symptoms listed in the DSM.

What I think the majority of people are experiencing is Brain Rot.

Shall we begin?

Is it ADHD or Brain Rot?

A image of a Brain split in half with one side in colour — Graphic from Canva

Are you experiencing ADHD or Brain Rot?

Brain rot, what a word.

“Brain rot’ is defined as “the supposed deterioration of a person’s mental or intellectual state, especially viewed as the result of overconsumption of material (now particularly online content) considered to be trivial or unchallenging. Also: something characterized as likely to lead to such deterioration”. - Oxford Dictionary

The effects of brain rot can include the inability to focus, a shorter attention span, struggling to be productive, feeling like your brain is slower, mental fatigue, and constant distraction.

Let’s pause here.

You might be thinking, I experience some of this as someone with ADHD. Well, yes, that’s because we have a Neurodevelopmental Disorder where symptoms usually start before the age of 12. Even though many of us are late diagnosed or, in some cases undiagnosed/

However, we are witnessing people who have never had short attention spans develop shorter attention spans. Unbeknownst to them, aimlessly scrolling, moving from meme to meme, and hyperfixating on reaction videos is causing Brain Rot. Despite this, we can prevent, reverse and put an end to Brain Rot.

🎯 The trouble is, people are not pinpointing Brain Rot as the source of their deterioration; instead, they assume it’s an ADHD problem, while the culprit, Brain Rot, remains at large. 🥷🏿

| Annnnnd the ‘everyone is a little ADHD’ crowd goes silent!

SNL gif. Kenan Thompson dressed in a fancy suit sits in a room with bat cut outs behind him. Something that he heard catches him off guard. He looks away awkwardly while gasping a little, and his eyes go wide with shock. He looks back with an amused look on his face.

Is this newsletter starting to feel too long?

➡️ Let’s not reduce ADHD to simply a short attention span disorder. Many people with ADHD don’t have short attention spans; we mustn’t disregard the other traits ADHDers struggle with.

➡️ Let’s not falsely label what can be reversed by changing habits, consumption and instilling discipline.

Do I Still Have Your Attention?

Because nuance is becoming a lost art, this newsletter is not:

Ruling out people’s suspicions of possibly having ADHD
Ruling out stress, the pandemic, and anxiety as contributors
Seeking to belittle or demonise people who are experiencing brain rot

We have all been through unprecedented times. This has led many people (including myself at times) to turn to doomscrolling, watching low-value content, and being chronically online as a form of escapism.

Let’s be mindful of the language we use when referencing ADHD. This influences how people perceive people with ADHD, which can negatively impact us when seeking additional support or accommodations.

That’s all from me,

Rach, with ADHD

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