With growing awareness, many in China are finding support online and viewing ADHD as a source of strength, but experts caution against the romanticization of the condition and over-reliance on internet diagnoses
“My duty is to help patients become normal. Isn’t that why you are here, seeing a doctor?”
“No. I don’t need to be ‘normal.’ What I expected from you was guidance on how to better ‘utilize’ myself, not to be treated as an ill person.”
Such was the conversation between Vivi Zhang (pseudonym), a 27-year-old employee at an internet company in Shanghai, and her doctor as she underwent diagnosis for Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, or ADHD. Seeing ADHD as an integral part of her potential and talent, Zhang had been unsettled by her doctor’s stance.
“My struggles stem from ADHD, but so do my energy, creativity, and quick thinking,” she tells TWOC.
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