In reference to the awful /r/ADHD subreddit which is the most anti-ADHD place online I have ever seen I would like to know if this place will follow their horrible example or actually allow neurodivergent people with ADHD to consider it a home?
Based on this from the sidebar it seems positive and I look forward to interacting with you all.
"Encouraged:
Funny memes. Welcoming and accepting attitudes. Questions on confusing situations. Seeking and sharing support. Engagement in our values."
May I ask what was so awful about it? (So we can help avoid the same outcome)
Due to my terrible memory it’s hard for me to remember/give specific examples unfortunately I just remember that any time I tried to post something asking about ADHD it was either auto-modded and never posted or never approved by the mods of the subreddit despite never being against any of their rules.
From my experience it’s an incredibly shut-down sub-reddit that enforces too many strict rules onto a community of people who don’t do well in restrictive communities like that.
Oh they also heavily enforced just putting your content into their megathreads rather than allowing you to post your own thread. Despite them allowing other people posting similar content to create their own threads.
I remember it being very negative in that most posts that you’d see just scrolling through it were complains along the lines of “ADHD is the worst” and “just been fired for the fifth time” and it wasn’t until my husband noted that he had heard it being a terrible sub that I realised the atmosphere was purposely that way. They discouraged self-diagnosis to the extend that seemed unhelpful, even though it could be argued that how can someone seek a diagnosis if they don’t first self-diagnose? And generally seemed to consider ADHD as a curse or a disability, regardless of whether and individual would feel that way. They were openly against neurodivergence as a term:
“We consider the neurodiversity paradigm to be harmful to people with ADHD, both directly in terms of its stated goals and indirectly via constant attempts to silence us for disagreeing with them.”
Yep the subreddit was so depressing all the time, and they also hated the term “neurodivergent” which I mean I don’t know, let people identify the way they want to? I like queer for me in terms of my sexuality, but some don’t like it, I don’t like it/its as a pronoun, but I’m not gonna stop someone identifying that way.
And it’s not like subs can’t be a place to vent, because hey, sometimes ADHD does suck. But also the fact that it was constant depressive posts, or “my doctor doesn’t believe in ADHD” or “my relative is stealing my meds”. And it’s just like… yeah so depressing. And like I see ADHD as a disability, because it is, but yeah… it’s just… a sub to be helpful for those with ADHD, sure fuckin’ hates those with ADHD.
how can someone seek a diagnosis if they don’t first self-diagnose?
That’s the problem I had there. I’ve been waiting on an official diagnosis for almost 3 years now, but I certainly do tick all the boxes for having it, to the point I’m like 99% certain I do. But I’ve always been made to feel like I shouldn’t be posting there or claiming I have ADHD until I can get the official verdict.
