ADHD isn’t new. Understanding it is. The ADHD Paradigm Shift Is Here

For decades, ADHD, and other neurodivergence have been misunderstood, mocked, or dismissed altogether. But something is changing. Diagnosis rates are rising, not because ADHD is “trendy” or because we’re using social media too much but because people (especially adults, women, and marginalised communities) finally have the language to describe what they've always felt.

Yet not everyone is keeping up.

When new ideas challenge long-held beliefs, resistance is inevitable.

When people first suggested that the Earth wasn’t flat, or that humans evolved over millions of years, many refused to accept it, despite the growing evidence.

It's happening now with ADHD, AuDHD, autism and other neurodivergence.

We’re learning more. Seeing more. Understanding more.

But some are still clinging to outdated narratives.

You’ve probably heard them. The “dinosaurs” of this conversation. The ones still roaring:

🦖 "We’re all a little bit ADHD”

🦖 “Everyone has something these days”

🦖 “ADHD is over diagnosed”

🦖 “You just need to manage your distractions better”

🦖 "It’s not ADHD, sometimes you can focus really well "

🦖 “We didn’t have this much ADHD before”

🦖 “Everyone feels like that sometimes”

So I say,  “ROOOAARRR” to those dinosaurs.

These views are stuck in the past, back when mental health was taboo, diagnoses were biased towards loud schoolboys, and executive dysfunction was mistaken for laziness.

But today, we know better.

We know it’s not just hyper kids. It’s overthinking adults, high-achievers in chaos, and creative minds who excel at the challenges but struggle with the ‘basic’ tasks: paperwork, organisation, prioritising...

We know the struggles of ADHD can be silently hidden until burnout. That it’s not always hyper and loud. That hormonal changes across a female’s lifespan shape how it shows up. That males who were well-behaved and conscientious at school can be ADHD too. And that many ADHD people who appear ‘successful’ are quietly carrying the weight of their symptoms, trying to hold it all together or hide how hard it really is.

Your Dinosaurs

Sometimes the loudest dinosaurs aren’t out there in the media or your workplace. They’re inside your own head.

Even when you know your brain works differently…Even when you understand the science and have started unmasking…The old stories can still echo.

They say things like:

🦖 “I shouldn’t need to ask for support”

🦖 “Other people don’t get this tired from small tasks"

🦖 “This task is easy, so I should be able to do it”

🦖 “I just need to try harder”

🦖 “This is just me being lazy”

🦖 "I mustn't show that I'm struggling"

These are your inner dinosaurs. Outdated beliefs. Internalised messages. Leftovers from a world that didn’t get it.

You don’t have to fight them. You don’t have to believe them. You can notice them and name them.

"Ah. That’s just a dinosaur talking."

Then gently shift your focus to the voice that understands:

✨ "My needs are valid."

✨ "Support isn’t weakness."

✨ "My energy has limits, and that’s okay."

✨ "My brain works differently, and I’m learning what helps."

The dinosaurs can roar all they want. Let’s keep calling out the outdated narratives. Keep exploring, keep unmasking. The shift is happening, and you’re part of it.💖

We’re evolving and thriving right here in the 21st century.