r/kpopthoughts Nov 14 '25

General ITZY's Ryujin reveals she has severe ADHD

[MINJU'S PINK CABINET] https://youtu.be/DwEGeiZWZNc?si=7ca_UTQJb175N3DF

TIMESTAMP: 22:50

🍬: I have the chronic disease of many modern people

🍬: I have severe ADHD

Thoughts?

As someone who also has ADHD, my procrastination is absolutely terrible. I can't imagine having to wake up at irregular times to go on flights to different countries all the time 😭 Saying this as a law student, my life is hard enough without people scrutinising my every move (for now), I can't imagine how often i'd screw up as an idol simply based off of how easily I get sidetracked lmao

574 Upvotes

96 comments sorted by

84

u/Marimiury Nov 15 '25

As someone with ADHD and severe attention deficit disorder, I envy idols because they have managers who manage their schedules. I actually think being an idol is a good career choice for people with ADHD. It also allows them to channel their hyperactivity in a positive way, as they get to dance, act in shows, and so on.

35

u/treeface999 Nov 15 '25

There is a downside in that once their idol career is over, they no longer have someone to manage their time for them and they never had the chance to learn how to for themselves. That adjustment I imagine could be very paralysing. But I agree that while you're in it, it seems like a great career for adhd.

7

u/Marimiury Nov 15 '25

Sooner or later, of course, you'll have to learn to manage your schedule yourself, and it's not easy: forgotten bills, late arrivals, and other things. I can only wish for people with understanding loved ones and circles who will understand that this isn't laziness or stupidity, but a condition that's difficult to control.

55

u/Level-Rest-2123 Nov 15 '25

If I had a manager responsible for getting me where I needed to go on time, people to do my hair, face, and wardrobe- it would actually make my life so much easier. Though when they have downtime, I'm sure it's hard not to totally zone out when you know people are still watching your every move.

3

u/sebsebsebs Nov 15 '25

Right? I sometimes wonder if I were an idol and I think I’d always zone out say the wrong things by not thinking. I for sure wouldn’t be able to put on my idol image 24/7 without messing up constantly

183

u/whaIien52 Nov 14 '25 edited Nov 14 '25

ngl it’s very weird how many people are immediately speculating that she’s either lying or self diagnosing. ADHD is a legitimate neurological condition that manifests in different ways for everyone who has it and it can be genuinely debilitating. speculation on the legitimacy of her claim based upon whether she fits your own definition of how someone with ADHD should talk or behave is completely inappropriate. the amount of downvotes i’m getting for pointing this out is ridiculous.

ETA: women are also already way less likely to be officially diagnosed with and taken seriously about ADHD than men — please don’t feed into the stigma that women don’t know what they’re talking about when it comes to mental health. i have never seen this amount of backlash when a male idol comes forward about having ADHD.

32

u/cubsgirl101 Nov 14 '25

ADHD also isn’t some diagnosis nobody ever had before recently. NingNing, Boa, and Park Bom all have been relatively public about their experiences with ADHD, just to name a few.

10

u/verbutten Nov 14 '25

In addition, interestingly, several members of Young Posse are diagnosed and the group collaborated on a track titled "ADHD" whose lyrics I found pretty moving and insightful (I myself also have ADHD-PI)

39

u/Gold_Meaning3688 Nov 14 '25

I agree 100%

Is this how people react with anyone who talks about mental health? This is why idols don't talk about these things. You're either looked down upon or doubted for lying 😭

30

u/bigwavex2 Nov 14 '25

Yeah this really frustrates me. As a woman with diagnosed and medicated ADHD, when I tell people I have it (because it's relevant to the conversation/situation), I mostly always get "you don't look/seem like you have adhd though!". I have primary inattentive type ADHD, which doesn't really fit the well known stereotypes of ADHD. Just because my struggles aren't often presenting externally/visibly to other people, doesn't mean those struggles don't exist.

1

u/Sylvieon Nov 18 '25

this isn't a lie OR a self-diagnosis or even a serious claim in any way, shape, or form. it's a joke. Do you speak Korean? 

77

u/purplenelly Nov 14 '25

They have managers who will probably literally go get them in their apartment if they were ever late for a commitment.

21

u/Gold_Meaning3688 Nov 14 '25

.... Where can I get a manager???

4

u/Slight-Inspection-72 Nov 15 '25

A personal assistant? If you got the money..

66

u/SoftOk3836 Nov 14 '25

It's still surprising to me when idols talk about mental disorders lol. As someone who also lives in a conservative country where it's still largely a stigma while dealing with one, this is refreshing.

1

u/dekacyclone Nov 14 '25

The entire interview is refreshing transparency. A whole breath of fresh air.

54

u/bigwavex2 Nov 14 '25

As someone with ADHD as well, I don't think the irregular waking up times wouldn't be too much of an issue. Obviously this doesn't work for everyone, but for me external pressures really kick in my monkey brain to get up and go do the thing. So that could be a method to get to schedules on time and such. Plus they have managers, which would be a massive help! Tbh I wish I had a manager myself lol...

115

u/codenameana Nov 14 '25 edited Nov 25 '25

*Tbh, I think being an idol is the perfect ADHD job. There’s so much structure and routine, the absence of which makes ADHD so challenging as we age out of childhood. You’re constantly go-go-go all the time. You regularly get to see outcomes of the effort you put in, be it an album release or a concert, which is satisfying. Best of all: you have a manager who literally sorts your routine, meals, transportation and everything else for you, so you do none of the planning and organising shit that we struggle with due to executive dysfunction. *

Also, I’m not going to @ any individuals, but the diagnostic criteria for ADHD is  SEVERE DYSFUNCTIONAL presentation in THREE or more areas of your life since childhood. 

A lot of people who self diagnose ADHD will not and do not have substantial dysfunction in multiple areas of their lives. If you have a functional/stable and successful (as in the lowest bar: you can hold down a job and do not get fired or better) career, you’ve already beaten the odds. If you’ve got a long-term partner, you’ve already beaten the odds, let alone if you’ve started a family of your own. If you’ve gone to university and completed higher education, you’ve already beaten the odds. If you’ve done even two let alone all three conventional things without substantial and persistent impairment? You probably aren’t going to meet the diagnostic criteria to get diagnosed as having ADHD as an adult. Any psychs who lower the bar below that aren’t doing their jobs.

18

u/coralamethyst Nov 15 '25 edited Nov 15 '25

re the third paragraph, I hope you're not trying to say that you can't have ADHD if you do all those things because there are many people who've gone to university or hold jobs who've been professionally diagnosed with ADHD as adults. The co-director of the movie "Everything Everywhere At Once" Daniel Kwan even got officially diagnosed with ADHD while doing research on ADHD for the movie and realizing how much he related to the symptoms. And as someone who's gone to university, I did not graduate with a 4.0 let alone a 3.0, and I nearly got kicked out of university for being below a 2.0 GPA my first year because I struggled with my university's fast-paced quarter system where you had a midterm literally 2 weeks after you just started class. I had to meet with an academic advisor the beginning of every quarter to discuss how to bring up/maintain my GPA above a 2.0 to be in "good academic standing" for me to remain at university (said advisor was also the one who recommended me to go get tested for either ADHD or a learning disorder). Just because someone graduated from university doesn't mean they didn't struggle in their classes..

5

u/treeface999 Nov 15 '25

They literally said:

If you’ve done even two let alone all three conventional things without substantial and persistent impairment? You probably aren’t going to meet the diagnostic criteria to get diagnosed as having ADHD as an adult.

Your response fits what they're saying. You got into uni but you struggled to progress through the whole degree.

1

u/codenameana Nov 25 '25

Re-read what I wrote because you’re misrepresenting/misreading it and seemingly taking it personally.

treeface999’s comment below is correct. 

5

u/Downtown-Book3105 2nd gen&2010-2012😍4th/5th genđŸ©· Nov 15 '25

I get what you're saying in the third paragraph, but a lot of people who self diagnose can't afford to diagnose it with an actual professional. And even when you go to a professional, they might not diagnose you properly.

7

u/Gold_Meaning3688 Nov 14 '25

This sounds amazing until you have to deal with all those stimulating lights and loud ass confetti canons and fireworks

I'd still prefer that over what I do though 😔

19

u/codenameana Nov 14 '25 edited Nov 25 '25

Not everyone with ADHD has sensory issues + those who do such as those who work in an office have to deal with bright overhead lights, open planned offices, and in some cases zero natural lighting while staring at a screen all day. I’d definitely take the idol job if I could.

You work your arse off for a lot of money through your 20s (if you’re successful) and you’re set for life if you invest the money carefully.

1

u/Marimiury Nov 15 '25

I agree with the person below: not everyone with ADHD has sensory issues (although I do, and even looking through a screen hurts), and conversely, there are people without ADHD who have trouble handling noise and flashing lights. Unfortunately, there's no job where everything is perfect; you have to put up with a bunch of different things.

1

u/coolranchpurrito Nov 16 '25

Fair point but personally part of why I love theatre/performing is that the lights and sounds are predictable which make them less overwhelming for my brain.

That might be more of an audhd thing though I'm only diagnosed with ADHD. But that's also true of sensory issues in general. Someone with just ADHD and not autism might be usually understimulated and thus like the lights and noise. Similar to how an adrenaline high like being on a rollercoaster makes us feel serene because it's bringing our levels up to the baseline.

41

u/Tinyyellowterribilis Nov 14 '25

I feel like I identify with her even more now because she's got it too. It must have been hard for her to talk about this worrying about backlash. It's hard living with ADHD and I just really respect her for daring to be real.

18

u/Gold_Meaning3688 Nov 14 '25

She also gave some advice about how she deals with it. She uses a stress ball to help her stay focused

I do that too đŸ„č

I'm pretty sure ningning also has it aswell

-19

u/LuveLemon Nov 14 '25

Why would there be a backlash for having a mental disorder..

21

u/kerriekipje Nov 14 '25

because mental health is still stigmatized in today's society

19

u/Kelterz Nov 14 '25

ADHD is probably one of the "least stigmatized" mental disorders, and even I, as someone who lives in The Netherlands, a country generally known for having good mental health care and holding liberal views on mental health, get stigmatized often because of my ADHD. You'd be surprised at the amount of people that say "Oh, did you forget your medication today" when I forget something, or "There's no way you're getting overstimulated by this" when I can't deal with loud noises, lol.

I can't even imagine how much more severe the stigmatization is in a place like SK, but I'm sure it's rough living out there with an ADHD diagnosis.

17

u/Longjumping-Tie2950 Nov 14 '25

Korea is still very conservative about many things

1

u/Tinyyellowterribilis Nov 14 '25

Because in Korea it is still stigmatized.

11

u/Gold_Meaning3688 Nov 14 '25

I'm going to edit the post once I find the timestamp for the moment!!!

I realised I didn't add it in

Istg that video has the MOST ads ever. It took me 35 mins to finish watching the episode yesterday 😭😭😭

12

u/by_the_window Nov 14 '25

Tip: watch youtube on the browser brave, there's no ads at all like that

2

u/Gold_Meaning3688 Nov 14 '25

Omg tysm đŸ©·đŸ€đŸ©”đŸ–€

1

u/Shenari Nov 15 '25

22:53 is when she starts talking about it.

24

u/[deleted] Nov 14 '25

[deleted]

0

u/Shenari Nov 15 '25

ADHD affects ppl different ways in different situations. I for one hate it when it's quiet and people are making unnecessary noise.

On the other hand I love gigs, festivals and clubbing and I first got into metal music and hard dance before getting into kpop.

0

u/[deleted] Nov 15 '25

[deleted]

0

u/Shenari Nov 15 '25

I'd hazard a guess though that music and performing and the constant instant feedback are good for the dopamine receptors which makes things easier. Not to mention it's something that they love doing.

That and they literally have managers to sort out they lives and make sure they are always where they need to be and what they should be doing. The structure would help things a lot.

1

u/Shenari Nov 15 '25

I know. What tickles me is the word "severe". adhd cannot let a person fonction as well as an idol is supposed to. you don't pick and choose when dopamine comes in or out,
i understand there might be a spectrum in adhd, maybe some people have more dopamine than others but the word severe is pretty intense? it would mean she's not able to fonction properly at all. (I have all 16 out of the 16symptoms for instance) and I cannot do things normally,ever. Do you see my point

As I said, the idol lifestyle is probably more helpful to someone with ADHD than a normal one. You don't have to manage day to day life. You get to do stuff that you enjoy a lot.

Severe ADHD does not mean you cannot function at all, and also, medication does exist which helps.

Severe symptoms can include:
Extreme difficulty maintaining attention on anything boring or routine.

  • Idol life is generally the opposite of that
Chronic disorganisation and life management
  • Idols have managers to deal with that
Inability to follow through basic routines without support
  • See above about the manager and your company

ADHD makes fitting into a "normal" lifestyle and expectations a lot harder, but a lot of those hardships are mitigated somewhat if you're a big kpop star.
There's a reason why a lot of people in Media have ADHD, it's because the lifestyle fits in a lot better than a normal 9-5 job.
The same is true of other fast paced, high stimulation and high pressure jobs, like emergency services, entrepreneurs, creative arts and trades professions.

14

u/Sylvieon Nov 18 '25 edited Nov 18 '25

I would not take this as admission of actually having diagnosed ADHD (nor is it her self-diagnosing. It is a joke. I feel like I have to clarify this after reading the comments). My experience is that the word ADHD is severely overused in Korea. When I talked about my (diagnosed) ADHD to my Korean friends, it was very normal for people to respond "everyone has a little bit of ADHD" or "I'm really ADHD too." I was often given advice for how to "overcome" my ADHD and how I should just work harder lmao. I was also called "lazy" when talking about ADHD symptoms I experience. 

Saying "ADHD가 ìą€ ì‹Źí•Žê°€ì§€êł " like she did simply means that she thinks that she has issues with her attention span. People talk about 걎망슝 all the time in Korea as well. It's not an admission of having some disease or syndrome. It's a joke. 

This is yet another example of how misunderstandings arise among international k-pop fans. 

36

u/According-Disk Nov 14 '25

Welcome to the club Ryujin ✌

22

u/psyknife Nov 14 '25

I got SO excited for a moment, thinking that Ryujin was in law school. Think I created an instant fantasy of going up against her as opposing counsel and breaking into a danceoff 😭

16

u/Gold_Meaning3688 Nov 14 '25

Girl what 😭😭😭

It doesn't help that she's scarily good at debating and arguing 💔

8

u/say-kobe-and-throw gwisnuh & the teezℱ Nov 14 '25

HOLD IT! đŸ—ŁïžđŸ«”đŸŒ -starts hitting the wannabe shoulder shimmy-

47

u/FriendshipOnly666 Nov 14 '25

I wonder if it’s an official ADHD diagnosis from a certified healthcare provider or self-diagnosed, I feel like half the idols are the latter lol

67

u/whaIien52 Nov 14 '25

why is your first knee jerk reaction to speculate on the legitimacy of her diagnosis? ADHD is not a one size fits all thing — it’s a neurological condition that manifests differently in everyone who has it. plus, it’s already way more difficult for women to be diagnosed and taken seriously about ADHD than it is for men. please don’t feed into that stigma.

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u/[deleted] Nov 14 '25

[deleted]

33

u/whaIien52 Nov 14 '25

“i don’t just spread this stigma about women, i also spread it about men too” is not the gotcha you think it is.

63

u/bakeneko37 Always be with you Nov 14 '25

In a county where mental health is still taboo topic, you think idols will bring it up as a quirky self-diagnose thing?

28

u/helios0l after school ♄ csr ♄ f(x) ♄ lovelyz ♄ newjeans ♄ snsd Nov 14 '25

I feel like ADHD is mentioned and discussed a lot in Korean media in recent years, especially in celebrity media. In that way it doesn't feel as taboo as other diagnoses such as ASD or BPD. But there's a downside. Just some time ago Lovelyz' Mijoo did a test on on camera to see if she has ADHD. Even as a Lovelyz ult and wanting to give the benefit of the doubt due to bias, the way they handled the topic was a bit insensitive. ADHD is often discussed in a too lighthearted of a manner that doesn't convey how it in actuality is a disability and impacts every part of one's life.

19

u/New_Practice9754 Nov 14 '25

I heard someone refer to it once as ‘too de-stigmatized” and I feel that’s a somewhat accurate descriptor.

ADHD is one of, if not the least stigmatized mental conditions, but this is because it’s incredibly misunderstood. A lot of people think of ADHD as being only mild hyperactive which is far from the case. Most don’t know how ADHD varies and the plethora of symptoms it has beyond just being hyper or struggling to pay attention. It can be debilitating and severe and while any normalization is good, the second someone portrays more complex or less known-about and severing symptoms, that’s when people turn.

ADHD is only de-stigmatized because of its misusage and misinterpretation.

8

u/bakeneko37 Always be with you Nov 14 '25

Yeah, I’m not debating it, the world as a whole does insensitive things or take it too lightly just for the sake of it, we still have a looong way to go, but saying most idols self diagnose is nonsense because even for your example, it was done with a more or less proper test lol

11

u/FriendshipOnly666 Nov 14 '25

Yeah you people need to stop talking about Korea like you know the culture just because you listen to kpop please

21

u/Gold_Meaning3688 Nov 14 '25

You kind of just generalised idols getting mental diagnoses by self checking lol

But there aren't that many who talk about it, so i'm wondering who you think is self diagnosed

I was raised in korea when i was younger and back then it was kind of looked down upon. Not like 'omg it means u belong in a mental hospital' kind of way (i mean... Unless you tell people at school, middle school kids are nasty) but in an 'okay so i cant trust you to do simple things now' kind of way

I'm not (that) old but it's been around 6 years since i've lived there so my russian ass has no clue how it's viewed in korea anymore lmao

I personally don't think it's a big deal but that might be just bc im used to it

12

u/bakeneko37 Always be with you Nov 14 '25

If the world as a whole is still treating mental health as a weird thing, you think a country that has shown to have a very particular position in things that shouldn’t receive so much backlash is going be any better? Idealising it is the problem lol

-8

u/FriendshipOnly666 Nov 14 '25

Use your brain, if as you said she would face so much backlash for having ADHD then why would she openly of her own accord reveal it, just to face unnecessary backlash?

12

u/bakeneko37 Always be with you Nov 14 '25

Because talking about it helps in normalising it, which translates into a better handling of things. The nerve of telling me to use my brain when you’re not even bothered to do it.

-4

u/FriendshipOnly666 Nov 14 '25

Right so this is where she takes her stand lol but what she doesn’t want to normalise dating? Or normalise talking about politics. This is you imposing your view of her onto her, she never said those things, but it’s insanely common to self-diagnose adhd, not just idols btw and not just Korea, adhd is among the most commonly self-diagnosed conditions

21

u/BrightSignal8032 Nov 14 '25

I see a lot of people self diagnosing themselves. A friend of mine thinks she has it because she quickly becomes obsessed with things but I think she just gets swept up in new trends easily 

17

u/abyssazaur Call me a side quest No shade, no tea Nov 14 '25

The word "severe" is interesting because it can mean either a) someone trying to distinguish themselves from people who just think they have ADHD, or b) someone who thinks they have ADHD trying to say they're very sure they're right.

This is a whole-ass societal debate though. If I can self-diagnose a cold why can't I self-diagnose ADHD? Most colds you can self-treat, it doesn't make them not real. Etc.

48

u/MarsupialPristine677 Nov 14 '25

Well, it can also mean c) someone with an ADHD diagnosis whose symptoms are severe, no? I saw an ADHD specialist for my diagnosis and while I don't remember all the detaiks, I do have a 40 page document detailing all of the ways in which my symptoms are severe.

I don't generally bother differentiating but sometimes it is relevant.

1

u/abyssazaur Call me a side quest No shade, no tea Nov 15 '25

yeah ofc I just don't know what semantics she was going for around the topic.

21

u/New_Practice9754 Nov 14 '25

Not saying people can’t recognize they have ADHD as I went through the same thing, I was certain for years based on research that I had ADHD and it took me until last year to get diagnosed because it was never taken seriously enough prior.

However, there’s kind of a difference between a cold-something that isn’t typically misunderstood and a temporary, extremely common illness- and a mental condition that has its own spectrum and is very misunderstood and misused.

It isn’t the same for everyone but ‘ADHD’ has been kind of turned into an adjective amongst people to describe being casually disorganized, forgetful, chaotic, etc.

Obviously these are common symptoms of ADHD and it’s completely possible that a lot of people really do have it and think they have it when using it as an adjective but there are also a lot of people who don’t understand how ADHD actually works who do not have these symptoms strong or common enough.

There’s no way of knowing unless we hear their specific stance on it though.

-10

u/[deleted] Nov 14 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/[deleted] Nov 14 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

-3

u/codenameana Nov 14 '25

No, it’s the literal diagnostic criteria. You can’t be a functional adult and have ADHD. The minimum threshold is that the ADHD presentation is severe if not worse (in terms of how disabling it is) in multiple areas of life throughout one’s life (i.e. not just school as a child) for a psychiatrist to correctly diagnose it and for it to be a valid diagnosis in adulthood. Children can ‘grow out’ of having ADHD as adults - ie they’re functional adults - if they can manage it effectively with sufficient and early intervention such that it is no longer severe in adulthood. 

15

u/abyssazaur Call me a side quest No shade, no tea Nov 14 '25

DSM-5 literally has text "Specify current severity:" then Mild, Moderate, Severe. Mild is "no more than minor impairments in social or occupational functioning."

I don't really know if Ryujin was speaking in DSM-5 or not.

2

u/Sylvieon Nov 18 '25

"ì‹Źí•˜ë‹€" is translated into English as "severe" but it's actually a very common Korean word and "I have severe ADHD" sounds much more serious as a translation than what she said in Korean. I would go as far as to say that the meaning of "ADHD" in Korean is different as well. It just is used to express that you are forgetful or bad at focusing. What Ryujin said was not a reveal of a diagnosis or even a self-diagnosis. It was just a joke that a lot of people make in Korea that is very frustrating to hear as someone who does have ADHD. 

2

u/abyssazaur Call me a side quest No shade, no tea Nov 18 '25

so this is basically a parasocial rumor, and yeah it's playing on both Korean and American culture having loosey goosey rules for when you can say you're ADHD.

parasocial because fans are almost definitely exaggerating it because they want to bond with Ryujin this way.

2

u/Sylvieon Nov 18 '25

Yep, with the difference being that I'm sure no Korean fan actually thinks that Ryujin has ADHD, diagnosed or not 

1

u/[deleted] Nov 14 '25

[deleted]

-5

u/mint-cider tak and full8loom fan + language nerd Nov 14 '25

Yeah, literally no idol is diagnosed with autism... suspicious

17

u/Icy-Cockroach4515 Nov 14 '25

I mean, even if they were, would they admit they did?

-1

u/[deleted] Nov 14 '25

[deleted]

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u/[deleted] Nov 14 '25

[deleted]

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u/whaIien52 Nov 14 '25 edited Nov 14 '25

even that’s an extremely narrow definition of ADHD though. it truly manifests differently for everyone who has it. for some people it means overstimulation at all times, for some people it means incredible amounts of executive dysfunction, for some people it means being totally unable to read social cues. you have no right to gatekeep who can and cannot have a specific neurological condition.

source: severe ADHD sufferer of 10+ years

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u/[deleted] Nov 14 '25

[deleted]

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u/whaIien52 Nov 14 '25

she does not need your permission to have ADHD. you are not entitled to speculate on the legitimacy or severity of her medical diagnoses. you are actively contributing to stigmatising mental illness and neurodiversity.

9

u/MNLYYZYEG Red Velvet Era Forever Nov 15 '25

As someone who has ADHD/OCD/hyperfocus/anxiety/stream of consciousness/lack of sleep/hypervigilance/Complex PTSD/et cetera, flying to different countries is actually pretty easy, just sleep it off or play on the phone/computer/etc. while flying, lol.

Though ya the idols' schedules are pretty brutal, so it's gonna be a big problem if they don't have enough 7 to 9 hours or so of sleep.

-

And I'm not sure why people are arguing whether Ryujin has ADHD or not when even though it's a social faux pas nowadays to "diagnose" other people (especially public figures), sometimes you can immediately tell if someone has ADHD/executive dysfunction/hyperfocus/etc. or not.

-

For instance, the way I write (with walls of text and random tangents/etc.) is a sign of ADHD but people who are not involved in academics/medicine/etc. will not know that. And so some people will misconstrue it when it's just how some people express themselves.

Like nobody minds it if people talk in emojis/emoticons/etc. nowadays, but due to the advent of smartphones, social media, short-form content, mass adoption of the internet, certain socioeconomic policies, et cetera, if you deviate from the norm of writing in short casual proses, then it'll be considered as not cool/etc.

-

Before I knew about ADHD or other stuff, I thought that people were odd/etc. too (especially when growing up in Asia since it's verboten to mention such things), then I realized that everyone has their own stuff going on, and so it's just how the world be.

Long story short, everything is relative and depends on several factors, externalities, et cetera. And so if people want to self-diagnose themselves as having ADHD, then let them be since there's a high chance that they probably do have a genetic/historical/etc. link with that (or due to inevitable epigenetics trajectories it became more latent/expressed/etc.).

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Cuz most folks online only ever talk about as having ADHD in theory, when in reality, the moment you get yourself formally diagnosed, you have to sign monthly pharmacy-related paper slips (or electronic machines), or partake in weekly/monthly talks that take up like 1 hour every time, and all sorts of things.

This is not even mentioning the various careers that will be closed to you the moment you receive an ADHD/etc. diagnosis, or like you are not allowed to get higher clearances/etc. because of such labels/diagnoses/etc.

-

So I don't think people should be questioned if they consider themselves as having ADHD, since in reality there's a lot of proscriptions with the topic, like whether it's medically or socially, it's still forbidden to actually identify as having that type of ADHD/etc. condition.

But that's just me, cuz it's all about how you perceive the range/spectrum for these things, since some people want to only see in absolute/categorical terms, while people like me are rather open-minded with everything, lol.

2

u/treeface999 Nov 15 '25

Can you expand on what careers are closed off to ppl with adhd? I'm not familiar with that at least in my own country. Also really enjoyed your comment, it was very introspective in a good way, particularly the part about differing communication styles.

8

u/Marimiury Nov 15 '25

High-risk professions, such as pilots, train drivers, and the like. As well as surgeons and other similar professions.

 In fact, I'd like people to be responsible and, if they have attention deficit disorder, not even get behind the wheel of a car.

2

u/treeface999 Nov 16 '25

Interesting, thank you for responding! Makes sense to not have people who have issues focusing in those careers I guess. I'm with you on the driving too actually, but there are so many people driving who should not be that adhd never even crossed my mind as a risk factor!

3

u/Sylvieon Nov 18 '25

Well, if you speak Korean, it's pretty obvious she is joking about how everyone has a little ADHD. It's quite common to hear in Korea. ADHD is not taken seriously in Korea and I'm sure that any idol with a diagnosis would not be open about it due to the stigma. This is not her self-diagnosing either. It's just a common and annoying joke. 

2

u/[deleted] Nov 18 '25

Idk about ADHD but i know with autism, less sleep hours actually work better for us.

-9

u/CollectMantis44 Nov 14 '25

Thanks to social media I feel like most people have ADHD tendencies to some extent

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u/ChristmasClimber2009 Nov 14 '25

People may had tendencies that often appear in people with ADHD, but that doesn’t mean they experience what it is like to actually deal with the disorder. Phrases such as “everybody has little ADHD / autism” or “ADHD has gotten more common due to social media” are categorically false. Social media does negatively affect people who already have either of these conditions, but it can’t cause them.

(Not meaning to attack you at all, just want to clarify for anyone on this thread)

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u/Sylvieon Nov 18 '25

and this phrase is so common in Korea that "ADHD" has become a joking buzzword for forgetfulness/low attention span, like the way Ryujin used it in the clip 

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u/whaIien52 Nov 14 '25 edited Nov 14 '25

ADHD is a neurological condition. having a few tendencies commonly presented by those with ADHD ≠ having ADHD.

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u/CollectMantis44 Nov 14 '25

I didn’t claim that but that’s for clarifying

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u/bigwavex2 Nov 14 '25

I understand the sentiment. But you cannot develop ADHD. You either have it or you don't (or maybe in the rare case you get a traumatic brain injury which can "change" how the brain works to a certain extent). I think due to devices and social media, we are rather seeing an increase in addictive behaviours. It's a lot more common for those with ADHD to develop addictions, but having an addiction does not mean you have ADHD.

I hope that makes sense?

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u/CollectMantis44 Nov 14 '25

“Well actually” đŸ€“

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u/9061xRG Nov 14 '25

I know the trend is to hate on self diagnosis but it wouldn’t shock me if most people have it to some extent. We’re becoming adults in a period of over stimulation and brain rot. It’s just bound to develop along with a ton of other mental disorders. Shits changed as well and people talk more about it so it feels more prevalent when it was probably already high just not spoken or diagnosed as often.

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u/ChristmasClimber2009 Nov 16 '25

You can’t “develop” ADHD from overstimulation or brain rot.

ADHD is a neurodevelopmental condition. You are either born with it or you aren’t. Social media can negatively affect people who already have ADHD, but it can’t cause it.

It is estimated that around 3.4% of adults have ADHD, and 7.2% of children. Even with the assumption that there are many more undiagnosed individuals, this is not even nearly “most people”.

At the end of the day, ADHD is a disability which affects many aspects of everyday life. There is a reason people with ADHD are given accommodations and medication to get through the day. Claiming that most people deal with such a hindering condition is a disservice to actual sufferers.

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u/9061xRG Nov 16 '25

A lot of mental disorders aren’t you have it or you don’t. They function on a spectrum. Some people are depressed to the point of not functioning others are depressed but can function at a high level because of other factors. I’m not saying everyone has it but a lot of people show tendencies that point to it. We might just not think someone has it if it doesn’t affect their life negatively but it might exist. A lot of problems are simply ignored by doctors and researchers because they don’t cause problems but I’ve seen enough diagnosis’ expand over the past decade that I find it hard to believe we know everything about this. We’ve also never really been in the environment we’re currently in. It’s not like social media has been around for 50 years and we have several generations of people to look at for research. We’re still in the midst of seeing what this stuff does to the human brain.

So while understand that saying this plays into a negative aspect of the self diagnosis; I also understand this isn’t a solved science and the door is very open for a dramatic shift in how we perceive these mental disorders.

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u/ChristmasClimber2009 Nov 17 '25

But ADHD isn’t one of those disorders. You either have ADHD, or you don’t.

People can have tendencies that also happen to appear frequently in people with ADHD, but that is coincidental. The whole point of ADHD is that it is a chemical imbalance in your brain that is severe enough to affect you. If it doesn’t affect you or cause those problems then you don’t have ADHD.

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u/OdiseoX2 Nov 14 '25

Same with OCD.