Something I try to convey to people is that ADHD is like a collective bucket of things. So you might have some symptoms but not all, while others can be categorized as ADHD and have completely different symptoms and experiences.

A lot of people will try to downplay ADHD with nonsense platitudes like “oh everyone deals with that” or “ADHD doesn’t exist”, etc. The reality is that it’s completely nuanced and categorizing things (or yourself) as ADHD is a way to simplify explaining it, open the lines of conversation and self-discovery, and add some detail to something that can be chaotic.

ADHD is not like an illness where everyone has the same symptoms, thus it can’t be painted out with broad brush strokes. It’s still being sorted out and a person’s experiences, life, and other factors play a huge role.