Creativity and ADHD
As a creative, I think it’s safe to say that a lot of people in the field may have ADHD. I mean, it’s got to be how creatives stay creative and explains why the vast amount of them drink so much caffeine—the coffee and energy drinks give them a focused edge. I’ve recently been getting seen for ADHD and working through childhood trauma—specifically about growing up in a Latino household, which I’ll cover in a later post— ever since the beginning of the pandemic. TikTok emerged as a new pastime during the pandemic and I went down different rabbit holes, specifically the one about ADHD. Creators highlighted a lot of traits that I resonated with—a bit too many traits. So after some self-discovery and Teladoc visits for my mental health therapy, my therapists thought it was very likely I have it. I’ve never been properly diagnosed, but the evidence has always been there. I’ve always been good and curious about a lot of industries and subjects. I know a lot about a lot and what I don’t know, I’m eager and excited to learn. I think it’s part of the reason why I am fascinated by business, art, computer science, space exploration, construction, cooking, sports, offroading, and music, but also love just sitting and reading my bible, personal development books, and creating fun video reels for social media. It’s a gift and a curse. I think the best way to sum up how I view having ADHD is similar to, going to the circus to see a tiger show (terrible, first of all). The tiger is a tiger and has instinctual traits that it’d like to act upon, but it’s being tamed by the tiger trainer—for the most part. The tiger/brain wants to jump to every shiny object and attack with eagerness and intensity, but having the restraint to focus on the task at hand—having ADHD is fun and scary.
What I’ve done to take advantage of ADHD to its full potential is reading, mental health therapy, meditation, and self-discovery. A book that has helped me tremendously with having ADHD as an adult and creative is Thriving with Adult ADHD: Skills to Strengthen Executive Functioning Paperback , by Phil Bossiere. Reading it has taught me how to live with the condition and how to use it to my benefit, to say the least.
Another book that has helped me is The Miracle Morning: The Not-So-Obvious Secret Guaranteed to Transform Your Life (Before 8AM), by author Hal Elrod. The main takeaway from this book is to have a daily morning ritual where you spend time by yourself practicing the 5 S.A.V.E.R.S, which start with waking up early—4-6 am preferably, S (sitting in silence and meditating), Affirmation (reading out loud affirmations you’ve written out), Visionary (reviewing a vision board you’ve created), Exercise (self-explanatory), Reading (reading personal development books), Scribing (writing a journal entry). When I practice, this, I’m at my most productive state.
The Miracle Morning, has helped me stay focused and driven by leaps and bounds and I’d highly recommend it for anyone trying to make significant changes in their life—with or without ADHD.