Written by Sasha Lovitz
Edited by Jonathan Cina
Imagine walking through a crowded room where every conversation — from the faint whispers in the corner to the booming bouts of laughter at the center — demands your attention. Now imagine trying to focus on a single task while each voice fights for dominance, their words blending into an overwhelming cacophony. This picture is the reality of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). It’s not a quirk or an excuse; it’s a relentless battle to navigate a world that often feels too loud, too fast, and too demanding.
College students with ADHD face an especially intense struggle. Navigating a setting that prioritizes focus, time management, and multitasking feels like an uphill climb. ADHD goes beyond simply forgetting tasks or missing deadlines; it’s the anxiety of sitting through a lecture as your mind wanders elsewhere (Green and Rabiner 2012). It’s the frustration of spending hours staring at a blank page, knowing exactly what you want to express but struggling to organize your racing thoughts.
Many college students with ADHD face an added layer of stigma. They often hear dismissive comments like, “College is hard for everyone” or “Maybe a little more effort is needed.” These remarks trivialize the very real challenges ADHD creates. It’s not about effort — it’s about brain wiring. Focusing on a paper may feel nearly impossible, as one’s brain might be hyperfocused on something, leading to hours of unplanned distractions. Despite this reality, the misconceptions persist, leaving many students isolated.
Many college students with ADHD suffer from other people’s misconceptions that they are excessively hyperactive and disruptive. This oversimplifies the diversity within ADHD, particularly the inattentive presentation, where individuals may struggle more with daydreaming, forgetfulness, or staying focused rather than hyperactive behavior. For example, a college student with inattentive ADHD might silently struggle in class, appearing disengaged or unmotivated, leading others to label them as disinterested or lazy. This misconception of those who don’t exhibit outwardly hyperactive traits but still face significant challenges. Challenging these stigmas requires understanding that ADHD presents differently in each individual and that struggles with focus or productivity are not reflective of someone’s intelligence, effort, or worth.
The high-pressure environment of college often worsens mental health challenges like PTSD, anxiety, depression, or ADHD (Kirkbridge et. al., 2024). Deadlines loom, exams pile up, and social expectations tug from every direction. For someone facing these struggles, the weight can feel overwhelming. Balancing the drive to succeed with the constant fear of failure becomes an all-too-common experience.
Living with ADHD and mental health struggles in college doesn’t mean you are incapable or alone. If you’re a college student managing ADHD or other mental health challenges, know that you are not alone. Your struggles are valid and your efforts matter. Take advantage of the resources available to you. Many colleges offer support groups and mental health counseling to help students like you succeed. Contact friends, mentors, or instructors who can provide understanding and support. It takes a great deal of courage to reach out for help in an environment that tells you to “suck it up” and keep moving. It takes a special kind of bravery for an individual to admit, even to themselves, that they need help and are struggling. Asking for help is not a sign of weakness; it’s a powerful act of strength and courage.
As a society, we need to do better for ourselves and others. We need to create academic environments that embrace diverse approaches to learning and thinking. These environments are diverse from exercises to reduce fidgeting, changes in lighting and humidity, and modern technological aids such as white noise machines or interactive digital platforms. In general, the optimal space, “considers the spatial needs of these students, offering clear sightlines to the teaching area, minimizing high-traffic zones, and providing designated spaces for breaks of one-on-one instruction” (Willis 2024). The stigma surrounding ADHD and mental health needs to be replaced with empathy and understanding that dismantles the stigmas surrounding ADHD and mental health, replacing judgment with empathy. Society, as a whole, should strive to perceive mental health as a priority and treat it with the same urgency and compassion as physical health. It’s essential to acknowledge how success looks different to everyone and is perfectly okay.
References:
Green, A. L., & Rabiner, D. L. (2012). What do we really know about ADHD in college students?. Neurotherapeutics: the journal of the American Society for Experimental NeuroTherapeutics, 9(3), 559–568. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13311-012-0127-8
Kirkbride, J. B., Anglin, D. M., Colman, I., Dykxhoorn, J., Jones, P. B., Patalay, P., Pitman, A., Soneson, E., Steare, T., Wright, T., & Griffiths, S. L. (2024). The social determinants of mental health and disorder: evidence, prevention and recommendations. World psychiatry: official journal of the World Psychiatric Association (WPA), 23(1), 58–90. https://doi.org/10.1002/wps.21160
Willis, A. (2024, February 5). Classroom Comfort: The Role of Environmental Factors in Supporting ADHD Students. Retrieved December 16, 2024, from https://www.maetoday.org/new-from-mae/classroom-comfort-role-environmental-factors-supporting-adhd-students#:~:text=The%20layout%20of%20a%20classroom,one%2Don%2Done%20instruction.
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