this post was submitted on 14 Oct 2025
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ADHD

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Scientists report that people with more ADHD traits tend to score higher on measures of creativity than others

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[–] taiyang@lemmy.world 3 points 1 hour ago (1 children)

That's old news in research circles. ADHD has features you may or may not have: impulsivity, hyperactivity, and inattentiveness. Supposedly these traits are from a weakness in the brain that controls the "turning off" of other parts of the brain-- that is, you can't suppress as easily the thoughts and behaviors. I'm simplifying, btw, and why things like Adderall sometimes works or not kinda depends on what's causing that weakness (e.g. neurotransmitter uptake, underdeveloped section of brain, etc).

Now, imagine where creativity comes from. When your brain gets to just run without suppression, you think of weird shit. Those untethered thoughts can lead to creative inspiration, outside the box thinking, and so on.

There's other strengths to ADHD, too. Impulsivity under another label is initiative. Hyperactivity under another label is high energy. ADHD is often defined by how inconvenient it is for neurotypical folks, but it shouldn't. I mean, job posts frequently call for high energy free thinkers with initiative--- little does HR know they're asking for folks with ADHD! Lol

[–] snooggums@piefed.world 1 points 11 minutes ago

They want ADHD creativity in the same package as someone that can buckle down and do repetitive and tedious work when creativity isn't needed. If only they could wrap their heads around hiring two people for different kinds of work...

[–] huppakee@feddit.nl 1 points 2 hours ago

People without ADHD may be less creative, my personal experience found

[–] MadMadBunny@lemmy.ca 8 points 4 hours ago

We know… but nice to have it scientifically proven

[–] nixon@sh.itjust.works 9 points 4 hours ago (1 children)

My guess is because we have to develop creative problem solving skills in order to mask symptoms to avoid the stigma of ADHD or accomplish a similar level of productivity or accomplishment in work/life as those without ADHD.

Creativity and ADHD/neurodiversity has long been associated with each other but I don’t think the reason is predominately due to the brain wiring but more due to the environment in which we live. It is a coping mechanism for living in a world not built to accommodate.

[–] loonsun@sh.itjust.works 7 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

True, though it's also possible that the more "chaotic" nature of thoughts and neural connections in ADHD individuals inherently puts us at an advantage in creative tasks which expect people to make new connections between ideas. Like most things in psychology, the answer is likely a combination.

[–] nixon@sh.itjust.works 4 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

True as well, it is most likely a combination of many things, both nature and nurture related.

When is there ever a single cause for a behavior when we are studying a complex disorder with decades of unique life experiences layered on top of each person that affect the symptoms of that disorder?

There are an infinite number of variations and to boil it down to one thing is not helpful.

I didn’t intend for my statement to infer that, apologies if it did.

[–] moondoggie@lemmy.world 2 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

My crazy neural connections make me creative. My life of making excuses for my ADHD makes me a great DM and storyteller.

[–] snooggums@piefed.world 1 points 13 minutes ago

Same for me!

The best part is that making those weird connections really helps with fitting random outcomes into what seems like a coherent story through unexpected relevance after they happen. Less prep needed and I can have a vague idea of something to slot in if a halfway decent connection comes up.

Especially if it is a clever pun!

[–] jedibob5@lemmy.world 8 points 5 hours ago (2 children)

How does one quantify "creativity?" Seems like a pretty subjective kind of thing.

[–] loonsun@sh.itjust.works 6 points 3 hours ago

You can read the study to find out. You have to operationalize constructs like that in your paper. you're not wrong to be hesitant as creativity is a very complicated construct, but it's also a heavily studied one with many faucets and measurement tools.

[–] zout@fedia.io 2 points 3 hours ago

Well, according to what I've been seeing lately, creativity is anything that can be done poorly with AI.

[–] Lexam@lemmy.world 1 points 3 hours ago

This is a load of crap! You're lucky I'm not creative or I would have a good comeback for this article!

[–] Bronzebeard@lemmy.zip 1 points 5 hours ago* (last edited 5 hours ago)

I dunno, I've seen the shitty memes on the ADHD community. Every one is just: look at this totally normal behavior that I've randomly decided to attribute to adhd. Doesn't seem that creative