Conversation

I’ll simplify it further: ADHD is really ODD. Obedience deficit disorder. Some of us are wired to disobey. That’s it

Quote Tweet

brainlet

@magicianbrain

· Jan 8

idk why everyone is so confused about ADHD. it's just what happens when the alienation of modern life biases your central nervous system to produce disordered phenomenology such that variegated emotional blocks will hinder cogent evaluation of relational stakes. simple really

Show this thread

178

as much as i like the vibe of this i don’t actually think that’s what ADHD is. i still think gabor mate pretty much nailed it. what you’re describing is what he calls “counterwill” drgabormate.com/book/scattered

Quote Tweet

· Apr 13, 2020

The idea of counterwill, as introduced to me by Gabor Mate continues to inform how I view behavior

Show this thread

wait so the idea here is that counterwill is comorbid with ADD/ADHD, but not the same thing? what is ADD minus counterwill then?

i’d say it’s a common symptom. minus counterwill you still have stuff like the classic attentional issues (even outside of school eg), also stuff like rejection sensitive dysphoria, which i think gabor mate would describe in terms of emotional dysregulation

hrm, in this frame I think of "attentional issues" *as* a manifestation of counterwill rather than something distinct from it

5:45 PM · Jan 9, 2022Twitter for iPad

Replying to

@visakanv

yeah it often occurs that way to me, that’s a fair way to slice it. i think the emotional dysregulation stuff is somewhat distinct though, or you could even argue that counterwill is a manifestation of it

Replying to

the attention stuff I feel like i have a grasp on but the emotional dysregulation stuff is sort of a murky space for me so idk how to think or talk about it yet, will have to read the book and probably cry about it