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Everything You Need to Know About Being an Artist with ADHD.
It seems as if the information about ADHD in the media is overly saturated with negatives, focused solely on the problems and challenges that ADHD brings to light. However, I want to delve into how an alteration in mindset can transform a hindrance into a superpower. For me, this switch in attitude is anchored in art. Here is how I turned my life around, and how you can too.
As a side note, why is it so difficult to find an image of a person with ADHD where they don't look stressed or sad?
With the increasing rise in ADHD diagnoses, combined with its incredibly wide variety of symptoms and effects, I think this topic is as important as ever. There is already an abundance of information out there about ADHD in everyday life, so I found the idea of relating it to art quite intriguing. Also, as an artist with an ADHD diagnosis, I have a fair amount of insight into the topic.
The first step is to accept who you are.
The most vital thing to address, before getting into the specifics of ADHD within art, is that our neurotypical world is simply not designed for neurodiversity. This is the reason you may have achieved much lower than your potential during school, why the 'normal' working hours are too much for you, and why you feel lazy when you're just mentally paralysed.
(A great analogy to read about this is the flower story: The Flower Story)
Accepting that you function differently and actually thrive in environments that work for you, rather than squeezing yourself into a box that you simply do not fit into, is the first step to unlocking success within any industry. Here I will be sharing my guide to unlocking this success within the art industry.
Change your mindset, change your life.
Your thoughts constitute your perception of reality. For example, if everyday I tell myself, and everyone around me that I am boring, I am. If I say that I am fun, on the other hand, I then become fun. Why is that you might ask? It is because words have power. The more you hear something, the more you will believe it, as your natural confirmation bias picks out examples of these things in your day, and validates what you are hearing about yourself.
The same goes for your ADHD. If you constantly tell yourself that you will never be successful because your ADHD is holding you back, you will not be. If you keep telling yourself that you will achieve everything you set out to do, you'll start to believe it, and then you will start to see it. ADHDers have a fascinating tendency to hyper focus on certain things and subsequently excel in these areas, and being aware that you have this remarkable ability in your corner is a game changer.
Disclaimer: as much as this post is about how to blossom in the arts, the reality is that if you have ADHD, you can probably flourish in any area! The key is simply WANTING to do it.
You DON'T Need to Find a Niche.
Niches and ADHD are like oil and water. The ADHD brain naturally jumps from one thing to another, excited to explore a new material, style or craft. This is not to say that people with ADHD cannot stick to doing something that they love for a while, but, from my experience, the desire to try something new will inevitably begin to form.
So, with the omnipresent societal pressure to find a 'niche' in order to excel, how are artists with ADHD supposed to succeed? The answer is simply to ignore the irrational expectations that the world has of you to self-categorise your work and stay within these boundaries. Success is only limited by you. Everything comes back to the idea that the path that you think has been carved out for you is not the one you have to go down. The sheer beauty of neurodiversity is in being able to access a much broader spectrum of desires and skills than the vast majority. Carve your own path, wander through the woods, stray off the path all together and get on a boat! Realising that you don't have to limit the scope of your creativity is ultimately what will allow you to prosper, despite not having a permanent niche.
Avoid Burnout Without Switching Off
One of the most helpful lessons that I discovered while managing ADHD burnout is that destimulation does not have to mean doing nothing. A lot of the time, I would experience a burnout and commit myself to a dark room with just my phone and doom scroll for hours on end. However, once I realised that having an outlet where my 'monkey mind' could switch off for a while, where that profound guilt over 'wasting time' would not arise, the daunting notion of a burnout seemed to fizzle out.
"Our discursive mind is like the mind of that monkey; it serves us well but never gives us a moment's rest. Even at night we're living out dramas and working out problems in our dreams." – Lama Tsomo
A major principle to keep in mind, though, is that this outlet will be different for everyone. For some it may be painting, for others drawing, or furniture making, and so on; the list of potential mental escapes is never-ending. Working out what creative channel effectively recharges your soul will allow you to maintain an upwards projection of productivity whilst balancing the energy required for healthy necessary functions.
Start Creating: Find Out Where You Flourish.
Where and When Are You Most Yourself?
The best way to find out what works is to experiment! Try different things that you think might interest you, activate new parts of your brain and love your creative drive. You are an incredible force, so use this strength to balance your life.
Some Great Resources and Avenues to Explore:
I personally love this planner and have raved about it to everyone I know. It is an ADHD dream, and since it has everything in it that you could possibly need, the urge to splurge out on seven different notebooks that will eventually get lost or forgotten somewhat diminishes:
If you're interested in macrame, knitting, crochet or embroidery, I will be posting a blog soon with some helpful information for beginners, but in the meantime, here are a few videos and materials that I have tried and loved:
A couple great books that can help you, or those around you, understand specifically women with ADHD:
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