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116 People Share Things They Thought Were Normal Until They Realized They’re Neurodivergent
Many people discover, sometimes much later than expected, that they are not neurotypical, often because the signs were there, but just interpreted as, say, a fun, personal quirk. So we’ve gathered examples of neurodivergent and ADHD traits that people thought were just “normal” behaviors for the longest time.
An important note, don’t diagnose yourself from an online list, many of these behaviors are not necessarily exclusive to neurodivergence. Settle in as you scroll through, upvote your favorites and be sure to share your own experiences and thoughts in the comments down below.
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#1
Needing to have the captions on during a movie in order to hear better
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#2
The ADHD paralysis and shame spiral for my horrible, horrible housekeeping skills.
#4
Starting to clean an area, finding a thing that goes somewhere else, taking it there and seeing that area needs cleaning, start cleaning that area, finding a thing that goes somewhere else….
Rick Murray 2 hours ago
Starting to clean an area, finding some old bit of rubbish and three days later there's a long rambling blog post (and maybe a YouTube video) about some bit of tech from the 80s. Deep dives are fun. I can hyperfocus on one thing *and* have an excuse nothing else gets done (cough, including dinner), so it's a win right? Plus I'm learning....a skill that might have been invaluable forty years ago. 😂
#5
I realized that, when someone tells me a story or something, I immediately think of a similar experience that fits to theirs and share it as soon as they’ve finished, which may come across as „me trying to make it about myself“, when in reality it’s my ADHD attempt to make them feel seen 🥺
#6
Being completely calm in a crisis, but having a total meltdown over the smallest thing
#7
Procrastinating, i honestly just thought it was something everyone struggled and I wasn’t weird for waiting to do my school assignments until the night before they are due 😭
#8
over sharing to connect with someone. i didn't realize people thought it was being self absorbed. having multiple hobbies/projects. hyper fixation on collections, topics (reading mainly like holocaust, ancient Egypt, the tudors etc)
StrangeOne 2 hours ago
The amount of mental energy it takes to not jump in at everything people talk about should be an Olympic sport.
#9
I wasn’t diagnosed with adhd but is it normal to be reading a book and then realising you’re just thinking about something instead of reading so you have to go back.
meeeeeeeeeeee 2 hours ago
I cannae read a book, laddie. No idea what the last paragraph said. I can read online fine tho, weird.
#10
Piles. Piles everywhere lmao
StrangeOne 2 hours ago (edited)
This used to be me. I hated tidying and cleaning when I was growing up. My mom hounded me about it all the time. Since I've lived away from her, having to clean and tidy my whole home on my own, I do appreciate keeping it tidy on a regular basis so it's not so overwhelming when I decide it's cleaning day.
#11
THE ANGER THAT BUILDS IN YOU HAVING TO REPEAT YOURSELF
#12
Interrupting people when they talk because you already assumed how the story will end (most of the times right)
Rick Murray 2 hours ago
It's because talking is such an incredibly slow method of information transfer, and...some...people...are...so...much...worse ThatYouCouldFitAnEntireThoughtInBetweenTheirWords.
#13
Being able to hear electricity. ⚡️
#14
Hearing my voice in my head when I’m reading, apparently some people don’t hear any voice….HOW CAN THEY READ 😬😬😬
#15
Skipping ahead a few lines while reading then forcing myself to go back and read the now boring bit cause I spoiled the next bit for myself
#16
“waiting mode”. if i have an appointment or something scheduled at like 3, my entire day will revolve around it. like i could wake up at 9 o clock and think no i cant watch a movie, what if it’s accidentally 8 hours long and i miss my appointment. i also will get ready for the appointment at like 11am and literally sit and wait until it’s time
Rick Murray 1 hour ago
I have a car repair at 1.30pm. I think I'm already in waiting mode (it's twenty past six in the morning).
#17
apparently there is "ADHD handwriting" where the letters look lazy at some points and sometimes it looks like it was written by different people bc we keep changing our letter style probs cuz we get bored 👀
#18
Are those ADHD signs? Been walking into door jams & corners my whole life. Who knew?
#19
The anger toward loud noises. It is just unbearable.
#20
One ADHD symptom I thought was normal was needing pressure or urgency to function. I only moved when things felt critical, but went flat when things were calm.
#21
Getting frustrated when people don’t finish their sentences fast enough, or don’t talk fast enough
Rick Murray 2 hours ago
This. And then they have the audacity to get upset because you deliver an entire paragraph in the time they manage a few words.
#23
Talking to myself… it calms me down but people look at me crazy… I thought everyone did this
#24
the postural sway 100% I thought everyone could do it🤣😭
StrangeOne 3 hours ago (edited)
Posture sway? I need more elaboration on this. Okay, I looked it up. It basically means more compensation for imbalance by shifting your body weight when you stand and uneven movements, so you're more clumsy.
#26
i’ve seen other people say this who have ADHD & ADD, i don’t miss people.. out of sight, out of mind.
StrangeOne 2 hours ago
I never thought of it as an ADHD thing. Throughout my life I've questioned why I don't get upset when friends move or when I move away. I eventually miss them a bit. I think of them once in a while. Wonder if they still think of me. I thought that was normal, but some people are just overly-emotional. Same with crying when very, very happy. I have felt that I need to fake reactions so others don't think I'm cold and uncaring. I hate that I have to fake showing emotions.
#27
That not everyone’s brain was filled with random clips of music on a loop or a word repeating constantly or that sometimes… sometimes there’s SILENCE in others people’s heads… like whaaattt!? My flabbers were ghasted
Rick Murray 2 hours ago
As much as it's tiring having all the noise up there, I think *silence* would be terrifying. Where would my sanity be without my highly snarky inner monologue?
#28
Not being able to focus on something if I'm not 100% interested in it
StrangeOne 2 hours ago
I call this free-will to choose to spend the time and energy on something I'm more interested in.
#30
Feeling like Im being watched. Not in a paranoid "the govt is monitoring me" way, just always feeling this underlying feeling that Im being judged even when Im just standing in line at the grocery store
#31
Getting unreasonably angry over minor inconveniences affecting your schedule (people walking slow, talking slow, blocking the metro doors, stopping in the middle of a hallway etc)
StrangeOne 2 hours ago
I get this and don't like it. I hate impatience from other people. I have it done to me when people think I'm in the way. It's a crappy feeling. So I try to remind myself to be patient and just chill. It's not easy, but I'm getting better at it.
#32
Listening to the instructions, but not listening to them- because you need to see it done first and THEN told the instructions before it can “click”. 😅
Rick Murray 1 hour ago
Oh yes, visual learning. Instructions are a waste of time, just show me once.
#33
Recognizing in the moment that the thing I am stuck on doing is the thing that’s going to make me late, but not being able to stop until it’s done.
meeeeeeeeeeee 1 hour ago
and that is why we wait all day instead of starting a task if we need to be somewhere
#34
Apparently your mind is supposed to be quiet and think one thought at a time. My mind was FLABBERGASTED when I realized that was normal.
meeeeeeeeeeee 2 hours ago
I doubt one thought at a time is normal. That seems like a different disorder. One person I've known has said they had that and they are a psychopath - not in like a dramatic evil or bad way, just a psychopath.
#35
Always and I mean always having a song playing in my head. Even when I’m thinking of other things, the song is there.
#37
People at work always called me “Rainman”because I remember every detail of something but I can’t remember big things. I thought they were strange. Also, I hate turtlenecks and anything that wraps up around my neck and it seems like everyone else loves it.
#38
Deciding something only takes 20 minutes (when in fact it takes hours) while at the same time avoiding tasks because your brain has decided said task takes hours, when in fact, it really is a 5 minute task. Or when you doom scroll for “5 minutes” that turns into 5 hours.
#39
Constant music on repeat in my head. People can say certain words that are from songs I know and it triggers a new song to play in my mind. I will wake up in the middle of the night, and the music starts again. It’s really aggravating.
#40
Eating the same food, listening to the same songs, watching the same movies. On repeat.
#41
Running through social scenarios in my head just in case. for example "if the cashier asks why they havent seen me in a while ill explain I had lots of leftovers after going out"
#42
Deconstructing food and not making direct eye contact with people. Also, maladaptive daydreaming.
StrangeOne 2 hours ago
Maladaptive Daydreaming is a specific mental condition. There is overlap with ADHD inattentiveness and MD, but it's not exactly the same. MD can cause an obsessive tendency to really immerse one's self in a fantasy they've created, blurring their imagination and reality, to the point the person with MD will think it's real. Basically, a state of delusion. Inattentive ADHD and MD both disassociate, hyperfocus, become unaware of their surroundings and what's going on, become angry at being interrupted, sleep problems.
#43
Rejection sensitive dysphoria. I had no idea how people could just shake it off and move on.
PunnyPanda 1 hour ago
My old doc, William Dodson, has some really great articles in Additude mag and elsewhere, if anyone struggles with this and want to know more about coping with it.
#44
Adhd handwriting, forgetting things, being hyper for no entire reason, saying random things
#46
Thinking nobody likes me and nobody wants to be my friend and I shouldn’t call to hang out because then I’m just bothering people.
#47
Constantly tell myself “I’ll clean the house today or imma clean the dishes (and then keep saying and saying it untill on a random day I CLEAN THE HOUSE AND THE DISHES RIGHT AWAY WITH 0 READON)
#48
Eating the same food over and over and over again... and liking it until you're sick of it. Then moving onto another type of food.
Rick Murray 1 hour ago
Took the exact same meal to work for about six years. Then I started to feel actually ill eating it. I have settled on a different preferred meal, but the time in between was traumatic and more than a few days going hungry because I'd open it and...oh god no. Colour, texture, things too mixed, I don't know.
#49
Hyper fixation on a hobby and buying EVERYTHING for it and 2 weeks later it’s in the craft closet with $1k+ of other crafting/hobbies stuff just collecting dust. I also know that I won’t ever be bored because all the stuff in the creating closet so it’s like a safety net. 🤷🏼♀️🤦🏼♀️
#52
Not wanting to wear certain type of fabrics/ clothing because it made me feel like a million tiny critters were running over my skin….now I understand 🥹
#53
Replaying arguments (from years ago) and finally having solid comebacks
#54
asking someone what they said and then immediately knowing as soon as they start to repeat themselves 😭
#55
watching people's mouths while they talk so I can 'hear' them better
StrangeOne 2 hours ago
It's less uncomfortable than the eyes. Even in cartoons, I've always looked at their mouths.
#58
Having my best friends tell me about the coolest things we’ve done together in past, and I have no memory of them 😔 wish I did
#59
Forgetting to close cabinets...being tired as hell all day then doom scrolling til 2AM...having 10K tabs open on my phone's browser...
#60
Having a conversation in my head first then blurting the other half of it out loud to my partner… or jumping to random topics
#61
Unable to watch movies without subtitles. Unable to understand verbal instructions unless provided written text or making notes so I don’t forget.
#62
Maybe not normal, because I knew other people did not do it, but knowing what is going to happen in series and movies, or guess what other people is going to say before they finish their sentence (not always right in this last one, though) because we are "aware" of patterns and just use them to fill out information.
meeeeeeeeeeee 1 hour ago
I like to blurt out the lines in a scene when it's my first time watching it, just before they say it on the screen. Makes me feel like a smug wee b***h.
#63
Learning everything about an activity/hobby I am interested to include buying all the required tools. Map out a routine with an end of year outcome with quarterly, weekly, daily goals. Them, never do said activity.
#64
Feeling like I’m wrong all of the time.
StrangeOne 1 hour ago
Since I work at a store, sometimes I catch shifty people doing shifty things. I have to report it to the manager. I feel like I'm doing something wrong, giving the wrong information and description. Today, I literally couldn't remember if I saw someone's purse in the colour I recall seeing it. I saw she was carrying a purse I remember as not being the one she carried, but similar. Just flipped colours of the straps and bag. It still bothers me to wonder if I gave the right information or not, and if it will get me in trouble tomorrow if I gave the wrong info.
#66
Making random noises and repeating phrases that feel nice - my latest one is pizza pie (no idea why)
#67
Putting things in very safe places and then forgetting where that safe place was. Four years later I still can’t find the very safe place I hid my daughter’s bracelet charms.
#68
Constantly needing stimulation but NOT TOO MUCH. if I don’t have the tv or music or podcast on in the background my mind just won’t stop.
#70
being able to actually read people. almost like knowing all the answers to a book...before you even open it
#71
Sleeping without socks
#72
Remembering people's birthdays you haven't seen in 30 years. Knowing what year most movies came out.
#73
I always have my brightness all the way down on my phone and notice how it affects my vision when it’s really bright
#74
that some people cannot see images in their mind? like extreme disassociation or maladaptive daydreaming. I can replay entire movies in my mind and see and hear everything like I'm actually watching in real time. apparently that's not the normal 😬
#75
All of it. All. All of it! Not wanting to cook cus it’s too many steps, not wanting to clean cus it’s too many steps, not wanting to do laundry cus it’s too many steps.. only being motivated by having to.
#76
15 conversations with myself. All in my head. All,with diff character voices & faces/bodies. Also, not officially diagnosed, but I've read a thing or two.
#77
Object permanence. But also getting blind from objects that are always in the same place because my brain doesn’t register them anymore
#78
having layered thoughts constantly, maladaptive daydreaming, listening to a song/eating the same thing over and over till i’m sick of it, having “a thing about textures”, burst of motivation that cuts short randomly. the list goes on lol…
#79
Auditory processing disorder. I used to call it auditory dyslexia until i found out the actual name. I can hear people, i just dont understand what theyre saying cause it sounds like gibberish
#80
I hip check everything. I'm suuuper clumsy. Always in need of stimulation, but can't be overly stimulated.
#81
Stimming!!!! My parents used to belittle & slap me for me doing it up into my young (mid 20's) adulthood.
#82
Everything is a soundtrack. The need to overshare. Having 400 tabs open on ur iPad. Listening to the same song hundreds of times. Waiting until the last minute to do everything.
#84
Maladaptive daydreaming, being calm under enourmous stress and pressure but blowing up over tiny things that aren’t a big deal, hyper focusing on tasks I find interesting but unable to start/do tasks I loath.
#86
ADHD paralysis i knew i wasn't lazy just at times I couldn't get my self to do things and I didn't know why
#87
hearing power lines and refrigerators
#88
remembering all negative things that happened to me on a loop randomly through my life. multiple times a week.
#90
Task paralysis. I know I need to do it, and it’s not even hard but I just freaking can’t. 😭
#94
hearing absolutely everything at once and being unable to focus on singular sounds or just blocking it out which apparently is a thing neurotypical people can do
#95
That normal people don't ruminate over every task for twice as long as it takes to do the task. They just do it? apparantly, I guess.
#97
Too much information thrown at me then shutting down as a result
#99
Thinking so multidimensional and in layers all at once. The pattern recognition that comes w that caliber of thinking. It’s very hard for me to have conversations w “normal ppl” and I’m working on how to articulate better to ppl
#100
I smell everything I eat and if it even smells a tiny bit off I can not eat it. 😬😅 My mom says looking back she can clearly see the signs but I’m a 90s kid so 🤷♀️😅
#101
Hypersensitivity, when I was younger I was diagnosed with ADHD and then I later developed 2 anxiety disorders. I thought having strong emotions and feelings towards people, environments, and words they say was normal. But I guess it wasn’t.
#102
Being able to physically feel music and sound. I never knew that wasn’t normal. Found out I have synesthesia 2 months ago. I just turned 49 🤷🏽♀️
#103
Needing to research something for days, weeks, months comparing each one on multiple different websites different models or years, learning everything about it. finding a YouTube video unboxing, how it looks. then how it is when it has a problem. Then if it is something that a lot of companies would make a case for that I could find that I liked. Whole time it’s a Nintendo switch. Or how it would look in my house like for tvs. I think everyone does this but after like 7 hrs straight or a couple days of that that’s it but it’s like I can’t I need to know I’m right
#104
Having one specific line of a song stuck in my head so often that every morning, within five minutes of waking up, I was like “oh that’s today’s anthem”. And then it just…never goes away.
#105
I thought everyone had constant chatter/sounds or songs going through their head 24/7. Apparently that is not normal 😃
#106
Actually being a genuine person 😅 I learned the hard way people are not authentically kind or care about you
#108
I thought it was normal for people to always be thinking about something and I would ask my husband what he is thinking about and he would say nothing and I would wonder why he didn’t want to talk about what was going on in his head in the background all the time. Then I learned in therapy not everyone has an inner dialogue constantly. it’s a symptom of my ADHD. I was just diagnosed this year. I’m 27. 🖤
#110
“Zoning out”. I was getting called out by teachers for disassociating during class as a young child
#112
constantly being reminded how mean people will be to me, even though I always treated them with kindness, courtesy, and friendship - including family 😔
#113
Losing a week if my daily schedule deviates from my normal routine
Grant Slade 10 minutes ago
Reminds me of a cartoon I once saw. Kathy said, "I slept in so my day is ruined. My day is ruined so my whole week is ruined. The week is ruined so the whole month is ruined. The month is ruined so my whole year is ruined. The year is ruined so my whole life is RUINED !!
#114
Just being extremely fast. Whether its walking, doing an activity or task. Telling a story i’ll skip to like 5 side stories so pplnoften said I was bad at explaining things in a step by step way
#116
Knowing people’s intentions of what they’re thinking and feeling, even though they’re not acting like it, I thought everybody was able to do that until I realized that it was not normal
What do you think ?
Tucker Cahooter 2 hours ago
I don't think I saw compulsive list making in this thread. One of the reasons my wife thinks I am weird
Tucker Cahooter 2 hours ago
I don't think I saw compulsive list making in this thread. One of the reasons my wife thinks I am weird
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