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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
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….
Robert Trebor 3 hours ago (edited)
Starting to.clean, finding a book, or a paper, or a map, and two hours later ...
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#2
Being completely calm in a crisis, but having a total meltdown over the smallest thing
#3
Needing to have the captions on during a movie in order to hear better
#4
“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 9 hours 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).
#6
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 9 hours ago
I cannae read a book, laddie. No idea what the last paragraph said. I can read online fine tho, weird.
#7
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 🥺
#9
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 😭
#10
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
#11
The ADHD paralysis and shame spiral for my horrible, horrible housekeeping skills.
#12
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
#13
Getting frustrated when people don’t finish their sentences fast enough, or don’t talk fast enough
Rick Murray 9 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.
#14
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
#15
Piles. Piles everywhere lmao
StrangeOne 10 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.
#16
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.
#17
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.
Nadine Debard 6 hours ago
This is exactly me. Songs I never heard for 30 years. Now I look for them (now you can sing and the phone tells you which song it is) and I hear them full blast to make them go. Otherwise they can stay up to 3 weeks stuck in my head.
#18
Empathy and strong sense of justice
#19
i’ve seen other people say this who have ADHD & ADD, i don’t miss people.. out of sight, out of mind.
LB 6 hours ago
I have this one, too. My spouse knows it's not personal, but I sometimes... forget they exist, when we spend time apart. I think it's because my brain has no space for too many alternative realities. So I don't like change, but I'm always the food to adjust to the new status quo. I'm autistic though.
#21
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 👀
#22
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 9 hours ago
Oh yes, visual learning. Instructions are a waste of time, just show me once.
#23
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 h*******t, ancient Egypt, the tudors etc)
#24
Hearing my voice in my head when I’m reading, apparently some people don’t hear any voice….HOW CAN THEY READ 😬😬😬
#26
Interrupting people when they talk because you already assumed how the story will end (most of the times right)
Rick Murray 9 hours ago
It's because talking is such an incredibly slow method of information transfer, and...some...people...are...so...much...worse ThatYouCouldFitAnEntireThoughtInBetweenTheirWords.
#27
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 9 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.
#28
Not being able to focus on something if I'm not 100% interested in it
StrangeOne 9 hours ago
I call this free-will to choose to spend the time and energy on something I'm more interested in.
#29
Talking to myself… it calms me down but people look at me crazy… I thought everyone did this
#30
I always have my brightness all the way down on my phone and notice how it affects my vision when it’s really bright
#31
Being able to hear electricity. ⚡️
#32
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 9 hours 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.
#33
Replaying arguments (from years ago) and finally having solid comebacks
#35
Are those ADHD signs? Been walking into door jams & corners my whole life. Who knew?
#37
Eating the same food, listening to the same songs, watching the same movies. On repeat.
Nadine Debard 6 hours ago
It gives your mind an impression of safety because you already know what will happen.
#38
the postural sway 100% I thought everyone could do it🤣😭
StrangeOne 10 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.
#39
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"
#40
asking someone what they said and then immediately knowing as soon as they start to repeat themselves 😭
#42
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 9 hours ago
and that is why we wait all day instead of starting a task if we need to be somewhere
#43
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.
#44
Unable to watch movies without subtitles. Unable to understand verbal instructions unless provided written text or making notes so I don’t forget.
#45
Always and I mean always having a song playing in my head. Even when I’m thinking of other things, the song is there.
#46
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. 🤷🏼♀️🤦🏼♀️
#48
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.
#49
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.
#50
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.
#51
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.
#53
Forgetting to close cabinets...being tired as hell all day then doom scrolling til 2AM...having 10K tabs open on my phone's browser...
#54
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 9 hours 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.
#55
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.
T'Mar of Vulcan 14 minutes ago
So much me! I have so many bottles of nail polish, for example. Bought every kind under the sun. Got tired of painting my nails after 2 months. Have every type of 4-ply yarn. (Yay, I've started a new blanket so it's not going to waste!) Scrapbooking supplies that I keep replenishing even though I only do a few pages every couple of months. Etc.
#56
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 9 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.
#57
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)
#59
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.
#61
Task paralysis. I know I need to do it, and it’s not even hard but I just freaking can’t. 😭
#62
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 🥹
#63
Deconstructing food and not making direct eye contact with people. Also, maladaptive daydreaming.
StrangeOne 9 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.
#64
Rejection sensitive dysphoria. I had no idea how people could just shake it off and move on.
PunnyPanda 9 hours 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.
#65
Adhd handwriting, forgetting things, being hyper for no entire reason, saying random things
#66
Object permanence. But also getting blind from objects that are always in the same place because my brain doesn’t register them anymore
#68
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
#69
Feeling like I’m wrong all of the time.
StrangeOne 9 hours 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.
#70
Making random noises and repeating phrases that feel nice - my latest one is pizza pie (no idea why)
Dave Reekie 52 minutes ago
Yep, always sing Christmas carols coming down the stairs. Never going up.and in June - time of year makes no difference! Diagnosed autistic at 53 years old
#71
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
#72
remembering all negative things that happened to me on a loop randomly through my life. multiple times a week.
#74
Feel energy shift in different environments, conversations and people
#76
Too much information thrown at me then shutting down as a result
#77
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 😬
T'Mar of Vulcan 10 minutes ago
I remember being bored on the bus home one day and watching the entire Star Trek TOS episode "Amok Time" in my head. People I told were so amazed!
#78
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.
#79
I thought everyone had constant chatter/sounds or songs going through their head 24/7. Apparently that is not normal 😃
#80
watching people's mouths while they talk so I can 'hear' them better
StrangeOne 9 hours ago
It's less uncomfortable than the eyes. Even in cartoons, I've always looked at their mouths.
#81
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
T'Mar of Vulcan 8 minutes ago
I'm a teacher and the kids mumble terribly. (Also, I'm South African and we have lots of slightly different accents - plus lots of immigrants from other African countries.) If a child talks to me and I don't know what they said I get them to come to me, face me and say it again. I thought it was hearing loss!
#82
Having a conversation in my head first then blurting the other half of it out loud to my partner… or jumping to random topics
#83
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. 🖤
Dave Reekie 48 minutes ago
The other day I was doing the dishes and ‘Nellie the Elephant’ was my current earworm. Halfway through I stopped to ask my wife if she knew the name of Nellie’s friend ( the head of the herd was Colin) She asked me why I was thinking of that and the answer is - well isn’t it an obvious connection?
#87
being able to actually read people. almost like knowing all the answers to a book...before you even open it
#88
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
#91
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
#92
Remembering people's birthdays you haven't seen in 30 years. Knowing what year most movies came out.
#93
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 🤷♀️😅
#94
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
#95
Actually being a genuine person 😅 I learned the hard way people are not authentically kind or care about you
#97
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.
#98
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…
#99
I hip check everything. I'm suuuper clumsy. Always in need of stimulation, but can't be overly stimulated.
#100
Stimming!!!! My parents used to belittle & slap me for me doing it up into my young (mid 20's) adulthood.
#101
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.
#102
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.
#104
hearing power lines and refrigerators
#105
being clumsy. It clicked so hard when I found that out. 😭😭😭
T'Mar of Vulcan 6 minutes ago
My mother always said to me, "You're so onhandig" ('onhandig' is Afrikaans for 'unhandy', so basically clumsy). Then couldn't understand why I struggled with socializing in high school, and blamed me.
#107
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.
#108
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.
#109
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 🤷🏽♀️
#111
“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 7 hours 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 ?
Multa Nocte 6 hours ago
Clinical psychologist here. BP readers PLEASE do not use this list of quirky behaviours to self-diagnose. One of the biggest frustrations I have as a psychologist is having people come to me and telling me they are neurodivergent because they compared themself to something they read on the Internet. A number of these descriptions don't even technically fit in as definitions of any characteristic of neurodivergence. It is always important to know the context - when does it happen, how often does it happen, how does it impact the person's functioning versus is something that is just "quirky." If you have been diagnosed by a competent clinician who has experience with neurodivergent people and is licensed to use the DSM (or whatever diagnostic manual is used in your area of the world), that is great. However, a friend, a colleague, or an article on the Internet is just a start. Just as you shouldn't use Dr. Google to self-diagnose medical conditions, please don't use Dr. Google for this.
Did I say that out loud? 2 hours ago
But how are they going to feel special and unique without a fancy label, even if they do have to give it to themselves?
Load More Replies...
Tucker Cahooter 9 hours ago
I don't think I saw compulsive list making in this thread. One of the reasons my wife thinks I am weird
Multa Nocte 6 hours ago
Clinical psychologist here. BP readers PLEASE do not use this list of quirky behaviours to self-diagnose. One of the biggest frustrations I have as a psychologist is having people come to me and telling me they are neurodivergent because they compared themself to something they read on the Internet. A number of these descriptions don't even technically fit in as definitions of any characteristic of neurodivergence. It is always important to know the context - when does it happen, how often does it happen, how does it impact the person's functioning versus is something that is just "quirky." If you have been diagnosed by a competent clinician who has experience with neurodivergent people and is licensed to use the DSM (or whatever diagnostic manual is used in your area of the world), that is great. However, a friend, a colleague, or an article on the Internet is just a start. Just as you shouldn't use Dr. Google to self-diagnose medical conditions, please don't use Dr. Google for this.
Did I say that out loud? 2 hours ago
But how are they going to feel special and unique without a fancy label, even if they do have to give it to themselves?
Load More Replies... Tucker Cahooter 9 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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