Why Everyone Thinks They Have ADHD?

You know you might be overthinking when you drop your pen, and within three seconds you’ve already planned your life as a recluse because ‘what if people think I’m clumsy?’

That’s the tiny snowball that rolls into an avalanche in the mind of many young people today. For Gen Z, these spirals often come with a hashtag and a TikTok video diagnosis attached: “#ADHDlife” or “#NeurodivergentThings.”

But here’s the burning question: Is ADHD truly on the rise in Gen Z… or is it just another social media trend?

 Why It Feels So Real

If you’ve ever scrolled through TikTok and found yourself saying,

“Oh my gosh, that’s me. Wait… Do I have ADHD too?”

- you’re not alone.

Many Gen Z individuals feel a deep sense of relief seeing others talk about their distractibility, impulsive decisions, or inability to finish homework without 12 snack breaks. But alongside that relief comes confusion, self-doubt, and sometimes unnecessary anxiety.

 I see a pattern:

People come in convinced they have ADHD because they relate to short, relatable videos. But when we dig deeper, it’s often a mix of stress, poor sleep, constant notifications, and an overstimulating online environment.

The emotional cost?

• Self-labeling without assessment
• Fear of being “broken”
• A mental loop of “something’s wrong with me”

And that loop can spiral into low self-esteem, anxiety, or even depression — all without an actual ADHD diagnosis.

Signs and Symptoms - What ADHD Really Looks Like

According to DSM-5 and ICD-11, ADHD isn’t just “getting distracted easily.” The core symptoms fall into two main categories:

Inattention

• Frequent careless mistakes
• Difficulty sustaining attention in tasks
• Forgetfulness in daily activities
• Losing things needed for tasks (like your phone… in your hand)

Hyperactivity/Impulsivity

• Fidgeting or tapping excessively
• Trouble staying seated when expected
• Blurting out answers
• Interrupting others

These symptoms must be present before age 12, occur in multiple settings (not just school or work), and significantly impair daily functioning.

The Psychological Side — Beyond the Trend

ADHD is a neurodevelopmental disorder, not just a personality quirk.

It’s linked to differences in brain areas involved in attention, impulse control, and executive function — particularly the prefrontal cortex and dopamine pathways.

The tricky part?

Social media can make normal attention struggles look like ADHD because everyone experiences distractibility in our notification-heavy world. The line between “digital distraction” and “clinical ADHD” gets blurry.

Research-Based Evidence

• A 2022 study in Journal of Attention Disorders found a significant increase in ADHD assessments among Gen Z, but also noted that self-diagnosis via social media was common and often inaccurate.
• Another research review (Lancet Psychiatry, 2023) warned that while awareness is good, overdiagnosis can lead to unnecessary medication use or ignoring the real cause of symptoms — like anxiety, depression, or sleep disorders.

How I Discovered a Better Way to Help

I’ll never forget a 19-year-old student I worked with — let’s call her Sara.

She came in with tears in her eyes, saying, “I’m 99% sure I have ADHD. TikTok explained my entire life.”

After assessment, we found she didn’t have ADHD — she was burned out, juggling classes, a part-time job, and constant scrolling before bed that wrecked her sleep cycle.

Instead of giving her a label she didn’t need, we worked on specific mind reset techniques that re-trained her brain to handle focus, manage emotions, and reduce digital overstimulation.

Three months later, she smiled and said, “I can actually finish a task now without spiraling into 10 other things.”

Backed by Psychology & Brain Training Techniques

Instead of letting your brain get hijacked by self-diagnosis anxiety, here’s a practical, lesser-known approach I use with clients:

1 Trigger Mapping

• Track when you lose focus. Is it during long reading? After social media? When multitasking?
• Recognizing patterns removes self-blame and starts targeted change.

2 Sensory Grounding Focus Reset

• Every 25–30 minutes, stop and name: 5 things you see, 4 you hear, 3 you feel, 2 you smell, 1 you taste.
• This resets the brain’s attention circuits.

3 Task Chunking with Dopamine Hooks

• Break big tasks into micro-steps and attach a quick “feel good” activity after each — music, stretch, or brief walk.
• This uses the brain’s reward system to keep you engaged.

4 Mental “Tab Closing” Ritual

• Write down incomplete thoughts or to-dos before bed so your brain doesn’t keep them open like browser tabs.

5 Digital Diet Windows

• Restrict social media use to set “windows” instead of constant grazing — your attention span thanks you.

These aren’t generic time-management tips — they work because they rewire the way your brain responds to distractions and reward, similar to how we help ADHD clients build sustained attention.

Gen Z’s connection to ADHD is real — but so is the risk of mistaking everyday overstimulation for a clinical condition.

If you relate to ADHD symptoms, seek a proper psychological assessment. And remember: attention is a muscle; it grows with the right training, not just with labels.

Begin Your Journey with a 1 on 1 Consultation