ADHD and Witchcraft
So I saw an ask coming from a witch with ADHD who is struggling to feel like a real witch after all the distraction caused by their ADHD. I didn't want to hijack the post, but I feel compelled to talk about this.
I am a witch with unmedicated ADHD. I've been unmedicated for three years (as long as I've been a witch, yes I know I'm still learning, no it was not intentional, just coincidental timing, and yes I have made an informed choice to go unmedicated, if others choose to be medicated, that's cool too! Take your meds! This is just what works best for me). I've been diagnosed as ADHD for at least fifteen years. During all that time, I only saw my ADHD as the hindrance that made me disorganized, unable to complete tasks, and deemed as "weird" by adults and peers alike.
Until I discovered witchcraft.
Finally, I see it's potential as a gift. What some might see as distraction I see as free association. People with ADHD notice more; it's part of the low-filter aspect of ADHD. In witchcraft, this means I can see the portends easier, notice when the wind shifts or there are a bunch of crows outside the supermarket. It aids in my divination, especially scrying and intuitive tarot. Astral projection is made easier; my mind is already far away. I see the spirits, I see the fae, I hear my gods, all with an easier time thanks to this distractibility. My energy work is clearer through noticing the place where it doesn't match, and my wards are stronger thanks to hyperfocus while crafting them.
Living with ADHD has been a gift. I have been learning about my mind since I could notice it worked differently than others'. As a result, I have a deeply intimate understanding of how I work, and have created systems of discipline that I apply to my study of witchcraft to this day.
It put me on the edges, where I could discover witchcraft.
For those with ADHD who feel exhausted trying to do what other witches do: Stop trying to do what other witches do. For one, this is social media, and it's all a giant ruse as part of a capitalist ploy to keep you wanting what you don't have. For two, what joy it is to be at the edge! In a craft that celebrates the liminal spaces and the "other", we should strive to find our own paths!
Some recommendations, however, from one ADHD witch to another: intuitive work will be easier. Let the lines blur instead of focus, let the information pour in unsifted, and follow your gut. You need to be focused to get through mundane life, but witchcraft is a place where you can let the ADHD flow and see where it takes you.
