ADHD Superpower? Gifts, Capitalism, and Who Really Benefits

"Everyone has ADHD now."

You've heard it. Maybe someone said it to you — with a half-joke, half-accusation edge. Like, neurodivergence is just the trend of the season.

But what if that reaction tells us less about ADHD and more about the systems we're living in?

In this conversation with Kristina Kyser — psychotherapist, educator, and creator of the Neurodivergent Rising course — we pull apart the "ADHD superpower" narrative that's everywhere right now. Because yes, there are gifts: innovation, nonlinear thinking, deep passion, hyperfocus. Those are real.

But who benefits when we only talk about the parts of capitalism that it can extract?


What We Cover:

ADHD masking: the invisible labour of appearing "normal"
From childhood, neurodivergent people — especially women — calibrate to a world that says: you're too much, you're wrong, you're different. Kristina breaks down what masking costs and why perimenopause often unmasks ADHD in midlife.

The construction of "sanity" and who it was built to serve
Normalcy isn't neutral. The DSM, psychiatry, the witch burnings — all of it is tangled with patriarchy, colonialism, and capitalism's need for compliant workers. Kristina traces the historical roots of how neurodivergence gets pathologised.

The superpower question: what's true, what's missing, who profits
Yes, ADHD comes with strengths. But when we only celebrate the traits capitalism values (innovation! hyperfocus! productivity!) while erasing the lows, the burnout, the 13-year shorter life expectancy, the systemic barriers — who does that serve?

Why ADHD is a disability under capitalism — and that's not your fault
ADHD isn't a medical deficit. But in a society built for neurotypical brains, it is disabling. Kristina explains the difference between individual healing and systemic change, and why we need both.

Meet Kristina Kyser:

Kristina (she/her) is a late-diagnosed AuDHD educator, former psychotherapist, and course creator with a PhD in English Literature and over 13 years of clinical experience. Her work bridges trauma healing, animist practice, and systems-level critique. She creates initiatory spaces that blend science, soul, and lived neurodivergence in service of collective remembering and repair.

Learn more:
Neurodivergent Rising Course

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