ADHD is like a Car with a Manual Gearbox
We need to learn to “shift gears” without meds
I’ve encountered the metaphor that ADHD is like “a race car with bicycle brakes”, but that’s honestly one of the stupidest things I have ever heard.
I take a stance to never take ADHD medication (meds), the idea erodes my values and agency.
I, of course, wholeheartedly understand why people take ADHD meds — there is pressure to perform. However, let’s zoom out for a moment. Maybe medication is an unnatural solution… to an unnatural problem… because we live in an… you guessed it… unnatural world? 100%.
I don’t take ADHD meds because the idea of a chemical altering your neural pathways for extended periods never felt right to me. Yes it solves “a problem”, but perhaps we need to change the way we frame the “problem” (I am a product manager, and I always think about defining problems in the best way).
In my opinion, ADHD meds behave more like Vitamin D supplements, they are dietary, not medicinal. Many of us take Vitamin D because we don’t get enough sun exposure due to our lifestyles and where we live. We’re not missing a vitamin to function, rather we lack a suitable environment. In the same manner, the ADHD brain lacks a suitable environment. In other words… give the ADHD brain something interesting!
However, I believe the “bad environment” for ADHD brains is less so tied to the physical world and more so the language that ADHD folks use, thus the environment in question is the internal thoughts; in other words, the software we use to operate our brain and body.
Taking inspiration from Viktor Frankl and Carl Jung, I’ve been thinking about how thoughts affect our behaviour for some time, and it’s clear that we can actually change our environment by changing the language of our thoughts.
I did a Master's thesis focused on bridging the gap between health literacy and tech, so I’m always analysing how health information is conveyed to people. I’ve concluded that ADHD content online is pathologically bad across the board and does more harm than good. The ADHD health literature fails in effectiveness because of bad metaphors.
For example, I’ve encountered the metaphor that ADHD is like “a race car with bicycle brakes”, but that’s honestly one of the stupidest things I have ever heard. No engineer would build a car with bicycle brakes (in this case, the engineer being nature). Instead, let’s try to see the ADHD brain as a car with a manual gearbox, and assume all of us ADHD folks have good, strong working brakes.
Let’s be honest… we ALL know how to stop when it really matters.
Contrary to popular belief, ADHD is not an attention problem, it’s an emotional dysregulation that prevents us from “going” and causes attention issues. Dr. Andrew Huberman calls this concept “limbic friction”, a form of emotional resistance.
Everyone has some form of limbic friction, but for those with ADHD, it’s far more chronic and debilitating. Limbic friction is akin to trying to drive when your parking brake is on, but for ADHD it’s much more than a parking brake problem.
Because the ADHD brain works with a manual gearbox, many of us haven’t learned how to change gears properly, so we stall.
I argue the scientific literature and modern ADHD content fail to help people learn how to change gears. I might also argue, that it’s done on purpose because market incentives are driven by pharma (another reason why I don’t subscribe to modern ADHD rhetoric, but I’ll save that for another post).
Thus, I encourage all of us to view the difficulties ADHD people face as similar to how many of us stalled our parents’ car when trying to learn how to shift gears.
Wait… hold on, BUT WHY does the ADHD brain act more like a car with a “manual gearbox”?
Because it’s meant to be “a track car”!
The ADHD brain is designed for specific high-performance environments, which is why many of us find corporate jobs difficult. Corporate jobs are a lot like city streets — they’re clogged, busy, and meant for other types of vehicles like buses and taxis. If I were a Porsche 911 GT3 RS, it would be a cognitive nightmare waiting at red lights, hitting pothole after pothole, and yelling at people trying to squeegee me with water (*cough* Human Resources *cough* lol).
On a race track, drivers of automatic cars can’t reach their talents' true potential. There is something beautiful about shifting gears at the perfect moment that can only be done with skill, intuition, and practice. It’s something automatic (and electric) cars fail to replicate because changing gears relies on a feeling. With a manual gearbox, you can harness speed and power in a completely different way.
The ADHD brain works better when it feels more… so embrace the feeling, and drive “manual”.
In summary, for ADHDers and non-ADHDers alike, you owe it to yourself to treat your brain like a track car. Learn to implement ideas, experiment, and focus on tuning “your car” for the “right track”. More importantly, each driver should know the little quirks and tricks of their car — something that is learned over time with intention and intuition.
Remember, each “car” or body, and each “engine” or brain is different. Find the right track or niche and build a system only your brain can master. The process of harnessing your ADHD’s potential takes time, but it’s totally worth it.
Through deep introspection, I’ve learned to go from 0 to 1 on “any track on the planet”. The only constraint I come across is how much time I have to iterate to create new systems to “accelerate”, but I always hit my target when it matters.
Feel free to DM me on LinkedIn if you want to chat about ADHD and how I live a life with no medication. I plan to create more content on how to use “product thinking” to manage ADHD. I’ve become disenchanted and jaded by the modern take on ADHD, it’s mostly self-destructive bull-crap. It’s time for a change.
Oh and… I also ghostwrite for health tech. Beeeeep…. Booooop. Boo 👻 (that was supposed to be an ECG joke)
Shift & Drive Freely,
Bhavin aka the LamboMonk
PS — The Dodge Viper is not my favourite supercar (the Nissan GTR is), but the video below shows that even with a powerful massive engine, you can drive like the greatest dance ever. Also, the video is fun.
