An internal locus of control is the healthiest way to hold a diagnosis like ADHD: the disorder is real and part of the story, and you still do the things that manage it. Explaining everything by one neurobiological label, or using it as a reason not to do things, becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
What it means with a diagnosis
Someone with an internal locus of control who is told they have ADHD says: I need to do certain things to manage the symptoms of this disorder.
“So if someone has an internal locus of control and they're given the diagnosis of ADHD, then what they're going to say is, I need to do certain things in order to manage the symptoms of this disorder”
30:50ADHD... Diagnosis, What is ADHD? Is ADHD real? Do I have ADHD? Is ADHD biological?Sep 2024 An external locus of control says: I am not responsible for my mistakes because I have ADHD. Yes, I am texting while you talk, but I have ADHD.
“Now, the external locus of control is someone who says, look, I'm not responsible for the mistakes I make, for the things I do, because I have ADHD. Yeah, I'm texting while you're talking to me, but I have ADHD”
32:16ADHD... Diagnosis, What is ADHD? Is ADHD real? Do I have ADHD? Is ADHD biological?Sep 2024 Taking responsibility means recognizing that ten things had to go wrong to make that mistake. The disorder may be part of it, but it is not the whole thing.
“The former is taking responsibility. It's recognizing that there's 10 things that have to go wrong to make that mistake. And maybe the disorder is a part of it, but it is not the entire thing”
15:53ADHD Again, But Juicier: Unpacking Misdiagnosis, Medication Overuse, and Cultural TrendsOct 2024
Talking to patients
Both are true: ADHD is a neurobiological, neurodevelopmental disorder, and you should also keep a calendar.
“It is, let's stipulate that someone has ADHD, okay? It is a neurobiological problem. It is a neurodevelopmental disorder. And you should also keep a calendar”
13:51ADHD Again, But Juicier: Unpacking Misdiagnosis, Medication Overuse, and Cultural TrendsOct 2024 True ADHD is not only medication-responsive. It is treatable through medication, psychotherapy, skills and changes in what you do.
“True ADHD is not just responsive to medication. It is treatable through medication. Psychotherapy, skills, changes in your life, changes in what you do”
11:27ADHD Again, But Juicier: Unpacking Misdiagnosis, Medication Overuse, and Cultural TrendsOct 2024
Pitfalls
'I can't go to this thing because of my mental illness' is a very dangerous, self-fulfilling prophecy.
“I can't go to this thing because of my, you know, whatever, insert mental illness. It's a very, very, very dangerous, self-fulfilling prophecy”
12:28ADHD Is Not the Only Diagnosis: Differential and Diagnostic HierarchyNov 2025 It is not good for people to explain themselves in only one way, say neurobiologically. Everyone is much more complicated than that.
“I also don't think it's good for people to be overly simplistic in explaining themselves in only one fashion. Let's say neurobiological. Everyone is so much more complicated than that”
16:54ADHD Again, But Juicier: Unpacking Misdiagnosis, Medication Overuse, and Cultural TrendsOct 2024
It also comes up on
From these episodes
Every point above is something said on the Psychofarm podcast, with the words as spoken and a link to the moment in the episode. It is education, not medical advice, and an episode reflects what we thought when we recorded it.