Why There Is No Such Thing As A ‘Normal’ Brain

Having been diagnosed with ADHD at 38, Howard Timberlake went on a personal quest to discover whether any of us has a “typical” mind.

The clock in the hospital meeting room had stopped. Silent, as if out of courtesy for its audience – a cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) session for people with ADHD(Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) – one less distraction for those in attendance. Along the hallway, in the clinic’s waiting room, another timepiece ticked tormentingly onwards to its own assorted group of patients.

I was one of those in the CBT session, freshly diagnosed with ADHD at the age of 38 and our frozen clock had caught my elusive attention, like a big silent metaphor for my world standing still. To the outside world, my diagnosis is probably inconsequential. To me, it came with a bittersweet realisation that nature had crafted my brain differently to others – with consequences for how I saw my past, present and future. It’s fair to say the disorder has had a fairly crippling effect on various areas of my life.

The diagnosis has given me a better understanding and respect for the condition’s positive aspects, its limitations, and the coping strategies I’ve inadvertently created over the years to appear “normal”. It has given me the option of medication to partially control my condition, and it has helped me become more at peace with myself. In short, it has been a revelation to at least know what I’m dealing with.