The ADHD Advantage: Why Your Brain Being Wired Differently is Your Superpower

by Anders Hansen

Are you highly driven, creative, fearless, questioning, flexible, stubborn and enterprising? Are you able to think outside the box and shrug off almost every adversity?

Seeing all these positive qualities lined up, you might be surprised to learn that they are traits typical to people with ADHD.

Today, we label these traits as a 'disorder', but they were once essential to our ancestors' survival, giving them energy or ability to hyperfocus when hunting. It was quite simply advantageous to have these traits.

In The ADHD Advantage, leading psychiatrist and viral TedX speaker Dr Anders Hansen shows you how to turn your diagnosis into an asset, handle the negative aspects of ADHD, and find joy in the fact we aren't all the same.

Genres: Adhd, Psychology, Nonfiction, Self Help, Audiobook, Autistic Spectrum Disorder

191 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2017

About the author

Anders Erik Hansen (born 1974) is a Swedish psychiatrist.

Reviews

[Raluca Oana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Este prima carte pe care o citesc despre acest subiect și sinceră să fiu mi-a plăcut enorm de mult.

Știam despre ADHD, dar nu atâtea informații.

Știm cu toți (sper și cred) că ADHD este o afecțiune a creierului, care provoacă oamenilor afectați lipsa de concentrare, hiperactivitate și impulsivitate.

Din păcate, această afecțiune, în zilele noastre este considerată un defect și de aceea oamenii (mai ales copiii) afectați sunt marginalizați.

În această carte, s-a pus accentul pe avantajele acestei afecțiuni, atât în timpul strămoșilor cât și în zilele noastre.

De asemenea, mi-a plăcut foarte mult faptul că autorul a numit trăsăturile care duc spre diagnosticarea ADHD, ca fiind trăsături de personalitate.

Aceste trăsături de personalitate se regăsesc la fiecare dintre noi, care ne situează pe scala ADHD la un anumit nivel. Asta nu înseamnă că avem ADHD.

Consider că majoritatea ar trebui să citească această carte, pentru a putea înțelege de fapt tot ceea ce e frumos și interesant în ADHD.

Închei această recenzie exact cu vorbele autorului: “În esență, totul se reduce la cât de deschisă și bine pregătită este societatea noastră să accepte diferitele trăsături de personalitate.”

5/5 ⭐️

[Anna Anks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Czytasz taki tytul i myslisz sobie: „ta, jasne, potega, jak nie moge prania w domu zrobic”. Otoz nie desperujcie, nie jest to bezwarunkowa afirmacja ADHD, raczej pozycja popularnonaukowa o tym, skad sie wzielo ADHD (obrazowa metafora sawanny i skanowania otoczenia) i jak dziala pod katem biologicznym (geny, receptory, siec spoczynkowa mozgu, filtrowanie przez wzgorze, dlaczego leki na niektorych nie dzialaja etc). Mysle, ze to jest najwieksza zaleta tej ksiazki.

Ale najwazniejsze - jesli jest tu jakaś afirmacja, to tego, zeby zamiast na sile probowac dostosowac sie do otoczenia, to zeby szukac sposobow, jak ADHD wykorzystac na swoja korzyść. Nie spodziewajcie sie jednak tipow, jak sobie radzic, to jest taka bardziej entry level ksiazka dla osob, ktore chcialyby zrozumiec, jak to dziala, bo to pierwszy krok do wprowadzenia zmian.

Zdecydowanie lepsza pozycja niz Gabor Mate. A autor tez jest psychiatra i bazuje na badaniach, a nie swoim gut feeling.
Odnosze wrazenie, ze Skandynawowie jakos bardziej umieja w neuroroznorodnosc.

[Serk · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good structure, ok examples and sometimes repetitive but good focus on the advantages of adhd, always linking the topic to the title of the book.

Could be better:
- more practical examples
- a chapter of exploration "self-help" style
- HOW to actually reqire the brain, especially when you have bad habits

[Laura Mpr · Rating 4 out of 5]

(3,5/5⭐)

This book states clearly what it wants: shine light on the advantages that can be connected to ADHD. It does so by looking at different aspects including historical background.

I enjoyed that it was easy to read, with short chapters and clearly structured. Reflecting back on previous chapters helped connecting the dots. For my personal taste the book could have been a bit more scientifically written. There is a lot more room for details rather than filling whole chapters with just anecdotes. I would have expected it to use a clear reference style or maybe even footnotes. Instead it kept very vague at times, which is fine if you see it more as entertainment than education.

Overall, I think it a quick, easy, and nice read to teach more people about ADHD all while shining a more positive light on the condition.

Personally, it made me smile several times and helped me understand myself and my needs better, even though I consider myself already quite well educated on the topic. I enjoyed the idea that everyone is somewhere on the spectrum of ADHD symptoms. Gatekeeping doesn't help anyone. I think this book can help anyone better understand themselves and this around them, independent from any diagnoses.

[Esme Stevenson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was alright, though not particularly anything ground breaking. It was nice to see someone putting a little bit of a positive spin on ADHD, and in some instances it landed, in others it didn't.

The historical aspect of ADHD and how it may have served our ancestors was interesting, and it was interesting to read about some of the studies that have been done, although almost all of the studies were done on children, and I suspect those children were also mostly boys, which to me speaks to a large gap in the research of ADHD.

I was also curious about the fact that the author seemed to imply that you only have ADHD if it is destroying your life. Otherwise, you just have 'adhd traits'. He then goes on to tell us stories about people (men) that have ADHD but that are extremely successful, which seems to go against his recommendations of diagnosis. Yes, ADHD is a spectrum, but I believe you can 'have' ADHD by being on the high end of the spectrum, and whether or not you're surviving or thriving doesn't alter the fact that you have it.

This book was also very limited in that it only discussed the very classic signs of ADHD, that being the type that focuses on 'hyperactivity'. It also didn't make any comment on the fact that the symptoms young girls and women exhibit are quite different, and often are found on the 'inattentive' spectrum, and are, therefore, often misdiagnosed. This book, as far as I can tell, was first published in 2017, and these discoveries around the types of ADHD and the late/misdiagnosis of women with ADHD have definitely been in discussion since then, so I found it strange that this book largely omitted them.

Also, all the examples of people with ADHD the author wrote about were men. Except for one woman at the end, who uncharacteristically had the more obvious and classically seen 'hyperactive' form of ADHD.

If you're a woman with ADHD(especially late diagnosed women) seeking answers and understanding, look up Sari Solden's book 'Women with Attention Deficit Disorder'. I haven't finished it yet, but it has been enlightening and empowering.

[Roderick Vonhogen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good and comprehensive overview of the many aspects related to ADHD, including the difficulty to diagnose this affliction because its symptoms may occur in various degrees in the lives of many people that cannot be classified, strictly speaking, as having ADHD.

The criterium for a positive diagnosis seems to be mostly whether or not the symptoms cause serious problems in day to day life.

The book contains some good advice for people suffering from the negative effects of ADHD that are also applicable by anyone who struggles to focus and to concentrate. Most recent research stresses the importance of moderate physical exercise every day to increase dopamine production. A half hour of cardio at the beginning of the day can have a lasting effect on a large part of the rest of the day.

The last part of the book mentions some positive aspects of ADHD, and puts forward the hypothesis that ADHD has pushed people in the past out of their comfort zone to explore other parts of the world and to develop tools and methods that led to the formation of the world and of the human development we know today.

The title of the book only stresses this one aspect of the book, but the actual scope of the research presented here is much larger.

[Amber Louise · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the change of scenery with this book. However, it didn’t quite reach the four/five star mark. Although there were some pretty interesting points made about the advantages of ADHD, I felt that more could have been included and expanded on.

[Lea · Rating 5 out of 5]

love the nuance

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

TL/DR: If you have ADHD you should read this book, but take the second half with a pinch of salt (especially if part of the female sex).

While this book is very educational and displays some great explanations to ADHD related traits and behaviours, I don't agree with the author's conclusion on diagnosis.

This was a very useful book to read for explaining the general science and genealogy of ADHD and it's relationship with hormones in our bodies. I also enjoyed the historic analogies and the potential evolutionary relationship to ADHD. The book is easy to read for those with ADHD as it has short chapters, rapid summaries and a (mostly) chronological layout, so is easy to follow. However, there were some elements I personally didn't agree with the conclusions of.

While I agree more people may be diagnosed with ADHD in recent years, and this may partially be due to pharmaceutical companies driving drug sales, I don't believe the solution is being more selective with who is diagnosed.

One of the examples given for over diagnosis is that young boys are more often diagnosed if they are born in December than January, and this may be because they are less matured as opposed to expressing ADHD. This, I can agree with. Developmental factors must always play a part in diagnosis, and this does display an oversight. However, the same is not true for young girls. This may be because members of the female sex are often diagnosed at a much later age.

In fact, this book doesn't acknowledge how hard it is for the female sex to get an ADHD diagnosis in comparison to the male sex at all. It also doesn't mention that the traits between males and females can be displayed very differently. Hyperactivity, for example, is often displayed very differently in the female sex, and the supposed "lack" of this trait can often lead to late diagnosis in females.

Furthermore, there is only one single female example within the book, despite there being 3 male examples. The female in question is described as having similar symptoms to her male counterparts, and is therefore easily diagnosed. This lack of variation is disappointing, but ultimately not surprising.

Additionally, the author expresses the opinion that successful people with ADHD, being those that have managed to work with their traits as opposed to against them, should not be diagnosed. Personally, I believe this perpetuates the idea that a diagnosis means there is something "wrong" that needs to be "fixed"; in this case, if a person with ADHD is deemed "useful" and "normal" to social standards, then there is nothing "wrong".

However, having a diagnosis doesn't equate to needing the brain to be fixed - as emphasised by many other areas of the book - so why should the people that aren't struggling not also have a diagnosis? Similarly, not having problems with ADHD when you are in a successful period of your life doesn't mean you will not struggle with symptoms later on.

Instead, I'd be more interested in ADHD specialist practitioners diagnosing people and then encouraging management of ADHD using tools outside of drugs - tools that are the main focus of this book. That responsibility shouldn't be left to the individual to figure out on their own, without a diagnosis. It can be incredibly helpful to know what you're working with when managing your own symptoms, and the use of drugs should be a last resort.

While I understand this is a brief summary of ADHD and it's mental traits, and not every area can be explored in a short book, I do believe this book may be influenced by most ADHD research being focussed on the male sex. I also believe that a rise in diagnosis should not equate to a rise in medication, and in general we should be focussing less on who is taking the medication and more on why medication in general is being exploited by businesses instead of encouraging individuals to try to manage their symptoms with lifestyle tools first.

[Aleš Pitín · Rating 5 out of 5]

63/∞

Rating: click on the link below to see how der Kaiser 👑 has rated this book

📚 Length: 191 pages
🔊Audiobook: 5 hrs and 24 min

Why you should read this book?

💡 It provides you with some fabulous explanation as why for about 40% of all humans have ADHD.

💡 Gives you some tips to handle ADHD better.

💡 Includes some interesting stories of successful entrepreneurs e.g. Martin Lorentzon the founder of Spotify who has ADHD.

I am aware I have an ADHD since I was a child. I was disruptive, rude to authorities and I could not concentrate in school. The post communist countries have a great safety net in place when it comes to the education system and you would be very early (as soon as the first grade of the elementary) recommended to child psychologist and then the teachers in the system would have to work with you a bit differently. 😃🤷‍♂️

Anyway, after reading this book, I wonder why did I decided to study law when I have ADHD. Law and ADHD do not go well together. I am often inattentive, if the case is not interesting enough, I do not to tend to give a fuck and I leave a shit tons of typos in my papers because I thing faster than I write and I am not interested to read it after myself. 😂

As far as I remember I wanted to be a journalist. I even used to publish a magazine, but then I got accepted to the law school and all fun was over. Anyway, since I was a child I was condemned by my teachers, because I was 'too much.' The reason why I think this book is worth reading is because is shows the strong parts of those with ADHD and as it appears the rest of the society would get stuck without us or even would not be able to function at all.

…

Continue to read at:

https://www.kaisersbook.review/2025/0...

Feel free to like, share and comment or recommend books/courses you find inspirational yourself. I’m keen to hear about them.

Coming Up Next:
The Irish Difference: The Story of Ireland's 400-Year Journey to Independence by Fergal Tobin

[Gustav · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hansen w swojej nowej pracy o ADHD jest bardzo optymistyczny, ale często podkreśla, że to, że przyjął zachęcający, pozytywny punkt widzenia nie znaczy, że osoby wysoko w skali cech ADHD nie cierpią z ich powodu, a ich życie nie jest trudniejsze niż osób o bardziej zbalansowanych osobowościach. ADHD ,,nie jest wymysłem’’, dzieci hiperaktywne nie powinny być postrzegane jako problematyczne, a raczej inne i to my powinniśmy się dostosować do ich możliwości i potrzeb, a nie odwrotnie, gdyż jak to się mówi – natury nie oszukasz.

Ta wspaniała, mądra, świetnie napisana, zwięzła i konkretna książka otworzyła mi oczy na wiele aspektów życia z ADHD. I choć odnalazłam w sobie wiele z tych cech, to w swoim środowisku dostrzegam coraz więcej osób wykazujących takie właśnie cechy – są nieco nadpobudliwe, żywiołowe, towarzyskie, otwarte, nie umieją usiedzieć na miejscu, ale są przy tym maksymalnie kreatywne i podchodzą z pasją do wszystkiego, co ich kręci.

Hansen wytłumaczył mi wiele mechanizmów działania, dzięki którym o wiele lepiej zrozumiałem czym jest ADHD i jak skutecznie z tym funkcjonować w społeczeństwie. Polecam

[Sj Banham · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've now read several books on this topic and all say very similar things. I got a few good nuggets of information from this one though. However, there wasn't any stand out points that were any different from the other books. I did enjoy the earlier chapters on prehistoric people because that seemed to give new foundation and credibility on this current mental health issue, also the theory that pesticide use has created more allergies within us because our bodies have been manipulated not to cope with the world we live in.

I listened to the audio version and thought the voice sounded a little robotic but didn't think much of that and moved on. Only later when the acknowledgements were read out that I heard the authors real voice and suspect he was using an AI program to voice the content. Presuming this was the case, I felt it lacked soul which may give rise to why I didn't get much from the content - because of how it was spoken.
Had I read this book in paperback, I might not have felt the same way so if you're considering this book, perhaps go for the wordy version instead? Alternatively voice may not be an issue for the way your brain is wired :)

[Jackson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The ADHD community is often divided on the practicalities of focus and sensitivity. While as others have said in their reviews this is not about tips, I think that this is essential, just as Scattered Minds by Gabor Mate is in understanding how our challenges with ADHD can also be used as advantages.

Dr Anders Hansen does a magnificent job in explaining how these ‘advantages’ not only served us throughout history but also why we may be facing challenges currently. While not explicitly stated, the focus on the individual experience through common symptoms I found helpful and have matched my own speculations through comparing myself with others. I also appreciate how Anders describes ADHD as a spectrum of symptoms rather than a yes or no diagnosis.

I imagine, this view is triggering for many people who are struggling with ‘focus and attention’ however, if as a society we looked solely at these two symptoms, we are being too general and as Dr Anders says, this may have consequences for the people how are facing severe challenges due to their neurobiology.

[Marta Ka · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ciekawą stroną książki jest wszechstronne opisanie ADHD ukierunkowane na POZYTYWY. To bardzo rzadkie, by autorzy książek popularnonaukowcyh ustalili sobie cel napisania książki, która będzie motywowała jej czytelników, która sprawi, że poczują się ze sobą lepiej, że poczują się wspierani i dostaną od autora proste wskazówki, które zmienią ich życie na lepsze. Tak jest w moim przypadku i dlatego tak bardzo cenię sobie pisarstwo Hansena. Jest to szwedzki psychiatra, który z pewnością jest nie tylko świetnym fachowcem, ale też genialnym autorem. Potęga ADHD otworzyła mi oczy na wiele aspektów mojej osobowości, których wcześniej nie dostrzegałam. Uświadamiając sobie dzięki książce szereg cech, które negatywnie wpływały na moje codzienne funkcjonowanie - mogłam zacząć zmiany od małych kroczków, ku lepszemu jutro. Jedna z lepszych książek self-help jakie wpadły mi w ręce. Polecam

[Lech · Rating 5 out of 5]

Od negatywnych stron ADHD po jasne strony objawów, do których zaliczają się problemy ze słuchaniem innych, skutecznym organizowaniem i planowaniem, a nawet nieprzerywaniem swoim rozmówcom. Do pozytywów związanych z byciem wysoko w skali cech ADHD zaliczamy m.in. przedsiębiorczość, efektywność, a więc umiejętność załatwiania spraw po uprzednim odkładaniem ich w nieskończoność oraz żywotność, a więc niespożyte zapasy energii. Brzmi jak Ty? Brzmi jak wielu z nas! ADHD to nie powód do wstydu! I choć na pewno nie raz miałeś z tego powodu kłopoty, to dzięki tej książce możesz się dowiedzieć, jak tych kłopotów uniknąć. Dużo ruchu, kawa, rutyna i odnalezienie prawdziwej pasji powinny być efektywnym pierwszym krokiem ku fajnemu życiu. Lekka w odbiorze, baardzo przystępna i szalenie ciekawa – Potęga ADHD ma tę moc, tak jak Ty, choć może JESZCZE o tym nie wiesz… Warto

[Beata Horała · Rating 4 out of 5]

Polecam każdemu u którego zdiagnozowano ADHD, ale szczególnie: pedagogom, nauczycielom, małżonkom i partnerom osób z ADHD. Okazuje się bowiem że ADHD niekoniecznie musi być wyrokiem na koszmarne życie , a może nieść ze sobą wiele dobrego. I wszystko w ADHD nie jest jednoznaczne. Prosto, konkretnie i przystępnie napisana książka.

[Will Wassenaar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very readable pop science book on the evolutionary and modern advantages of ADHD-type neurodivergence. Also some ideas on changing your life and environment to suit your neurotype, although I would have liked more of that.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very positively-minded book about how traits of ADHD that could be difficulties can be turned into advantages. I didn't take a deeper look into the bibliography so as a popular science book it was easy to read and I enjoyed the experience.

[Amanda Middleton · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to the audiobook rather than read. It kept my attention which is hard to do. lots of insightful information about the Advantages of ADHD. I would recommend to anyone who wants to learn a bit more about ADHD

[Ben Parker · Rating 3 out of 5]

eh

[Alanjrichards · Rating 5 out of 5]

Audio version, the first chapter is read by the author, who (not unreasonably) has quite a thick Swedish accent so is difficult to understand. Chapter two onwards this is not an issue. And obviously in written form there is no problem. It does help make sense of several people (not just kids) I know.

[alw · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5

[domynyka · Rating 4 out of 5]

aż poszłam pobiegać

[Andy (Tsz Chiu) Chan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Addressed a lot of my questions on the topic, and I love the suggestion of being an entrepreneur as a career. Makes perfect sense!

[Marcy · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's definitely an interesting read - I don't think the positives of adhd will surprise anyone, but the stories/science were interesting.

[Obsydian Girl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pochłaniająca i bardzo informatywna. Jest w niej trochę oczywistości, trochę cennych rad, ale za to mało lania wody, język przystępny i co ważne - piękne wydanie z kolażami, które baaardzo umilają lekturę. Odkąd ją przeczytałam mam wrażenie, że wszyscy wokół mnie wykazują cechy ADHD i to by się zgadzało z tym, o czym pisze autor. Gość ma niesamowitą wiedzę, którą potrafi przekazywać w przystępny sposób i tak, że zostaje w głowie. Potrzebowałam jej, by inaczej spojrzeć na swoje zachowania, nawyki, by lepiej zrozumieć dlaczego mój mózg tak ,,skacze'' w swoich wyborach - co jest interesujące, a co nie. Mogę nawet pokusić się o stwierdzenie, że dzięki wskazówkom Hansena lepiej pokieruję swoją karierą. Ekstra książka o ADHD

[Cecep Hermawan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book to explain ADHD in general, but as a person growing up with ADHD, nothing new. Its good book to recommend people around you who wants to know adhd better