How memes, strangers, and shared chaos turned my diagnosis into community
I Was Already Diagnosed
I had the label. The papers. The clinical language.
But weirdly, that didn’t feel like the turning point.
What changed me was Instagram. And memes.
And strangers in my DMs saying:
“Same.”
🧠 Diagnosis Gave Me a Name — But the Internet Gave Me a Mirror
For a while, I thought getting diagnosed would be the end of the confusion — like finally finding the missing piece of a puzzle.
And in many ways, it was.
But I didn’t expect how lonely it would still feel.
You’ve got the diagnosis.
Now what?
That’s when I started sharing.
Not to educate.
Not to perform.
But just to feel less alone.
And weirdly — it worked.
👀 Being Seen Is Its Own Kind of Healing
I didn’t expect my personal chaos to resonate.
But the moment I posted something raw — a list of things I wish someone had told me sooner, or a meme about losing focus mid-sentence — people responded.
Not with advice.
With relief:
“Wait… this is ADHD??”
“Okay, this makes so much sense now.”
“I’ve never seen it put like this.”
That’s when it hit me:
Visibility is a form of validation.
📚 What the Research Says
Dr. Lucia Bainotti studies this exact space — where emotion, social media, and visibility intersect.
In her research on emotional labor and online creators, she writes that vulnerability becomes a kind of social value online.
It’s not just expression — it’s a practice of care.
“These performances of emotional honesty are often enacted for both self and others.”
(Bainotti, 2024 – Taylor & Francis)
We’re not oversharing.
We’re building shared language — especially for neurodivergent folks navigating shame, silence, and invisibility.
My posts weren’t performative.
They were survival.
And somehow, they became community.
🔄 Not Just Seen — Reflected
The internet didn’t just echo what I already knew.
It deepened it.
Diagnosis gave me a label.
But visibility gave me the courage to believe it was real.
To believe I wasn’t broken.
To unlearn the shame.
To let my messiness be something others found comfort in — instead of something I always tried to hide.
❤️ What “Feeling Seen” Actually Feels Like:
- A stranger DMing: “You put words to what I couldn’t explain.”
- A meme that makes you laugh… and cry.
- A carousel post that says:
“You’re not lazy — your brain is in survival mode.”
- A quiet “me too” that cracks something open in your chest.
🧶 Final Thread
Social media didn’t diagnose me.
But it did something else.
It helped me believe the diagnosis mattered.
It turned vulnerability into connection.
Visibility into community.
And shame into something a little more shared — and a little less heavy.
🧡 You’re Not Alone If It Still Feels Like a Lot
Getting the label isn’t the end of the story — it’s the start of a new one.
If you’ve ever felt misunderstood post-diagnosis, or like you’re still figuring out how to live with it out loud —
Come hang out at spicyadhdjourney.com
We’re building language, softness, and survival strategies — one post at a time.
[[link: Between LOL and SOS blog]]
📚 Further Reading
- Bainotti, Lucia (2024). Performing Emotional Labor: Online Vulnerability as Visibility – Taylor & Francis Online
- Alinejad, Donya (2022). Careful Co‑presence: The Transnational Mediation of Emotional Intimacy – SAGE Knowledge
- Ahmed, Sara (2010). The Promise of Happiness – Duke University Press
