How many times have you heard this one:

“You’re thinking too much.”

Personally, I hate when I’m told that. Is it true that some people think more than others? Of course not. But some of us ruminate, worry, over-analyze or simply are more sensitive than others. I see this a lot with people with ADHD and frankly, I can be described as being that type of thinker as well. I’d much rather call this an ability to think intuitively and deeply. We seem to be able to feel, think and see all the different angles of things. And sometimes yes, to the point of distress.

But to tell someone that they think “too much” is to me, a form of criticism. And we know that many people with ADHD are super sensitive already to criticism, partly because we’ve had way too much of that our whole lives, and partly because, we’re….wired differently, making us super aware in certain ways while super unaware in other ways. But most of us seem to carry the gene of being able to sniff out criticism in seemingly innocent remarks and body language.