r/adhdwomen • u/Mamahei2 • 1d ago

General Question/Discussion Do some of y’all have genetic ADHD?

Literally my mom, my sister, my niece, my nephew, and I all have ADHD as well as me and my mom having autism.

Edit: I’m more so talking about ADHD being a dominant trait (at least for my family)

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u/Mierkatte 1d ago

I believe it’s all genetic… 🤷🏻‍♀️

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u/Granite_0681 1d ago

Point me to the first person in a family to get diagnosed and I will point out classically undiagnosed and potentially in denial people in the previous generation….

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u/ralphjuneberry 1d ago

I was just thinking the other day how absolutely hellish all of human history was for folks - and not in the usual “little-to-no-sanitation” kind of way. For example, I have had misophonia my entire life. As a child, I would pray to God to be stricken deaf. We weren’t religious. I didn’t encounter the word ‘misophonia’ until late college - and am still learning to understand it many years later - but being able to name it and have others validate has made an entire world of difference. And that’s just one little tiny example.

All of these neurodivergent things - humans have all been suffering through them with such little relief for so, so, long. The breadth and depth is so vast. It’s … mind-boggling.

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u/Western_Ring_2928 1d ago

Society was more tolerant in many ways back in the days. The connection to nature was available to more people. The phase of life was easier and more in tune with our biology and the cycles of Earth. Our suffering nowadays comes mostly from our society being inhumane to everyone.

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u/ralphjuneberry 1d ago

Thank you for replying to me, but I respectfully disagree. The general ‘society’ is barely tolerant now, and much less so going back even one generation. Unfathomable racism, misogyny, -phobia of every sort and degree, leading to so many being killed directly and indirectly. There is no utopian ideal that we have strayed from, but rather one to strive towards.

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u/Imlostandconfused 1d ago

My favourite game is finding 'patient zero' among my ADHD friends and loved ones' families. My fiancé and his two sisters have ADHD and he was stumped about where it came from. All it took for me was hearing one phone call between him and his mum to determine it. Then he told me about his grandfather's brief obsession with collecting Mini Cooper's- dude bought like 8 during the first year of his retirement. Patient zero. We couldn't go back further than that, but it's satisfying and my fiancé appreciated it because he genuinely never considered that his mum and grandfather had it until I pointed it out. It explained a lot about his childhood when he realised.

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u/DenM0ther 1d ago

Hahahaha I love doing this too!

Both sides of my family have significant amounts of ADHD, one side with few AuADHDer's. Most of them didn't want to accept it, dx or not. They'll still reference traits of it (and their other conditions) as explanations or excuses!!!

My ND (dx) bf, got quite offended when I said that his grandfather sounded like he had adhd. He was(is?) internalising it as something being 'wrong'. Overtime bf thought about his granddad and agreed.

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u/Wolf-Majestic 1d ago

Me, diagnosed, my father and my brother being VERY potentially adhd

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u/EarlyInside45 1d ago

Me too.

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u/Mamahei2 1d ago

U right

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u/Mierkatte 1d ago

My mom def has undiagnosed ADD. My dad had undiagnosed anxiety and a touch of OCD. So my genes are just lovely! Whether learned, adaptive, or in my DNA, I didn’t stand a chance. Oh and not to mention the trauma in my household from neglectful parents. And then having CPTSD… from living 47 years with undiagnosed ADD and believing that all along I was simply defective, flawed, and crazy.

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u/BossImaginary5550 1d ago

Mine is cause by trauma

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u/devhmn 1d ago

Depending on the situation, your trauma may be like mine... caused by an undiagnosed parent.

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u/unicornelia 1d ago

Or it can be both probably, I think it's hard to separate 🙁

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u/DenM0ther 1d ago

100% 2 adhd parents' led to adhd kids. The parent(s) causing trauma coz of their adhd... undiagnosed or diagnosed, the point is more untreated/unabated behaviour and parenting techniques.

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u/BossImaginary5550 15h ago

I firmly believe in the dianthus stress model theory, so u think genetics are the blue print, environment is the trigger.

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u/BossImaginary5550 15h ago

Probably both. My mother may have been the parent with adhd if that’s the case…

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u/BossImaginary5550 15h ago

Genetics are a blue print, environment is the trigger. I’m sure for some folks it’s purely genetic, but there was a benefit to be able to dissociate and tune out of a DV living situation I was quite literally born into. Sadistic Sociopath pedo father, narcissistic protect the predator over her own child, mother. I’m sure both my parents genetic played a role in certain traits, but trauma also changes the brain. It is possible , I’m the family identified patient and scape goat, so it took very late in life/ after I cut off abusive family members before I could accept I am on the spectrum, and I have adhd. I was never labeled for the sake of accommodation , but to let other adults know I was a “problem” and to deny abuse.

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u/unicornelia 10h ago

I'm terribly sorry for your struggles, I can deeply empathise with you, had a similar situation but somewhat less sinister still left an everlasting mark and adhd among many things behind. ❤️‍🩹

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u/BossImaginary5550 31m ago

I’m sorry you had similar :(

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u/Blobby_Dobby 1d ago

Not in my case. Neither of my parents have it, and I’m the only one of my 4 siblings that has a diagnosis. It honestly kind of sucks having neurotypical parents… they don’t really understand the way my mind works

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u/Atarlie 1d ago

Genetic doesn't mean that your immediate family is also guaranteed to have it/have a diagnosis. Just that there's a gene expression for a condition which is passed down.

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u/Blobby_Dobby 1d ago

I’m well aware what genetic means.

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u/smulingen 1d ago

But you may pass it down... so it's genetic in your case too.

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u/Blobby_Dobby 1d ago

Yeah, but that’s not what I’m saying. It came out of no where for my family as neither of my parents have it or any of my grandparents. The closest would be my dad’s brother who’s autistic. Also, can y’all stop fighting me on this? I’m literally just telling you what happened to me

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u/MalayaJinny 1d ago

Its 60% inherited. One of your parents may have the gene but not expressed. Neither of yours could have the genes and you were the lucky one that got a gene recombo. Or, you're one of the 40% that has it for other reasons.