SZA is opening up even more about her mental health struggles.
The singer has never hidden her diagnosis of ADHD, also known as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, but in a series of recent tweets she was transparent about the way the disorder has impacted her life and creativity.
For starters, the “Hate You,” singer wrote, “Having un medicated adult adhd is REALLY f—g hard and absolutely nobody has empathy for it cause we all grown and busy but GADDAMN. I be ready to tap OUT.” A subsequent tweet about the disorder read, “Adult unmedicated adhd is actually terrifying…much deeper than procrastination. I really can’t recall what I’m supposed to do.”
Last year the singer acknowledged how challenging it can be for her as a creative dealing with the disorder when she tweeted, “ADHD sucks ass. All I got to say bout dat.” By December 2020 she opened up even more to fans by explaining that taking a commonly prescribed medication used to treat ADHD was not an option to help her keep focused. “I can’t make music on adderall cause I actually have adhd and instead of turning me up it turns me WAY down yet hyper focused (meaning 1000 takes later of the same line and no excitement or connection about it) lol.”
The Top Dawg Entertainment artist is anything but alone when choosing to publicly acknowledge her personal struggles in coping with ADHD. Other notable public figures who disclosed their own diagnoses include singer Solange, who revealed she had been diagnosed by two doctors, music producer Will.I.Am, and Olympic gymnast Simone Biles.
In 2016 Biles’ athletics drug testing records were leaked to the public by hackers, revealing her use of methylphenidate, which also is known as Adderall and requires a medical waiver to be used by athletes. Given Biles’ unmatched talent on the mat, there were assumptions that the drug may have contributed to her ability to become hyper-focused and given her an edge when competing. The gymnast then took to Twitter to explain that she has ADHD.
“I have ADHD and I have taken medicine for it since I was a kid. Please know, I believe in clean sport, have always followed the rules, and will continue to do so as fair play is critical to sport and is very important to me.”
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