Laughing Through the Struggles: Understanding ADHD Experience and Community Engagement Through Memes and Comments on Instagram

While public discourse often reduces Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) to stereotypes that overlook the invisible struggles of those who live with it, ADHD people are increasingly using social media to express their experiences on their own terms. On platforms like Instagram, memes have become a powerful and accessible medium for expressing everyday challenges through humor and relatability. This study analyzed 350 ADHD-related memes and over 28,000 associated comments to explore how ADHD was expressed and engaged with in online spaces, and consulted a neurodevelopmental science and clinical researcher. Findings show that memes depict behavioral inconsistencies, internal conflicts, and societal pressures, while comments reveal strong resonance, personal identification, and peer support, including informal self-diagnosis and shared experiences. By combining meme and comment analyses, this study contributes to digital mental health research by demonstrating how memes serve as an interactional mechanism for neurodivergent storytelling and identity formation and informing future platform design.