“Échale Ganas”: When Motivation Isn’t the Problem

“ADHD didn’t exist when I was a kid.”

How many of you have heard this before? ADHD is not some new condition invented in the 21st century, but rather it is something that went unrecognized, misunderstood, and often would be labeled as lacking motivation, lacking discipline, or being lazy.

This mislabeling is often seen within the Latino community and is one reason many Latinos aren’t diagnosed with ADHD until adulthood. For many immigrant families, mental health still carries a significant amount of stigma. It is often talked about in whispers and seen as a flaw in character instead of a reason someone may need support. In collectivist and family-oriented cultures, one person suffering with mental health or needing extra support can sometimes feel like a reflection on the family as a whole. This stigma can contribute to ignoring or minimizing mental health concerns, labeling people as “weak-willed” or “de poca voluntad,” and treating an ADHD diagnosis as a shameful family secret.

For many immigrant families, mental health is not prioritized when they first arrive in the United States because they are focused on survival. Similar to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, the first priority is meeting physiological needs: having a roof over their heads, food on the table, a bed to sleep in, and clothes to wear. Beyond these basic needs, immigrants often have to navigate discrimination, language barriers, financial instability, safety concerns, and demanding work schedules. When a family is focused on paying rent, navigating immigration stress, or working multiple jobs, difficulty focusing in school may be interpreted as something a child simply needs to push through rather than a sign they need support.

These barriers often reinforce the belief that working harder will solve the problem. Latino communities are deeply resilient and often place a strong value on perseverance and work ethic. Many immigrant parents taught resilience because resilience helped them survive, but survival skills are not always the same thing as emotional support or understanding. Sayings such as “échale ganas,” “ponte pilas,” “si quisieras, pudrieras,” or “no seas flojo” can unintentionally reinforce the idea that mental health struggles can be overcome solely through willpower or effort.

ADHD is not caused by a lack of motivation. It is a neurodevelopmental condition that affects how the brain develops and functions. Neurotypical brains may be able to just motivate themselves into success, but ADHD brains process attention, motivation, and task management differently. These differences affect areas related to neurochemicals such as dopamine and norepinephrine, which play important roles in motivation, reward, attention, and alertness.

People with ADHD do not struggle because they don’t care; they struggle because their brains process and regulate information differently. This can show up as difficulty organizing tasks, sustaining attention, managing working memory, understanding the passing of time (“time blindness”), and executive dysfunction. Many people with ADHD rely heavily on external supports such as visual reminders, structure, accountability, and routines. However, when families are struggling to meet basic needs, those supports may not always be accessible or prioritized.

For many Latino families, “échale ganas” is an act of hope. It is a reminder to keep pushing through difficult circumstances, but for someone with ADHD, hearing this repeatedly can feel confusing and painful when they are already trying as hard as they can. Struggling due to a lack of support, while being told the issue is a lack of effort or inner strength, can lead to feelings of shame and guilt. Over time, this can lead to perfectionism, burnout, feelings of inferiority, internal beliefs of laziness, and overly self-critical thought patterns.

The effort people with ADHD put in often goes unseen by others. This may look like procrastinating while internally panicking, feeling overwhelmed by “simple” tasks, or staying up late to finish assignments at the last minute.

Support looks different than simply “trying harder.” Effective support may include medication, accommodations, therapy, body doubling, and systems that work with the way an ADHD brain works. Medications can help improve attention and executive functioning. Accommodations such as extended time to tests or quizzes can help with inattention and time blindness. Therapy can help address shame, guilt, anxiety, and overly self-critical thought patterns. Body doubling can provide gentle accountability and support to finish difficult tasks. Tools such as visual schedules, reminders, and habit trackers can help provide external cues to stay on task. Sometimes people don’t need pressure to get things done, simply support, understanding, and systems that fit the way their brain works.

To Latino communities: we deserve conversations about mental health that are rooted not only in survival, but also in understanding, compassion, and support. Many of us were taught to endure silently, to “échale ganas,” and to keep moving no matter how overwhelmed we felt. While those lessons may have helped previous generations survive difficult circumstances, struggling does not make someone weak, lazy, or broken. If you see yourself in this article, know that you are not alone. Your difficulties are real, your effort matters, and you deserve support that fits the way your brain works. Healing can begin with reaching out and connecting with a therapist who understands you. When we replace shame with understanding, we can realize that needing support is not a failure, but a human experience.