Three months ago, at 42, I was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Unlike many adults prior to receiving a diagnosis, I had not spent years wondering whether I had ADHD. In fact, I was oblivious until quite recently, when I strongly identified with several things a colleague said about their own experience of ADHD.
The more I learned, the more I found myself thinking: “Wow, that’s me.” My forgetfulness, distractibility, messiness, chronic need for organisation and memory strategies, constant lateness, tendency to lose things daily, persistent perfectionism and habit of going, tyres screeching, right up to the last minute of every deadline suddenly made sense. Things I had spent my life viewing as daily frustrations or personal failings had an explanation. I had ADHD, and had always had it.
There was a reason for the constant chatter and noise in my brain, with any gaps filled with, or interrupted by, a song. Honestly, literally anything can trigger a song. The diagnosis brought an unexpected, enormous sense of relief.
I could finally look at aspects of myself that I had previously been frustrated by and understand them differently – with a new kindness toward myself. And then I heard about a documentary claiming that ADHD isn’t even real, as discussed in Gina Rippon’s article (There is nothing scientific about The Great ADHD Myth? My first reaction was confusion.
Was the explanation that had brought me so much relief actually all just fiction? Of course, it is healthy and worthwhile to question shaky science where the evidence is lacking. But to question the existence of a condition supported by decades of clinical research and scientific evidence is astonishing – and potentially so damaging to so many lives.
For people like me, this isn’t an abstract argument about a trend or fashion. An ADHD diagnosis can fundamentally change how you understand your entire life. I hope the documentary will continue to be thoroughly challenged.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
