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Linda Epstein's avatar

I was diagnosed as an adult, too. I'd said for years, "I probably have a little ADD," so when my therapist said she thought I had ADHD I laughed. I told her, "I don't think I have that H. I'm kind of a sloth..." She explained that hyperactivity in women often presents as hyperactivity in their brains, their thinking, not their bodies. That made total sense to me. So I went to a clinical psychologist to get an official assessment and diagnosis. That was an extremely emotional thing for me, too. He told me he was going to read a list of words and then he wanted me to repeat them back to him. He read about twelve words. I started repeating and got to... three. WTF? I'm a writer. I work in publishing. This didn't make sense. He read the words again. The same words. I got to, maybe, four? When we did numbers I did even worse. I'm also a fairly intelligent person. When I found out exactly how intelligent, I was a little surprised, to be honest. Turns out we smarty pants are often not diagnosed because we compensate so well. Until, as you know, we might lose the structures, systems, and coping mechanisms we've put in place, and all ADHD hell breaks loose. Well, that's how it was for me, anyhow. I loved this essay. Thank you.

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Nan Tepper's avatar

I love this essay so much. Someone very close to me was diagnosed with ADHD in the last year or so. It was a later in life dx. The relief she felt was overwhelming. She finally had a framework to place all of the things she considered dysfunctional about herself and the ways she moves through her life. She's getting proper support now, and it's helped her in myriad ways. I don't know if I fit the dx, but I definitely relate to so much of what you describe. I have a load of sensory issues that I've discovered recently. Knowing what they are has helped me feel better about myself, and I'm learning to make adjustments and accommodations to meet my needs so that I'm not so stressed all the time! oxoxo!

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