ADHD Diagnosis is not a trend

The video and blog can be slightly different in content.

A message – it’s not ok, that I’m not ok.

A message to all those who think ADHD and the recent increase in diagnosis is just another trend. Try living with misdiagnosis all your life, feeling different and not understanding until the age of 45 why. Then add a potential Autism diagnosis just to conflict how your brain functions and living with a conflict daily. This is not a joke. There is a difference between living with a condition and living with a disorder. Be respectful and let those people who have struggled throughout their whole lives have the validation they deserve. It doesn’t just provide relief, it also presents like a grief reaction for your whole life and how that could have been so different had we of had the right support and understanding and correct diagnosis.

Being diagnosed with ADHD November 2024 has been life changing. After years of struggling (first documented in 2015) with my mind health, being mis-diagnosed, advised to take medications that should not have been prescribed, ones that made me extremely depressed, unwell and suicidal. Always knowing that there was just something I could not explain to others, I went on a journey to find myself.

It became really apparent after my first child that I just seemed to struggle more than others that I was mixing with in baby classes. Looking around me on social media at other parents experiences, it was apparent that I was very much living in a different world in my head and I was struggling. I was diagnosed with OCD with intrusive thoughts not long after my first pregnancy and that in itself was horrendous to live with. It took me a good 2 years to feel some sort of normal after having my first child but even then I was not coping so well with everything else in my life, just normal day to day living was overwhelming and how I managed looking back is incredible really as I was at times very much alone with a new born.

As sad as Covid was it came at the right time to be able to be off work with a very valid excuse the country being put into lock down but then it also led me into a rabbit hole of mental health struggles. I had an awful break down in June 2021 as a result of the previous Covid isolation, the miscarriages and the passing of a loved one and from there I was quickly signposted to my mental health team.

The neurodivergence was really starting to show itself to professionals treating me from that time and although Bipolar disorder was on the cards I was assessed by Perinatal mental health teams and they assured me that I was on the right pathway for an ADHD (Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder) and ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) referral was recommended by professionals which was a shock at the time as I really did not see how I fit into that. I was diagnosed with ADHD combined meaning I was diagnosed with inattention and hyperactivity-impulsivity and anxiety and depression in November 2025 and I am now on a waiting list for medication titration which could take another year. The sad reality of how many people have been missed throughout their life and the lack of medication sought. I will discuss my thoughts on that in another post/video.

I have always wanted to help others especially with the fertility issues I faced and the losses but now it really is starting to all fit into place and as I look back on a lifetime of struggles, I feel blessed that I have made it this far and grateful I am now able to share even more. As a neurodivergent parent living with a disorder, life is challenging and being a parent is even more challenging. I am not saying it is not difficult for all but simple day to day tasks can at times be really overwhelming and debilitating  but mostly for me it is my mind health and where that can take me along with perimenopause and hormonal shifts it really is at times so difficult to navigate. To now be able to make sense even more of why I am the way I am is life changing and I just want to share to those that are interested.

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