![]() ![]() But I think the first one was just this overwhelming sense of relief at having answers to so many things that I couldn’t pinpoint about myself. When I saw the infograph of the ADHD iceberg in Reddit, there were so many emotions that flooded over me. After that, I started talking to my doctor, and he did an evaluation and confirmed that I did have ADHD. And when I saw that infographic, I knew right away that I met almost every single one of those traits or behaviors. And it was basically an iceberg explaining what we think of ADHD just on a very superficial sense versus what ADHD all encompasses underneath the surface. I had noticed on social media this little infographic that had been shared by one of my cousins who has ADHD. I found out that I had ADHD when I was 39 years old. And then, I continued to notice behaviors that I was dealing with. And I was very quickly dismissed by the doctor that I was seeing at that time. When I was in my early 20s, I thought that there was a chance that I could have ADHD. I am literally different from the people in the rooms that I was in. When I was diagnosed the second time, it made me feel good, because it made me, you know, realize again what was going on. Went to their office, completed, you know, one of those long, long tests you have to do. And I just think it was an overload or me trying to control myself. I was getting really, really tired and falling like asleep at 3:30 in the afternoon. So it was really that realization that I was acting differently and could not pay attention. But when you’re more of a corporate environment, people look at you like you’re weird doing that. Where back in the agency world, that’s fine - walking around and standing around and moving and having that motion. I was always walking around rooms, standing up in conferences and rooms and things like that. I could not concentrate in three- or four-hour blocks of meetings. And I realized that that was the first time in my life where ADHD was really a hindrance. But I had a secondary diagnosis because I needed it. When I was first diagnosed with ADHD I was about 11 or 12 years old. I live a little bit north of Chicago and I’m a creative director, creative leader. ![]() And now that it’s confirmed, we’re in this together and we can understand each other, even though we did before, but now there was a name to it for both of us. And now I - a) I can give myself some forgiveness for it, but b) I can also be my son’s ally here because I have it. It definitely gave me some grace in saying, OK, I understand. So after she tried that for a little bit, she went ahead - at my suggestion - and she recommended a psychologist who had diagnostic experience with ADHD in adults, and she confirmed the diagnosis. I just felt too much, is what I told her. So, I told her I’d try them for a little bit, but I wasn’t depressed. And I spoke with her, and her initial reaction was to suggest antidepressants. But I didn’t really know how it worked with adults.īut at this point in time I was so frustrated, I went to my primary care. Just because I knew with my son, I had spoken with the pediatrician, they sent me to the correct person, and that was that. The process of getting diagnosed was probably what held me or kept me from getting a diagnosis much sooner. I would be at work and, you know, I’d cry for little or no reason. I think the biggest trigger for me to go ahead and seek a diagnosis was, you know, my emotional dysregulation. I was 42 years old when I finally went out and sought a diagnosis of ADHD for myself. ![]() But while we were making this podcast, we spoke with several other people who were diagnosed as adults, and asked them to share their stories about ADHD. I’ve talked a lot this season about my own experience of getting diagnosed with ADHD as an adult. And today, we have a bonus episode for you. You’re listening to Season 2 of Understood Explains: ADHD Diagnosis in Adults. Roberto on getting diagnosed at 35 ĪDHD runs in the family (Michelle’s story)ĪDHD, loving intensely, and impulsivity (Ange’s story) Jeannie on nearly failing out of college Īdvice they’d give their younger selves Listen to these personal stories and what each person wishes they’d known sooner about ADHD:Īnge on seeing the “ADHD iceberg” Roberto Olivardia describe what led him to get diagnosed with ADHD at 35. For example, hear from a woman who waited years to see a specialist after her main doctor brushed off her concerns that she might have ADHD. This bonus episode of Understood Explains shares personal stories about getting diagnosed with ADHD as an adult. ![]()
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