Thread by @katbrown

A moment of pleasure today: my ADHD doctor is releasing me into the care of my GP as my treatment is stable

He said something that I think should be said to anyone diagnosed as an adult. "You have achieved so much without support and you should be really proud of yourself." 🏆

(how incredibly fitting that I wrote that tweet originally with a massive typo in it 🙄)

Part of me wonders what my life would have been like if I'd been diagnosed as a child. BUT! I started senior school in 1993. The diagnostic criteria for women only really changed in 2013.

It was incredible to realise that the shopping list of everything "wrong" with me – binge eating disorder, problem drinking, insomnia, depression, anxiety etc etc – were comorbidities of ADHD – and sadly less so that it took women talking about it online to realise what I had.

By chance, last spring I read this thread that someone RT'd and my life changed. I researched and read and realised why things that were dead easy for pals, family, others, were things I found very hard, and vice versa. Always be RT'ing!

https://twitter.com/annagranta/status/1255933657665155072

I went to my GP and the waiting list was a year. I had already greatly benefited from the NHS for eating disorder treatment, and IVF, but was done with waiting lists – especially when I realised this was something so incredibly key. So I spent my tax savings on private care.

(and credit card, etc. And my husband, while I was under/unemployed summer, supported me.)

I have since learned about Right to Choose, from Psychiatry UK. I don't really understand it but I've heard glowing things about it speeding up treatment: psychiatry-uk.com/right-to-choos…

Resources:

ADHD for Smart Ass Women (FB group)
How to ADHD (YouTube channel)
#ADHDwomen (Instagram hashtag)

Oh! And this piece I wrote on the history of ADHD and adult diagnosis (in men and women): telegraph.co.uk/health-fitness…

"Why haven't you achieved anything in life, Katherine?!" (my brain to me, 1994-present.)

Well, now that I know that I am not an inherently defective person I can hopefully start living rather than existing. And if you have been diagnosed in adulthood – 💖

(PS I am getting more requests from people thinking they might have it, so am going to draw up a much bigger diagnosis/what happens/what options are email so message me if you would like it and apologies in advance from copy and paste!)