Undiagnosed Adult ADHD

Perhaps you coped really well as a child, perhaps you were deemed a day dreamer, a trouble maker, lazy! Always being told to try harder when you knew you were trying your best. Wondering why things seemed so easy to other people, why at times you could do things but other times you couldn't, feeling frustrated when you lost things, were chronically late, struggled to do anything before a big appointment and then still managed to be late.

For so long ADHD was seen as a childhood condition meaning if you weren't diagnosed as a child you were in the clear. The issue for many adults today is that there was a lack of understanding of ADHD in children especially girls until quite recently meaning many adults grew up believing if they tried harder they could do all the things they struggled with.

It makes me sad to think of those messages many ADHD people have grown up believing and the impact it has had on their mental health.

The fact is the world is not make for neurodiversity it's like someone in a wheelchair being in a building with lots of stairs and no elevators. They drag themselves up the stairs using their arms only to be told at the top that if they had tried harder they could have walked, or been faster then as they try to catch their breath from the effort they are critisied because they aren't listening, or left something at the bottom and can't just run quickly back down to retrieve it.

For someone with ADHD it's not a matter of not trying, it's that they just need the right tools. Put and elevator in that building and make it accessible and that person in a wheelchair can reach their full potential!

For many ADHD adults they have struggled so long they have put so many coping strategies in place they may not even realise all of the ways ADHD impacts their lives. Struggling with grief due to out of sight out of mind, relationships due to processing issues, decision paralysis, time blindness and many more.

With counselling you can have a safe Non-judgemental space to explore the struggles you face and begin to develop self-compassion, coping strategies and begin to heal that child who for so many years was told they aren't good enough!

ADHD comes with many strengths when you take the time to recognise them.