It would make sense to write a post about ADHD diagnosis at the time of diagnosis, as three months on, there would have been time to digest and return to normality.

For some, a diagnosis may be a surprise, possibly debilitating, closure, a lifestyle change, or all of the above. For me, at 45, it was a revelation and a relief.

That's why I've been doing that.

An ADHD diagnosis would never have been on the cards if it weren't for the eagle-eyed observation of a therapist. Receiving CBT support for untreated PTSD, I was initially angry that they'd even ask me to consider whether I might be neurodiverse.

How Diversive

It should have come as no shock, as I am neurodiverse, having been diagnosed with dyscalculia 24 years ago. However, the stigma and negative perception come from a learned behaviour from my dad, who is severely dyslexic and had a traumatic experience growing up with it.

As someone who loves to write and can be somewhat 'creative' with the way I articulate my thoughts, in my mid-teens, my college tutor flippantly suggested I may be dyslexic, implying the way I write my sentences may qualify that.

I Before E

After completing some tests, there were no flags whatsoever, and both my tutor and I came away with a diminished relationship: she for misreading my needs, and I for having an overly pessimistic view that it would be a bad outcome to be labelled dyslexic based on my dad's lived experience.

Fast forward to university, and this time I was to be tested again for two reasons. I was struggling academically (I'd lost interest in my degree and was unable to have the same enthusiasm as the Access course that introduced me to the subject), and this resulted in a prolonged depressive absence. The second was because this tutor had said I was verbose and should be writing 6-8 word sentences for my essays. Punctuation or not, it was too wordy, and I must be dyslexic.

Again, another series of tests proved there weren't any flags or concerns. It was deemed that I had dyscalculia, and I was rewarded with this diagnosis by getting a free computer, desk, chair and grant. I had no idea how this was relevant to my needs at the time, as my difficulties with numbers and sequences seldom existed in my studies.

...Because 7 Ate 9

Nevertheless, this was a slight revelation, though not life-changing. I had clarity that I wasn't lazy and genuinely had some difficulties with numbers, which explains the challenges in school. It's not until my current line of work that I have disclosed to a couple of colleagues that I have dyscalculia, due to finding some financial areas perplexing and concerned I’d be misread as incompetent, or a bit thick.

Jump to January 2026, and I have been diagnosed with moderate ADHD combined.

The wait took about 3 months, and the actual assessment, conducted via Zoom, took around an hour and a half. My assessor was patient, knowledgeable and understanding and persisted in asking the right questions when I started to wander. It would take a good 6 weeks to receive my report.

In the meantime, I made a very conscious effort not to use my ADHD diagnosis as an excuse but a reason. I immediately shared with my wife, as well as my mum and eldest daughter, and that was it. Nobody at work would know (though may have already guessed), and to this day, have only told one other person. More on that in another post.

Extracurricular

While waiting for my report to properly digest the results, I didn’t go gung-ho in reading material, though selected a few books to read through. Some were cliché and read like marketing books; others had an inclusive way of talking about the disability/difficulty/disorder by speaking on our behalf.

“We with ADHD do this...”

It’s a spectrum, so not everything applies. Just finding out I have this... thing felt like I’d been invited to a party where everyone was in on the joke, or drinking the Kool-Aid, and I was playing catch-up. It felt a little forced, though in reading these comments from others, it started to all make sense in my actions throughout my entire life.

So, It Was YOU All Along!

The supposed depression I had was linked to the ADHD. The ongoing anxiety? ADHD-related (plus some healthy self-induced anxiety to perform well). I was starting to see clearer, but was no different as a person. I neither have a superpower nor am I at a disadvantage, though it’s good to know what our strengths and weaknesses are.

To be honest, the whole ‘ADHD is my superpower’ annoys me as much as people who talk about their anxiety as if it were an accessory, or a goblin that sits on one’s shoulder. That said, I have noticed that I do have hyperfocus and can outperform others in attention to detail and quality of work in a fraction of the time they do. The caveat is I have lulls where I procrastinate and am massively productive in things I shouldn’t be doing.

TLDR

Creating a website about my journey with adult ADHD was a little spark, and as per the about page, wasn’t sure where I’d go with this. Naturally, it’s a work in progress, and while linear in terms of when I post, the thoughts might be a little incoherent, as may be expected.

So far, I’m really pleased to have got this diagnosis, as in theory, while nothing has dramatically changed in my life, I understand things a little better and in some ways, this helps me accept myself by being less self-critical.

I couldn’t help the way I was in the past - I, nor anyone else, knew. However, what I am learning now is I can help myself and learn to embrace this ADHD diagnosis like hereditary baldness, dashing good looks, a razor wit, and with a slice of humility and openness.

Thanks for reading. I’ll add another post to my to-do list.