After 2 yrs of suspecting I had #ADHD, (thanks to @DaniMcCabeS4W who knew the min we met) I received a diagnosis recently

A "gifted" label from a young age, chaotic home life & lack of awareness on ADHD meant my symptoms weren't picked up as a child

#ADHDAwarenessMonth Thread/1

The way my brain works differently, my hyperfocus on work, how I work best under pressure & in the chaos that most people run from has always just about made up for constantly losing things & rushing, awful memory, being late & half finishing 20 houshold tasks at once/2

Speaking a million miles an hour & constantly speaking over or interrupting was put down to just who I was,sociable & interested in everything. But if I started 1 story you were guaranteed 5 by the time I finished the first. I was chatty, clumsy, messy,forgetful &always rushing/3

I never realised I had focus or distraction issues because I've worked since my teens & always hyperfocused on work & academics. I thrive with goals & deadlines. But going from a 70 + hour work week to being at home with 2 kids under 1 & a half was a shock to the system /4

The ADHD brain loves novel ideas or work.I went from constant positive reinforcement in exciting work I was good at to being at home with all of the work im really bad at. unstimulating routine housework that requires executive functioning skills I spent years working around /5

A lot of people with undiagnosed ADHD self medicate with drugs, alcohol, food &risky behaviour. I was so lucky work gave me that stimulation & mitigated against most of those. When I stopped working I turned further towards activism & Twitter

Twitter became my fidget spinner /6

For all the negatives, & particularly early on it fed my more impulsive & combative side,Twitter gave me the mental stimulation I now know my brain craves, but in short accessible bites I could manage in between 2 toddlers & a voluntary work load. That stimulation brings focus /7

Twitter was built for the #ADHD brain& while those impulses, hyperfocus &tendency to procrastinate & be pedantic mean i need to be careful not to get sucked in,I can see how it fulfilled a need for stimulation I didn't realise I had, that people often fulfill in less safe ways /8

Lack of understanding means that some of the symptoms of #ADHD can be hard to articulate, & misunderstood by Drs who often misdiagnose as depression, bipolar, autism among others. ADHD can be comorbid with these things but they are very different. This has serious consequences/9

A misdiagnosis can mean being put on incorrect medication, a treatment plan that won't work for you & crucially, not getting the opportunity to understand how your brain works. Because #ADHD is a neurodiversty. My brain just works differently & on the whole that's a positive /10

I waited over a yr for HSE appointment to get assessed before hearing there's nobody qualified to diagnose & advised to go privately. Most waiting lists are closed as Adult #ADHD awareness grows but I got lucky with my therapist. But It's unacceptable to have no public option /11

Undiagnosed #ADHD can take up to 13 yrs off a person's life. It can lead to misdiagnoses, depression,employment & relationships problems

We hear world leaders, billionaires & genius' talk about #ADHD as their superpower but not enough about those who fall through the cracks /12

There are great orgs & #ADHD advocates around the world that I've learned so much from, which has enabled me to understand my own brain & how to maximise those strengths & create tools for the challenges. @adhdireland is doing great work & provides training & information /13

. @ErynnBrook is an excellent communicator & articulates #ADHD in a way that helps people understand themselves. As does the amazing @blkgirllostkeys. @danidonovan creates the most incredible graphics & comics that hit so close to the bone as does @ADHD_Alien #neurodiversesquad

& @translatingadhd is a brilliant #ADHD podcast I've been listening to

So many women in activism I know have been referred or diagnosed. There's something about the work or the causes that attracts us. & awareness is growing

It's unbelievably freeing to understand yourself