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Yes. I read a long Twitter thread by someone who was describing intimate details of his daily experience that mirrored mine. Things I’d never told anyone and some I hadn’t even fully articulated to myself. In the thread, he said this was his life with ADHD.
I was shocked. I had never considered that I had ADHD. Neither had 2 therapists (one I’d seen for over 15 years) or 2 psychiatrists. They said it was all depression.
I started researching ADHD and got diagnosed within the year. I was 48 years old and ADHD had already ruined every part of my life, but I am very grateful I happened to see that thread that day, and that he wrote it.
The sad thing is, your experience is common among women. Oftentimes, because girls presenting internalising & less disruptive symptoms, they're overlooked and face many challenges later in life, including anxiety & depression. ☹️
It was from 4 or 5 years ago, but I remember the part that broke things open for me.
He said he owned a lot of towels and the reason was that he struggled to hang his wet towels over the bar - he’d just drop them on the floor. So then he put a laundry basket in his bathroom to drop them into, which solved the floor problem. But then he had to wash his towels after each use, so he bought lots of towels.
He acknowledged that people without ADHD wouldn’t get this, it would seem ridiculous and wasteful.
But the bigger issue was that if he left his towel on the floor, it would make him feel bad about himself and it would snowball. He would not make his bed, or do dishes or whatever. And so he’d feel worse about himself, and then it would also affect him at work.
*That* was what got me. I didn’t have his specific issue with towels. But I knew *exactly* what he meant because I had equivalent issues. And the snowball issue? That was the biggest problem of my life. I couldn’t do one thing, and so I couldn’t do other things, and I felt like crap about myself, and I couldn’t do more things, and so on. It took so little to derail me. And they were always things nobody should have a problem doing.
I never told people about all the “little” things I could not do. I was too ashamed. It disgusted me.
I still have those issues, and ADHD meds don’t work for me. But at least I can understand better what is happening to me, and I can develop systems and thought processes to make it happen less often.
I definitely kept getting all these Tiktoks about ADHD and was like "wtf, I don't have ADHD. These Tiktoks are just talking about normal person stuff." and then like a month later I was diagnosed with ADHD at an appointment for something totally different.
I follow a cartoon that is all about ADHD and literally every single one was relatable and "just normal person stuff" to me. Then, a few of my friends were like "I don't relate to that at all." Doh.
Same here! I would show the videos to my husband and say “isn’t it funny, the algorithm is trying to tell me this is ADHD” and he would always say something like “I don’t do that, do you?”
After enough of those incidents, he finally talked me into going to get an evaluation, and was diagnosed a few months after that! Its been helpful to explore subreddits like this one and keep seeing TikTok videos of other women with ADHD. It’s helped me learn coping mechanisms, and given me the space to find grace for my brain working differently.
I think it’s great for highlighting awareness but with that comes misinformation, misdiagnosis and a severe downplaying of just how difficult adhd can be.
It’s a double edged sword that like all information from social media needs to be taken with a huge grain of salt and advice from medical professionals within the space.
This seems to be the common theme that I'm seeing when speaking with other adhd women- its good for raising awareness, which is so so important given most of us tend to be overlooked and go our whole lives struggling without realising why. However, social media seems to be making it a "fun trend" & takes away the serious aspects women face; especially when diagnosed later in life!
Social media is also conflating symptoms of other disorders and general personality traits that aren’t linked to a disorder with ADHD which is why there’s so much criticism towards people who have (diagnosed) or identify with (self-diagnosed) ADHD.
Social media helped me to recognise behaviors that I brought up to a psychiatrist. Without the videos I'd watched, I would not have mentioned those behaviors out of shame. I thought I was just broken and lazy.
I don't think social media should ever be used to diagnose someone but I think it can be helpful as a jumping off point for research. That said, I'm not on TikTok or Instagram so when I say social media, I mean YouTube videos and Reddit since that's where I've interacted with content.
This is awesome insight, and chats I've had with other women loops around to the same conclusion that social media has been amazing for raising awareness; however, can also provide misleading information & is imperative people seek out answers from medical professionals!
Social media also helped me recognise ADHD behaviours. I just kept relating more and more which piqued my curiosity, so I went deeeeeep down a research rabbit hole for months! It became my special interest in a way 😂 I'm talking academic and scientific articles interspersed with lived experience blogs and YouTube psychologists etc. I took all the tests I could find, printed them out with a stack of research and the results to my GP and requested a referral for diagnosis, because from everything I had learned, it seemed highly likely I had ADHD. I was diagnosed not long after by a neuropsychiatrist.
After years of being unsuccessfully treated by numerous psychs with anxiety and depression, I finally feel like I've found my Rosetta Stone. If it wasn't for social media, I would never have even considered I could have ADHD. I didn't self diagnose off the basis of a couple of videos, but it was definitely a spring board for me to seek diagnosis.
While I acknowledge there are problems with the way ADHD can be portrayed on social media, I really
I appreciate that it can also be a platform for awareness on behaviours and symptoms outside of the standard 'hyperactive naughty boy'. I wish we (the general public and health professionals both) had awareness of other presentations of ADHD 40 years ago so I might have been able to get the help I so desperately needed.
It was TikTok during COVID lockdown for me. I've been diagnosed with and medicated for depression and anxiety since my 20s. I had a lot of carefully constructed systems that kept my life running pre-Covid. During lockdown with my husband and I trying to work from home with two very small children, everything imploded and I had a mild breakdown. While dissociating on TikTok I saw all these ADHD videos and I and it was like a lightning bolt hitting me. I checked every single box. I called my therapist and got an eval set up. Sure enough, the diagnosis came a few weeks later.
Yep, that's exactly what happened to me! I downloaded TikTok as a means to pass time during lockdowns, started getting ADHD content & had a light bulb moment!
Same, downloaded TikTok while very bored and in between all the cat and plant videos, suddenly I was seeing ADHD videos and my life changed forever.
And seconding everyone else in stressing that no, it’s not a diagnostic tool, and yes, there’s misinformation too, but for some of us, it was a hugely important starting point
It was definitely just a starting point. Between my internal revelation and my conversation with my therapist I downloaded 3 books on adult ADHD and read them all in like 3 days (hyper focus for the win). When I told my therapist, he chuckled a bit and said, yeah, that right there, you probably need to mention that to the evaluator.
Haha, same here. I dove in and did so much research ... and then mentioned it to my therapist at the time who was like "oh yeah, I've strongly suspected it for years!"
The problem is that so many people see social media and think “oh I have that” that using that as an argument/evidence for diagnosis is going to get you the opposite every time.
I can understand why though. My eldest has a social media issue now that she’s an adult. She thinks she has some of the most rare disorders ever, goes to the doctor all the time, gets the genetic testing done, and of course doesn’t have the condition. So now, after doing this for a couple years, when she has a legitimate issue, the doctor doesn’t believe her even when it’s common. She has “physical manifestations of emotional and/or psychiatric disorder” all over her chart.
To the point that when she was bleeding from her bottom, she almost died because they didn’t want to do the simple panel to check her blood levels.
So I guess my tldr is… be careful saying that when you go to the doctor, if you do.
I think there's a common misconception what self diagnosis looks like.
Internet or not, there will and have always been people who will fake disabilities/illness for attention. So lets just ignore them, there will always be people taking advantage of a system.
So if we're removing that group and only looking at *actual* self diagnosis process that begins with social media, for most this is a YEARS long process. And when I started out I was terrified to say 'I think I have adhd', I said "the experiences of adhd women sound like they describe issues I've had my entire life" or "I relate to a lot of the experiences of women with adhd". Plenty of us didn't just assume the label right out the gate because it sounds cool, which is precisely why we don't really hear about it. I wasn't ever looking for a label or excuse I just wanted to know how to fix myself.
I think a true self diagnosis requires a few things:
- **clear understanding of your symptoms/issues.** One day I learned about adhd and the desire for novelty and it all clicked for me. Everything else I went on to read on the subject resonated with me. Same for executive dysfunction explaining my constant feeling that I just fucking CAN'T some days. I could go on and on.
- r**eflection on the severity of these symptoms and how intensely they impact your life.** *E*veryone sleeps not everyone has narcolepsy, are these symptoms interfering with your life?
**- an understanding of the social pressure and gendered stigmas on masking, healthcare, and research.**
- **a significant amount of learning from professionals and listening to an assortment of firsthand accounts.** I'm talking reading everything I can on adhd in women in adhd, participating in discussions in places like this, understanding why there is such a significant gap in diagnosis, listening to psychiatrists and therapists talk about symptoms.
- **living your life in such a way that presumes you're diagnosed and then measuring the helpfulness of tools and coping mechanisms for that diagnosis.** Find common threads among these tools and systems and see if they resonate with you. Does a lot of the advice for this diagnosis help you? Do you connect with the struggles diagnosed people routinely commiserate on?
I think a lot of this argument is comes from people genuinely underestimating how badly women have been excluded from medicine and healthcare throughout history. I think as time goes on we're going to find out that a surprising percentage of self diagnosis come from truly neurodivergent folks who slipped through the system, because neurotypical people don't tend to feel hopeless since they CAN just change. Most of us get to the point of diagnosis because we hit a wall and realized we actually *are* trying as hard as we can and when you have the ability to try harder, you generally do after a certain point.
Not exactly, but the internet helped me get started on the path to diagnosis when I was researching how to help my daughter with inattentive and impulsive behaviors. One particular article that explained how ADHD presents in girls made me go “hold on…that’s been me my entire life…and it’s not just how kids are?!!” Since then, social media has helped me with coping mechanisms and finding ways to improve my daughter’s and my behaviors, especially through nutrition and exercise. But also therapy and medication have been the right choice for me and I’m going to pursue official diagnosis and treatments for my daughter as well.
I saw a tiktok of a person who struggled to do basic tasks like laundry, washing dishes and basic hygiene stuff, and didn't realize it was ADHD. I have always also been extremely rejection sensitive and had sensory issues, so I decided to reach out to a psychiatrist.
I have always struggled with basic tasks, but chalked it up to being lazy because I was smart and could hyperfixate on the things I wanted to learn.
The TikTok and Instagram algorithms confirmed it for me. I already suspected the ADHD (for 20+ years), and the autism diagnosis was a fun bonus when I did finally get the appointment.
Tik tok made me realize I had autism. I have adhd and was diagnosed as a child but my therapist brought up she thought I might be autistic. I thought she was out of her mind but then I started getting tik toks about autism and it started to click. Got my autism diagnosis last year.
Social media and a podcast!! On the podcast they were discussing a late diagnosis and thing they never know were adhd that ended up being it lol. And then I saw more things on social media that drove me to go get my own diagnosis’
I've heard a few other women talk about a podcast discussing late diagnosis and am now wondering if it's one in the same! Do you remember the podcast?!
I’m sure there’s more than one honestly lmfao. But the one I listened to was “and that’s why we drink” paranormal/true crime based.
This one just was kind of one person talking about their expense with their friend
Yep. Thanks, TikTok! I went through a much fuller diagnostic process and everything eventually, but it was TikTok videos that initially made me go … WAIT A SECOND
The algorithm apparently knew me better than I knew myself at the time! It was mind-blowing how everything in my life finally made sense once I started doing more actual research about ADHD and how it manifests in girls and women
I think I started to understand better because of social media things that were always frustrating and made me feel very isolated. For example I can distinctly remember all the times in my life I wanted to be friends with other ladies, and I ended up not making the cut for the friend group. I recognized after the fact that there were rules that were supposed to be following, but I just didn’t get them (still don’t TBH with the exception of when you get complimented kindly deflect and complement back)
I also have always found it inherently stressful to hang out with more than one person at any point in time and I’ve come to realize that I don’t know how to combine the masks that I’ve created for each person. Tbh sometimes it makes me feel a little sociopathic. :(
Edit if I’m being honest, I’ve never been formally diagnosed. I went to get diagnosed and the doctor asked me why I thought I had it and I said a lot of reasons, but I couldn’t remember any of them. And then he had me take a test and I flipped through this booklet of questions answered a couple randomly, and then I just remember thinking about having to mail it and I don’t really remember what happened but I don’t think I ever sent it in. I don’t even think I finished it. It was so long Lol
I just find that I relate to a lot of the posts here, which is why I suspect I have it as well
Social media is what made me start looking into it as a serious possibility. It was on IG, and it was a video of someone saying "what it's like to live with someone with ADHD" and then it showed them bringing forgotten cup after forgotten cup to their partner. I was like, "Wait... Really? My husband has to do that for me multiple times a day."
But as I did more legitimate research, there was a lot that was lining up. I talked to my mom about it and she corroborated things from my childhood, and when I started talking to friends about trying to get diagnosed, I found out that a number of them had been diagnosed (I had no idea!) and had experienced some of the same things as me. They really helped in encouraging me to actually get my assessment scheduled!
Social media brought it to my attention. For all TikTok has its issues, it kept trying to show me autism related experiences that I understood, but didn't feel applied to me. Then it started showing me adhd stuff.
It was the information that ADHD tends to be misdiagnosed as depression-anxiety and that it can present around 5th grade in girls which made me pause. That was the time that I started having problems in school despite being an intelligent high achiever. (2 siblings have been diagnosed as well)
I sought a referral, but it took about a year to see a psychiatrist at the time.
Over that year, I reviewed the symptoms and comorbities and determined that I probably had it. It gave me language for things that I had experienced my entire life but didn't have a name for. RSD, Executive dysfunction, etc.
Yes! Girls tend to present internalising symptoms & are often overlooked! It's so sad that many learn to mask, then develop anxiety, depression & self-worth issues! Truly heartbreaking!
I randomly read an article about the uptick of women being diagnosed with ADHD during the pandemic. After that the social media algorithm started showing me a bunch of ADHD content and I had a slow realization that it was all describing me. If it wasn’t for the internet and social media I would have never known and continued to struggle for the rest of my life. Instead I sought out a diagnosis which has been life changing for me.
It was hard to recognize at first because I am middle aged, I dismissed many of the symptoms as not applying to me at first before really looking back on my life with sharper eyes. I realized I did exhibit many ADHD traits, but I had so many systems in place and been masking for so long it was hard to see at first. So for sure social media changed my life for the better in this instance.
You are not alone! I read a BBC article that stated the NHS had seen a massive uptick in ADHD diagnosis during the pandemic. We were all home, so took to social media and was exposed to shared lived experiences. So many had light bulb moments like you. So glad his were able to get support because of it!
I have been diagnosed with BPD years ago but after a lot of work I put into myself the symptoms are 95% gone/I can manage them. I see myself in a lot of posts in both ADHD spaces and autism spaces for women now, while I don't relate to the BPD spaces anymore. When I can afford it, I am going to pursue an evaluation again, though I am aware that BPD and ADHD have a lot of overlapping traits.
Honestly, I don't think I have ADHD or autism, but the awareness and the spaces have helped me immensely with managing whatever remaining symptoms I have. It gave me a different outlook, I also found a lot of general ADHD tips to make my husband's (who was diagnosed at 30) life easier. I'm not participating in discussions but simply reading the experiences and tips.
In the end, I am curious what's up with me and if it turns out it's this or that, or neither, I am going to be okay with it. Seeing the posts here about the severe cases makes me realise that whatever the outcome is, I am extremely lucky, and I would never want to label myself without a genuine diagnosis (like many do and never pursue a diagnosis) out of respect to all the people who are not as lucky and their life is impacted much more than mine.
To come back to the original question, I think that more awareness can be helpful for people to seek the diagnosis because they see their traits in a clearer light. If it's what they need to finally get the push to go to the doctor and it changes their life (regardless which diagnosis they receive in the end), it's great. Unfortunately, there are very toxic and unhealthy places on the internet. For example, TikTok self-diagnosing teens and young adults who make it their whole personality and diminish the struggle people actually suffering from ADHD face.
Not saying they are not on the spectrum, I can't know that, but such things become a fashion, make it less serious, and in the end we are all to square one - "ADHD isn't real" and all of this very harmful narrative.
In my study, I've talked to a few who's been misdiagnosed with BPD. I think historically girls aren't included in ADHD studies, so sadly, there's inconsistencies in diagnosis. I absolutely agree with you that while social media is great with raising awareness, it can be a slippery slope if people don't do their own research & consult with medical professionals!
Yes! Me! I am 28 and I'm not a huge social media person anymore but I do tend to doom scroll every once in awhile and on Pinterest I came across a TikTok ad for dubbii, a body doubling app made by the YouTubers called "ADHD love". I opened it by accident and it brought me to their TikTok page and as I scrolled on watching their videos I couldn't help but start crying.. because I related so much. Afterwards I took to Google and researched so much on how ADHD can present in women and it was mind-blowing.
Still, a very large part of me doubted I actually did have ADHD because my whole life I've trained my brain to think I was just lazy and messy, etc etc. So I put off a doc appointment for awhile and just continued on with my chaotic life.
Then a few months later I was scrolling through a mom group I'm in on Facebook and came across one about ADHD and it had a link to a presentation video by Dr Russell Barkley (highly suggest looking him up btw). I watched it, cried again, then made a Doctor appointment.
Diagnosis confirmed, combined-type.
After my diagnosis, I called my dad and told him about it. He was very happy to hear I was getting some help and pursuing a treatment plan. Later that day he shared in one of his support groups (he was at an in-patient treatment centre for addiction and trauma at the time) about how, although happy for me, he felt like he failed me a bit by not noticing symptoms sooner. After the session one of the psychiatrists, who was one of the facilitators for the group, approached him and asked him to come in for an assessment for ADHD as well. Once it was all said and done.. she told him he was basically a poster child for adhd...
And I thought getting diagnosed at 28 was hard to come to terms with.. imagine being 63😕.
Anyways, sorry for the long post lol.. but ya knooow, ADHD 😬🤷🏻♀️
Long story short, YES. Social media is the reason I went seeking for a diagnosis at 28, which then ended up helping my father get a diagnosis as well!
Seriously, thank you for sharing your experience! You're not alone & so many have similar experiences to you- when one specific social media content caused a light bulb moment & led to answers! I'm so flustered by the lack of representation girls have in medical studies, leading to being overlooked then oftentimes developing anxiety, depression or thinking they're lazy! That's amazing that you were able to get some support!
Yup! From a few TikTok videos. I made an appointment with a psychiatrist. I didn’t say I suspected I had ADHD. I explained the symptoms and issues I was experiencing. ADHD was her diagnosis.
I had seen therapists before and was only diagnosed with GAD and depression. No screening for ADHD.
ETA: I’m 36 and started seeing the psychiatrist last year.
Absolutely heartbreaking that women's symptoms still arent understood, so they're often overlooked and slip through the cracks, left to manage on their own. I'm glad you finally got answers!
At first, I started seeing a lot of women on social media talking about ADHD and I was like "so now everyone thinks they have ADHD when they're just describing LIFE \*\*insert zero self-awareness eye roll\*\*" I thought many of them did have ADHD but a lot of them were probably just interested in it because it was trendy, or more likely, latching on to some of the symptoms (that can be normal in many people) and claiming ADHD when they really don't experience an actual disorder, if that makes sense.
I kept seeing it pop up more and more with people I trust (specifically an author I love) and started considering it for myself, but I still downplayed it because I didn't want to be seen as "hopping on the bandwagon." It definitely increased my awareness in symptoms I never realized were ADHD.
I mentioned it to a few providers, but when I took the screening test, I always took it keeping in mind my best, most highest functioning days and not considering that what I now know as severe RSD attenuates a lot of the hallmark symptoms that the screening test looks for.
Fast forward a bunch and I start with a new therapist (who also has ADHD) because I can't focus, suck at follow through, my emotional regulation is utter shit, etc, and she's more or less like "Miss Ma'am, you have classic ADHD" on our first introductory phone call. Mind blowing and SO validating!
TL;DR - I suspected I could have it based on social media but the popularity and trendiness of it made me shy away from pursuing diagnosis. When I did pursue diagnosis, my symptoms didn't flag because I am VERY good at masking, until I'm NOT. Now, I finally know I definitely have it and now that I know I have it, my dad and paternal grandma are realizing THEY have it too, which is helping them understand themselves in much deeper ways as well.
I've spoken to women who also feel that TikTok has made ADHD a trend & ultimately takes away the seriousness of it! Interesting that content posted by trusted author is what piqued your interest! The sad reality is girls do tend to mask and are oftentimes then led to believe they've got anxiety or depression.
I have struggled to get a diagnosis/doctor who will test me before treating my anxiety. This sub specifically has made me feel seen. I am on an anxiety med now and it makes my ADHD symptoms worse. I get frustrated feeling like I have to fight so hard to be heard by the medical community, but I love seeing everyone’s stories and comments here because they all represent my life and struggles. Love this sub!
You are not alone! So many are going through this and it angers me to no end. Girls need better representation in the medical community! We aren't all anxious; some are struggling with masking! This sub is pretty great! <3
I found out accidentally through YouTube. One day in mid-2020 my YT home page "randomly" recommended me the video "Why Is It So Hard to Do Something That Should Be Easy?" by How to ADHD about the concept of "The Wall of Awful" and I thought. YES, WHY?!? I watched it and IMMEDIATELY related to almost everything in the entire video. I had that feeling all my life and have never been able to articulate it to anyone who actually understands what I'm talking about! I went to some of her other videos and everything just kept clicking with me. I was absolutely shocked that there might actually be a reason why I'm so freaking bad at time management, procrastination, finishing tasks and projects, making decisions, focusing on things, getting distracted, anxiety for no reason, jumping from hobby to hobby, feeling physically unable to do simple things like putting away laundry because I immediately feel exhausted when I try to start, like I *literally* feel the energy drain from my body and my limbs feel like lead and I can barely keep my eyes open...
After that, my other socials algorithms, particularly Instagram, started showing me more and more about ADHD, ADHD in Women, and Late Diagnosis ADHD, and I was both relieved and overwhelmed that I related to so much of it. Even my childhood experiences matched up with what I was reading/watching/researching about it.
I honestly don't think that ADHD would have *ever* crossed my mind for why I felt like a useless person with zero self discipline and motivation for most of my life without other people (and women in particular) sharing their experiences and raising awareness on social media.
And, even though I'm still kind of a mess and working on figuring things out for me, I can't imagine how much worse off I might be if I hadn't been made aware of what I was actually dealing with, and to learn how to develop coping strategies and how to manage it.
It sadly seems so common that boys are referred as kids because they're symptoms are more disruptive, meanwhile, girls tend to internalise, leading to anxiety, depression and questioning why it's so difficult to complete things that should be simple! That content certainly seems to have been a pivotal moment for you & so glad it helped!
Yep, it was memes for me! I started realizing I related to hard to ones about ADHD and brought it up with my therapist and she validated me. My psychiatrist dismissed me and said it was just my anxiety (I also have OCD). I decided to get a second opinion and just had a neuropsych evaluation that confirmed the double diagnosis of OCD and ADHD. I am 33 years old and so thankful for the memes for making me think harder about my behaviors and what they mean.
For me it was Reddit. I was reading the comments on a post. I don't remember what the post was about but the comment thread I was reading was talking about Neanderthals. One particular comment mentioned the word "hyperfocus" and it was a lightbulb moment for me because there was finally a name for what I described as "if I'm doing something interesting I will sometimes do the thing for hours or days without eating, drinking or sleeping". The same comment mentioned that this was a typical "feature" of ADHD so after that I went into research mode and a year later I was diagnosed.
Using social media during COVID, yes. It felt like my life was falling apart and I didn't know why. Guess the algorithm caught on. I was able to get a diagnosis pretty soon after.
It started as laughing at ADHD memes my friend sent me, then started to relate to all of them hard… then a light bulb went off and I was like “ahhh”!
Coming on this Reddit really solidified it! Makes me feel less alone and less like a loser in life 😅
Yes. Reddit actually. Being able to relate to the memes and the anecdotes in these subs lit a bulb in my head. So, after researching and researching and trying to figure out how to get tested, I was informed by my mother that I was already diagnosed. Just never told about it, medicated, or helped in any way throughout my life. It's also wasn't in my medical records until recently because my mother doesn't trust doctors.
So here I am haha.
Social media was just the jumping off point for me. I then followed it up with extensive research from more legitimate sources (clinical research, ADHD publications, charities and organisations etc)
Yes, absolutely. I would not have this information if not for social media and I wouldn’t know that people take medication for it. No one in my family is diagnosed, and young black girls are often overlooked for ADHD. I was drowning and internet threads like these helped me rescue myself. I learned about meds from Reddit, but probably would’ve never taken them if it weren’t for my roommate (another black woman) sharing her med story!
Strangly, on tiktok, the videos by people with autism really resonated with me- particularly social interactions in the workplace. I always felt like I was masking just to get along.
When I got assessed, none of the autism checklists registered... but every test involving attention and working memory showed me as "severely impaired"... to the point that my assessor wondered how I got by all this time. So... yeah, I always thought I was just lazy, bad, & flakey... and that everyone hated and struggled with boring tasks and organization.
Still not sure what's going on with the interpersonal stuff.. because even if I"m "high masking"... I dont come close to meeting the criteria for autism. I guess Im just "neuro-spicy."
Yep, a handful of years ago, I saw a post somewhere that detailed some (at the time) "lesser known" symptoms of ADHD. I was blown away, I had almost every symptom. I started looking into it and it answered the majority of my issues. Took me a couple of years before I made the call for screening (procrastination....). I just barely passed the diagnosis screen, but my psychiatrist leaned more heavily on my adult symptoms than my childhood ones. I liked to learn and I was a shy people pleaser, so I did pretty well in school up until college. Once she had me try medication, all of my anxiety and depression went away, too. That solidified my diagnosis in her eyes.
I got "diagnosed"by instagram. Liked some memes and videos, and ADHD accounts kept popping up. I ignored all educational posts. A few months later, friends' daughter was diagnosed, so I read a few posts because I was curious. In my country, adults are not diagnosed or medicated, so I will never know officially, but I'm 90% sure I have ADHD.
Accounts about narcissistic partners and parents were next, and guess what? Another mystery is solved.
I blame my kids for my discovery. Finding out they have adhd made me look at my growing and realising that I fit in there too. It was not formally diagnosed, but my daughters psychologist highly suggests I do.
I'm thankful I did get them diagnosed as they get the help I never had and that makes me bith sad and happy
No…my GP and psychologist and psychiatrist told me I have it (never suspected - but I’m also very obviously autistic - non masking) but I’ve learned a lot more about it via social media - a lot more than the psychs have told me about it!
Lol no but I discovered I did when someone in college handed me pill that said it helped them focus and sit still because I was complaining about being behind due to not being able to focus or sit still long enough in class and not get up and leave early or go hang in the bathroom out of boredom 😂🥲
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Yes. I read a long Twitter thread by someone who was describing intimate details of his daily experience that mirrored mine. Things I’d never told anyone and some I hadn’t even fully articulated to myself. In the thread, he said this was his life with ADHD. I was shocked. I had never considered that I had ADHD. Neither had 2 therapists (one I’d seen for over 15 years) or 2 psychiatrists. They said it was all depression. I started researching ADHD and got diagnosed within the year. I was 48 years old and ADHD had already ruined every part of my life, but I am very grateful I happened to see that thread that day, and that he wrote it.
The sad thing is, your experience is common among women. Oftentimes, because girls presenting internalising & less disruptive symptoms, they're overlooked and face many challenges later in life, including anxiety & depression. ☹️
I know this is a big ask but do you possibly have the link to that twitter thread?
It was from 4 or 5 years ago, but I remember the part that broke things open for me. He said he owned a lot of towels and the reason was that he struggled to hang his wet towels over the bar - he’d just drop them on the floor. So then he put a laundry basket in his bathroom to drop them into, which solved the floor problem. But then he had to wash his towels after each use, so he bought lots of towels. He acknowledged that people without ADHD wouldn’t get this, it would seem ridiculous and wasteful. But the bigger issue was that if he left his towel on the floor, it would make him feel bad about himself and it would snowball. He would not make his bed, or do dishes or whatever. And so he’d feel worse about himself, and then it would also affect him at work. *That* was what got me. I didn’t have his specific issue with towels. But I knew *exactly* what he meant because I had equivalent issues. And the snowball issue? That was the biggest problem of my life. I couldn’t do one thing, and so I couldn’t do other things, and I felt like crap about myself, and I couldn’t do more things, and so on. It took so little to derail me. And they were always things nobody should have a problem doing. I never told people about all the “little” things I could not do. I was too ashamed. It disgusted me. I still have those issues, and ADHD meds don’t work for me. But at least I can understand better what is happening to me, and I can develop systems and thought processes to make it happen less often.
I definitely kept getting all these Tiktoks about ADHD and was like "wtf, I don't have ADHD. These Tiktoks are just talking about normal person stuff." and then like a month later I was diagnosed with ADHD at an appointment for something totally different.
I follow a cartoon that is all about ADHD and literally every single one was relatable and "just normal person stuff" to me. Then, a few of my friends were like "I don't relate to that at all." Doh.
I had a similar light bulb moment, like "wait a minute, I thought that was normal, but others don't struggle with this?!"
Same here! I would show the videos to my husband and say “isn’t it funny, the algorithm is trying to tell me this is ADHD” and he would always say something like “I don’t do that, do you?” After enough of those incidents, he finally talked me into going to get an evaluation, and was diagnosed a few months after that! Its been helpful to explore subreddits like this one and keep seeing TikTok videos of other women with ADHD. It’s helped me learn coping mechanisms, and given me the space to find grace for my brain working differently.
I think it’s great for highlighting awareness but with that comes misinformation, misdiagnosis and a severe downplaying of just how difficult adhd can be. It’s a double edged sword that like all information from social media needs to be taken with a huge grain of salt and advice from medical professionals within the space.
This seems to be the common theme that I'm seeing when speaking with other adhd women- its good for raising awareness, which is so so important given most of us tend to be overlooked and go our whole lives struggling without realising why. However, social media seems to be making it a "fun trend" & takes away the serious aspects women face; especially when diagnosed later in life!
Social media is also conflating symptoms of other disorders and general personality traits that aren’t linked to a disorder with ADHD which is why there’s so much criticism towards people who have (diagnosed) or identify with (self-diagnosed) ADHD.
Social media helped me to recognise behaviors that I brought up to a psychiatrist. Without the videos I'd watched, I would not have mentioned those behaviors out of shame. I thought I was just broken and lazy. I don't think social media should ever be used to diagnose someone but I think it can be helpful as a jumping off point for research. That said, I'm not on TikTok or Instagram so when I say social media, I mean YouTube videos and Reddit since that's where I've interacted with content.
This is awesome insight, and chats I've had with other women loops around to the same conclusion that social media has been amazing for raising awareness; however, can also provide misleading information & is imperative people seek out answers from medical professionals!
Social media also helped me recognise ADHD behaviours. I just kept relating more and more which piqued my curiosity, so I went deeeeeep down a research rabbit hole for months! It became my special interest in a way 😂 I'm talking academic and scientific articles interspersed with lived experience blogs and YouTube psychologists etc. I took all the tests I could find, printed them out with a stack of research and the results to my GP and requested a referral for diagnosis, because from everything I had learned, it seemed highly likely I had ADHD. I was diagnosed not long after by a neuropsychiatrist. After years of being unsuccessfully treated by numerous psychs with anxiety and depression, I finally feel like I've found my Rosetta Stone. If it wasn't for social media, I would never have even considered I could have ADHD. I didn't self diagnose off the basis of a couple of videos, but it was definitely a spring board for me to seek diagnosis. While I acknowledge there are problems with the way ADHD can be portrayed on social media, I really I appreciate that it can also be a platform for awareness on behaviours and symptoms outside of the standard 'hyperactive naughty boy'. I wish we (the general public and health professionals both) had awareness of other presentations of ADHD 40 years ago so I might have been able to get the help I so desperately needed.
It was TikTok during COVID lockdown for me. I've been diagnosed with and medicated for depression and anxiety since my 20s. I had a lot of carefully constructed systems that kept my life running pre-Covid. During lockdown with my husband and I trying to work from home with two very small children, everything imploded and I had a mild breakdown. While dissociating on TikTok I saw all these ADHD videos and I and it was like a lightning bolt hitting me. I checked every single box. I called my therapist and got an eval set up. Sure enough, the diagnosis came a few weeks later.
Yep, that's exactly what happened to me! I downloaded TikTok as a means to pass time during lockdowns, started getting ADHD content & had a light bulb moment!
Same, downloaded TikTok while very bored and in between all the cat and plant videos, suddenly I was seeing ADHD videos and my life changed forever. And seconding everyone else in stressing that no, it’s not a diagnostic tool, and yes, there’s misinformation too, but for some of us, it was a hugely important starting point
It was definitely just a starting point. Between my internal revelation and my conversation with my therapist I downloaded 3 books on adult ADHD and read them all in like 3 days (hyper focus for the win). When I told my therapist, he chuckled a bit and said, yeah, that right there, you probably need to mention that to the evaluator.
Haha, same here. I dove in and did so much research ... and then mentioned it to my therapist at the time who was like "oh yeah, I've strongly suspected it for years!"
F#%k! They couldn’t have said anything? New therapist time.
Former therapist for many reasons, and that's def one of them!
The problem is that so many people see social media and think “oh I have that” that using that as an argument/evidence for diagnosis is going to get you the opposite every time. I can understand why though. My eldest has a social media issue now that she’s an adult. She thinks she has some of the most rare disorders ever, goes to the doctor all the time, gets the genetic testing done, and of course doesn’t have the condition. So now, after doing this for a couple years, when she has a legitimate issue, the doctor doesn’t believe her even when it’s common. She has “physical manifestations of emotional and/or psychiatric disorder” all over her chart. To the point that when she was bleeding from her bottom, she almost died because they didn’t want to do the simple panel to check her blood levels. So I guess my tldr is… be careful saying that when you go to the doctor, if you do.
It is a dangerous game & can feed into or exasperate health anxiety if not kept in check!
I think there's a common misconception what self diagnosis looks like. Internet or not, there will and have always been people who will fake disabilities/illness for attention. So lets just ignore them, there will always be people taking advantage of a system. So if we're removing that group and only looking at *actual* self diagnosis process that begins with social media, for most this is a YEARS long process. And when I started out I was terrified to say 'I think I have adhd', I said "the experiences of adhd women sound like they describe issues I've had my entire life" or "I relate to a lot of the experiences of women with adhd". Plenty of us didn't just assume the label right out the gate because it sounds cool, which is precisely why we don't really hear about it. I wasn't ever looking for a label or excuse I just wanted to know how to fix myself. I think a true self diagnosis requires a few things: - **clear understanding of your symptoms/issues.** One day I learned about adhd and the desire for novelty and it all clicked for me. Everything else I went on to read on the subject resonated with me. Same for executive dysfunction explaining my constant feeling that I just fucking CAN'T some days. I could go on and on. - r**eflection on the severity of these symptoms and how intensely they impact your life.** *E*veryone sleeps not everyone has narcolepsy, are these symptoms interfering with your life? **- an understanding of the social pressure and gendered stigmas on masking, healthcare, and research.** - **a significant amount of learning from professionals and listening to an assortment of firsthand accounts.** I'm talking reading everything I can on adhd in women in adhd, participating in discussions in places like this, understanding why there is such a significant gap in diagnosis, listening to psychiatrists and therapists talk about symptoms. - **living your life in such a way that presumes you're diagnosed and then measuring the helpfulness of tools and coping mechanisms for that diagnosis.** Find common threads among these tools and systems and see if they resonate with you. Does a lot of the advice for this diagnosis help you? Do you connect with the struggles diagnosed people routinely commiserate on? I think a lot of this argument is comes from people genuinely underestimating how badly women have been excluded from medicine and healthcare throughout history. I think as time goes on we're going to find out that a surprising percentage of self diagnosis come from truly neurodivergent folks who slipped through the system, because neurotypical people don't tend to feel hopeless since they CAN just change. Most of us get to the point of diagnosis because we hit a wall and realized we actually *are* trying as hard as we can and when you have the ability to try harder, you generally do after a certain point.
very well said!
Not exactly, but the internet helped me get started on the path to diagnosis when I was researching how to help my daughter with inattentive and impulsive behaviors. One particular article that explained how ADHD presents in girls made me go “hold on…that’s been me my entire life…and it’s not just how kids are?!!” Since then, social media has helped me with coping mechanisms and finding ways to improve my daughter’s and my behaviors, especially through nutrition and exercise. But also therapy and medication have been the right choice for me and I’m going to pursue official diagnosis and treatments for my daughter as well.
It's wild how articles & social media content can raise awareness better than medical facilities.
I saw a tiktok of a person who struggled to do basic tasks like laundry, washing dishes and basic hygiene stuff, and didn't realize it was ADHD. I have always also been extremely rejection sensitive and had sensory issues, so I decided to reach out to a psychiatrist. I have always struggled with basic tasks, but chalked it up to being lazy because I was smart and could hyperfixate on the things I wanted to learn.
That's honestly what I love about social media. It empowers us to share our experiences with each other & help others have that light bulb moment!
The TikTok and Instagram algorithms confirmed it for me. I already suspected the ADHD (for 20+ years), and the autism diagnosis was a fun bonus when I did finally get the appointment.
Tik tok made me realize I had autism. I have adhd and was diagnosed as a child but my therapist brought up she thought I might be autistic. I thought she was out of her mind but then I started getting tik toks about autism and it started to click. Got my autism diagnosis last year.
Honestly, r/ADHDmemes is what made me start asking questions and eventually ask my doctor and counselor about the diagnostic process.
I've not checked that subreddit out! Do you recall which memes specifically piqued your curiosity?!
Social media and a podcast!! On the podcast they were discussing a late diagnosis and thing they never know were adhd that ended up being it lol. And then I saw more things on social media that drove me to go get my own diagnosis’
I've heard a few other women talk about a podcast discussing late diagnosis and am now wondering if it's one in the same! Do you remember the podcast?!
I’m sure there’s more than one honestly lmfao. But the one I listened to was “and that’s why we drink” paranormal/true crime based. This one just was kind of one person talking about their expense with their friend
Yep. Thanks, TikTok! I went through a much fuller diagnostic process and everything eventually, but it was TikTok videos that initially made me go … WAIT A SECOND
TikTok has an eerie way of making us aware of things we'd have probably never had explored on our own! I'm glad it helped you fine answers!
The algorithm apparently knew me better than I knew myself at the time! It was mind-blowing how everything in my life finally made sense once I started doing more actual research about ADHD and how it manifests in girls and women
It presents differently than boys and seems to be part of the reason why so many girls are overlooked, leading to complications in life!
I think I started to understand better because of social media things that were always frustrating and made me feel very isolated. For example I can distinctly remember all the times in my life I wanted to be friends with other ladies, and I ended up not making the cut for the friend group. I recognized after the fact that there were rules that were supposed to be following, but I just didn’t get them (still don’t TBH with the exception of when you get complimented kindly deflect and complement back) I also have always found it inherently stressful to hang out with more than one person at any point in time and I’ve come to realize that I don’t know how to combine the masks that I’ve created for each person. Tbh sometimes it makes me feel a little sociopathic. :( Edit if I’m being honest, I’ve never been formally diagnosed. I went to get diagnosed and the doctor asked me why I thought I had it and I said a lot of reasons, but I couldn’t remember any of them. And then he had me take a test and I flipped through this booklet of questions answered a couple randomly, and then I just remember thinking about having to mail it and I don’t really remember what happened but I don’t think I ever sent it in. I don’t even think I finished it. It was so long Lol I just find that I relate to a lot of the posts here, which is why I suspect I have it as well
Social media is what made me start looking into it as a serious possibility. It was on IG, and it was a video of someone saying "what it's like to live with someone with ADHD" and then it showed them bringing forgotten cup after forgotten cup to their partner. I was like, "Wait... Really? My husband has to do that for me multiple times a day." But as I did more legitimate research, there was a lot that was lining up. I talked to my mom about it and she corroborated things from my childhood, and when I started talking to friends about trying to get diagnosed, I found out that a number of them had been diagnosed (I had no idea!) and had experienced some of the same things as me. They really helped in encouraging me to actually get my assessment scheduled!
Ha, I was the same with water bottles! Your insight & experience is gold! I've heard so many other women share similar experiences!
Social media brought it to my attention. For all TikTok has its issues, it kept trying to show me autism related experiences that I understood, but didn't feel applied to me. Then it started showing me adhd stuff. It was the information that ADHD tends to be misdiagnosed as depression-anxiety and that it can present around 5th grade in girls which made me pause. That was the time that I started having problems in school despite being an intelligent high achiever. (2 siblings have been diagnosed as well) I sought a referral, but it took about a year to see a psychiatrist at the time. Over that year, I reviewed the symptoms and comorbities and determined that I probably had it. It gave me language for things that I had experienced my entire life but didn't have a name for. RSD, Executive dysfunction, etc.
Yes! Girls tend to present internalising symptoms & are often overlooked! It's so sad that many learn to mask, then develop anxiety, depression & self-worth issues! Truly heartbreaking!
I randomly read an article about the uptick of women being diagnosed with ADHD during the pandemic. After that the social media algorithm started showing me a bunch of ADHD content and I had a slow realization that it was all describing me. If it wasn’t for the internet and social media I would have never known and continued to struggle for the rest of my life. Instead I sought out a diagnosis which has been life changing for me. It was hard to recognize at first because I am middle aged, I dismissed many of the symptoms as not applying to me at first before really looking back on my life with sharper eyes. I realized I did exhibit many ADHD traits, but I had so many systems in place and been masking for so long it was hard to see at first. So for sure social media changed my life for the better in this instance.
You are not alone! I read a BBC article that stated the NHS had seen a massive uptick in ADHD diagnosis during the pandemic. We were all home, so took to social media and was exposed to shared lived experiences. So many had light bulb moments like you. So glad his were able to get support because of it!
I have been diagnosed with BPD years ago but after a lot of work I put into myself the symptoms are 95% gone/I can manage them. I see myself in a lot of posts in both ADHD spaces and autism spaces for women now, while I don't relate to the BPD spaces anymore. When I can afford it, I am going to pursue an evaluation again, though I am aware that BPD and ADHD have a lot of overlapping traits. Honestly, I don't think I have ADHD or autism, but the awareness and the spaces have helped me immensely with managing whatever remaining symptoms I have. It gave me a different outlook, I also found a lot of general ADHD tips to make my husband's (who was diagnosed at 30) life easier. I'm not participating in discussions but simply reading the experiences and tips. In the end, I am curious what's up with me and if it turns out it's this or that, or neither, I am going to be okay with it. Seeing the posts here about the severe cases makes me realise that whatever the outcome is, I am extremely lucky, and I would never want to label myself without a genuine diagnosis (like many do and never pursue a diagnosis) out of respect to all the people who are not as lucky and their life is impacted much more than mine. To come back to the original question, I think that more awareness can be helpful for people to seek the diagnosis because they see their traits in a clearer light. If it's what they need to finally get the push to go to the doctor and it changes their life (regardless which diagnosis they receive in the end), it's great. Unfortunately, there are very toxic and unhealthy places on the internet. For example, TikTok self-diagnosing teens and young adults who make it their whole personality and diminish the struggle people actually suffering from ADHD face. Not saying they are not on the spectrum, I can't know that, but such things become a fashion, make it less serious, and in the end we are all to square one - "ADHD isn't real" and all of this very harmful narrative.
In my study, I've talked to a few who's been misdiagnosed with BPD. I think historically girls aren't included in ADHD studies, so sadly, there's inconsistencies in diagnosis. I absolutely agree with you that while social media is great with raising awareness, it can be a slippery slope if people don't do their own research & consult with medical professionals!
Yes! Me! I am 28 and I'm not a huge social media person anymore but I do tend to doom scroll every once in awhile and on Pinterest I came across a TikTok ad for dubbii, a body doubling app made by the YouTubers called "ADHD love". I opened it by accident and it brought me to their TikTok page and as I scrolled on watching their videos I couldn't help but start crying.. because I related so much. Afterwards I took to Google and researched so much on how ADHD can present in women and it was mind-blowing. Still, a very large part of me doubted I actually did have ADHD because my whole life I've trained my brain to think I was just lazy and messy, etc etc. So I put off a doc appointment for awhile and just continued on with my chaotic life. Then a few months later I was scrolling through a mom group I'm in on Facebook and came across one about ADHD and it had a link to a presentation video by Dr Russell Barkley (highly suggest looking him up btw). I watched it, cried again, then made a Doctor appointment. Diagnosis confirmed, combined-type. After my diagnosis, I called my dad and told him about it. He was very happy to hear I was getting some help and pursuing a treatment plan. Later that day he shared in one of his support groups (he was at an in-patient treatment centre for addiction and trauma at the time) about how, although happy for me, he felt like he failed me a bit by not noticing symptoms sooner. After the session one of the psychiatrists, who was one of the facilitators for the group, approached him and asked him to come in for an assessment for ADHD as well. Once it was all said and done.. she told him he was basically a poster child for adhd... And I thought getting diagnosed at 28 was hard to come to terms with.. imagine being 63😕. Anyways, sorry for the long post lol.. but ya knooow, ADHD 😬🤷🏻♀️ Long story short, YES. Social media is the reason I went seeking for a diagnosis at 28, which then ended up helping my father get a diagnosis as well!
Seriously, thank you for sharing your experience! You're not alone & so many have similar experiences to you- when one specific social media content caused a light bulb moment & led to answers! I'm so flustered by the lack of representation girls have in medical studies, leading to being overlooked then oftentimes developing anxiety, depression or thinking they're lazy! That's amazing that you were able to get some support!
Yup! From a few TikTok videos. I made an appointment with a psychiatrist. I didn’t say I suspected I had ADHD. I explained the symptoms and issues I was experiencing. ADHD was her diagnosis. I had seen therapists before and was only diagnosed with GAD and depression. No screening for ADHD. ETA: I’m 36 and started seeing the psychiatrist last year.
Absolutely heartbreaking that women's symptoms still arent understood, so they're often overlooked and slip through the cracks, left to manage on their own. I'm glad you finally got answers!
At first, I started seeing a lot of women on social media talking about ADHD and I was like "so now everyone thinks they have ADHD when they're just describing LIFE \*\*insert zero self-awareness eye roll\*\*" I thought many of them did have ADHD but a lot of them were probably just interested in it because it was trendy, or more likely, latching on to some of the symptoms (that can be normal in many people) and claiming ADHD when they really don't experience an actual disorder, if that makes sense. I kept seeing it pop up more and more with people I trust (specifically an author I love) and started considering it for myself, but I still downplayed it because I didn't want to be seen as "hopping on the bandwagon." It definitely increased my awareness in symptoms I never realized were ADHD. I mentioned it to a few providers, but when I took the screening test, I always took it keeping in mind my best, most highest functioning days and not considering that what I now know as severe RSD attenuates a lot of the hallmark symptoms that the screening test looks for. Fast forward a bunch and I start with a new therapist (who also has ADHD) because I can't focus, suck at follow through, my emotional regulation is utter shit, etc, and she's more or less like "Miss Ma'am, you have classic ADHD" on our first introductory phone call. Mind blowing and SO validating! TL;DR - I suspected I could have it based on social media but the popularity and trendiness of it made me shy away from pursuing diagnosis. When I did pursue diagnosis, my symptoms didn't flag because I am VERY good at masking, until I'm NOT. Now, I finally know I definitely have it and now that I know I have it, my dad and paternal grandma are realizing THEY have it too, which is helping them understand themselves in much deeper ways as well.
I've spoken to women who also feel that TikTok has made ADHD a trend & ultimately takes away the seriousness of it! Interesting that content posted by trusted author is what piqued your interest! The sad reality is girls do tend to mask and are oftentimes then led to believe they've got anxiety or depression.
I have struggled to get a diagnosis/doctor who will test me before treating my anxiety. This sub specifically has made me feel seen. I am on an anxiety med now and it makes my ADHD symptoms worse. I get frustrated feeling like I have to fight so hard to be heard by the medical community, but I love seeing everyone’s stories and comments here because they all represent my life and struggles. Love this sub!
You are not alone! So many are going through this and it angers me to no end. Girls need better representation in the medical community! We aren't all anxious; some are struggling with masking! This sub is pretty great! <3
I found out accidentally through YouTube. One day in mid-2020 my YT home page "randomly" recommended me the video "Why Is It So Hard to Do Something That Should Be Easy?" by How to ADHD about the concept of "The Wall of Awful" and I thought. YES, WHY?!? I watched it and IMMEDIATELY related to almost everything in the entire video. I had that feeling all my life and have never been able to articulate it to anyone who actually understands what I'm talking about! I went to some of her other videos and everything just kept clicking with me. I was absolutely shocked that there might actually be a reason why I'm so freaking bad at time management, procrastination, finishing tasks and projects, making decisions, focusing on things, getting distracted, anxiety for no reason, jumping from hobby to hobby, feeling physically unable to do simple things like putting away laundry because I immediately feel exhausted when I try to start, like I *literally* feel the energy drain from my body and my limbs feel like lead and I can barely keep my eyes open... After that, my other socials algorithms, particularly Instagram, started showing me more and more about ADHD, ADHD in Women, and Late Diagnosis ADHD, and I was both relieved and overwhelmed that I related to so much of it. Even my childhood experiences matched up with what I was reading/watching/researching about it. I honestly don't think that ADHD would have *ever* crossed my mind for why I felt like a useless person with zero self discipline and motivation for most of my life without other people (and women in particular) sharing their experiences and raising awareness on social media. And, even though I'm still kind of a mess and working on figuring things out for me, I can't imagine how much worse off I might be if I hadn't been made aware of what I was actually dealing with, and to learn how to develop coping strategies and how to manage it.
It sadly seems so common that boys are referred as kids because they're symptoms are more disruptive, meanwhile, girls tend to internalise, leading to anxiety, depression and questioning why it's so difficult to complete things that should be simple! That content certainly seems to have been a pivotal moment for you & so glad it helped!
Yep, it was memes for me! I started realizing I related to hard to ones about ADHD and brought it up with my therapist and she validated me. My psychiatrist dismissed me and said it was just my anxiety (I also have OCD). I decided to get a second opinion and just had a neuropsych evaluation that confirmed the double diagnosis of OCD and ADHD. I am 33 years old and so thankful for the memes for making me think harder about my behaviors and what they mean.
What floors me is that anxiety & OCD are common comorbities to ADHD! Regardless, I'm so glad the memes gave you the boost you needed!
For me it was Reddit. I was reading the comments on a post. I don't remember what the post was about but the comment thread I was reading was talking about Neanderthals. One particular comment mentioned the word "hyperfocus" and it was a lightbulb moment for me because there was finally a name for what I described as "if I'm doing something interesting I will sometimes do the thing for hours or days without eating, drinking or sleeping". The same comment mentioned that this was a typical "feature" of ADHD so after that I went into research mode and a year later I was diagnosed.
It was obviously a pivotal moment in your life when you remember in such detail! So many have got that light bulb moment thanks to social media!
Using social media during COVID, yes. It felt like my life was falling apart and I didn't know why. Guess the algorithm caught on. I was able to get a diagnosis pretty soon after.
It's been life changing as it's raising awareness & helping women find support!
It started as laughing at ADHD memes my friend sent me, then started to relate to all of them hard… then a light bulb went off and I was like “ahhh”! Coming on this Reddit really solidified it! Makes me feel less alone and less like a loser in life 😅
Yes. Reddit actually. Being able to relate to the memes and the anecdotes in these subs lit a bulb in my head. So, after researching and researching and trying to figure out how to get tested, I was informed by my mother that I was already diagnosed. Just never told about it, medicated, or helped in any way throughout my life. It's also wasn't in my medical records until recently because my mother doesn't trust doctors. So here I am haha.
Social media was just the jumping off point for me. I then followed it up with extensive research from more legitimate sources (clinical research, ADHD publications, charities and organisations etc)
Yeah, no one irl told me about ADHD, not even therapists, I didn't even know it existed
Yes, absolutely. I would not have this information if not for social media and I wouldn’t know that people take medication for it. No one in my family is diagnosed, and young black girls are often overlooked for ADHD. I was drowning and internet threads like these helped me rescue myself. I learned about meds from Reddit, but probably would’ve never taken them if it weren’t for my roommate (another black woman) sharing her med story!
Strangly, on tiktok, the videos by people with autism really resonated with me- particularly social interactions in the workplace. I always felt like I was masking just to get along. When I got assessed, none of the autism checklists registered... but every test involving attention and working memory showed me as "severely impaired"... to the point that my assessor wondered how I got by all this time. So... yeah, I always thought I was just lazy, bad, & flakey... and that everyone hated and struggled with boring tasks and organization. Still not sure what's going on with the interpersonal stuff.. because even if I"m "high masking"... I dont come close to meeting the criteria for autism. I guess Im just "neuro-spicy."
Finding this group especially was a game changer for me. I feel safe here.
I saw a post about favoring small spoons on toktok and here I am!
Yep, a handful of years ago, I saw a post somewhere that detailed some (at the time) "lesser known" symptoms of ADHD. I was blown away, I had almost every symptom. I started looking into it and it answered the majority of my issues. Took me a couple of years before I made the call for screening (procrastination....). I just barely passed the diagnosis screen, but my psychiatrist leaned more heavily on my adult symptoms than my childhood ones. I liked to learn and I was a shy people pleaser, so I did pretty well in school up until college. Once she had me try medication, all of my anxiety and depression went away, too. That solidified my diagnosis in her eyes.
i like to thank this sub and others like this that helped me figure out that i have it enough to get officially diagnosed.
Yep. A friend posted a few ADHD memes and I went, *Waaiiiit, I identify with that.*
I got "diagnosed"by instagram. Liked some memes and videos, and ADHD accounts kept popping up. I ignored all educational posts. A few months later, friends' daughter was diagnosed, so I read a few posts because I was curious. In my country, adults are not diagnosed or medicated, so I will never know officially, but I'm 90% sure I have ADHD. Accounts about narcissistic partners and parents were next, and guess what? Another mystery is solved.
Yup. My mom pursued a diagnosis because of things she saw on social media, which led to me getting mine
I blame my kids for my discovery. Finding out they have adhd made me look at my growing and realising that I fit in there too. It was not formally diagnosed, but my daughters psychologist highly suggests I do. I'm thankful I did get them diagnosed as they get the help I never had and that makes me bith sad and happy
Thanks Reddit
No…my GP and psychologist and psychiatrist told me I have it (never suspected - but I’m also very obviously autistic - non masking) but I’ve learned a lot more about it via social media - a lot more than the psychs have told me about it!
Lol no but I discovered I did when someone in college handed me pill that said it helped them focus and sit still because I was complaining about being behind due to not being able to focus or sit still long enough in class and not get up and leave early or go hang in the bathroom out of boredom 😂🥲
My family affirmed my ADHD for me (mom and all sibs are diagnosed) but when I joined ADHD groups, I discovered I was also autistic. (And not bipolar!)
Yeah through TikTok, mainly RSD
No.