![\"My](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/SEI_270644780-0380.jpg\")
\n\t\tMy parents didn\u2019t believe in ADHD (Picture: Metro\/ Jessica Lindsay)<\/p>\n
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\n\t\tMy parents didn\u2019t believe in ADHD (Picture: Metro\/ Jessica Lindsay)<\/p>\n
I shouldn\u2019t have been nervous.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I\u2019m one of those annoying people who calls their parents every day, but this particular conversation was daunting.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I had been diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) <\/a>in September 2021 and now, a couple of months later, I was finally about to tell my mum and dad.<\/a><\/p>\n Though we have a good relationship, and I know they support me, I\u2019d held off from sharing the news with them because I knew how incredulous they\u2019d be.<\/p>\n When neurodivergence had come up in the past<\/a>, they\u2019d parroted headlines that insinuated people were using it as an \u2018excuse\u2019, flocking to doctors for proof they deserve special treatment over minor setbacks everybody faces.\u00a0<\/p>\n I tried to rationalise the fact they weren\u2019t talking about me, hoping that their preconceptions would melt away once ADHD was no longer an abstract construct but their daughter\u2019s reality.<\/p>\n But after eventually plucking up the courage, my fears were realised.<\/p>\n \u2018Why do you want to put a label on yourself?\u2019 came the replies from mum and dad. \u2018You have a degree and a job. You\u2019re fine.\u2019<\/p>\n \t\t It was as though they only remembered me getting decent grades \u2013 not the school reports that drew attention to my \u2018disruptive\u2019 behaviour, <\/a>constant fidgeting, disorganisation and lateness.\u00a0<\/p>\n Because I wasn\u2019t out of work, the years of lost house keys, missed appointments and impulsive financial decisions \u2013 all common traits of ADHD that were referenced by my psychiatrist as part of my diagnosis \u2013 meant nothing.\u00a0<\/p>\n It was like they had a fog over their eyes.\u00a0<\/p>\n \t\t\t\tADHD Awareness Month 2025 \t\t\t<\/p>\n Taking place every October<\/a>, the theme for this year\u2019s ADHD Awareness Month is \u2018The Many Faces of ADHD.\u2019<\/p>\n With that in mind, Metro Lifestyle will be embarking on a weekly series of ADHD content throughout October that aims to demystify what it truly means to live with this vastly misunderstood condition.\u00a0<\/p>\n But it\u2019s not just neurodivergent people who should care about ADHD: there\u2019s value in those without the condition understanding it, too. <\/p>\n No amount of awareness is too great, and one of the best things neurotypical people can do for us is give us allyship.<\/p>\n Our brains are a little bit different, and that\u2019s okay. Now, let us tell you all about it.\u00a0<\/p>\n On the other end of the phone, it was difficult to process how blinkered they seemed. It wasn\u2019t like this was out of the blue \u2013 I\u2019d been seeing doctors for anxiety <\/a>and depression since my teens<\/a>, but nothing ever seemed to work. <\/p>\n They\u2019d had low times themselves and had always been by my side with unwavering compassion, never questioning the validity of what I was going through.<\/p>\n Now, after a lifetime of issues, I finally had an answer for why I found it so tough to \u2018keep it together\u2019.\u00a0<\/p>\n A psychiatrist had assessed me, and the help I was getting as a result \u2013 most notably Elvanse, a fast-acting medication<\/a> that regulates the body\u2019s production of dopamine to improve focus \u2013 had already been transformative.\u00a0<\/p>\n \t\t My knee-jerk response was to lash out, chalking it up to callous ignorance. I told them as much too, hanging up the phone and refusing to engage with the cat memes my mum sent me as an olive branch.<\/p>\n It was about a week before I felt able to speak to them again. But as the dust settled, I began to understand where their reaction had come from.<\/p>\n For starters, there was probably a sense of guilt at having missed the signs when I was growing up. After all, no parent wants their child to struggle, let alone to do it without their support.\u00a0<\/p>\n \t\t\t\tWhat is ADHD?\t\t\t<\/p>\n NHS describes ADHD as \u2018a\u00a0condition that affects people\u2019s behaviour. People with ADHD can seem restless, may have trouble concentrating, and may act on impulse.\u2019<\/p>\n Is it often diagnosed in childhood, but in some cases isn\u2019t recognised until adulthood.<\/p>\n \u2018Research has also identified a number of possible differences in the brains of people with ADHD when compared with those without the condition.<\/p>\n Other factors suggested as potentially having a role in ADHD include:<\/p>\n being born prematurely (before the 37th week of pregnancy)<\/p>\n having a low birth weight<\/p>\n smoking or alcohol or drug abuse during pregnancy.\u2019<\/p>\n For children, treatments include \u2018appropriate educational support, advice and support for parents and\u00a0affected children, alongside medicine, if necessary.\u2019<\/p>\n For adults, \u2018medicine is often the first treatment offered, although psychological therapies may also help.\u2019<\/p>\n It also became clear the more we spoke that my mum was spotting similarities in her own behaviour, questioning whether traits she previously thought were completely \u2018normal\u2019 were actually symptoms of ADHD.<\/a><\/p>\n Only a professional can say for sure whether she officially meets the criteria, but research suggests neurodivergence often runs in families, and me and my mum\u2019s shared tendency towards clumsiness, forgetfulness and speaking before thinking has us wondering if this may be the case.<\/p>\n So what I initially perceived as insensitivity started to look more and more like a defence mechanism. If I was neurodivergent <\/a>it could mean she was too \u2013 and that\u2019s a lot for anyone to consider.<\/p>\n Generational differences clearly factored into it too. Although they stopped short of saying it outright, I felt the sentiment was there: \u2018Back in our day, we soldiered on, and we turned out okay.\u2019<\/p>\n While the idea that ADHD is a new \u2018fad\u2019 spans age groups, given it was only recognised in children in England, Wales<\/a> and Northern Ireland<\/a> in 2000, it\u2019s not particularly surprising that a pair of Gen Xers might see it that way.<\/p>\n \t\t With the UK seeing a 20-fold increase in diagnoses since 2000, on first glance it could certainly look like a load of millennial and Gen Z \u2018snowflakes\u2019 jumping on a bandwagon of Tik-Tok inspired self-pathologising.\u00a0<\/p>\n In reality though, data from ADHD UK suggests<\/a> it has been significantly underdiagnosed, and that this is only now starting to change as knowledge of neurodivergence \u2013 particularly how it presents in women \u2013 has increased.<\/p>\n After all, just because neurodivergence <\/a>wasn\u2019t recognised in the past doesn\u2019t mean it didn\u2019t exist \u2013 your grandma who\u2019s always getting her letters jumbled, your auntie who\u2019s eaten the same meal every lunchtime for 25 years, or that uncle who talks at a million miles an hour are proof.<\/p>\n The more I spoke to my parents in the months following that first tense phone call, the more I realised they were trying to unlearn all sorts of outdated stereotypes about the disorder, from \u2018it only affects boys\u2019 to \u2018smartphones are to blame\u2019.\u00a0<\/p>\n It also helped that they were witnessing the myriad ways my life improved thanks to finally receiving a proper diagnosis.\u00a0<\/p>\n Knowing why I was forgetful allowed me to evaluate my routine and create systems that prevent problems reoccurring \u2013 I went from being locked out on a monthly basis to losing just one set of keys in four years.\u00a0<\/p>\n Beyond that, I no longer cry at my desk, gripped by inexplicable inaction, put off paying my bills until long past due or spend days after every social interaction terrified I came across as \u2018too much\u2019.<\/p>\n I\u2019m glad to say that, with time, my parents have become much more accepting of my ADHD<\/a>, and it\u2019s even sparked a bit of a running joke about the similar habits that run in our genes.\u00a0<\/p>\n These conversations are never easy, but my family and I got through it together \u2013 and I hope more people with ADHD <\/a>can too.\u00a0<\/p>\n Do you have a story you\u2019d like to share? Get in touch by emailing Ross.Mccafferty@metro.co.uk<\/a>.<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n Share your views in the comments below.<\/p>\n Arrow Arrow Arrow![\"Jessica](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/e4fe1af1-1a5a-4d3d-acda-e6992a4f4069-3a5b-e1760961204720.jpg\")
\n\t\tMy parents could not understand what ADHD was (Picture: Jess Lindsay)<\/p>\n![\"Jessica](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/8aabac0d-3f23-4d8e-967d-0680fa492bf2-f2c1-e1760961289336.jpg\")
\n\t\tI couldn\u2019t fathom why my parents were still being so dismissive (Picture: Jess Lindsay)<\/p>\n![\"(Picture:](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/SEI_271073186-e59a-e1760961357511.jpg\")
\n\t\tADHD is not just a trend (Picture: Jess Lindsay)<\/p>\n
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