Something I’ve learned this week…
Esther Roberts - Co-Founder & Coach
As part of my ongoing training I’m completing an ADHD coaching certificate. Much of the content is not new to me as I’ve been in the trenches as a mum and professional for a number of years but I’ve realised that I can never have too many reminders about the facts and basics when it comes to understanding ADHD.
This week I learned that up until 2013 ADHD was not officially recognised as an adult diagnosis in the DSM-5. That places me and other recently diagnosed adults in the early waves of adult diagnosis and partially explains the flood of adult diagnoses in recent years. For me this is a hugely hopeful time for those impacted by ADHD, with greater awareness and recognition it will be exciting to see what new information and strategies come to light over the coming years. With more information available, I feel hopeful that more people will experience a better quality of life, a deeper level of self-understanding and a greater sense of self-compassion.
For me getting the diagnosis explained so much about my youth and in particular my teenage years, the poor impulse control, the overwhelm, constantly burning the candle at both ends and the raging rejection sensitivity dysphoria. It wasn’t a magic bullet for the things I found challenging but it set me on a path of self-exploration that has ultimately enabled me to forgive myself for so much of what I’d always thought was just poor decision making or a lack of intelligence on my part.
Perhaps this resonates with you, perhaps you know someone who is asking themselves whether they might have ADHD. Getting a diagnosis is not solution in itself but it can open a door into better understanding our brains and that can be truly transformational with the right support. An ADHD brain is not broken, it’s a fast thinking, creative, hyper aware piece of hardware that when harnessed has the potential for so much.
If you like facts like me, you might also find the following interesting:
A meta-analysis by Polanczyk et al. (2015) found a worldwide ADHD prevalence of 7.2%among children and adolescents. Adult ADHD prevalence is estimated to be around 2.8% globally, according to a 2020 systematic review by Song et al.
Historically, ADHD was thought to be more common in males. However, recent research suggests a more nuanced picture: In children, the male-to-female ratio is approximately 3:1. In adults, the ratio is closer to 1:1, indicating that ADHD may be underdiagnosed in females.
ADHD has significant societal and economic implications: The annual cost of ADHD in the United States is estimated to be between $143-266billion (2020 data).
