Why an ADHD diagnosis can be a mixed blessing

Life changes may trigger awareness of an individual’s adult ADHD. One example is pregnancy, with its hormonal imbalances and stresses. Or sometimes parents whose children are diagnosed with ADHD come to realise that they themselves have symptoms of ADHD, says Björk. They may not feel impaired by it, however.

Overall, patients and researchers emphasise the many benefits of an accurate diagnosis of ADHD as an adult. “Having a neurodivergent diagnosis explains why you can find it difficult to fit in,” Aquilina says. For him, being open about his ADHD diagnosis is useful “because it means that you can forgive yourself the difficulties you have, and other people can as well”. Other newly diagnosed adults talk about the lifting of an enormous weight, and the progression to treatment that can ease day-to-day activities. 

Björk has worked with patients who were not diagnosed with ADHD until their 50s. She believes that even people in their later years may be able to gain valuable self-understanding from an ADHD diagnosis.

She’s even seen that understanding and support for adults with ADHD can save lives. People with ADHD have lower life expectancy, because of suicide, accidents, substance use and other health problems.

Potential drawbacks following diagnosis 

But there can also be some downsides to being diagnosed with ADHD as an adult. One is the stigma attached to an ADHD label, which keeps many newly diagnosed people from disclosing this to their employers. Stigma can take varied forms, says Blandine French, a psychology researcher at the University of Nottingham in the UK. Some people have striven so far to normalise ADHD that they joke about everyone having it, which she says is not helpful or accurate.

In addition, it can be difficult for people diagnosed with ADHD later in life to accept that diagnosis, or its timing. They can feel grief and anger about missed opportunities. A minority of people also reject the label because “the reality of having a long-term condition is just too much”, French says.

But in French’s experience, most people eventually embrace their diagnosis and find that it helps them to put support in place and live a better life. This applies to French herself. As with many women, when she was a child her inattention was not seen as disruptive. And as she grew up and moved from France to the UK, her anxiety and depression were not linked to ADHD. It was only on moving to Australia and seeing a new GP that she was referred to an ADHD specialist. At the age of 30, when she finally received an ADHD diagnosis, “It was a very welcome explanation to a lot of the things I was struggling with”. 

French says she felt freer and more confident; she realised after a lifetime of struggle that she wasn’t stupid. At the time of her diagnosis, she was working as a restaurant manager. The diagnosis and the following support spurred her to attend university and eventually begin researching ADHD herself.