Recently the Globe and Mail published an article about how judgemental Canadians continue to be about mental health diagnoses. You can read the article here.
As mental health clinicians, it made us ask this question: “Exactly, why are mental health diagnoses so stigmatized? Do people think it is an act of weakness to go to therapy, or to seek help for mood issues?”
A Springboard client, who was diagnosed with ADHD in adulthood, once described his life like this:
“I feel like I have always been walking through tall grass - my whole life - and every time I take a step, a blade hits me in the face.”
ADHD signs and symptoms, like with so many other mental health diagnoses, change and evolve with you. As you get older and take on more responsibilities in life, you may find that your symptoms are no longer held in check by your coping mechanisms.
If you have untreated ADHD, you might feel like you can only get things done once they become urgent in your mind. You might struggle with decisions and task management over and over again in a day. And you might assume that this is the way everyone lives - from rushed thing to rushed thing. You may be so used to this way of thinking that you don’t know how it could possibly be different. Perhaps most importantly, you may not even be aware of how often you are bringing stress on yourself in order to get what you need done, or to get to the place you are going.
It can be so exhausting to live in a state of chaos.
Receiving a diagnosis of ADHD is not an end point. Instead, it is an opportunity for a new beginning. By realizing that ADHD is actually a brain difference, you can put some context into your past, and help you understand why you often feel the way you feel. So, if the process is done right, a diagnosis is a chance for transformation, for change, and for individual growth.
Coming to terms with having ADHD is not about feeling guilt, or shame, or feeling bad about yourself. And it shouldn’t be about receiving a label either. It should be an empowering experience with the opportunity to build self-awareness, with the goal of getting closer to finding your true self.
A common perception is that ADHD is over-diagnosed. But is this actually true? Or is this belief a reaction to bias in the media? Or, are we actually seeing an increase in rates of appropriate ADHD diagnoses?
The answer to this is somewhat complex. Part of the reason this is even an issue is the fact that ADHD can't be diagnosed with something definitive like a blood test or brain scan. Instead, it relies on a thorough assessment of symptoms on a continuum.
