IT'S NOT YOU IT'S ADHD

We ask experts to explain the rise in late diagnosis of the condition in women 

- KESHIA AFRICA

SHE’D always felt like the odd one out, like something was wrong with her. But she wasn’t able to put her finger on exactly why.

At school Taahira Viviers had felt there was something that pre vented her from being as involved in class as the other kids. She would zone out in class and felt no urgency to complete assignments.

“My ability to focus was non-existent,” she says. “And that feeling of being different was very strong.” 

This carried on all the way through high school and her tertiary studies.

Even when Taahira (34) started her first job in her mid-20s, she felt out of place. Making a career change from marketing to banking didn’t help and at 28, she felt so anxious, stressed, overwhelmed and inadequate that she went to see her GP, who diagnosed her with depression.

Taahira first suspected she might have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) while working in marketing. She worked differently to her colleagues and in feedback sessions was often told, “That’s not how we do things” – even though she’d get the required results.

After another visit to her GP and then a psychiatrist, Taahira was diagnosed with ADHD. Going on medication to treat it was life-changing.

“I felt such a sense of calm,” she says. “I’d spent years navigating the chaos completely undiagnosed and was masking and being so high functioning that it went completely undetected.”