How I Got My ADHD Diagnosis Thanks To Social Media

I got diagnosed with ADHD last year because of social media. I was getting fed more and more ADHD content on TikTok and seeing relatable ADHD-related memes on Instagram, and I began to wonder if I, too, was neurospicy. Things came to a head when I shared a meme on Instagram about procrastination around deadlines, and five friends from different walks of life who didn’t know each other got in touch. They all said, “Hey, Fay, have you ever thought you might have ADHD?”

I’m not alone — there seems to be a big movement of women who, thanks to the internet, are discovering what ADHD means for their work and personal lives. It’s even shining a light on (and providing some context for) the feedback we received growing up. ADHD affects women in unseen ways. It’s not identified in girls in school as much as it is in boys, for example. That’s in part because girls mask it well with social skills. And yet, it can affect our education and career prospects if it goes undiagnosed. I’ve experienced this personally; I’ve always been sensitive to criticism, and that’s particularly true of people with whom I’ve built deep relationships. That can be tricky to manage in a business where you build deep relationships with your clients and colleagues. I’ve spent sleepless nights convinced my clients were all going to fire us, even if they were telling me they loved the work.

If you’re a young woman and think you might have ADHD, I’d recommend giving it some more consideration. I paid for a private consultant to get my diagnosis. Due to some behaviors and thought patterns, I always wondered if there was something more going on upstairs, and I wanted to find out. I always thought I had a thing. I got it confirmed I do, and the diagnosis changed everything for me. It has helped me run my own business better and given me a new view of how I can best have the impact I want to have in the world.

Now, I’m learning to manage ADHD. So far, I’ve turned down medication because it’s strong stuff with side effects. I’m not judging people who do use it. I just have chosen not to, for the time being. Instead, I’ve taken the attitude that I’ve been this person for years. I know myself well. Having the diagnosis has made me less hard on myself and also more communicative. For example, I can explain to clients that I tend to interrupt because I have ADHD, rather than anyone potentially thinking I’m being rude or impatient. I can also try to interrupt them a bit less.

In addition to managing my ADHD better, I’m lucky that I do something I love, which is important for people with this diagnosis. Social media consultant Matt Navarra was on All Day Dreaming, a podcast for talented creatives with ADHD, last year. About 33 minutes into the episode, he says, “The biggest, most important thing with ADHD is you have to find your forever passion. Try to spend time finding out what you love. If someone said, ‘You’re going to do this all day today, and that’s all you have to do,’ what is that thing?”

And for me, that thing is social media. I’ve been into it since the early days of MySpace and Bebo, and when you needed a college email address to sign up for Facebook. I love the dopamine hit that social media can give. I loved the fact that I could go home and carry on talking to my friends from school. Now, I love that we can build movements with it and make changes we want to happen in the world; starting Catnip Comms, my business, has been an ideal way for me to have an impact on the world.

Matt and the host also talked about reframing our relationship with time. People with ADHD are often great at crushing a deadline that’s coming up tomorrow. The deadlines that are three months away? Not so much. Now that I have this diagnosis, I handle deadlines with more communication. It means my team doesn’t feel the pressure at the last minute because I’m asking for support earlier on in the process. In the past, I’ve tended to do some of my best work closer than would make a lot of people comfortable with a deadline. Now I can tell the team, “We have a deadline looming in a few days’ time. Can you support me to make sure this work gets done with some time to spare?”

Now that I have a diagnosis, and I talk about it, things are getting better. I follow tons of ADHD accounts on social media, and I’ve found some helpful support communities online. In the new world of work after the pandemic, it seems we’ve all become more comfortable being ourselves in professional settings, and that’s a good thing, too.

Some people talk about ADHD as being a “superpower,” but I resist that framing. It’s a diagnosis that can impact every aspect of your life, but there can be some dark sides to it as well. But for me now, knowing I have it means I can get up every day, try my best, and be more prepared to tackle what might come my way.