I’ve written on this before but always feel more important than ever to keep driving this understanding home. It feels like there are so many people who are willing to gatekeep people from help. Because they have an assumption. Often out of ignorance (lack of access to more information/ resources) or are simply unqualified. Or theres those with an agenda strangely enough against us ADHDers seeking diagnosis or understanding ourselves through medical help. I mean, what have any of us ever done to them, but here we are (looking at you BBC).
I think it’s is important that professionals and patients and their loved ones know there is a significant prevalence of under diagnosis of ADHD adults. There’s also a significant misdiagnosis of other conditions for people living with undiagnosed (and often diagnosed) ADHD.
There are a few reasons for this that continue to be a problem in 2023, one being the many unfortunate stigmas surrounding ADHD. One popular one we all know is: Many assume it is only present in hyperactive young boys who can not remain still or focused. All these ideas make it harder for adults to get the proper diagnosis.
New ones from the last few years are that it’s a “Fad” to get diagnosed, and it’s romanticised like it’s a pre-pubescent music taste phase in someone’s life. Or, in general, a “diagnosis of the modern age, symptomatic of too much social media stealing our attention.” Or an over pathologizing of pop media has made it seem like “it’s for everyone, it’s practically like breathing air.”
None of this recent irresponsible/often unethical messaging has helped with layman’s public understanding. The people who never give it a second thought because it’s not part of their lives still continue to have incorrect information and bias about ADHD.
The community itself is impaired by the huge influx of buzz words and everyone trying to coin the next quirky new way to describe complicated workings of neuro pathways in other individuals’ brains. To add complicated, international, and intersectional lived experiences of the collective ADHD whole. It’s a whole lot of misinformation, that’s for sure!
Another reason is based on past assumptions about personality traits vs. Mental health, leading to a dismissal of people exhibiting any ADHD symptoms. Some may have been punished for their behaviour instead of receiving necessary treatment or validation for their struggles.
Additionally, those with hyperactive symptoms may be unfairly labelled when, in reality, they are struggling with undiagnosed and untreated ADHD (and more, like Autism).
Many people also end up going through the grief of multiple misdiagnosis, and drug treatments are also being seen as “resistant to treatment” or troublesome for not going through very ADHD unfriendly processes. This also makes attempts to get help difficult.
Here are some symptoms that presents in ADHD adults that get overlooked or not looked into or ruled out as not ADHD:
Emotional dysregulation and struggle with self-soothing and self-calming are pervasive. Impulsive emotions and the inability to internalize speech are also common.
Sensory overwhelm and chronic fatigue are frequently reported by people with ADHD, as are troubles understanding social cues and a tendency to mask symptoms.
Substance abuse and self-medication is also common, as is insomnia, broken sleep, irregular sleep, and slow cognitive tempo in the mornings or at night.
Anxiety and depression are also often experienced.
Even with the large influx of peer experiences out there, people who suspect they have ADHD continue to remain undiagnosed.
Here are some other reasons why ADHD adults continue to go undiagnosed:
Mental health and ADHD stigma, which is especially more common in some countries cultures than others.
Inaccessible diagnosis and unaffordable treatment
ADHD masking – Other conditions (comorbidities) that mask ADHD symptoms
Previous misdiagnoses
Bonus Reading:
Underdiagnosis of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in Adult Patients: A Review of the Literature
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1087054711435360
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6689273/
Jenn has ADHD 
This is wonderful, and so educational! I have often wondered why so few people ever get officially diagnosed with ADHD. Great post!
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