81. I Got Diagnosed With ADHD at 40+ | What I Wish I'd Known Sooner

About this episode

Shae shares her personal journey of being diagnosed with ADHD in her 40s and reflects on the signs she missed and the impact of getting help.

For years, I thought I was just busy. Running a podcast, a charity, doing my doctorate, working full-time, raising a child - that's just life, right? But when I was diagnosed with combined ADHD (moderate to severe) in my 40s, everything finally made sense. In this deeply personal episode, I'm stepping away from our usual dyslexia focus to share my own ADHD diagnosis journey - the signs I missed for decades, the internal chaos I thought was normal, and why getting help changed everything. What I cover: - Why I never thought I could have ADHD (despite working with it for years) - The signs I dismissed: constant internal dialogue, unfinished tasks, extreme fatigue, childhood anxiety - How medication helped me in ways I never expected - Why the "everyone's a bit ADHD" narrative is harmful - Addressing the over-diagnosis myth - and why women in their 40s+ are finally getting diagnosed - Why men are likely underdiagnosed (and what we can do about it) - The link between ADHD and dyslexia (they highly correlate) Key takeaway: If these traits are impacting your quality of life consistently - not just occasionally - that's when it might be ADHD. Everyone forgets things sometimes, but if…

People in this episode

Host: Shae

Topics covered

• self-awareness
• ADHD
• dyslexia
• mental health
• diagnosis

Keywords

• ADHD diagnosis
• internal chaos
• medication
• over-diagnosis
• women's health

Mentioned in this episode

Products: Dyslex

Books & works: Dyslexia: Insights into the hidden disability in and out of the workplace

Places: UK

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