Tag: ADHD
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Late-Diagnosed? The Grief, the Relief and Everything In Between
You’ve spent decades thinking you were lazy, too sensitive, scatty, odd or just “too much”. Then, in your thirties, forties or later, a diagnosis of ADHD or autism reframes everything. It’s a moment many adults describe as both a gift and a gut punch. What the research says The number of adults receiving a diagnosis…
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Coaching or Therapy: Which Do I Need?
“Should I see a coach or a therapist?” It’s one of the questions I’m asked most often. Both can be hugely helpful, they overlap in places, and many people benefit from both. But they’re different tools, designed for different jobs. The key differences Therapy (counselling or psychotherapy) helps you understand and work through emotional difficulties.…
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ADHD in Disguise: Four Unusual Adult Cases
A look at “Varied Presentations and Specific Treatment of Adult Attention-deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Is There a Learning Lesson?” by Madhav Raje, Amaranth Mallik and Vinesh Chandramaniya (2026) A reminder that ADHD doesn’t always look like the textbook. Sometimes it arrives in disguise, as low mood that won’t lift, insomnia that’s been there since childhood, or…
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Getting an ADHD or Autism Assessment in England: A Practical Guide
Wondering whether you might be ADHD or autistic, and not sure where to start? You’re far from alone. Demand for adult assessments has soared in recent years, and the system can feel like a maze. Here’s a guide to the main routes in England. Step one: your GP For an NHS assessment, the usual starting…
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Is It the Exams, or Is It Everything? ADHD, Stress and Burnout at University
A look at “Stress and burnout in university students with ADHD-like symptoms: The role of memory bias and daily stress” by Kerstin Erdal, Gordon Adami, Petra Gelléri and Jan Dettmers (2025) Picture a student juggling lectures, a part-time job and possibly a toddler, with a brain that has seventeen tabs open and one of them…
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Can Video Games Treat ADHD? Level One Results Are In
A look at “Effectiveness of game-based digital intervention for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder in children and adolescents: a systematic review and meta-analysis using Beard and Wilson’s conceptualization of perception in experiential learning” by Haesun Lee, Seungjin Lee, Mina Hwang and Kyungmi Woo (2025) It sounds like every ADHD child’s dream: “Your treatment today is to play…
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Neurodivergent-Friendly Therapy: Adjustments You Can Ask For
Therapy is traditionally built around a very particular format: a 50-minute conversation, face to face, in a quiet room, with lots of open-ended questions and plenty of eye contact. For many neurodivergent people, that format is part of the problem. The good news is that it can be changed, and you’re allowed to ask. What…
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Head in the Clouds: Cognitive Disengagement, ADHD and Knowing What You Feel
A look at “Cognitive disengagement syndrome and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: An examination of relationships with alexithymia and emotion regulation difficulties” by Yavuz Yılmaz and Erdi Bahadır (2026) Some people’s attention bounces off the walls like a pinball. Others drift off on a cloud, gazing out of the window, lost in thought, mentally foggy and…
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Old Stories, Big Feelings: Schemas, ADHD and Borderline Personality
A look at “Schema Mechanisms Underlying Emotion Dysregulation and Impulsivity in Comorbid Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Borderline Personality Disorder” by Mohsen Khosravi (2025) ADHD and borderline personality disorder (BPD) often turn up together, and they can look surprisingly alike. Both involve intense emotions, impulsive decisions and stormy relationships. So when someone has both, what’s going on…
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From Puberty to Menopause: ADHD Across Women’s Lives
A look at “Integrative literature review – the impact of ADHD across women’s lifespan” by Kati Krebs and Roslyn Donnellan-Fernandez (2025) We’ve touched on hormones and ADHD a few times in this series: midlife diagnosis in “The Missing Years: ADHD, Midlife and Menopause”, women’s Reddit communities in “What Reddit Reveals About Women and ADHD”, and…
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AuDHD Hiding in Plain Sight: Autistic Traits in Adults with ADHD
A look at “Autism spectrum traits in adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): a hidden multifaceted phenotype marked by affective comorbidity, emotional dysregulation, and chronobiological disturbances” by Giulio Emilio Brancati, Ugo De Rosa, Anna Magnesa, Irene Cocciaro, Elena Costagli, Anna Iriti, Berenice Rimoldi, Matteo Vedovelli, Pierpaolo Medda, Elisa Schiavi and Giulio Perugi (2025) ADHD and autism…
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What Do People Actually Learn When They Learn About ADHD?
A look at “Content of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder psychoeducation packages: scoping review” by David Morris, Sharifah Shameem Agha, Miriam Cooper and Kate Langley (2026) After an ADHD diagnosis, one of the first things many people are offered is psychoeducation: learning about ADHD, how it affects you and what helps. It sounds straightforward. But what’s actually…
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Following the Money: What Insurance Data Says About Autism and ADHD
A look at “Real-world evaluation of prevalence, cohort characteristics, and healthcare utilization and expenditures among adults and children with autism spectrum disorder, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, or both” by Amanda L. Zaleski, Kelly J. Thomas Craig, Raiha Khan, Rebecca Waber, Wei Xin, Makia Powers, Una Ramey, Dorothea J. Verbrugge and Deborah Fernandez-Turner (2025) Numbers can tell…
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Rolling the Dice: Neurodivergence and Gambling Harm
A look at “Neurodiversity and gambling harm: a Rapid Evidence Assessment” by Amy Sweet (2026) Flashing lights, instant rewards, the thrill of “just one more go”: gambling is practically engineered to grab a brain that craves stimulation. With gambling now available 24/7 on our phones, and gaming increasingly blending into gambling through loot boxes and…
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Forgot Your Session? ADHD, Cancellation Fees and Reasonable Adjustments
A look at “How do I manage reasonable adjustments for clients with ADHD?” by Sally Brown (2026) Here’s a scenario many ADHDers will recognise with a wince. You’ve booked therapy, fully intending to go. Then a work meeting you’d completely forgotten about pops up, and you cancel two hours beforehand. Your therapist’s contract says late…
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Big Feelings, Busy Brains: Emotions and Adult ADHD
A look at “Emotional Dysregulation as a Clinically Relevant Dimension of Adult ADHD: A Multidimensional Clinical Study” by Paola Landi, Miriam Olivola, Arianna De Ciechi, Luca Giacovelli, Yacob Levin Reibman, Viviana Venturi, Vera Viganò and Bernardo Dell’Osso (2026) Ask most people about ADHD and they’ll mention attention, fidgeting and forgetfulness. Ask adults with ADHD, and…
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DBT vs CBT for Adult ADHD: A Head-to-Head Trial
A look at “Group dialectical behavior therapy skills training versus group cognitive behavioral therapy for adults with ADHD: a randomized controlled trial” by Li-Qian Zhang, Mei-Rong Pan, Min Dong, Xin Kong, Zi-Yan Yu, Shi-Yu Zhang, Hai-Mei Li, Lu Liu, Yu-Feng Wang and Qiu-Jin Qian (2026) In one corner, CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy), the reigning champion…
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AuDHD and Medication: Why One Size Doesn’t Fit All
A look at “Literature Review and medication outcomes for CYP with dual diagnosis of ADHD and Autism in UK NHS CAMHS Service” by E. S. Lenku and S. Olety (2026) When a young person is both autistic and has ADHD (often called AuDHD), things can get more complicated, including when it comes to medication. This…
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Rejection Sensitivity and ADHD: What We Know (and What We Don’t)
If you’ve spent any time in ADHD corners of the internet, you’ll have met rejection sensitive dysphoria, or RSD: intense, sudden emotional pain triggered by real or perceived criticism or rejection. For many people, reading about it is a lightbulb moment. But what does the science actually say? What we know The broader picture is…
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Fleeting Attention: 270 Years of ADHD History
A look at “Historical development of ADHD from 1753 to 2026” by Farzad Salehpour and Francisco Gonzalez-Lima (2026) There’s a popular claim that ADHD is a modern invention, cooked up by pharmaceutical companies or caused by smartphones. This sweeping American review begs to differ. It traces descriptions of ADHD-like traits back more than 270 years,…