How DOOM Piles Help My ADHD
A guide to working with, not against, your ADHD
Just over a year ago, a friend looked at me and said the words that would forever change my perspective.
Why haven’t you ever been diagnosed with ADHD?
I was flummoxed. I had studied to be a therapist. I had practiced as a counselor for a few years. I’d been actively involved in therapy as a client. But I had never heard those four letters applied to me.
They were for the kids who couldn’t sit still, the class clowns, and the ones who were perpetually struggling to pass classes. Those letters couldn’t apply to the A/B student who managed athletics, drama club, creative writing, and an assortment of clubs and activities — could it? Still, I paused because something about this question felt oddly true.
I already know that girls and women with autism are less likely to get diagnosed. Since ADHD is autism-adjacent, I wondered if the same could be said of the overachievers who excelled despite having drastically disorganized minds. I wasn’t causing a problem in the classroom, but that’s because my problems were hidden in plain sight.
My friend listed the many symptoms he noticed. It wasn’t a criticism. He had been diagnosed in college. He was pointing out that maybe I wasn’t lazy and…
