{"id":11147,"date":"2022-05-16T07:16:58","date_gmt":"2022-05-16T06:16:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/life360\/?p=11147"},"modified":"2022-08-05T17:33:45","modified_gmt":"2022-08-05T16:33:45","slug":"i-had-to-fight-all-by-myself-behind-the-stories-of-women-with-adhd-and-depression","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/life360\/i-had-to-fight-all-by-myself-behind-the-stories-of-women-with-adhd-and-depression\/","title":{"rendered":"“I had to fight all by myself”: The stories of women with ADHD and depression"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Women with depression are struggling with undiagnosed ‘attention deficit hyperactivity disorder’. Is enough being done to look after them? <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The sun shone through her apartment window as she lay in her bed with her cat. A hundred thoughts raced past Lucy Brown\u2019s mind. She had to buy her anti-depressants, look after her cat who just had a surgery, and sort her students\u2019 problems out. But all she wanted to do was continue lying in bed with her mind at peace for once.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For as long as Lucy can remember, she has had trouble focusing on one thing at a time. The pastoral coach had an underlying feeling that it was more than just depression, something she has lived with since she was 16. Ten years later, she finally had an answer \u2013 it was ADHD. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI always knew there was something,\u201d says Lucy. \u201cI always felt, why do I have this sadness? It came from very low self-esteem, low confidence, and feeling like something was wrong with me, but nobody else could see it. When I look back now, I think it’s because I was masking my ADHD symptoms.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lucy\u2019s story is not an isolated one. Many women struggle with lack of attention, impulsive behaviours, and trouble concentrating \u2013 all symptoms of ADHD. Depression makes this condition worse.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I wish somebody had seen this when I was 16. My life would have been very different.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Lucy recalls her time in college when she would struggle with assignments. \u201cI would get so overwhelmed and struggle to focus and just leave it till the last minute,\u201d she says. \u201cI would see everybody else doing well around me and think, why can’t I do that? What is wrong with me? I think that is where depression and anxiety come from. It\u2019s all linked together.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though more common in children, ADHD also affects adults, which often goes undiagnosed. A US-based study from 2016<\/a> claims that other mental health disorders mask ADHD in adults, making it difficult to recognise.     <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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