Ponteland woman's ADHD mission to help other women and girls 'better understand themselves'

A Ponteland woman wants to demystify ADHD in women and girls and help others to "understand themselves" the same way she does.

Alice Patterson, 25, was diagnosed with the condition between the ages of 13 and 14. She told ChronicleLive how, because she wasn't a "naughty kid" or the "boy throwing a chair across a classroom", she didn't conform to old stereotypes about what ADHD looks like.

Diagnosed as a teenager, she said that while at times she had struggled, she was comfortable with who she is and how ADHD colours how her brain works now. She added that continuing to improve care for women and girls with the condition was vital.

Alice, whose father worked for The Journal, said: "I always knew I was a bit different. The way school was set up didn't necessarily suit the way my brain works. I would struggle to focus in class and would get told off for day-dreaming. But it was never that I was a naughty kid."

She explained that when a family member was diagnosed as autistic she had begun to research the subject. She said: "I did some research to better understand what she was going through. That's when I became more aware of what ADHD was.

"Back then, my understanding had mostly been that ADHD was something that boys who would throw chairs across the classroom."

Alice - who works as a climbing instructor - said that she was diagnosed after being covertly observed during school lessons by ADHD specialists when her parents and teachers. Since then, she said knowing the reasons behind her brain working differently had helped her to navigate life and her own mental health.

She said: "From being diagnosed quite young, I have been able to mask it well and I have had years of coming to terms with it and of understanding my own brain."

Alice was speaking as part of a campaign from the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) highlighting the support therapy can provide those with ADHD. As part of this, she took part in a therapeutic task designing masks which showed both what people with the condition want to show the world and what they fear.

Alice explained: "There are so many things that I had just been thinking and it felt nice to get them out and put them into something so someone else can understand how I can be thinking and feeling. It's my story and I'm actually being seen and heard in an authentic way."

She added: "I don't see it [ADHD] as a negative thing - I definitely used to though in my teenage years but over the years I have realised the positives. The therapy process has really been crucial to helping me to actually be able to manage things.

"I don't know the person I would be without therapy. I don't know where I would be without it. It helped me to learn a lot about myself and how to manage the emotions that I can feel. I think therapy is really something everyone should do.

"Talking about ADHD is important to me because it is who I am. It's not something I have, rather it makes up who I am - and I don't know what it's like not to have it! If speaking about this helps someone to have therapy or get diagnosed."

Looking back, she said coming to terms with how her brain works had been crucial. Alice said she had always been aware that, for example, a desk job was not going to be the thing for her. She said that she hoped to encourage others - especially women and girls - to seek out therapeutic support to help manage similar issues.

She added: "It helped me to think 'it's not me, it's not a problem' and for me to be able to learn to work with it rather than against it. There are so many women who if they had also had the experience I have had could have done so much more and understood themselves so much more.

"Going back, ADHD wasn't even looked into for women and girls. All the research was based on males. It's definitely changing, and getting better, but there's still miles to go."

Lisa Morrison Coulthard, Director of Professional Standards, Policy and Research at the BACP says: “Through this campaign, we hope to highlight that therapy can be extremely effective in supporting individuals recently diagnosed with ADHD and especially with the sometimes complex emotional response that may follow.

"It’s not about ‘solving’ ADHD, but about helping people understand their diagnosis, address the challenges of masking, and live in a way that feels true to themselves.”

Find out more at bacp.co.uk/unmaskingadhd