Yesterday I was delighted to be interviewed by the very respected Radio New Zealand ‘Nine To Noon’ host Kathryn Ryan.
One of the main reasons for writing The Missing Piece was to share as much information on ADHD as possible, especially relevant to those living with an adult diagnosis, currently one in twenty. Frustratingly over recent years, awareness of the disorder via traditional news media has often been brief and summarised as a 10 second soundbite. To be invited to talk about my own personal experience with ADHD for around 25 minutes on live radio, was both a pleasure and a privilege!
While RNZ has main centres in Auckland and Wellington, they also have studios dotted around the country, including Hamilton, the studio nearest me. Other than waking up with a croaky voice, navigating live radio went well! The RNZ team were wonderfully professional and they even managed to convince me it that live-on-air was really just like having a conversation over a cup of tea, nothing to be worried about. This was a brilliant strategy!
Kathryn and I spoke about my journey regarding diagnosis, choosing not to take ADHD medication, and how retrospectively I could I identify where ADHD was ever-present in my younger years. We chatted about how girl’s ADHD traits can differ from stereotypical hyperactive boys, masking and how self-esteem can be affected by social responses. We touch on ways we may seek dopamine, impulsivity, and figuring out personal strategies to suit each individual is the key to life post-diagnosis.
You can listen to the RNZ replay here:
or read RNZ’s article here
RNZ is not a talk-back style format so I was both surprised and delighted that host Kathryn read out a text message that had come in while we were on air.
“ADHD. It’s like she’s telling my life story. Last year diagnosed at 61, and it’s been amazing to know as all the traits etc can really affect your self esteem. I have more awareness, strategies and self compassion. I’m successful professionally and I have done and tried many things and traveled a lot, but ADHD has made life harder with tendencies to burn out, depression and anxiety – but now I also honour my superpowers.”
It was a beautiful text to receive as it reflected numerous other women recently diagnosed with ADHD and how through understanding, have been able to move forward with tools and compassion.