Cover Photo by Kelsy Gagnebin on Unsplash
October is ADHD Awareness Month and I want to talk about a topic that’s very close to my creative entrepreneur heart.
I’m a woman in my 30s and my ADHD was missed all my life. Like all modern fairytales, my diagnosis journey began when I saw a TikTok video a couple of years ago that suddenly made a lot of things click into place.
Could it be?
Was there a reason my brain wasn't doing things the way I wanted it to? What if all these strange struggles I had were connected? What if there was actually nothing wrong with me? It opened the floodgate of questions about what I accepted as a “normal” amount of struggle for someone to have.
I was well-behaved as a kid, did well in school, got a degree, had many good jobs in big companies, and now I’ve managed my own creative business since 2020.
But over the years, life got harder and harder. My burnouts were bad and got closer together and kept coming in waves. My elaborate and necessary systems for organisation, memory, and timekeeping started to fail and collapse around me. The intensity and difficulty of life and work was overwhelming. I often found myself exhausted, frozen, and struggling. I couldn’t understand why I could do really difficult things, but not some basic ones. My inner voice was constantly vicious and cruel about all of my ‘failings’.
You might have been hearing a version of this from women in your life quite regularly now. My story, unfortunately, is not unique.
“Everyone has that these days”
It is estimated that about 3-4% of the population has ADHD and the rate of diagnosis is still far below that number. The recent NHS ADHD Taskforce Report in the UK found that historic underdiagnosis for adults, and women in particular, is the reason more people are being diagnosed with ADHD now. ADHD isn’t getting more trendy or popular, the number is just slowly becoming a more accurate reflection of the population. But they also note that their figures can’t be truly accurate due to lack of access to assessments for adults and huge waiting lists.
“We only know currently that in England, recognised rates of ADHD are lower than the expected prevalence of ADHD.” - NHS
“England and the rest of the UK have much lower service recognition and treatment rates of ADHD diagnosis compared with other European countries. Recent data show a very high level of under-recognition and under-treatment of strictly diagnosed ADHD, with significant inequalities in access to care e.g. minority groups.” - NHS
The same situation is happening in Ireland and across many countries’ healthcare systems. In a 2022 study in the US, the number of women ages 23-49 newly diagnosed with ADHD almost doubled in the previous 2 years.
For those of you who suspect you might have ADHD, but haven't gone through the formal process, self-diagnosis is valid. I recognise that the waiting lists for public assessment are long and costs for private options are prohibitively expensive for many.
“I would never have guessed”
ADHD doesn’t look like one thing or one way of showing up in the world. It is a complex cocktail of neurotransmitters, environment, and genetics, for each person to figure out for themselves.
If I can paraphrase the popular saying in the Disabled community, “if you’ve met one person with ADHD, you’ve met one person with ADHD”.
There are so many of my ADHD traits that I’m grateful for when it comes to my job running Cova Communications. It makes me agile, flexible, and a great problem solver in an emergency. I can work on high level strategic plans by zooming out and connecting disparate dots and patterns. My curiosity and focus means that I have continued to learn, grow, and adapt in my industry as it evolves.
I love working in a creative role with other creative people – connecting, sharing ideas, and brainstorming solutions.
My love of working in communication design was also probably an early hint…
“You just need to try harder”
There was a very real reason I was burning out all the time. I was trying to succeed in systems built for one kind of person, using techniques and routines that didn’t work with my brain chemistry. Ultimately a lot of the undoing and rebuilding process is realising that most things are made up and can be changed… within reason.
So I changed some things.
I work quickly and efficiently, but I need breaks during the day and a slightly offset work day. Flexibility is really important, which is why running my own business is now the longest job I’ve had.
Running a business is never dull. My brain is fed with newness, novelty, and challenges almost every day.
I’m also part of a co-working space. Having people around to body double helps me spend energy on work and my tasks instead of keeping track of time or not getting distracted.
My personal systems and business processes are regularly evaluated for points of failure and where I’m spending too much energy. Overwhelm still happens sometimes, but I’m getting much better at spotting the warning signs and can intervene.
“You don’t have to tell anyone”
Not every reaction to my news has been good or pleasant. But so many people from different stages of my life have met me with enthusiasm, support, and even some diagnosis news of their own.
As strange as this feels to put out into the world, it also feels really necessary and important.
Someone close to me told me not to tell anyone when I was going to get assessed. I guess they were afraid of what the consequences of being honest might mean for me. It was based on old beliefs that are still lurking around.
I see it all the time from people who are too afraid to disclose in their workplace, to their friends, or even to their families. This stigma and misunderstanding is keeping people trapped in cycles of shame and burnout.
Remember that you are not the problem.
I wrote this for everyone who needs to know that it is possible to be a neurodivergent creative entrepreneur and create a business that you like working in. It is possible to have supportive clients and colleagues that find ways of working that suit everyone’s needs.
For me, I’ve spent a lot of the last two years dismantling and rebuilding my business to work better for me and to create systems that will allow me to thrive in it.
I don’t have all the answers yet, but I’m definitely closer than I was two years ago!
About the author: Michelle Walsh is the Owner and Communication Designer at Cova Communications. Cova is a marketing and design agency based in Cork, Ireland specialising in brand storytelling.
References
Caitlin Moscatello, (2026) “Why Are So Many Women Getting ADHD Diagnoses in Midlife?”. The Cut. https://www.thecut.com/article/surge-of-women-midlife-adhd-diagnoses.html
Russell J, Franklin B, Piff A, Allen S, Barkley E. (2023) “Number of ADHD Patients Rising, Especially Among Women”. Epic Research. https://www.epicresearch.org/articles/number-of-adhd-patients-rising-especially-among-women/
Department of Health and Social Care (2026), “Independent review into mental health conditions, ADHD and autism: interim report”. Gov.uk. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/independent-review-into-mental-health-conditions-adhd-and-autism-interim-report