My Private ADHD Diagnosis (UK) VLOG - Sept 2022
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- Опубликовано: 2 июн 2024
- In September 2022 I decided to get a private ADHD assessment after agonising over whether I met the diagnostic criteria or not. The decision to be assessed for ADHD isn't one we take lightly (or as I keep saying in the video for some unknown reason, likely! xD). I'm hoping the VLOGs in this video will be reassuring to those of you who are seeking an assessment, or have been diagnosed by showing the thinking behind why I got an assessment and the mixed emotions I had working through the diagnostic criteria.
0:00 Intro
3:26 Deciding to get an assessment
11:30 Tired of thinking
12:57 Booking an assessment
17:09 Feeling Sh*t and Low Self Esteem
Article Responses to the Panorama Documentary:
- No, ADHD is not a con. If that’s the message you got from Panorama’s exposé, you weren’t paying attention www.theguardian.com/society/c...
- ADHD Shortcuts: A National Scandal for the UK - www.forbes.com/sites/drnancyd...
Support Resources for ADHD:
- How To ADHD - / @howtoadhd
- ADHD Adult UK Charity - www.adhdadult.uk/
- Additude - www.additudemag.com/
Wanna hear from me?
Monthly Newsletter - theplayphilosophy.substack.com/
Linkedin - / rachel-walker-profile
Instagram - / rachelwalker.co
Wanna work with me?
ADHD Coaching - rachelwalker.co/coaching
Got questions? - Email rachel@rachelwalker.co
Who am I? Here's my fancy pants bio...
Rachel is an ADHD Coach & Educator on a relentless quest to help people with ADHD believe in themselves. A learner at heart, Rachel built her career in teaching, learning and development, and coaching but despite the apparent ‘success’ found herself aged 30 with her self-esteem in the pits. A diagnosis of inattentive type ADHD was the answer to an agonizing puzzle, and now she's obsessed with helping others put together the pieces of their own colourful chaotic jigsaw.
#adhd #adhdassessment #adhddiagnosis #adhdwomen
This video is exactly me right now as I wait for my appointment with my primary care doctor. I’ve related so much to all of these vlogs about the process and diagnosis etc, but this one hits the nail on the head for where I am in this moment.
I was telling my mom, it’s like I’ve put on glasses for the first time and I’m finally seeing everything clearly. All of the things I’ve struggled with, all of the parts about myself that I dislike but can’t change no matter how hard I try, just ALL OF IT all suddenly makes sense when we look at it through the lens of having adhd. And I cannot for the life of me let it go until I get a formal diagnosis, I am ruminating like crazy and it’s physically exhausting.
So, thank you for putting all of this out there, because it is so freaking validating, and very much appreciated.
I totally understand 💛 Thanks for being here!
Gotta love how all our hard work trying to bring awareness to our ADHD struggles can get undermined so easily by things like false diagnoses.. been trying to work my female cousin up to getting an evaluation but the american public thinks ADHD meds are worse than illegal drugs
Diagnosed by the NHS 18 months, aged 56.
It's known that when it comes to adults seeking an ADHD assessment that the positive result rate is in the 90% range. This is because adults seeking ADHD assessments have learned about what it looks like in adults, seen themselves reflected back, and then gone to get assessed.
Had the Panorama program taken a random sample of people from the population and sent them to be screened the positive results would have been below 5%.
So, fear not. If you've had a private diagnosis, and ADHD ticks all those boxes that nothing else has ticked, and you've come across other people with ADHD, online or otherwise, and their experiences are the same as yours, then your diagnosis is safe.
This was an ugly, lopsided program, that ignored facts in favour of prejudice and misrepresentation. Now bloody Peter Hitchens is asking if ADHD is real from the pages of the gutter press. It's not made anything easier for us. But it in no way undermines the reality of ADHD or of having it.
How long did you wait until you got the appointment? I have been on the waiting list for 2 years. 😞
@@tamika2656 I waited about 2 years. It will depend on where you are in the Country. (I'm in Birmingham.)
It might be worth finding a UK based online support group and asking there if anyone knows what the waiting time is in your area. (Facebook has such groups. I've not looked elsewhere.)
Thanks for your videos ! I feel less alone in my recent diagnosis ! We 're all in this together ! We will get through this ! 💕
We will!
Thanks for your videos Rachel. They've been very validating for me and have helped a lot. I'm diagnosed now but on the waiting list to start titration. Probably won't be starting any meds till at least September. God it's hard once you know but can't get treatment. All I see in my day-to-day behaviour are symptoms.
Hope you're doing well though and as long as you're enjoying them, keep up with the videos!
Thanks Paul 💛 Yuuup, totally understand that feeling of seeing symptoms constantly - sending supportive thoughts as you wait! Thanks so much - I'm loving doing them 💃
Thanks for your posts, it’s all so very familiar to me! Diagnosed age 47 from an NHS psychiatrist via private provider and now on a stable dose on Concerta. After years of struggle from childhood and randomly reading about ADHD online with weeks of researching the subject, my life history was laid out in front of me. Just getting a diagnosis has helped enormously.
The panorama programme was very unhelpful , I already keep quiet about my diagnosis from fear of been ridiculed or stigmatised. Let’s hope an informative programme on ADHD can be made in the future.
Thank you so much for uploading this.
I think the Panorama doc did some things right and wrong. It was right to highlight dodgy practices that are preying off of people’s desperation due to the NHS failings (I was on the NHS waitlist for over 2 years before seeking private). But equally, they only showed one side to private, the bad side… they didn’t once inform people how to find good private practices and what to look out for (qualifications, experience, adhd specialisation, assessment time, and assessment forms (family and friends)) etc. instead they just showed the bad ones and arguably ‘fear mongered’. Although I don’t doubt that there is an issue with dodgy clinics, just like how I don’t doubt some people do get misdiagnosed.
But anyway, this was a good video! And all I would say to people, is do your research about the private clinic and psychiatrist that will assess you! I actually asked my GP for recommendations and was turned to Dr Rob Baskind, the founder of the first specialised NHS ADHD clinic in Yorkshire (before then going private a couple years ago). So yeah, make sure they are qualified and specialise in ADHD, if so then they’re a good private practice and your diagnosis should be as accurate as the information you and your family/friends give 😃
“Protecting our peace” - Yes! thank you!
Rachel, your videos have been a fascinating personal journey shared, that has made my own journey make sense. So thank you. Also, you can see the difference in your focus from the start to now and it is reassuring.
Hey Rachel, I hope you're well.
I found your videos during my final stages of trying to decide if I should take the leap and seek a diagnosis. I'd previously had some recommendations from friends and a therapist over many years that I should look into it but really found it hard to make the final step. I subscribed to your channel soon after your first ADHD video because I instantly saw myself not only in your struggles but also in your personality, achievements, and general outlook on life, all of which helped me push forward and seek a diagnosis.
I've been forging my own path for the past few months and taking on the medication journey myself, trying to find a way to explain to others what an utterly life-changing experience this has been so far, and decided to revisit your channel to almost have a sense check that I'm on the right path and not making it up all in my head. Vlogs like your first medicated month, while encouraging before diagnosis, have now become real confirmation that I made the right choice and whilst you're several months ahead of me at this point and things will obviously change over time, it's been a great comfort looking back on those vlogs and the ones you've shared here and being able to relate to your own experiences yet again.
Really I just want to say thank you. You've helped change my life and I'll always be eternally grateful
Matt
Matt! This is a magical comment. Thanks so much for taking the time to write it. It feels very surreal to read this because I did not expect people to relate or see value in hearing my experiences as much as they have! It's also a comfort to me to feel not alone in this - so thank you for being here!!
Just got diagnosed, early 40's. The past few weeks have been a roller coaster. More depressed than ever as now I can SEE the issues I have when at work and at home. Now the quirky things I do all have a label and reason now and it's distressing me. My wife says I'm in the "grieving stage" which I guess is true, since while I've known, it's now official. It's just weird.
Really love your conversational style, takes the edge off what can sometimes be quite difficult subjects. Keep going with the RUclips vids, it takes a while of consistently posting vids regularly in order to build up a really big subscriber base (obviously not an easy thing with ADHD ;)) - keep it up though because I'm convinced you'll earn the followers you deserve.
Thank youuuuu!
I have just been diagnosed and am in the process of beginning medication and seeing if it actually does anything before I finally let myself believe that I actually have it. I’ve watched all your videos and relate to you in almost every way, even more so than the many others I have watched/read. Thank you for your candour, it’s been very comforting and reassuring for me that’s it’s not all just in my head!
Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment 💛
Recently(less than 3 weeks ago) got my diagnosis. Especially that last piece, So recognizable!! The agonizing about what will people who know me think. Still struggling with that.
In the past months i've watched some of your video's and gotten some good feelings out of it. Because it made me feel not so alone with this. Starting therapy soon. And already trying out meds. Thank you for sharing your journey.
Thanks for being here Katie 💛
I am so glad to have found your channel and been able to hear about your journey (I'm 43, just started meds.) Mine looks a little different, as I'm in the US, although I'm fortunate enough to have employer-covered health-insurance that covers a fair amount. It was actually my primary care doctor who suggested I might have ADHD as we were talking about my anxiety medication (which, who would have guessed, didn't really work because I don't actually have an anxiety disorder.) He referred me to a few different private neuropsychologists, but it took months before I was even able to make an initial appointment. I finally had an extensive intake interview with the neuropsychologist, who told me at the end of the appointment that he was quite sure that I do have ADHD, but I still need to complete the testing portion, which won't happen until July. Thankfully, though my primary care doctor didn't make me wait to treat it, though, and recently prescribed me stimulant medication as part of my treatment (Focalin XR, but generic. This is will mean in-person doctor's appointments every 3 months as long as I'm on it, but I think it's worth the trade off.) Even having studied how stimulants work, and having worked with many students who take stimulant medication for ADHD (I'm a pediatric speech therapist, and have worked in the field for nearly 20 years at this point,) I was astounded with how I responded- my brain was a lot "quieter," and the never-ending internal chatter, which I had just interpreted as anxiety wasn't as overwhelming. And I'm actually able to initiate "unpleasant" tasks (like making phone calls- I've lived most of my adult life putting off necessary phone calls, which is how I went nearly 20 years without going to the dentist even though I don't have a phobia about dentists.) This was only a week ago so I'm still noticing what is working (and one day I forgot to take it, and the difference was very noticeable.) Anyway, I'm very glad that I don't have to actually wait for an official diagnosis from the neuropsychologist in order to start receiving treatment. I'm extremely tempted to apologize for the information dump but I there's a part of me that knows that isn't needed in a place like this, with so many people that have similar experiences. Anyway, thank you for continuing to share about your experience as an adult getting a diagnosis. It definitely makes me feel like I'm not so a long in this. :)
Thanks so much for sharing Kay, and yes you're right - no apology necessary, this is the place to share this stuff in whatever format it spills out of us 😊
Rachel that was so powerful to watch and so needed after the invalidating Panorama programme. Still waiting for my right to choose assessment with Psychiatry-UK and struggling with the wait so really understand why you ended up paying xx
Thanks Michelle 💛
The clinic I used was one of the ones featured:( it's worrying.
At 18 minutes, that’s a harde relate for me - and now 6 months in I’m eventually relieved… but it felt like a big mountain at the time
I didn’t think antidepressants could be taken for just two weeks of every month? I thought they took weeks to reach full effect?
It depends what you're taking them for. As I was taking them for PMS, and didn't get side effects, it worked for me to do 2 weeks on and 2 weeks off. This is an interesting resource about it - www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/premenstrual-dysphoric-disorder-pmdd/treatment/