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34 and diagnosed with ADHD

34 and diagnosed with ADHD

Hey everyone (or anyone)

I’m new here, i don’t know how these things work but I’ve been trying to finally put some of this into words. It’s been a few a couple months and I still don’t really know how I feel or what I want to say, but I’ll try.

(Sorry if this is to long or the wrong place to be)

A bit of background: I was diagnosed with depression in 2005 when I was 13, anxiety in 2012 and bipolar II in 2023. Then in 2025 and 2026, two different psychiatrists told me they didn’t think bipolar II fit at all, and were shocked I’d been diagnosed with it.

Finally, in 2026 at 34, I was diagnosed with ADHD. There’s also been some talk about possible autism or something, but I’m not sure I’m ready to go down that rabbit hole yet.

Getting diagnosed has given me a different way to look back at my life, and a lot of things finally make a bit of sense. I’ve generally seemed “normal” on the outside most my life, despite being fairly depressed a lot of the time (I definitely had serious good times though)

I’ve had relationships, jobs and friends, and being in a band when I was younger helped me build some confidence…

but socialising would often take a huge toll once I was home alone. I would get stuck in a loop of anxiety, guilt and overthinking and just genuinely think I was a bad person for needing time and space.

And relationships always seemed to break down in the same sorts of ways, it takes it’s toll on other people when you don’t have your life sorted and have no idea what your emotions are doing at any one moment.

Anyway…

I’ve been struggling at coming to terms with all this bleeeeehhhhbbbb 🙃

Im mostly good mentally at the moment, just pretty emotional when I think about some of my life.

Are they places and people I can talk to specifically about this?

maybe people just like me? because I know you’re out there

If you got this far, thank you so much. I needed to say all that and help get it off my chest.

3 replies

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In response to: 34 and diagnosed with ADHD

Re: 34 and diagnosed with ADHD

Hi @conureman, welcome to the forum.

You are far from alone in trying to figure out these things.

As you've experienced, diagnosis is very subjective and can vary between clinicians. There is also a risk that we pathologise normal human experiences. Despite outward appearances, most people struggle with the intangible questions and emotions of life. I think it's the severity, impact and persistence of those struggles that are the key to understanding whether psychological diagnosis and treatment are required or whether it's just part of lifelong learning.

Perhaps have a look at "Guidance for those seeking help" and in your case "ADHD - the Not Broken approach" at https://notbrokenproject.com.au/info/ and let us know your thoughts.

In response to: 34 and diagnosed with ADHD

Re: 34 and diagnosed with ADHD

Hi @conureman 

Welcome to the forum. It takes a lot of courage to share what you’ve been going through. I too was diagnosed with ADHD after years of struggling with my mental health. It really helped me to understand myself better and make sense of the world around me. However, there was also a lot of grief knowing that I am different and must live in a world that’s not made for me. It’s completely understandable to be struggling to come to terms with it. You’re doing the best you can and you should be really proud of yourself. It’s hard but you are definitely not alone.

In response to: 34 and diagnosed with ADHD

Re: 34 and diagnosed with ADHD

Thank you so much for that!

Im sure I will get there with it all in time but holy heck is it overwhelming

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