South Australian comedian Fiona O’Loughlin reveals she has adult Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

SA comedian Fiona O’Loughlin has long struggled with alcoholism and drug addiction- now she’s battling a new chronic medical condition.

South Australian comedian Fiona O’Loughlin has revealed she’s been diagnosed with adult Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

The beloved funnywoman, who has long battled alcoholism, said she began treatment for the chronic condition in Adelaide in mid-January.

“I have recently had a diagnosis of adult ADHD which has gone undetected, all of my life,” said the 57-year-old Adelaide Fringe favourite.

South Australian comedian Fiona O'Loughlin in her Adelaide home. Picture: Sarah Reed.

“It has been daunting to discover so late in my life that nearly everything I perceived about myself to be true must now be overhauled.”

Usually diagnosed in children, the neurodevelopmental condition, which affects around one in every 20 Australians, is characterised by attention difficulty, hyperactivity and impulsiveness.

Fellow Australian comedians Hannah Gadsby and Celeste Barber have also been diagnosed with ADHD.

O’Loughlin made the announcement to explain why she cancelled three shows in Queensland this week, and allay fears she had relapsed into alcoholism.

“My audience are a special breed and I understand that a cancelled show may bring fear that my alcoholism has reared its ugly head. Let me say, that is not the case,” she said.

Last year, O’Loughlin opened up about her lifelong struggle with alcoholism, detailing how she once smoked crystal meth as part of a bizarre attempt to heal at a Glenelg “drug den” in 2015.

Fiona O'Loughlin in Seven’s All New Monty: Guys & Gals.

The much-admired stand-up said she smoked the “ice” pipe during a horrible year in which she almost died in a 15-day coma from a drug overdose, and then spent time in a Melbourne psychiatric ward.

It’s all in her 2020 memoir, Truths From An Unreliable Witness, in which she recounts her double life as a successful comedian with international appearances and a descent into alcoholism, drug use and shame.

O’Loughlin has turned her book into a stage show, The Unreliable Witness, which she premiered at the Adelaide Festival Centre on January 23 - right in the middle of her first treatment for ADHD. She admitted that was a mistake.

“The medication is a trial and error situation. I made the mistake of not giving myself enough time to be monitored correctly,” she said.

“Mid treatment I honoured my commitment to perform at the Festival Theatre. Unfortunately, on reflection, this was a poor decision.

I'm a Celebrity ... Get Me out of Here! winner Fiona O'Loughlin. Pic: Supplied Channel 10.

“My doctor shook his head in a kindly ‘I told you so’ when I fronted him a couple of days after the show, to discuss what went on. I relived with him the costume change disaster, my very extended psychoanalysis of our Nic (Nicole Kidman) and being harpooned by my own footwear centre stage.

“Not to mention, my verbal onslaught regarding addiction.”

Based in Adelaide, mother-of-five O’Loughlin said she was now putting her “health first at this crucial time”.

“As I write this, I am happy knowing, I feel better than ever,” she said.

Fiona O'Loughlin will perform at the 2020 Adelaide Fringe Festival.

“My new show is ready to go and I am confident that I will deliver my best work at the Adelaide Fringe.”

O’Loughlin will perform her show, The Unreliable Witness, at the Garden of Unearthly Delights on February 19 and 20.

Tickets available at Adelaide Fringe website.