The common ADHD myths stopping Australians from getting help
Females with ADHD are at significantly more risk of self harm and suicide than males, an alarming landmark report has found.
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Australians with ADHD are flying under the medical radar, struggling with diagnosis, finding the right treatment and getting support, a new report has found.
A massive 74 per cent of people with ADHD said more education was needed for patients, carers, doctors and educators and almost 50 per cent said more support was needed to move patients from childhood to teenage and adult services.
Australians with ADHD are facing major challenges in their daily life, with 65 per cent saying it impacted their work and 40 per cent felt it impacted their finances, the Under the Radar study found.
About three in four people said their ADHD made it difficult to manage other co-occurring physical and mental health conditions.
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Experts have warned the illness remains widely misunderstood with most believing myths like ADHD can only happen to men or is caused by negligent parenting.
Westmead Hospital Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine medical director and ADHD Australia chair Professor Michael Kohn said these findings indicate that the illness can have a “snowball effect”.
“Simply put ADHD is a disorder of brain growth and development. It‘s an invisible disorder but a real disorder. And it affects nearly one million Australians,” he said.
“Organising their lives, meeting deadlines, being organised, anticipating outcomes are all areas that ADHD people feel they let themselves down. And in response they get a lot of negative outcomes and reactions.”
Prof Kohn said ADHD can put patients at a high risk for debt, addiction and self-harm.
“The plight of those living with ADHD, which remains one of the most misunderstood mental health conditions, is not an easy one. Regardless of diagnosis status ADHD sufferers have an increased risk of debt, addiction, suicide, self-harm and premature death,” he said.
“And it is worse for females with ADHD with the risk for self-harm two to three times higher and suicide attempts three to four times higher than their male counterparts,” Prof Kohn said.
The report found ADHD can impact people’s ability to maintain relationships, secure employment and risk of depression and anxiety.
About 58 per cent of people said their condition impacted on employment and 56 per cent struggled with maintain social and personal relationships.
Chatswood woman Rachel Worsley was diagnosed with ADHD at the age of 25 after several psychologists and psychiatrists told her the condition only happens to boys.
“All my life I wondered why things were so difficult to do. Getting up in the morning, going to school, going to work, everything felt like an effort. I was doing well on paper but not emotionally,” she said.
“Eventually, I did a lot of research myself and ADHD made so much sense. I made an appointment with a psychiatrist and felt really relieved to be diagnosed. It explained so much.”
Ms Worsley felt it was much harder to get diagnosed as a woman due to the belief it only happens to young men.