Wallaby Carlo Tizzano says ADHD diagnosis was validating after years of confusion, now hopes to inspire others with the condition

After years of grappling for an extreme and compulsive workload, Wallaby Carlo Tizzano sought help. And he says what happened next changed his life — and rugby career — for the better.

Carlo Tizzano hated coming home with his school reports.

“Distracts others in class” was the common gripe of his teachers.

Then came his professional rugby career.

The 25-year-old Wallabies and Western Force backrower couldn’t figure out why, long after training sessions had finished and teammates were resting, he needed to get back out on the field for extras.

The confusing feelings persisted until one day, 18 months ago, his body and mind caved in to his extreme and compulsive workload and Tizzano finally decided to seek help.

“When I went over to the UK and I came back to the Western Force halfway through the season, it was all go, go, go, so you can imagine, I flew in during the Highlanders week for the Western Force in 2023, and I’d just come off 12 weeks of rehab,” Tizzano told this masthead.

Carlo Tizzano after featuring for the Wallabies in August last year.

“I had done barely any running, my body was not ready at all. And then there was an injury, so I got thrown straight into playing.

“Then I played six games straight, 80 minutes, not knowing the systems. I played against the Queensland Reds at Suncorp after one training session. So you can imagine that’s a lot to process and a lot going on.

“Towards the end of that year, I kind of realised, if I want to play for the Wallabies, this isn’t sustainable. Because at the end of the year, I was exhausted. I was burnt out.

“I wasn’t happy. So I realised that this isn’t normal. I need to go get tested.

“So I spoke to my psychologist, and he said, ‘Oh mate, I think you might have ADHD’. Then spoke to the team doctor, who then put me on to a psychiatrist and got tested.

“And it took two minutes for the psychiatrist to go, ‘Yeah, mate, I think you have ADHD’.

“And then it made me realise, I went through my whole life not knowing this. And all my school reports were saying, ‘He distracts others in class, does this, does that’.

“But it’s just because I wasn’t managed properly. We didn’t know. My parents didn’t know. We didn’t know at all.

“And there wasn’t as much noise around that previously. There’s a bit more now.

“So it was the best thing that’s ever happened to me. Because right now I’ve come off a really big year, and I kept training all the way through my week and my time off. And I’ve never been hungrier.

“I’ve never been more fired up to keep pushing on and not being a one-year Wallaby, being a multiple-year Wallaby.”

Carlo Tizzano offloads the ball before a game for the Force. Picture: James Worsfold/Getty Images

Tizzano made his Wallabies debut last year when Fraser McReight was injured, and made such a strong impact he remained in the squad for the entire year.

With a British & Irish Lions tour looming, the battle for the famed Wallabies No.7 jersey will be fierce.

McReight is the clear first option, but Tizzano will be chasing him all year.

Tizzano’s one-on-one battle against Brumbies openside Luke Reimer – another Wallabies contender – in Saturday’s clash between the Force and Brumbies will be one of the highlights of the Super Rugby Pacific season.

But it’s likely that these incredible opportunities for Tizzano would not have transpired had he lacked the courage to get help.

“If you feel like something isn’t right, you feel run down or stressed out and you don’t know how to deal with that, go speak to someone,” Tizzano said.

“We’re pretty lucky in Australia that we’ve got Medicare and the government helps out a lot with a mental health plan and whatnot.

“So if you’re not feeling right inside, go speak to someone. It makes a massive difference, especially in sport, in a high-performance environment.

“There’s a lot of pressure. There’s a lot going on. And also physical fatigue as well adds on to the mental fatigue.

“So go speak to your team doctor or go speak to your local GP and ask for a mental health plan and go from there. It will change your life.”

Tizzano tries to stop Scotland’s Sione Tuipulotu of Scotland from reaching the line.

Following his diagnosis, Tizzano has a feeling of freedom that he hadn’t experienced for the first 23 years of his life.

“It was very validating,” he said.

“I always felt like, ‘Why do I always want to go into training? And why do I always want to just keep doing more and more and more when other boys aren’t doing that?’ Well, boys are doing that, but some people need to switch off.

“I would just keep going and going and going, and not really be able to switch off. I’d be waking up at 3am thinking about rugby, and not be able to switch off at all. It’s crazy.

“But now I’m able to have protocols in place, which I’ve worked with my sports psych and my mental skills coach to be able to go, ‘OK, that’s for the rugby field’.

“And what I do on the rugby field, it doesn’t come into my home life. It’s so refreshing to be able to do that.

“Being able to work in that off-field stuff and have a happy life off the field is super important with performance on the field, in my personal opinion. And I feel like a lot of people can agree with me on that one as well.”

Tizzano says his ADHD diagnosis was validating. Picture: James Worsfold/Getty Images

Tizzano added: “Actually, I realised it’s quite subjective because balance is a subjective thing. So for me, it’s ‘OK, if I want to go train and that makes me happy, go and do it’.

“Don’t fight myself mentally like, ‘You shouldn’t be training because no one else is doing it’. But it’s what makes me happy, so accepting that and understanding it’s a good outlet for me.

“And that’s how my brain is wired. So just kind of realising that balance is subjective.

“Balance to me is a lot different to, let’s say, Brandon Paenga-Amosa, who’s a good friend of mine.

“Me and him are complete opposites, in a good way. He’s a really good friend of mine, so balance to him is a lot different than balance to me.

“But understanding that made a big difference.

“I just feel like I’m really nailing my work-life balance at the moment, and that’s something I’ve struggled with previously. And I think having my ADHD diagnosis, and just like working really hard off the field with a sports psychologist and a mental skills coach has made a big impact, because I used to get really burnt out.

Tizzano tries to crash through a tackle. Picture: Matt Roberts/Getty Images

“Now I’m able to just really go into training every day and be super hungry, which I always have been, but not burnt out.

“So I’m feeling good physically, and mentally feeling even better.

“Since I’ve come out and said I’ve been diagnosed with ADHD, I’ve actually had a lot of people come up to me and be like, ‘This has inspired me to go get tested, and it’s actually now helping a lot’.”

Originally published as Wallaby Carlo Tizzano says ADHD diagnosis was validating after years of confusion, now hopes to inspire others with the condition