What a Difference a Day Makes: I felt reborn when I was diagnosed with ADHD in my 30s

Amy Weidner talks to Helen O’Callaghan about how being diagnosed with ADHD in her 30s has been life-changing for her – both personally and professionally.

'I felt profoundly validated. I was finally able to point to something and say that’s why I’m like this.' Picture: Eddie O'Hare

The day last year that I got my official ADHD diagnosis – aged 34 – was completely life-changing. It made everything about me make sense.

I did the assessment virtually with a UK-based psychiatrist – wait-lists in Ireland were through the roof. It was November 8, a Wednesday lunchtime – I was sitting at the kitchen table in an apartment in Lisbon. I felt a mix of nervousness and almost relief that I was finally going to figure out whether I was living with ADHD.