Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has revealed she’s been diagnosed with ADHD and “significant traits of autism”.
In a sit-down interview with the New Zealand Herald, Whanau said the diagnosis came as a shock while she was receiving professional mental health support after publicly admitting to a drinking problem late last year.
Whanau said she was diagnosed in April after working with a therapist and it has impacted her job “in a positive sense”.
After going sober, Whanau said “traits of autism started appearing a lot more” and ADHD symptoms like hyperfocus were more prevalent in her work.
So What is ADHD?
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a developmental disorder that begins in early childhood. ADHD used to be called attention deficit disorder (ADD).
ADHD is often misunderstood. It can cause problems:
- concentrating
- becoming distracted
- being hyperactive (sometimes)
- being impulsive
This may cause people with ADHD to have problems with their:
- friendships
- work
- family life
- Schooling
Could you have it to? One in 20 kiwi’s have it.
It’s easy to put what could be ADHD down to other things and recognise it. There can be a variety of reasons for this. Often it’s because the symptoms have become so “normal” that you’ve shifted the blame onto other causes like “I’m too busy”, “I’m too tired, and my head is spinning”, or “I’m just disorganised or possibly because I’m so stressed out.”