Happy International Women’s Day!
March 8th is international women’s day, but… Since gender is a social construct anyway, I’m celebrating women, trans & non-binary people, and neurodiverse folks.
So… hooray.
People of marginalized genders have to fight just to get equal access to things like mental health care, including assessment, diagnosis, and treatment.
Growing up as a female-presenting person with what’s considered a more typically “masculine” personality, not to mention unrecognized neurocomplexities, I always found it hard to fit in.
I began having major mental health struggles in my early twenties, which I now understand were primarily due to burnout, after two decades of masking and trying to play “normal”.
Even that wasn’t enough to recognize my ADHD and autism. Because I’m female and was struggling with intense emotions and impulsivity, I was misdiagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder in 2010, then in my late twenties.
This despite the fact that I had predominantly externalizing symptoms — such as emotional dysregulation, hyperactivity, and impulsivity — typically considered a “boy” presentation of ADHD.
It wasn’t until 2019, when my son was diagnosed with ADHD, that I realized I needed to pursue an assessment for myself. Seven months after my son, who was then 6, was diagnosed with ADHD, I joined the club — at the age of 36.
Unapologetically contrary
I am proud to say that, despite many adults’ efforts to the contrary throughout my childhood, I have retained my defiant, opinionated, smart-ass attitude.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Neurodiversity MB to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.