I Got Diagnosed With Hyperactive ADHD at 28 — And It Finally Made My Life Make Sense
It took me 28 years, three countries, and a few too many awkward meetings to realize: my brain wasn’t broken — just wired differently.
This is my story of being diagnosed with Hyperactive ADHD as an adult, and what it feels like to finally have a name for a way of thinking and being that never quite fit into “normal.” More than a diagnosis, it was a massive click that helped me make peace with how I show up in the world — especially at work.
It Started Early — But Got Dismissed Quickly
The first time someone flagged something about my behavior, I was around 7 years old in Brazil. A doctor diagnosed me with hyperactivity and immediately recommended strong mood stabilizers. I still remember how they made me feel: low energy, no emotions, and not myself at all. My mom took me off them shortly after — thankfully.
Since then, I never paid much attention to it. I just thought I was naturally intense, energetic, maybe “a bit too much.”
Years later, during weekly 1-on-1s, one of my first bosses — half-joking, half-serious — asked: “Have you ever considered that you might have ADHD?” At the time, I laughed it off. I had done a quick Google search years before and assumed ADHD meant you literally couldn’t focus at all. That wasn’t me… was it?
Years of Anxiety, and One Psychiatrist Who “Parked the Topic”
Throughout my 20s, I treated myself for anxiety. When I eventually asked my psychiatrist if he thought I had ADHD, he shrugged and said: “Most likely yes, but there are more urgent things to handle — let’s put a pin in it.”
So I did. For years.
Until I moved to Spain, turned 28, and decided: it’s time to get some real answers.
The Diagnosis That Made My Life Click
I found one of the best doctors I could — an ADHD specialist who also has ADHD. That mattered to me. I needed someone who could really understand what was going on in my head.
Despite his clinic being designed for kids (colorful drawings and all), he looked me in the eyes, listened for 15 minutes, and said it plainly: “You have Hyperactive ADHD.”
I can’t explain it better than this: in that moment, everything started to make sense.
It didn’t change who I was. But it gave me language, awareness, and, most importantly, self-compassion. It gave me permission to stop blaming myself for not fitting into a system that wasn’t designed for brains like mine.
How Hyperactive ADHD Shows Up in My Work Life
Since the diagnosis, I’ve been trying to articulate what it’s actually like to live — and work — with Hyperactive ADHD. Not just to explain myself, but to help others feel seen too.
So here are a few things I’ve noticed — all from my own experience (not medical advice):
1. I Bounce Between Hyperfocus and Zero Focus
Some days, I get “in the zone” for hours. It feels like obsession — the kind that helps me complete a complex task I’ve been avoiding for weeks. I’m locked in, laser-focused, unstoppable.
Other days? I can’t get through a paragraph without thinking of 20 different things. I read the same sentence five times and still don’t know what it said.
My workaround: I don’t force focus. I take breaks. I trust that I’ll get it done — even if it’s at 10pm the night before the deadline.
If you work with me: Know that I’ll deliver. But the when and how might not look traditional.
2. Long Meetings Feel Like Torture (Sometimes Literally)
Most people dislike long meetings. But for me, back-to-back Zooms feel like a full-body shutdown. I start shaking my legs uncontrollably, I feel the urge to move, to walk out, to do something.
If a meeting lacks interaction, it feels like my brain just checks out — and with it, so does my attention.
What helps: Short breaks. Interactive formats. Let me contribute instead of just listen. And please, not everything needs to be a meeting.
3. Medication Feels Like Superpowers — But Also a Social Compromise
When I take medication, it’s like someone pressed a “silent mode” button in my brain. I can choose when to focus, stay on task for 12 hours straight, and feel unstoppable.
But there’s a catch.
Through therapy, I’ve come to realize that the reason we take medication often isn’t to help ourselves — it’s to make ourselves fit in. To perform “correctly” in systems designed without us in mind.
So sometimes, out of quiet protest, I choose not to take it. Just to remind myself: there’s nothing wrong with my default settings. The system needs to flex too.
Why I’m Sharing This
Because awareness matters.
Because for a long time, I thought ADHD was just a trendy buzzword — not something I’d carry quietly for most of my life.
Because when I finally got diagnosed, I stopped feeling broken. And I want that for others too.
Especially in the workplace — where we talk so much about diversity, but often forget that includes neurodiversity as well.
A Note to Colleagues, Managers, and Friends
If you work with someone who’s a bit restless, a bit scattered, or does things in a way that seems unconventional — pause before you judge.
They might be navigating a different operating system. And they might be thriving in ways you can’t see.
Let’s make space for different brains — not just because it’s kind, but because it makes us all better.