ADHD Diagnosis in Older People Has Increased

Throughout her life, Tanya Murphy was used to hiding her depression. She said this was the rule, not the exception, in the Christian social circles in Georgia where she raised her three children.

“The last thing you want is for you to have mental health issues,” said Murphy, 56, who now lives in Arlington, Virginia. Ladies, all you have to do is fast and pray. ”

However, by reaching her late 40s, she realized she could no longer hide her problems.

Murphy developed anxiety and began to want to end his life. She knew she was smart, but she didn’t feel that way. As a child, her poor concentration led her teachers to call her a daydreamer, but she ended up spending thousands of dollars on an entrepreneurial project that she later lost interest in and abandoned.

After researching her symptoms online, Murphy realized she might have a neurodevelopmental disorder called attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). It is a neurodevelopmental disorder that commonly involves inattention, confusion, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. She was finally diagnosed by a psychiatric nurse when she was 53 years old. After she took the non-stimulant ADHD medication Strattera, attended regular therapy sessions, and started meditating, her concentration improved and her anxiety and depression disappeared.

“I cried with joy,” she said. “I knew I wasn’t crazy. I knew I wasn’t broken. I wasn’t a failure. I wasn’t as lazy as I’ve been told most of my life. I wasn’t stupid.”

Over the past 20 years, clinicians have come to recognize that symptoms of ADHD that begin in childhood can persist into adulthood, and that in some groups: woman and people of color — are more likely to be underdiagnosed early in life. Now, with the rise of telemedicine, ADHD and change attitude When it comes to mental health treatment, new diagnoses of ADHD are rapidly increasing among older Americans.