“I hope I’m not annoying you too much with my flow of words?”, worries Isabelle (1) in the middle of the interview. Aged 48, the woman from Nice was diagnosed with ADHD in 2019. “I am often told that I am tiring, even exhausting. As a child, I deeply exasperated my father because it was impossible to channel me: I was an electric battery and I constantly cut people off. At school, I “I was the girl who was a little high-minded, very talkative and always distracted.”
However, Isabelle is rather a good student, which is why she does not worry her teachers. “I was very irregular but I always got decent grades and I tried very hard not to be agitated in class.” After high school, Isabelle decided to study tourism and quickly launched into working life. “Every three years, I changed jobs. I was unable to stay in the same position.” Regularly, her lack of attention catches up with her. “I was able to perform really well one day, and the next day I was making really stupid careless mistakes.”
Then Isabelle became a mother. Her two sons were diagnosed with ADHD at the age of 3. “I lived in Quebec. There, the professionals are much better trained than in France. My children were very well cared for. I continued to live my life, without worrying about my recurring careless errors .” And one day, without really understanding why, Isabelle suffered a burnout. “I quit my job overnight. I felt oppressed, at the end of my rope, exhausted. And it was only then that I began to make the connection between my suffering and my children’s ADHD. At 45, I finally decided to take charge of myself.”
For three years, Isabelle and her family have been followed by Dr. Hervé Caci. “I’m on methylphenidate. This medication has really eased my anxiety.” Isabelle also took up yoga and now works part-time. She only regrets one thing: not having been diagnosed sooner. “It would have saved me a lot of suffering.”
1. The first name has been changed.