Jun 14
This week I’m sitting down with ADHD expert, author and coach René Brooks to talk about Vertical Heterophoria -- a little-known eye condition that, when René stumbled upon the diagnosis by happenstance, changed everything for her. While René is grateful that she was able to find relief from a lifetime of headaches and neck pain, she’s frustrated by how close she came to missing such an important diagnosis and believes the medical community still has a long way to go in understanding and treating ADHD comorbidities. “It’s right there, it’s not hidden, people just don’t put it together. People are so mired down in the research about ADHD that it’s difficult for them to understand how these things apply to real-life scenarios.”
Vertical Heterophoria and the connection to ADHD is so unknown that I myself had never heard of it, but by the end of the episode, René helps me to realize that this just might be the missing piece in my own son’s unresolved vision struggles. This realization is a great reminder of why these conversations are so important to have, and for that reason and many more I’m so excited to bring you this episode with the brilliant René Brooks.
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"It’s pure happenstance. And these things should not be happenstance, they need to be documented in places where people who are diagnosed can find them and be properly evaluated for them."
- René Brooks
"When you look at the role that hormones play in our dopamine levels and put it all together it’s like no wonder we’re struggling so much when you’ve got all of these separate issues that really are related to the same thing but nobody knows it."
- René Brooks
"For a problem that caused that many problems, the solution was so easy that I could’ve just cried."
- René Brooks
- René shares her thoughts on forgetting past accomplishments and focusing on future goals, as well as the challenges of writing a bio.
- René shares her experiences with ADHD and the stigma surrounding it, particularly for women and girls.
- René discovers she has bipolar disorder after years of struggling with depression and medication trials.
[18:13 - 32:44] ADHD and Related Conditions
- René shares her experience with ADHD, including feeling ashamed and broken, but also finding empowerment in her diagnosis and helping others through her writing and podcasting.
- René found out about her eye condition, vertical heterochromia, through a podcast, despite being lucky to find a treating doctor just an hour away.
- René discusses comorbidities between ADHD and other conditions, including PCOS and sleep disorders, and how hormones affect dopamine levels.
- René discusses the connection between vision problems and mental health, citing examples of how vision issues can exacerbate anxiety and depression.
- René emphasizes self-compassion, community, and normalization as key to living successfully with ADHD.
- René discusses her creative ventures, including writing books, creating a store with T-shirts and fidget toys, and sharing her thoughts on Twitter.
Instagram: @blackgirllostkeys
Twitter: @Blkgirllostkeys
Blog: Black Girl Lost Keys
Vertical Heterophoria: The Unknown ADHD Related Eye Condition (scroll to the bottom of the blog post for a link to the online test for Vertical Heterophoria)
