Mar 30
Amelia Etherton, a freelance editor and writer living in Ireland, bravely reached out to me with a request that I have more older (personally, I prefer venerable) ADHD women on the show who can speak to the specific type of grief that comes with a later-in-life diagnosis and all of the ‘what-if’s that come with it. Amelia herself was recently diagnosed with inattentive ADHD at 57, so I thought, who better to speak on this topic than her?
Amelia’s diagnosis brought with it an almost overwhelming sense of grief over how hard it was to bring up her kids mostly alone without knowing they were all neurodivergent, but it also gave her a newfound feeling of hope and self-understanding that has been life-changing.
She wants other late-diagnosed ADHD women to see that it’s possible to move beyond the grief of what could have been and to embrace your unique brains in order to truly enjoy the time you have left, and I’m delighted to share her message of hope with you this episode.
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"You think about the things in parenting that might have been easier if you'd understood that this is a brain difference and you could have gotten more support."
- Amelia Etherton
"That's why I understand the elderly so well, because I've had memory problems all my life. I am always losing and forgetting things. So I can really empathize with them, but I also think it's just made me realize, god, I want to accept myself with this, but also just be able to work on it. I think you can work on memory all your life."
- Amelia Etherton
"It's this disjunct or a disconnect between sort of knowing that you can do this and then thinking ‘but then perhaps it's not true,’ or ‘perhaps I faked that’ or something. There's the stupid voice that says that I'm delusional."
- Amelia Etherton
- Amelia recounts her experience of being diagnosed with ADHD and how it has affected her life.
- Amelia shares her experience of moving to Florence, Italy as an au pair at 18 years old, despite not knowing Italian or anyone there.
- Amelia shares her experience with grief after realizing she has a different brain, and how she copes with it by turning it into her work, including journaling with messy writing.
[23:01 - 39:03] Grief, creativity, and healing through writing
- Amelia struggled to articulate her grief and stigma surrounding her diagnosis, but found solace in writing and talking to close friends.
- Amelia discusses the importance of weaving past experiences into art, while also acknowledging the need to focus on the present and future.
- Amelia shares her experience with ADHD and how it has impacted her life, including memory problems and difficulty accepting her diagnosis.
- Amelia shares a story about her son switching schools due to bullying and ADHD, highlighting the importance of understanding and support in navigating these challenges.
- Amelia shares stories about her son's artistic talents and how she read to him for a long time.
- Amelia shares her experiences with ADHD and running a bed and breakfast.
