Black Women Can Be Diagnosed With ADHD, Too

Photo-Illustration: Photo-Illustration: The Cut; Photos: Getty Images Who gets to be diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, and who gets left out? You can probably guess the answer. A 2014 study by Paul L. Morgan, Ph.D.

Below, three Black women tell the Cut, in their words, what it’s like to live with ADHD , why it took so many years to consider the possibility and be diagnosed, and how they are reclaiming their power over the condition. I brought it to my therapist’s attention; I wanted an assessment to dig into this. My therapist said, “If you would have never asked, I never would have thought that you had ADHD, I would just think you have anxiety and depression.” But looking at my history as a child, it makes a lot of sense.

There’s a lot of stuff in my brain, a lot of activity. I genuinely want to do well, so when I can’t focus and I’m sitting in front of the computer to do a task and I can’t — I’m grabbing my phone and telling myself, “Okay, ten more minutes on the phone, and I’ll get back to it,” and I don’t — it’s followed by a cycle of guilt, effort, and failure, and it’s really, really exhausting.

It was a struggle to get the appointment because they were severely understaffed — everyone is tapping into mental-health services now, post-COVID — so I had to really fight to ask her for the paperwork. At one point it was August, and they told me I may not hear back until October, and I was devastated.

When I was in the eighth grade, I got my first C. I didn’t understand how to do work. I’d switched schools and we didn’t have hands-on learning anymore. We had to sit down, read, and write. In math class, we had a time limit on tests, and I could not for the life of me finish my tests on time. My parents would be so upset with me because they would think that I wasn’t studying hard enough or prioritizing school.

Nobody EVER said that they couldn't. Any HUMAN can be diagnosed with it. Stop this 'oppression' nonsense.

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