Many people arrive with a very similar sentence: "I always thought I was lazy, messy or inconsistent." They have spent years working twice as hard to get to the same place as everyone else. And one day, reading something or listening to someone, they recognise themselves.
ADHD is not just a childhood thing. A meta-analysis published in 2021 in the Journal of Global Health estimated that around 2.6% of adults worldwide have ADHD that began in childhood. Counting every adult with clear symptoms, the figure rises to 6.8%. That is hundreds of millions of people.
In women it often comes late. A study of 900 adults, presented in 2025 at the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology congress (ECNP), found that women were diagnosed about five years later than men, even though their symptoms had started at the same age. By the time the diagnosis came, they had more anxiety, more depression and more wear and tear.
What it can look like day to day
- You start lots of things and struggle to finish them.
- You lose keys, appointments or the thread of a conversation.
- Your mind wanders when you're bored, yet you can spend hours absorbed in something you love.
- You live with the feeling of always running late.
- Inside, a lot of self-criticism.
None of this, on its own, is a diagnosis. That takes a careful assessment that also looks back at your history since childhood.
Understanding yourself changes things
Putting a name to it doesn't fix everything, but it often brings relief: what looked like a personal failing has an explanation. And there is help that works. A 2017 meta-analysis of 32 studies found that cognitive behavioural therapy clearly reduces ADHD symptoms in adults, including when compared with control groups.
In our sessions we work on concrete strategies for your daily life, and also on the emotional side: the years of feeling "too much" or "not enough".
If you recognise yourself in these lines, we can talk it through calmly in a free first session.
