Benefits of diagnosis?

Diagnosis makes the thing real, so after you stop thinking „maybe i dont have ADHD maybe im just an idiot“ :D but just a diagnosis doenst help you if you cant find psychiatrists who is familiar with ADHD on adults

I can’t speak to the practical benefits because I am not in the UK. However, I can say that mentally and emotionally having an actual diagnosis versus a suspected diagnosis was a huge game changer for me. It made me take my ADHD seriously, do a lot of research on it, and be proactive about developing ways to work WITH my brain rather than against it.

Diagnosed feels like making it officially a ‘thing’ that you have. That comes with upsides and downsides. Important is to realize its not so much a ‘disability’ just that modern live is difficult for people with ADHD. I think its something that has probably has been around for as long as humans live. And that within groups people with different capabilities were helpfull in the survival as group. The planners and plotters, but also the ones with ideas all over the place can be helpful. I wouldn’t be suprised if the one who imagined and build the first bow and arrow had ADHD. The one who thought: “why run for days if we have a device that can make this hunting thing a lot easier”. 😅

I paid for a private assessment but then my drs refused to take on my care after six months and said I had to get an NHS one...that was four years ago and I'm still waiting. It sucks but having the initial diagnosis helped me come to terms with it and accept it.

I’ve also been diagnosed as living in the UK. And have recently received an ADHD diagnosis, the biggest thing it’s given me is self understanding and acceptance, in my case of having 43 years of feeling inferior because everyday tasks others do with ease I’ve always really struggled with. Post diagnosis, almost overnight my long term battle with anxiety started to resolve. 3 months later I’m off anxiety meds :-)

I don't know about measures your employer and all of that have to put in place in the UK once you have your DX. But I know getting mine helped me understand and explain all those differences and extra difficulties I had been having all my life. Within a matter of weeks, my self-esteem was boosted and I was able to talk about it openly with my friends and family, which gave me a sens of normality I had never felt until then. It also helped me a lot with identifying my biggest challenges and finding ways to overcome or minimize them 🙂

I think I might be on the same boat as you.. Haven’t been diagnosed but relate very much to ADHD signs and symptoms the more I find out. I’ve applied some solutions to my challenges with ADHD in mind and they’ve been helping me so far, so at this point I’m trying to see what real benefit a diagnosis would have 😅

For me I was very lucky as I work within a university, so was able to access the diagnostic team there quite quickly and easily. Otherwise, I think you’d have to go through your GP and they’ll refer you to a psychiatrist for assessment. The benefits for me have mostly been in relation to work. I am allowed to go into a quiet room to work in if I have a meeting or just need to concentrate on my work, I can wear noise cancelling earplugs when earphones and headphones are otherwise banned in my workplace. It has a few perks as it’s classed as a disability. Under the equality act and disability act in the uk, your employers legally have to put measures in place for you (should you need them), else it is discrimination.