How do I know if I am neurodivergent?
What is an NDP and how do I know if I am one?
I am all about making life easier so on my website and Instagram I refer to neurodivergent people as NDPs for short.
My Story
As a neurodivergent person having that diagnosis only made the difference to my life when I actually understood it and what it meant for me. I was diagnosed dyslexic when I was at uni. The assessors just gave me a few examples of how it affected my learning abilities and that was that. I got extra time in exams and a computer and a recording device, ha showing my age now! In terms of how my neurodiversity affected the rest of my life I was still completely in the dark.
It was only when a few years ago during a Deepak Chopra 21 Day Challenge, I asked myself what was holding me back and I received an answer that led down a rabbit hole (of course!) and I was awake until 2am researching all things "executive dysfunction".
So much of my life, mainly outside of education, suddenly made sense. My struggles with time and pressure and following instructions in the right order and cooking and well daily life all tied back to one thing - my neurodivergence.
I spent the next few weeks sobbing uncontrollably at the realisation of how my life could've been and how mean I had been to myself for not being good enough and able to "adult" like everybody else. Oh the amount of shame that came up over that time was huge. Shame and then anger. Anger that I hadn't known, that nobody else had known and that I had struggled on without help for so long.
This same thing happened all over again in more recent years when I realised that I also have ADHD. So much shame, anger, frustration and so many aha moments as new layers were revealed and so much of my life explained.
How did I realise I had ADHD?
Because I had a breakdown and once I had got myself to a stage where I wanted to try and help myself I did what I always do and I bought a book! Well I bought a book for each area of my life I needed help in, which to be honest at that point was all of them! One of those books was called The Queen of Distraction by Terry Matlen. Reading that book made me see the truth.
I have a really lovely friend who has ADHD and from quite early on in our relationship as new mums, she would say "I really think you have ADHD". At that time I was, like a lot of people, under the illusion that was just a thing for boys who couldn't sit still. So I didn't really take it seriously. But she was right! ADHD and dyslexia are very common as partners in crime.
The symptoms are also more pronounced under times of stress and low oestrogen, such as when breast feeding or during perimenopause. This is why a lot of women get diagnosed later in life.
I went online and did a test and scored quite high for ADHD. So I am now on the incredibly long waiting list but once you know, you know.
How do I know if I am neurodivergent?
You can do what I did and do an online test. This will give you a good idea.
Next port of call is your GP to get a referral for a formal assessment. You will need to take a list of how it is affecting your every day life and be prepared. There are lot's of websites out there for each different flavour of spicyness (another term for neurodivergent) so be sure to do your research before you see your GP.
If you would like support and understanding through your acceptance journey you are in the right place. That is exactly what I am here for.
To help you KNOW, ACCEPT & NURTURE yourself so that you can connect to your magic and change y(our) world. I am an accredited, certified EFT Practitioner and I help NDPs as well as HSPs to not only come to terms with their differences but to release all the years of trauma, shame, anger and struggle associated with living undiagnosed. We do it in a very gentle way using tapping, journaling and botanical essences.
If you would like to know if I could help you just drop me an email or DM me on Instagram. You don't have to do this on your own!
