Gemma Styles has revealed that she has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
The writer and podcaster shared the news with her 8.6m followers on Instagram on Monday, explaining that she felt “more nervous” talking to her fans about the diagnosis than any other mental health-related subject.
“A personal thing to share,” the 31-year-old began the caption, which accompanied two photographs of her wearing a loose white shirt, denim shorts and a black bodysuit.
“I have ADHD! Oddly feel more nervous to talk about it with you than I have any other mental health related things, but having referenced it in podcasts recently as I become more comfortable, here we go…”
Styles continued: “If your first thought was who cares, you do you and feel free to scroll on in silence.
“Been reminded recently that outside of my mental health friendly bubble here online there are a lot of folks very… not that.”
The “Good Influence” host, whose brother is the singer Harry Styles, went on to explain why she has been worried about sharing the news with her fans.
“Aside from taking the time to process it privately I have also been hesitant about the classic ‘bandwagon’ reaction that can follow when people publicly discover new parts of themselves,” she wrote.
“All that being said, I have found it incredibly helpful to hear experiences from other people and have so so appreciated the support (and voicenotes) I’ve found from other women on here who’ve been through a similar diagnosis experience (you know who you are) so I hope maybe this will feel like support to some of you out there too.”
Styles went on to say how it took some time for her to achieve a diagnosis.
“Someone else speaking out was how I first even thought about seeking a diagnosis (long before I did) because a friend sent me a link to say… this is YOU in a nutshell.
“So while I’m not getting into a long chat about signs of ADD today, I also feel like acknowledging it is paying that exposure forward just a touch.”
The writer concluded by saying that she has been coming to terms with being neurodivergent.
“Not least because it’s a lifelong thing about how my brain works, in a different way than say, depression, which has affected a huge portion of my life but isn’t confirmed to last forever (even though it feels like it sometimes),” she wrote.
“So the permanence is weird. But on the plus side I am finding it massively helpful in understanding some of my own thoughts and behaviours that have hugely impacted my self esteem for as long as I can remember and it’s taken away a bit of the frustration I’ve always felt in not understanding it.”
Finally, Styles acknowleged that it’s a “privilege” to have reached a diagnosis.
“But basically want to say that if you’ve been wondering about something going on with your brain and put off talking about it, please do so if you can,” she added.
The NHS describes ADHD as “a condition that affects people’s behaviour”. It adds: “people with ADHD can seem restless, may have trouble concentrating and may act on impulse”.
For further information about ADHD, click here.
