A woman says she racked up over £20,000 in debt buying holidays, concert tickets, clothes and CDs due to undiagnosed ADHD. Suzi Payton, 47, "spiralled into debt" using her overdraft and maxing out credit cards - before taking out bank loans to pay them off.
When she was made redundant from her role as a PE teacher in November 2011, Suzi took her £7,000 severance package and splashed out on a three-month trip to South East Asia. She says it has taken her more than 10 years to clear her debt - but with the help of a charity and a formal ADHD diagnosis in November 2012, she managed to pay it off in full.
ADHD is a behavioural condition which affects a person's ability to concentrate. It can be often misdiagnosed in women as mental health conditions like anxiety - and it can cause impulsive behaviour and disorganisation.
Suzi says her ADHD makes her spend large amounts of money impulsively - and she struggles to focus her mind on one thing at a time. Suzi, a comedian and life coach, from Brighton, East Sussex, said: “I was ahead of the curve in knowing I had ADHD - but alongside my investigations and trying to make sense of it all was a chaotic me.
“I bought things impulsively, and for instant gratification - I had a real ‘I’ll deal with it later’ attitude, which can be common in people with ADHD. Credit was so easy to get, so I had lots of credit cards, and then I’d take out loans to pay them off. It all started to get on top of me.
"My diagnosis enabled me to seek help from a debt charity, which put me back on track. I'm not on meds anymore - but when I was first diagnosed, they helped to slow my brain down and recognise I wasn't looking after myself financially.
"Nowadays, I only have one credit card and I don't use it. I have a monthly and yearly budget I stick to - factoring in smaller things I'd usually buy on a whim - like haircuts. I feel so much relief."
The former teacher felt ashamed of her spending habits - and suffered from low self-esteem. She added: “I didn’t talk to anyone about it because I was ashamed and embarrassed - how can someone who seemingly has it all together, and appears so confident, be in so much trouble?”
Suzi had suspected she’d been living with ADHD her whole life - although she didn’t realise her struggles were part of a neurological condition. “I grew up with undiagnosed ADHD and I didn’t know anything was going on until 15 years ago,” she said.
“I was ahead of the curve knowing I was living with it, even when I was working as a teacher. There were things I was really good at - I was good at sports, so I became a PE teacher. I was also really good at words.
“But I struggled practically with forward-planning - my brain just couldn’t make sense of it at all. I could plan what I wanted to do for tomorrow’s lesson, but nothing after that. Elements of teaching were really hard.
"I’d try to pay attention in meetings and my mind would just go elsewhere - there was no way my brain could listen, I’d just end up doodling and drifting.” In May 2011, Suzi heard her employers would be making cutbacks to staff - and in November that year, she was made redundant and given a £7,000 severance package.
By this point, she was already spending at least £200-a-week on groceries, CDs, clothes and gigs. She had a mortgage and several loans to pay off at the time - but she spent the £7k on a three-month trip to the Philippines, Indonesia, and Thailand instead.
She said: “I decided to go travelling on my own - a decision which wasn’t thought through at all. I just thought I’d get someone to come and rent my house for three months while I was out there to make up for it - it was another ‘I’ll deal with it later’ situation.
“I had that instant gratification of enjoying myself in Thailand, and all the while, debt was piling and piling up. Before I knew it, the £7k was gone - and I was back to paying for everything on credit.
“Eventually, I was £20k in debt.” Once Suzi got back from travelling, she decided to get a diagnosis.
After six months of assessments, she was told in November 2012 she had ADHD. She was signposted to debt charity StepChange, who put her on a doable repayment plan and helped her set monthly and yearly budgets to help control her spending.
As well as help from the charity, Suzi was placed on medication to help “slow her brain down” - though she isn’t on it anymore. She says it made her realise she wasn’t looking after herself financially, emotionally or physically.
It took Suzi 11 years to finally repay £20k worth of debt on her credit cards and overdraft - and she called the experience an “education.” She said: “As soon as I found out I was no longer in debt, it was a massive weight off my shoulders.
“Not only was it a huge achievement, but it was also a lesson. I’ll never get into that much debt again - I was really proud. I’m learning to be really careful with money without fear.
“Above all, I was relieved.” Suzi's website is suzipayton.com
