About adhd minds
Daria works in marketing and communications and is very passionate about parental mental health.
In 2019, she gave birth to her beautiful son - a special, life-changing moment. But not long after, she went through a phase where things just didn’t feel right and struggled with feelings and challenges she couldn’t fully explain.
When her son was 4 months old, she started volunteering with a perinatal mental health charity, where for years she supported parents navigating the overwhelming challenges of the antenatal and postpartum periods, whether dealing with mental health struggles or simply seeking support. She saw firsthand how powerful support could be for others.
A few years later, Daria was diagnosed with ADHD, a revelation that helped so many pieces fall into place. Suddenly, she had a clearer picture of why she had felt the way she did back then, and why she had experienced motherhood and her own mental health in the way she had.
ADHD in parents isn’t often talked about, but the diagnosis explained so much about her journey: the anxiety, the overwhelm, hypersensitivity, and the sense of “not quite fitting” into the expectations she had for herself as a parent.
Looking back, Daria realised that, even as a child, something always felt somewhat different. Despite being highly sociable and exuding energy and enthusiasm, there was always an underlying sense that something wasn't quite right. This experience highlights a common challenge associated with ADHD: the effort of masking symptoms to appear 'typical' can often obscure the underlying struggles. Undiagnosed ADHD leaves many children navigating childhood feeling misunderstood or "different" without knowing why.
Now, as a parent with ADHD, she feels she can connect, at least to a certain extent, with what a child with ADHD may experience. This connection drives her to advocate not only for herself but also for her child and all neurodivergent children, so they feel seen, supported, and understood.
As someone who has ADHD and cares deeply for others facing their own mental health journeys, Daria is passionate about breaking the stigma surrounding ADHD - not just in the context of diagnosis (or suspecting one) but also in how it impacts us as parents.
In 2019, she gave birth to her beautiful son - a special, life-changing moment. But not long after, she went through a phase where things just didn’t feel right and struggled with feelings and challenges she couldn’t fully explain.
When her son was 4 months old, she started volunteering with a perinatal mental health charity, where for years she supported parents navigating the overwhelming challenges of the antenatal and postpartum periods, whether dealing with mental health struggles or simply seeking support. She saw firsthand how powerful support could be for others.
A few years later, Daria was diagnosed with ADHD, a revelation that helped so many pieces fall into place. Suddenly, she had a clearer picture of why she had felt the way she did back then, and why she had experienced motherhood and her own mental health in the way she had.
ADHD in parents isn’t often talked about, but the diagnosis explained so much about her journey: the anxiety, the overwhelm, hypersensitivity, and the sense of “not quite fitting” into the expectations she had for herself as a parent.
Looking back, Daria realised that, even as a child, something always felt somewhat different. Despite being highly sociable and exuding energy and enthusiasm, there was always an underlying sense that something wasn't quite right. This experience highlights a common challenge associated with ADHD: the effort of masking symptoms to appear 'typical' can often obscure the underlying struggles. Undiagnosed ADHD leaves many children navigating childhood feeling misunderstood or "different" without knowing why.
Now, as a parent with ADHD, she feels she can connect, at least to a certain extent, with what a child with ADHD may experience. This connection drives her to advocate not only for herself but also for her child and all neurodivergent children, so they feel seen, supported, and understood.
As someone who has ADHD and cares deeply for others facing their own mental health journeys, Daria is passionate about breaking the stigma surrounding ADHD - not just in the context of diagnosis (or suspecting one) but also in how it impacts us as parents.