Getting diagnosed with ADHD at 25 was truly not on my 2024 Bingo card, but in this Doctoral Diaries episode I’m sharing what that’s been like right at the start of my PhD at the University of Toronto. Because it’s ADHD Awareness Month (and also World Mental Health Day), I wanted to be super real about what pushed me to finally seek help, what the appointment/assessment process felt like, and the specific focus + overwhelm struggles that were showing up in my day-to-day grad school life. I talk through the signs and symptoms that made me go “okay… this isn’t just me being bad at productivity,” and how getting a name for what I’ve been experiencing has already started to shift the way I approach my PhD. It’s been a learning curve—figuring out what support looks like, how I want to structure my studying, and how to be kinder to myself when my brain just does not want to cooperate. If you’re in academia (or honestly anywhere) and you’ve been wondering if ADHD could be part of your story, I hope this video makes you feel a little less alone and a little more empowered to explore options.