2024-03-24 10:31:55
As a child, Frida constantly felt restless, not belonging, different from the others. She is persuaded that this is due to her southern roots. It wasn’t until she was in her thirties that she began to suspect that she had attention deficit disorder.
24.03.2024, 11:3124.03.2024, 19:07
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“Typical foreign child!”
Frida* often heard these derogatory words in her childhood. “It used to be said at school that fidgety children came from the south,” says Frida.
The educator and educational scientist grew up in Germany in the 1970s with her parents from the former Yugoslavia. ADHD was not yet an issue back then and the core symptoms of the neurological disease – inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity – were seen as culturally anchored.
Frida was not diagnosed with ADD until she was an adult. Image: watson
Even at a young age, Frida is prone to impulsive outbursts that she cannot control. Your feelings and moods fluctuate quickly and dramatically. If she doesn’t like something, she can become loud. Very loud. Says things she doesn’t actually mean.
“I experienced many breaks in my life.”
Nobody thinks about what’s wrong with little Frida and why she can be so short-tempered. The educators agree: her impulsiveness is linked to her southern temperament. “I believed in that myself for a long time,” says Frida. In order not to be seen as the “typical foreigner child”, she tries to pull herself together.
That wasn’t easy. Frida’s brain cannot control impulses properly. This is due to the messenger substances dopamine and norepinephrine, which are in an imbalance in her body. She perceives stimuli such as noises, scents and moods much more intensely, and this overload of stimuli can lead to overwhelm.
«It’s not crazy: I see how the space shifts. In my opinion, that’s how it works.”
But Frida didn’t know anything about it for a long time. She first heard about the neurological disease ADD while studying education. Frida was almost 30 then.
“When I looked more closely at the biochemical imbalance, I suspected that I was affected,” says Frida. “In seminars I discovered that my impulsivity is probably not culturally coded, but that it is probably a genetic disposition.”
Many breaks in Frida’s life
Before this assumption, Frida struggled through life. Didn’t take the linear path, took a lot of branches. And therefore had to take a lot of criticism.
«I was born in a generation in which trying things out was considered a break. Life used to be very linear. After school came training. After that, you usually worked in the same job until you retired – often even in the same company,” says Frida. «I experienced many breaks in life. I stopped my apprenticeship in electronics shortly before the final exams and always had difficulty maintaining friendships for a long time.»
During her pedagogical studies, a lot of things changed for the better in Frida’s life. «I finally found something that nourished me. I was incredibly motivated and committed.” Suddenly Frida can concentrate. This is due to so-called hyperfocus, which can greatly block out sensory overload. When people with ADHD have found something that interests them, this ability often emerges.
But the fear of the final exam, the fear of failure, returns. «When it came to the final exams, I really reached my limits. I couldn’t concentrate properly, I couldn’t concentrate,” says Frida. Nevertheless, she finds a way to overcome her anxiety and her problems concentrating.
“Do I need clarification?”
Although she suspected that she was suffering from ADD during her studies, she postponed clarification. “I asked myself for a long time whether an investigation was even worth it,” says Frida. She can do her job as a teacher well, but she still depends on cooperation. Background noise must be prevented and cell phones are prohibited.
«I’m not hyperactive externally, but internally I am. I can get very angry.”
Over time, Frida becomes increasingly thin-skinned and has difficulty controlling her impulses. “I can withstand my impulse pressure up to a certain point, but when it gets too much, the impulses fly in your face,” says Frida. Then she no longer has control over what she says – and also uses gutter language. No advantage in a teaching profession.
“I have a large hard drive, but at some point the processor fills up.”
Finally, after a few years, Frida qualified as a teacher. Diagnosis: ADD. As expected.
Difference between ADHD and ADD
The difference lies in hyperactivity. ADHD is characterized by: attention deficit disorder, impulsivity and hyperactivity. With ADD, however, hyperactivity does not occur, which is why ADD is more difficult to diagnose.
We meet Frida in a café in Basel. We’ve been talking for about half an hour. There is a confusion of voices all around us, the coffee machine is humming, dishes are clattering, a small child is banging his fist on the table. It’s getting too much for the 49-year-old. “I can hear what’s happening back there ten times more clearly than you can. It’s driving me crazy now,” says Frida. We change places.
When asked why she had herself examined, she said: “On the one hand, I needed a diagnosis for therapy. On the other hand, scientific evidence relies on numbers. If people don’t have themselves checked, prevalence cannot be determined.”
Exact figures are not collected in Switzerland. According to estimates, around 2 to 5 percent of the population are affected by AD(H)S. Most of those affected have a genetic predisposition. According to current scientific knowledge, the biochemical imbalance cannot be overcome.
Frida says that it is the perception that is susceptible to disruption in those affected by ADHD, not the person themselves. This results in challenges such as constant rumination, severe concentration problems and even brain fog, high levels of distractibility and difficulty prioritizing tasks.
Medications are not popular
Drugs containing the active ingredient methylphenidate (e.g. Ritalin) are primarily used to treat AD(H)S. Frida also tries to get her impulsivity under control through medication. She is open to the stimulants that are subject to the Narcotics Act: “The biochemical process works differently for people with ADHD. “Medicines are therefore to be understood as supplements that compensate for the chemical imbalance in the brain.” However, she cannot tolerate the medication. “My everyday life became even more strenuous. I could hardly follow conversations anymore.”
“I’m not the type of person who recharges my batteries with other people.”
In any case, she finds it difficult to concentrate on a conversation for any length of time. Frida has barely been able to read for 15 years. “If I want to read a longer report, I need at least five attempts. There are no books in there anymore,” says Frida. Talking, on the other hand, isn’t difficult for her at all. Frida has been talking nonstop for almost three hours. “I never stop telling stories,” jokes Frida. Unbridled torrents of speech are a typical sign of AD(H)D.
AD(H)S-Serie
More people suffer from ADHD than you think. In Switzerland it is estimated that 200,000 to 500,000 people are affected. The number of unreported cases is likely to be high. But the diagnosis is still dismissed as a fad and the value of the disease is trivialized. That’s why watson is focusing on the topic of AD(H)D as part of a series in the coming weeks. Experts and those affected have their say.
From the affected person to the advisor
In addition to her work as a teacher, she used to give dance classes. She was constantly out and about in the evenings. “At some point I had to admit to myself that I needed more rest.” She turned her life around and took more time for herself. In this way, she found a way to deal with her impulses better again. The open approach she maintained as a teacher also helped her. She provided advice to those affected.
She still does that today.
«I supported mentally ill young people who took a break from their teaching. There were also many people with ADHD who became ill because they didn’t feel like they were in good hands,” says Frida. Because she wanted to do something about it, she decided to take coaching and consulting training and developed a concept that can be applied to those affected as part of AD(H)S coaching. “I organize get-togethers for those affected by AD(H)S in this country so that they can develop an appreciative approach to their diagnosis and exchange ideas with one another,” says Frida.
«AD(H)D has no place in society. There is no space for neurodiversity.”
It is important to her to create a space in which those affected feel in good hands and are aware that there are many out there like us.
*We have changed the name for privacy reasons.
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