The president of the Spanish Society of Psychiatry and Mental Health (SEPSM), Marina Díaz Marsá, has warned that "many people" with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) "reach adulthood without a diagnosis, after years attributing their difficulties to a supposed lack of will, effort, or ability."
"No one should need half a life to understand what is happening to them," she emphasized, highlighting the need to inform and raise awareness about how ADHD manifests in adulthood, with the aim of facilitating earlier detection that allows the person to understand what is happening and access the appropriate support.
These statements were made during the presentation of the campaign "The Missing Piece," driven by the pharmaceutical company Takeda on the eve of National ADHD Day. The initiative aims to give visibility to the ways in which this disorder presents itself in adult life, reminding that it has traditionally been linked almost exclusively to childhood and adolescence. It also seeks to highlight the key role of diagnosis in explaining certain difficulties inherent to ADHD that can affect daily life.
The campaign includes two 'spots' directed by filmmaker Nacho Vigalondo, in which everyday scenes are shown where certain problems can be confused with voluntary attitudes or character traits, when in reality they could be related to a disorder that requires specialized assessment.
The creative idea is articulated around the metaphor that, for many adult people, receiving a diagnosis means finding that missing piece to make sense of situations that repeat throughout their lives and that until then they had not been able to explain.
AVOIDING PREJUDICE AND BLAME
With this proposal, Takeda aims to promote a more empathetic view of ADHD, distancing it from prejudice and blame, while also sending a constructive message about the relevance of consulting mental health professionals.
Vigalondo, who was diagnosed with ADHD in adulthood, has insisted on the importance of understanding that the disorder goes beyond the sporadic difficulties that anyone can experience. "I would like to contribute, even if minimally, to changing that tendency to respond 'it happens to me too' when a person with ADHD explains their situation," he noted.
In the development of the campaign, both the experience of health specialists and the contribution of patient associations have been taken into account. The president of the Spanish Federation of Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder Associations (FEAADAH), Miriam Galindo, has warned that "reaching adulthood without a diagnosis of ADHD can mean years of emotional wear, difficulties, and a very damaged self-esteem."
Although she has clarified that "a diagnosis does not solve everything," she has emphasized that it does allow for modifying the way of accompanying a person with ADHD and preventing them from experiencing "unnecessary suffering."