Dr. Asad Rafi

The female presentation of ADHD doesn't even resemble what it says in the NICE guidance or within the DSM-5 criteria.

So how is a clinician who is effectively using a checklist going to be able to diagnose any woman?

What we have with regards to assessment tools, with regards to the understanding, is all based on a male-centric presentation.

Dr. Asad Rafi is a leading psychiatrist,

Individuals with ADHD are constantly striving for validation from the outside world.

And I say, before you can get that validation from others, you've got to seek it within yourself.

And I think that's one of the toughest elements of this particular condition.

When someone says to me, how would you describe someone with ADHD?

I say they're emotional people.

It's a recurring conversation that I see in forums, I see it online, and men like you and I do attract that criticism.

What's the agenda?

What's behind this?

Is it a commercial agenda?

Are they doing it for the likes?

But I think we've got to be really clear about what that agenda is.

And certainly from, I can only speak for myself, certainly from my perspective,

It's sharing that knowledge, it's sharing that understanding with people who have been misled, who have not been understood, who have not been validated for decades.

And ultimately, no man should claim any form of authority on women's mental health or women's health in general.

And we should act as advocates in the best possible way.

not be virtue signaling.