Dr. Kieran Kennedy

I think the most hope is around the fact that it's becoming...

more okay to talk about adhd and to talk about mental health in general you know i think for me that's one of the biggest things that came from the the pandemic you know is just even when it comes to depression and anxiety and we've had athletes and you know all manner of people coming out being honest now and open about struggling with their mental health or having a diagnosis having adhd

For me, that's the most hopeful kind of positive part to it because for a long, long time,

anything on the mental health front or the neurodivergent front has just kind of been this shadowy sort of, it's shameful, it's your fault, it's a bit of a personal failing, it's something to hide.

But I think now the discussion and awareness that's out there around ADHD is a positive thing because it's hopefully showing people that this isn't something to be ashamed of, it's not something to hide, it's not something that's a negative or a flaw.

So that's the most positive thing for me.

And I think in Australia and New Zealand, that's something I've seen just working in psychiatry in recent years, this shift in terms of how we're thinking about mental health and mental illness.

It's kind of becoming on par with physical health now, finally, for the first time.

And we've still got a long way to go.

But, you know, I think when we can be thinking about what's going on in here in an equal way to how we think about what's going on out here or with our heart or our gut, you know, it's just as important and valid.

So that's the big hopeful part.

37.

I mean, on the outside, quite like a stoic, classic Kiwi guy.

I guess my dad's a policeman, so he was like the local town policeman when I was growing up, which was...

Good thing and a bad thing in some ways.

Maybe kept me in line, which is probably a good thing.

I'm not going to get away with anything.

But my dad actually, and most of the men in my family, like my grandfathers and everyone,

probably kind of stoic on the outside but actually you know he's probably going to kill me for saying this but softy on the inside do you know what i mean so good at communicating with his kids talking about emotions and and that type of thing in a lot of ways so again i think i grew up with that sense of of that being okay um you know i think growing up in waiku i mean it was a great place to grow up but for a for a young guy that was probably a bit more

emotionally sensitive and was into schoolwork.