Hi, I’m Zoe!
I live in my hometown Perth, Western Australia running my online body doubling membership with the company of my 13-year-old cat, Bean.
My ADHD Actually platform was set up to share my journey and experiences about living with ADHD, hoping I could normalise some isolating experience and connect with others.
I'm so happy you're here! I hope the words I share on here can help you to feel less alone in your own ADHD journey.
My ADHD journey…
I had been diagnosed with anxiety in my early 20’s, but by the time I reached my late 20’s I felt like all my coping strategies had stopped working and I was struggling. I would have continued struggling, had it not been for a catchup I had with a friend.
Over coffee, we talked about our mental health and she shared her struggles with ADHD. Something just clicked. That evening, an online search lead me to a forum post titled “You know you have ADHD when…’.
I read comment after comment my heart racing. Every comment echoed very real and oddly specific struggles I had felt my whole life. Struggles I’d not shared with others.
Two months later, I got an official diagnosis of combined type ADHD, joining the ADHD late diagnosis club at the age of 31.
Creating ADHD Actually
2 years post diagnosis I was starting to feel isolated. I created ADHD Actually to not only share my ADHD journey, but to connect with others going through similar experiences. I learnt that so many people were in need of spaces to connect, share, and find support.
The encouragement I received online, led to people requesting peer support calls. Those calls helped me to see that I could be a support to others and gave me the confidence to set up my body doubling membership.
Everyday I get to spend time with ADHDers, seeing their experiences validated and their wins (no matter how small) celebrated.
My diagnosis was, and continues to be, life changing in so many ways.
Post diagnosis life has been a journey of both joy and struggles. I’ve navigated medication, self employment, a marriage, separation and divorce, my sexuality, and social media alongside day to day challenges of understanding my ADHD.
It has been, and continues to be, a roller coaster ride! But I am so thankful that I have support by my side and the opportunity to help others find support for themselves too. What started as a simple Instagram account has turned into so much more than that. and changed my life in ways I never thought possible.