Many say they are relieved to finally have an explanation after decades of struggle.. Over her life, Tanya Murphy had become accustomed to hiding her depression. In the Christian social circles in Georgia where she raised her three children, this was the rule — not the exception, she said.. “God forbid you have a mental health issue,” said Ms. Murphy, 56, who now lives in Arlington, Va. “And if you do? Girl, all you have to do is fast and pray.”. But by the time she reached her late 40s, she knew she couldn’t mask her problems any longer.. Ms. Murphy had developed anxiety and started having thoughts of ending her life. She knew she was smart but she didn’t feel that way. Her difficulty focusing — as a child, her teachers called her a daydreamer — had translated into spending thousands of dollars on entrepreneurial projects that she later lost interest in and abandoned.. After researching her symptoms online, Ms. Murphy realized that she might have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or A.D.H.D., a neurodevelopmental disorder that typically involves inattention, disorganization, hyperactivity and impulsivity. She was finally diagnosed, at age 53, by a psychiatric nurse practitioner. After she began taking the non-stimulant A.D.H.D. medication Strattera, attending regular therapy sessions and meditating, her ability to focus improved and the anxiety and the depression faded away.. “I cried with joy,” she said. “I knew that I wasn’t crazy. I knew that I wasn’t broken. I wasn’t a failure. I wasn’t lazy like I had been told for most of my life. I wasn’t stupid.”. Over the last 20 years, clinicians have increasingly recognized that A.D.H.D. symptoms, which begin in childhood, can linger into adulthood, and that some groups — like women and people of color — are more likely to be underdiagnosed early in life. Now, with the rise of telemedicine, increased awareness of A.D.H.D. and changing attitudes about mental health treatment, new A.D.H.D. diagnoses are surging among older Americans.. We are having trouble retrieving the article content.. Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.. Thank you for your patience while we verify access.. Already a subscriber? Log in.. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
