Ex-FM DJ Keith Walsh says getting diagnosed with ADHD as an adult has been a ‘relief’

Keith expressed his relief at finding out he had ADHD after realising he had a number of symptoms.

“Just being completely absent and physically there but mentally absent, dissociating, forgetting things,” he described to Newstalk’s The Hard Shoulder.

According to ADHD Ireland, ADHD — or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder — is a medical or neurobiological condition in which the brain’s neurotransmitter chemicals, noradrenalin and dopamine, do not work properly.

For some time his wife had suspected he may have had ADHD but Keith admitted that he couldn’t “quite put my finger on that was bugging me”.

“We would have a weekend away booked and I would also have myself booked to do some sort of gig. I’d have myself triple booked most of the time.

“I’d never really know exactly what was kind of coming up or what I was supposed to be doing or anything.”

He received the diagnosis two months ago just as he was having to deal with all the challenges that come with a new job.

“I was struggling with work in general because I changed from working in radio and then I was working in an office,” he said.

“It was kind of still a creative role but it was 9-5 and I was struggling with projections and planning and all this kind of stuff.

“So, that was really frustrating for me.”

Getting the diagnosis was “excellent” because it meant medication and at a check-up a few weeks later a doctor began to talk to him about the crossover between autism and ADHD.

“At one point, I just had to stop and say, ‘Are you saying that I have autism or what’s going on?’”

Keith describes his autism as “high functioning” and says the chat with the doctor was like sitting with a fortune teller.

Overall, the diagnoses have changed his life for the better.

“It was a relief,” he said.

“Because I spent so long trying to figure out what it was. I felt there was something about me or something that I couldn’t quite put my finger on that was bugging me.”