The new hashtag #ADHDprobs is raising awareness about what it’s really like to live as an adult with ADHD

We’ve seen so many great mental health awareness hashtags pop in the last few weeks, from #ThisIsWhatAnxiety to #ShoutYourMedChange — and there’s a new one to add to the list. #ADHDprobs is giving people the chance to talk about life with ADHD (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder), because, just like mental illnesses like clinical depression and bipolar disorder, there’s a lot of stigma around ADHD.

Sarah Fader, a 37-year-old New Yorker who founded the mental health nonprofit Stigma Fighters, was responsible for both #ThisIsWhatAnxiety and #ShoutYourMedChange, which *blew up* on Twitter within hours. As someone who was diagnosed in her 20s with ADHD, she knows what the struggles are like living with ADHD as an adult, and she started #ADHDprobs in order to give others a safe platform with which to express themselves.

People have yelled at me because they think I am being rude. #ADHDProbs

— Sarah Fader (@TheSarahFader) April 9, 2017

HelloGiggles spoke with Fader, who says she wants to reduce the stigma surrounding this common mental illness. After all, 3 million people a year are diagnosed with ADHD.

"I wanted to call attention to the fact that a lot of women have ADHD," Fader tells HG. "People with ADHD are hyper-intelligent. Our brains work very quickly.

She wants to put a stop to this myth that the only people with ADHD are kids who are bouncing off the walls. People who live with ADHD aren’t just bored or unwilling to concentrate. It’s a neurological disorder that affects all aspects of life. Fader also wants people to know, “I’m not rude, I’m not insensitive. My brain is on speed.”

It didn’t take long for people to step up on Twitter and use the hashtag for themselves. The response was tremendous.

https://twitter.com/udfredirect/status/851124808821727232

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#adhd #adhdawareness #adhdlife #sleep #hyper #tired #lol #mylife #me #add #adhdproblems pic.twitter.com/tjmtODsIqo

— Sophie Rohr (@ADHDAwarnesGirl) March 14, 2017

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I had something to tweet, but now I forgot #adhdproblems

— carlynrhamey | #ADHDproject (@carrhamey) March 14, 2017

I managed to sit down and finish an entire homework project in one sitting, with no meds OR coffee. This is unprecedented. #ADHDProblems

— Makku (@makku92) March 6, 2017

Fader tells us that the response has been overwhelmingly positive. “It made me feel better about the things that I go through,” she says. Even though she’s doing her very best to take care of herself, Fader admits there’s “a lot of guilt and shame” about her ADHD, and she sometimes feels like she’s “a bad friend.”

But seeing this hashtag take off in the Twitter community has given her hope that she’s not alone, and  it was a good reminder “that this is needed in the community.”

"Everything that I do is not just for me, it’s to help other people," Fader says.

We certainly hope she doesn’t slow down anytime soon, because everyone deserves to feel heard and understood, no matter what mental illness they’re living with.