Flic Everett is a well-known features journalist whose work appears in daily newspapers and magazines. For the past five years, writing as F.L. Everett, she has also been a novelist, most recently writing Murder at Mistletoe Manor and the upcoming Death on Holly Island.

Having grown up in Manchester, she has a grown-up son, and is married for the second time. She now lives with her husband, two dogs and a cat in rural Argyll in Scotland.

But, for all her apparent success she has struggled for all her life with debilitating anxiety. After much thought and discussion with friends, family and therapists, she decided to be tested for ADHD. Now 55, she believes her positive diagnosis for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder has changed her life almost overnight.

On Facebook I had noticed that Flic often mentioned what a difference this had made in her life. Recently she wrote, “If you have anxiety, don't dismiss the possibility that it could be ADHD. I have lived with anxiety my entire life. It has been hugely debilitating and in many ways, life ruining. Since I was diagnosed with ADHD and started medication, it has basically gone. It's hard to believe, but it's true. I know how awful it is, and of course, not all anxiety is related to neurodivergence, but if you've tried everything and nothing works, that might be a route worth exploring. It's certainly been life-changing for me.”

She had been contacted over social media by many mid-life women with similar experiences, and feels there is plenty of room for more information and more encouragement of individuals finding out if ADHD is what is affecting them.

She was happy to record this interview with Welldoing in which we talk about her history of anxiety, the disorganisation and feeling of not understanding the rules to everything from school uniforms to what is expected in the work place. She talks about the effect of ADHD medication, which took away her anxiety virtually overnight.

Finally she encourages others in her position to seriously consider testing for ADHD. “If you know, then you can get help, you can explain to people why you need help with things. I’ve been terrible with maths and money all my life, and it made me feel so blamed and stupid. Now at least I understand why I’ve struggled so much in that area.

“It helps you to recognise who you are, and allows you to see who you might be without all the problems of ADHD. If you find a good therapist, if you take medication, you will have that opportunity. Whereas if you don’t know, you’ll never quite know what it would be like not to have to deal with all the things it brings which, in my opinion, are largely negative.”