Love Island’s Alex George has revealed he has been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
In a lengthy post, shared with his Instagram followers, the Welsh doctor and TV personality said he feels uncomfortable with the name of the condition and the term “disorder”.
ADHD is a condition that is characterised by people’s behaviour. Those who have ADHD may seem restless, have trouble concentrating and may act on impulse, according to the NHS.
The GP said he was motivated to seek out a potential diagnosis after DJ and music producer Toddla T spoke about having the condition during an appearance on George’s Stompcast podcast.
“This isn’t an easy one to write. I’m sat on my bed and not 100 per cent sure where to start. I have suspected for most of my teenage and adult life that I’m not the same as a lot of the others around me,” George wrote on Instagram.
“I struggled when others did not, and thrived where others found challenge. I have tried to hide and also conform for most of my life. Why? My fear has always been that I don’t want to be labelled and judged. Why would I want to be known as having a ‘disorder’?”
George said the conversation with Toddla T gave him the strength to “stop burying my head in the sand” and search out answers about his own experience.
“Over the last few months, I have been undergoing assessment for, and have now been ‘diagnosed’ with ADHD,” George said.
He said he “hates the name” of the condition, “particularly the word disorder”.
“It’s been a weird few weeks coming to terms with this ‘diagnosis’. I’m not exactly sure why, I’m the same Alex and I shouldn’t feel different,” he said.
“I think some of the reflection and even sadness comes from a realisation that I’m 31, and only now beginning to understand why I am as I am.
“How many other young Alex’s are out there, who are asking themselves ‘What’s wrong with me? Why am I different?’, or even worse being punished for being them.”
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence estimates that ADHD affects around three to four per cent of adults across the UK.
