Sam Thompson opened up on how his undiagnosed ADHD led to frustrating moments as a child before his desire to become a father one day helped motivate the Made In Chelsea star into getting a diagnosis.
In an exclusive interview with Mirror, he said: "Even from school I always got your bad report cards but they weren't like, ‘He’s a w****r’ it was more like, ‘He lacks focus or he doesn't try hard enough’. I just don't think that's true and I didn’t quite understand, I knew something was different. I remember crying into a textbook once at school because the words wouldn't go in, I couldn't focus on the book.
"Things like I realised something was different with me and then as I got older, a lot of colleagues and people that I worked with would be like, ‘Oh, you definitely have ADHD’ but I didn’t know what they meant."
Reflecting on his motivation to seek a ADHD diagnosis Sam, who is in a relationship with Love Island star Zara McDermott, explained: "I hit like 30, maybe had a midlife crisis, I was just like, ‘I need to be more self aware of myself I want to be the best version of myself and I feel like there's loads of things that I'm struggling at that I shouldn't be struggling at‘.'"
The reality star admitted he struggled with paying bills, looking after himself and would become overwhelmed when trying to stick to deadlines.
"All of these things when you are an adult become a lot more profound," he added, before admitting his wish to become a father one day helped motivate him to seek out a diagnosis.
Sam revealed: "I'm not dad, but wanting to be a dad to me is quite a big deal. I want to be able to look after someone, I want someone to be able to look up to me, I want to be someone's safety net or to be secure and I want to be a provider, if I can't even look after myself or I'm struggling to keep time or I'm struggling to focus on things. How am I ever going to do that? That was a big thing for me."
In the documentary, viewers will see Sam's girlfriend Zara support the Made In Chelsea star as he goes on his journey to receive an ADHD diagnosis.
Reflecting on how his life has changed since the diagnosis, Sam admitted he and Zara "communicate a lot more" than they did before.
"We communicated before, but we communicate about my neurodiversity a lot more now," he shared. "If I'm having a moment, even if we're mid argument, I'll hear a voice in my head saying, 'I know what's going on here, I'm over dramatising something because I feel overwhelmed and frustrated and maybe I should take myself away.'"
Sam added that communication has helped with his relationship with Zara as well as with his friends and family.
Sam Thompson : Is This ADHD? will air on E4 and All4 on 8 th May at 9pm
