AN inspiring woman who was given an unexpected ADHD diagnosis is now educating and supporting others who also suffer from the condition.
Michelle Shavdia, 39, of Colchester, is qualified in coaching psychology and was diagnosed with the condition at the age of 37.
She is now helping to support the community through her business Find Your Spark.
The business provides supportive one-to-one coaching around ADHD, group awareness sessions, and therapy, to children and adults around Colchester and the surrounding areas.
She started the business in 2011 in London prior to her diagnosis and moved to Colchester in 2015 after appearing on the house-hunting TV show, Escape to the Country in 2014.
However, after speaking to a professional a few years ago about a completely different personal matter, Michelle was encouraged to get tested for ADHD.
Once she was diagnosed in 2021, it finally gave her clarity on why she has felt so different her whole life.
She said: “For me, it was a relief, I had spent 37 years not knowing what was going on with me and not knowing why I was different from my peers.
“I struggled emotionally and never knew why, everything made sense, and everything fell into place after the diagnosis.
“I felt I was in the dark for years, I didn’t know what was going on with me.”
When it comes to her own experiences with ADHD, Michelle said she has been “incredibly disorganised”, been unable to keep track of time, she could not plan, prioritise or do tasks in order.
Michelle would also often have her feelings extremely heightened, so if she was happy, she would feel incredibly happy, if she was sad, she would feel very low.
It was also explained that the ADHD symptoms related to being disorganised are linked to the brain’s executive function, which focuses on cognitive skills that help people plan, prioritise, and execute tasks.
Michelle is using her psychology background and personal experience to help people learn about ADHD.
She also wants to use her masters degree in coaching psychology to remove the stigma around the condition whilst championing the positives of having ADHD.
She said: “It’s really important that people are aware that people with ADHD are five times more likely to take their lives as we tend to be more impulsive and our emotions are heightened, so they are more likely to act on suicidal thoughts.
“There is a lot of stigma with ADHD, I had this certain idea about what ADHD is but since being diagnosed, I then realised my idea wasn’t correct. I want to make sure there is less misinformation out there.
“People with ADHD are neurodivergent. I want to help them function better, and lead optimal lives.
“The strengths of ADHD are that people are highly creative, innovative, idea generators, entrepreneurial, inventive and empathic people and there is no link between having ADHD and intelligence.
“Some of the greatest minds have ADHD, so there really is no shame in having it.”
The next the ADHD Awareness group is being held on November 28 at The Chill Out Centre in Stanway.
The ADHD self-care support group runs on the first Wednesday of every month starting in February 2024 for six months.
To find out more about Find Your Spark and to book in a session with them, click findyourspark.co.uk/.
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