Three months ago, at 42, I was diagnosed(被诊断出（疾病）) with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Unlike many adults prior to(在……之前) receiving a diagnosis, I had not spent years wondering whether I had ADHD. In fact, I was oblivious(未察觉的，无意识的) until quite recently, when I strongly identified with(与……产生共鸣) several things a colleague said about their own experience of ADHD. The more I learned, the more I found myself thinking: “Wow, that’s me.”(我了解得越多，就越发现自己想：“哇，那就是我。”)
三个月前，42岁的我被诊断出患有注意力缺陷多动障碍（ADHD）。与许多在确诊前苦思多年的人不同，我此前从未怀疑过自己是否有ADHD。事实上，直到最近我才恍然大悟，当时一位同事讲述自己患ADHD的经历，其中几点让我深有共鸣。我了解得越多，就越发现自己在想：“哇，那就是我。”
My forgetfulness, distractibility(容易分心，注意力不集中), messiness, chronic(长期的，慢性的) need for organisation and memory strategies, constant lateness, tendency to lose things daily, persistent perfectionism(完美主义) and habit of going, tyres screeching(轮胎发出刺耳声（比喻急刹车）), right up to the last minute of every deadline suddenly made sense(变得合理，说得通). Things I had spent my life viewing as daily frustrations or personal failings had an explanation. I had ADHD, and had always had it. There was a reason for the constant chatter(喋喋不休，嘈杂声) and noise in my brain, with any gaps filled with, or interrupted by, a song. Honestly, literally anything can trigger a song(触发一首歌（在脑中响起）).
我的健忘、容易分心、邋遢、对条理和记忆策略的长期需求、经常迟到、每天都会丢东西的倾向、持续的完美主义，以及总是拖到截止日期最后一刻才动手的习惯（轮胎都磨得吱吱响），突然都有了合理的解释。我一生中视为日常烦恼或个人缺陷的事情，原来都有原因。我患有ADHD，而且一直都有。我脑中不断有杂音和喧闹，任何空隙都会被歌曲填满或打断，这背后是有原因的。说实话，真的任何事都能触发一首歌。
The diagnosis brought an unexpected, enormous sense of relief(解脱，宽慰). I could finally look at aspects of myself that I had previously been frustrated by(因……而感到沮丧) and understand them differently – with a new kindness toward myself. And then I heard about a documentary claiming that ADHD isn’t even real, as discussed in Gina Rippon’s article (There is nothing scientific about The Great ADHD Myth? ‘documentary’, 20 August). My first reaction was confusion(困惑，混乱). Then embarrassment. Then actual shame(羞耻，羞愧). Had I just been a fool? Was the explanation that had brought me so much relief actually all just fiction?(那个给我带来如此多慰藉的解释，难道真的全是虚构吗？)
诊断带来了意想不到的巨大解脱感。我终于能够审视自己过去为之沮丧的方方面面，并以一种新的善意去理解它们。然而，后来我听说了一部纪录片，声称ADHD甚至不是真实存在的，正如吉娜·里彭在文章中所讨论的那样（《大ADHD迷思？纪录片毫无科学依据》，8月20日）。我的第一反应是困惑，然后是尴尬，接着是真正的羞耻。我是不是一直是个傻瓜？那个给我带来如此多慰藉的解释，难道真的全是虚构吗？