Brain health · Sanctum

The internal contradiction

You crave novelty and you fall apart at change. You want to be spontaneous, and you need a plan to function at all. You cannot sit still, and you are rigid about your routine. It can feel as though two different people are running you, pulling in opposite directions, and being told you are a walking contradiction does not help.

When ADHD and autism sit together, this is exactly what you would expect. One side reaches for stimulation, change and the new. The other needs sameness, predictability and control. These are not indecision or a flaw in your character. They are two real wiring patterns in one brain, each of them genuine, and often firing at the same time.

This is why so many people in this position are assessed for one, come out not quite meeting it, and are sent away. Each service sees the half that does not fit its box. The contradiction that baffles everyone else is, in fact, the clearest sign that both are present and that the two are interacting.

We assess for the whole picture rather than one condition at a time, because the place where the two pull against each other is usually where the answer sits. None of this is a diagnosis. It is what we explore with you.

Written by Dr Asad RaffiConsultant Psychiatrist · Founder & Medical Director