Different, Not Broken: The Diagnosis That Finally Made My Life Make Sense

Last month I was diagnosed with ADHD! (whaat?!)

Which means that, at the age of forty-something, quite a lot of my life suddenly makes a lot more sense. For years I assumed I was just a bit… intense.

Too focused on certain things. Completely unable to focus on others.

Capable of working for 14 hours straight if something excited me… but somehow incapable of replying to a very simple email.

Looking back now, the signs were probably always there. Take university for example....

For my final fashion collection we were asked to produce six looks. Naturally, I produced twelve! I poured everything into the creative side: the fabrics, the construction, the details, the storytelling. My dissertation? Completely ignored until the night before. Yes, I failed it.

But the collection itself received an A*. At the time I thought that failing my dissertation meant I lacked discipline (especially after being super academic at senior school)

Now I realise my brain had simply decided that making clothes was far more interesting than writing about them.

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The Founder Brain

Running a business with a brain like mine has often felt like both a superpower and a slightly chaotic operating system. The superpower is the ability to see connections quickly, spot product opportunities others miss, and become completely obsessed with solving a design or manufacturing challenge until a solution appears.

.....It also explains why I can happily talk about technical fabrics for far longer than most socially acceptable conversations allow.....

That curiosity and hyperfocus is a big part of how Fazane Fox Production Agency evolved......helping founders turn ideas into real products in the world.

But there is a flip side. When you care deeply about something, you can also push yourself far too hard.

I have always gone above and beyond for our clients, sometimes well beyond what is sensible. A few years ago that finally caught up with me and I had a breakdown. You all know about this as I’ve talked about it in previous journals....

At the time I thought it was simply the pressure of running a business and life. In hindsight, it was also a nervous system that had been running at full capacity for far too long.

The Moment It Clicked

Interestingly, I didn’t arrive at ADHD entirely on my own. I just thought ADHD was something that naughty kids had! My therapist was actually the first person to suggest it.

At the time I don’t think I fully took it in. I was still looking at everything through the lens of anxiety, burnout and trying to keep all the plates spinning without launching one across the room. Around the same time, we were working with Comfa, developing sensory clothing for neurodivergent children. Through that process I ended up having some really helpful conversations with the founder, who shared advice and insights around neurodiversity that gave me a lot to think about.

Between my therapist raising it and those conversations, something slowly started to click. Not in a dramatic lightbulb moment. More in a quiet, slightly inconvenient, “oh… right… that would explain quite a lot actually” kind of way.

Last month that suspicion was confirmed.

A Different Kind of Founder

I don’t see this diagnosis as a weakness. If anything, it explains many of the strengths that have shaped both my life and my business: the creativity, the problem solving, and the tendency to dive head-first into complex product challenges.

Many of the founders we work with are building products that solve real problems for real people, adaptive clothing, sensory garments, period products, and products designed to help people feel more comfortable, confident and understood.

Perhaps it’s not surprising that these kinds of projects resonate so deeply with me. Because I know what it feels like to experience the world a little differently.

To Anyone Who Has Ever Felt “Too Much”

For years I thought something about me needed fixing. Now I realise that many of the things I struggled with are also the things that allow me to build, create and support other founders.

Different doesn’t mean broken. Sometimes it simply means your brain sees the world in a way others don’t. And occasionally… that difference turns out to be exactly the thing that allows you to build something meaningful.

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A Small Realisation

At Fazane Fox Production Agency, we spend our days helping founders develop products that solve real problems.....often for people who have felt overlooked, misunderstood, or simply not designed for.

Perhaps that’s why those projects have always felt like the most meaningful ones to work on.

And perhaps now I understand why.

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Maybe the way my brain works was never the problem.
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Maybe it was always the reason I built this business in the first place.

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If you're a founder building products with purpose, you can learn more about mine and the team's work at Fazane Fox Production Agency HERE...

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