Busy Philipps Admits She ‘Thought There Was Something Wrong with Me’ Before ADHD Diagnosis

NEED TO KNOW

• Busy Philipps was diagnosed with ADHD at age 39 after recognizing symptoms while her child was being evaluated

• She credits her diagnosis with helping her understand lifelong struggles and uses medication and coping mechanisms for treatment

• Philipps says ADHD’s hyperfocus trait has benefited her acting career, including her work on her upcoming show Cupertino

Busy Philipps is sharing how eye-opening her ADHD diagnosis was.

On Thursday, June 18, the actress, 46, appeared on CBS Mornings and talked about being diagnosed later in life. She said it wasn’t until her child Birdie was getting evaluated for potential learning differences that she realized she identified with many of the symptoms on the doctor’s checklist. She sought an appointment for herself and was diagnosed with ADHD at age 39.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders and can result in difficulty paying attention and controlling impulsive behaviors, or being overly active, according to the CDC.

“It’s been a few years and sort of a whole world opened up in my life in terms of being able to see how it had affected my life up until my late 30s, early 40s when I was diagnosed,” she explained.

“I was able to get treatment and figure out the best methods for myself,” she said. “So, I use a medication called Qelbree that’s a non-stimulant, one-a-day medication. But also, there are different coping mechanisms.”

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Philipps added that it’s been extremely helpful to just have the language behind what she was experiencing throughout her life.

“I mean, we know because of medical bias that women are sort of less likely to be diagnosed with ADHD because it presents differently,” she said. “I was sort of internalizing so much of my disorganization and not being able to keep things straight.”

“And for many years in my life, I thought that there was just something wrong with me,” she continued. “I would look at other people around me seemingly have a much easier time, and that goes way back to high school and college.”

During the show, Philipps also shared how her ADHD has influenced her acting career, admitting that it’s been really beneficial.

“One thing that is common in ADHD is hyperfocus. And for me, I’ve always been able to sort of hyperfocus on my job, on acting, because it’s the thing I love the most in the world,” she said, pointing to her upcoming new show, Cupertino.

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