Though intellectually gifted, IngerShaye Colzie had trouble throughout her K-12 journey consistently displaying her brilliance on exams and even struggling to turn in assignments on time
Those same issues followed her to Virginia State University, an HBCU, where she pursued her bachelor’s degree. There, she felt out of place socially, as well, finding it challenging to make friends.
After college graduation and multiple professional challenges on various jobs, and life simply life-ing, she was finally diagnosed with ADHD – at 52 years of age.
Colzie attended another CHADD conference that left her disappointed with the turnout of Black members.
Where are the Black people?
“Where are the black people? Do they not know about it? Do they not feel welcome? Do they not understand?, she recalled wondering. “It was very confusing to me. I must say this is a mental health issue and there’s a mental health crisis.”
The next morning, she woke up and started an organization: The ADHD Black Professionals Alliance right before the COVID-19 pandemic.
During this CHADD conference, Colzie met Temetric Reeves, an occupational therapist, licensed social worker, and ADHD Coach, who now owns and operates Accent ADHD Support Services, LLC. Reeves observed that most of the attendees were white, and discussed how Black women can make their voices heard. “I wasn’t finding many women in the research, I almost wanted to cry. Weren’t we important enough to be the subject of someone’s research? No one asked a question about ADHD in black women,” she recalled.
When she was in her second graduate school, pursuing a master’s in occupational therapy, she felt like she could not keep up with the course load. She had tutors, and stayed up late but none of the strategies worked. She had to work harder than her classmates to understand the “most simplest things.”
Later, she was rushed to reach her workplace, frazzled, and struggled with writing reports.
It took her three different clinicians to get a diagnosis when she lost her scholarship and was told she had depression. When she found out she had ADHD at 49 years old, while going through menopausal symptoms of brain fog, she was relieved to have an explanation but also felt sad to have been “overlooked for so long from kindergarten.” Bullied for wearing glasses for an eye injury, she took them off and sat at the back of the class where she could not see the blackboard, and missed most lessons.
“I knew something was different about me. There are some systemic barriers we have to contend with in terms of the underdiagnosis of ADHD, and recognizing what it looks like in Black women, and across cultures. Recognizing and accepting what that is, we have to start availing ourselves to the research,” Reeves said.
Today, Reeves is pursuing a PhD in self-advocacy skills in African-American women with ADHD from the University of Memphis, Tennessee.
How to cope with ADHD as a Black woman
“Try not to do things in that neurotypical box and lean into your strengths. A lot of times people with ADHD have a delayed circadian rhythm,” says Colzie.
Some can create their own schedules and draw boundaries in their personal and professional lives. “In the morning I don’t really get anything done, my brain will kick in around like three. It’s taking charge of your own life and making it work for you,” she added.
She also advises self-care, like a massage or getting your nails done, because the overwhelming feeling can take up “energy physically, mentally, spiritually, emotionally.”
“Being able to hold some space for yourself where you can energize yourself and start to realize you don’t have to do everything right, because with ADHD, we also will feel a bit adequate and wanna do more or we’ll forget the things that we’ve done. We always feel like we’re behind and feel like we need to do more, and look cute at the same time,” she added. “It’s just a lot of energy, and so we burn out. That’s really the biggest issue.”
She says women with ADHD must also “let go.” If there are several things on your plate, let go of a couple. She talks about dishes, clutter and laundry more with her Black clients than white clients, because “Black women feel like we need to do it all.”
She also advises tapping into one’s community, where one can be who they are, for the healing to begin. To practice this, Colzie hosts a coaching group called The Sisterhood, where women delve into their stories, hold conversations through focus and accountability, and formulate solutions and not feel “crazy, lazy or stupid.”
Reeves agrees. Finding people who are accepting, without asking questions or making you feel differently are stepping stones to being comfortable in one’s own skin.
“Black women are born into a culture and conditioning that we’re strong. We bear the brunt of everything that goes on in our families and carry what we’ve seen in our mothers and grandmothers, based on what we’ve seen in our communities,” Reeves said. “The historical complication that race and culture and ethnicity has created in this country, along with a disability label that says you’re less than, it’s not an easy diagnosis to carry, to own, to accept, because we have to try to live in a way that dispels all the stereotypes.”
It’s also essential to talk about one’s needs and create a strategy list to streamline negative thoughts. Medication management also must accompany eating a healthy diet and resting on time, especially eating what “the brain likes,” suggests Reeves. For cognitive productivity techniques, she suggests the Pomodoro Technique and the Dr. Peg Dawson model.
Another key factor is one’s environment, whether one is hot or cold, comfortable in their seating, etc. Reeves says taking care of one’s environment and rewarding oneself after accomplishing a task can help boost productivity.
The lack of Black mental health professionals
“There are not enough black mental health providers in general. It costs a lot to get these degrees and if you decide to be a social worker, they don’t want to pay you anything,” Colzie said. “There is still a stigma with ADHD and mental health, and all of those things equal up to not having enough providers.”
Reeves believes overcoming implicit bias and racial stereotypes are hurdles for overcoming the underdiagnosis of ADHD among Black women. “We have to, on a personal level, get past or accept that it is there.”
