Interview: TD Gary Gannon opens up about mental health and his recent ADHD diagnosis

Gary Gannon

SOCIAL DEMOCRATS TD Gary Gannon has shared that he has recently been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and opened up about his struggles with his mental health.

Speaking to The Journal, Gannon revealed that he was diagnosed with ADHD before Christmas this year at the age of 36 and explained what led him to seek a diagnosis as an adult.

“I’ve always been hyper-focused on a goal, but then I would fall into fits of a depression or poor mental health once that’s achieved, and I used to think is that just a reflection of me?

“I was in counselling for depression and things like that but that wasn’t really what it was, there was always kind of something else,” he explained, adding that imposter syndrome was something he also struggled with as a new TD.

On dealing with depression, Gannon said: “It’s not something that I’m scared of talking about. It’s something that for me, you can only really identify after the fact in a lot of ways.

“It’s certainly something that I have experienced throughout my life. It’s something that I’ve worked hard to try to overcome and I’ve been lucky.”

On eventually seeking a diagnosis for ADHD, Gannon said that, on some level, he had known for a long time he had it.

“But I decided to go and get a proper medical diagnosis and start medication around it too and try to deal with it.

“What I would call imposter syndrome, medically it’s called rejection sensitivity dysphoria. It’s a huge part of ADHD and just being able to understand that, I found that really empowering,” Gannon said.

The HSE describes ADHD as a common neuro-developmental disorder with three core symptoms – inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity.

Gannon explained that he is happy to speak about his diagnosis and his mental health more generally because he believes it is important for people to do so, particularly politicians.

“The job that we do places a huge amount of pressure on you. So being able to talk about these things, for me I have no shame of them. It’s part of my formation.

“There have been times where you struggle a lot, not only in this job but in the pursuit of the job,” he said.

Gannon first got into politics at the age of 25 when he was elected to Dublin City Council as an Independent in 2014. The following year he joined the Social Democrats and in 2020 was elected to the Dáil, having previously run unsuccessfully for the European Parliament in 2019.

According to Gannon, by the time he became a TD in 2020, he was near the point of burnout.

“I had this drive to prove that I could be a TD and then when I got it I was exhausted,” he said.

And then Covid happened and we were all exhausted.

“I found the whole thing very difficult, even mental health-wise I found the whole thing surreal.”

The Dublin Central TD explained that he is in a better place now with his mental health and that getting a diagnosis for his ADHD has helped him hugely.

Inequality

Gannon said it has given him a greater awareness of himself along with more confidence in how he engages with the world.

“Adult ADHD has come a lot more into the mainstream now.

“We have poor diagnosis of ADHD in schools right now, 20 years ago it was a lot worse,” Gannon said.

The Social Democrats TD made the point that he was very lucky to navigate Ireland’s mental health system as an adult because of his TD salary which allowed him to pay for private health services.

“I’m frustrated that not everyone can do that,” he said.

Gannon said a cohort of children and adults in Ireland have been left behind and added that children with undiagnosed ADHD are being failed by the system.

“We’re letting people down every year. We talking about people who fall through the cracks – they don’t fall through the cracks they’re failed by the system.

“They’re pushed through the cracks and we see that in a multitude of different ways.”

If you have been affected by any of the issues mentioned in this article, you can reach out for support through the following helplines. These organisations also put people in touch with long-term supports:

Samaritans 116 123 or email [email protected]
• Text About It – text HELLO to 50808 (mental health issues)
• Aware 1800 80 48 48 (depression, anxiety)
• Pieta House 1800 247 247 or text HELP to 51444 – (suicide, self-harm)
• Teen-Line Ireland 1800 833 634 (for ages 13 to 19)
• Childline 1800 66 66 66 (for under 18s)