Millie Mackintosh: "I'm ADHD—But Am I Autistic Too?"

The Made in Chelsea reality star turned author and entrepreneur, Millie Mackintosh has spent years in the spotlight while secretly grappling with undiagnosed ADHD, Dyspraxia and a complex relationship with alcohol.

In this chat with Ben, Millie opens up about late diagnosis, the blurry overlap between ADHD and Dyspraxia, and how alcohol became both a crutch and a crisis to escape from rejection, grief, social anxiety and self-doubt. She shares how motherhood reshaped her perspective, the realities of sobriety, and why she’s questioning if she might be autistic too. 

From EMDR therapy to people-pleasing, sensory overload, and parenting with ADHD - Millie gives her top tips for navigating life with late diagnosed ADHD.

00:00 Introduction 

1:47 Dyspraxia Diagnosis: How, What, When & Why?

3:45 Dyspraxia & ADHD Traits Overlap

4:30 History of ADHD Diagnosis in Society 

5:00 Late Diagnosis in Women: “She’s Dyspraxic and has a vision problem”

5:35 Being Bullied & Trying to Fit in As a Neurodivergent Person 

7:20 Dyspraxia VS Alcohol 

10:52 Reflecting on Undiagnosed ADHD: The Toxic Escapism

12:01 Finding the ‘Millie’ Wild Party Girl Persona

15:27 Easily Influenced and People Pleasing as a Neurodivergent Person

16:36 Millie’s Daughters: “I don’t want them to go through what I went through”

19:18 Pre Diagnosis: “What did you know about ADHD?”

19:58 The ADHD Moment of Realisation 

21:00 My Sober Mental Breakdown

22:14 Millie’s ADHD & Medication Journey

25:45 The Best Bits of ADHD

26:30 Hyper-fixation VS Cream Loungewear

27:21 ADHD & The Keto Diet

30:05 Routine VS ADHD

31:08 Personal and Public Reactions to ADHD Diagnosis

31:56 Navigating Parental Resistance to ADHD Diagnosis and Finding Resolution

33:38 Coming Out As Sober VS Revealing ADHD Diagnosis

34:32 The Challenges of ADHD: Navigating Parenting and Overwhelm

38:10 The ADHD Battle With Emotional Regulation and Parenting 

42:21 Hugo the Husband VS Millie’s ADHD

43:52 Millie: “I’m ADHD But Am I Autistic As Well?”

44:25 Empathy VS Autism

46:40 The Effects of Rejection & ADHD

47:32 Made In Chelsea 

48:47 Health Anxiety & ADHD

51:07 The Power of EMDR: From ADHD Panic Attacks on Planes to Yawning 

51:51 Social Anxiety & ADHD

58:11 What do you say to Late Diagnosed Female ADHD’ers?

1:00:51 Millie’s Top Tips for Managing ADHD

1:01:40 “Do My Kids Have ADHD?”

1:02:25 Spreading Dyspraxia Awareness

1:04:12 Millie’s Chosen Person For The Green Badge of Honour

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On "The Hidden 20%," host Ben Branson chats with neurodivergent [ADHD, Autism, Dyscalculia, Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, Tourette's etc.] creatives, entrepreneurs, and experts to see how great minds.. think differently.

Host: Ben Branson

Head of Production: Bella Neale

Assistant Producer: Phoebe De Leiburné

Video Editor: James Scriven

Social Media Manager: Charlie Young

Music: Jackson Greenberg

Brought to you by charity The Hidden 20% #1203348

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