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
__________
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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Millie Mackintosh @milliemackintosh
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