“Jevona Maniex and Advocating for Yourself” podcast is available now. Maniex shares her story of advocating for herself within an inequitable healthcare system in a podcast with local journalist Lindsay Guentzel.
Lindsay Guentzel is an award-winning radio journalist and producer, mental health advocate, and host of Refocused with Lindsay Guentzel, a podcast where she holds authentic and informative conversations with people from a range of diverse backgrounds
who have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) to explore the often misunderstood world of ADHD. And during October, ADHD Awareness Month, Guentzel, alongside ADHD Online, is publishing a podcast episode every day as a special edition series titled Refocused, Together.
“I remember visiting my therapist for the first time after my diagnosis, sulking in her chair in confusion and telling her, ‘I can’t believe I didn’t see it’”, said Guentzel, who was nearly 35 when she was diagnosed with ADHD. “I felt like my diagnosis gave me clarity on my mental and
physical health, the way I had managed my career, my relationships, and my entire life, but I was still lost. The more I sought support following my diagnosis, the more I realized there wasn’t a lot out there, and I wanted to change that.”
Guentzel’s struggle to find guidance on how to navigate the impacts of ADHD ignited a passion in her to create a space that provides support, resources, and a shared experience for others living with ADHD. And this month, Guentzel is focused on showing the world the many faces and journeys of ADHD to break down stigmas within mental health, offer relatability to anyone living with the disorder, and inspire those who have a loved one with ADHD on ways they can be supportive.
Maniex, 47, a mother, a wife, and a Washington resident, said during the podcast that she was diagnosed later in life but there were some initial roadblocks.
“The roadblock that I found, my own provider said, ‘No way, you don’t have ADHD. You’re just not focused. I can count on my hand how many adult women are diagnosed with ADHD.’ What he called me is middle aged. That was his first mistake. So I said, “Okay, whatever.” So I looked at my insurance, start googling ADHD, how do you get diagnosed? And then voila, I found ADHD Online, and I said, ‘Okay, will my insurance pay for it?’ And it was like a hassle going through trying to figure that out.”
In the special edition series, Refocused, Together, Guentzel interviews guests across the country from diverse backgrounds and industries, ages 14-60, who walk listeners through their lived journeys with ADHD – from advocating for themselves within the healthcare system to the implications of an ADHD diagnosis within different cultures, and breaking down the different types of ADHD and what those classifications mean for patients. These authentic, informative, enlightening, sometimes challenging and funny conversations aim to both illuminate and help change the narrative and stigma around ADHD.
At least 6 million children ages 3-17 in the U.S. have been diagnosed with ADHD, and an estimated 11 million adults nationwide have been diagnosed with ADHD, many of whom were diagnosed for the first time in adulthood. By the mid-2010s, adults replaced children as the
primary market for ADHD medication. The pandemic saw a rise in adult diagnosis, but even before then, between 2007 and 2016, reported instances of ADHD rose 123% in U.S. adults.
Maniex was one of them in her diagnosis.
“So that diagnosis actually came last year,” Maniex said after relocating from Michigan to Washington for a new job. “So once I moved to Washington, I found a provider and she’s wonderful. And we were talking and I kept saying, ‘When I talk, I feel like I’m talking backwards.’ And I said, ‘It’s kind of almost like I have Yoda syndrome.’ And she burst that laugh and she said, ‘My son has Yoda syndrome.’ I said, ‘It’s a real thing?’ She said, ‘It’s called dysgraphia.’ She said, ‘You have a problem with translation.’ She said, ‘It’s almost like you’re trying to catch your words, but when you’re writing, transcription is a problem. You’re either talking with your sentences or typing with your sentences backwards and you end with the beginning.’ And that’s when it was like this big light came off of me. I haven’t been like what I would have thought of myself as illiterate or not smart enough my whole life. I’m smart enough, just smart in a different way. But she diagnosed me with dysgraphia.
“So much is misunderstood about ADHD, and the only way to change that is by having straightforward conversations,” said Guentzel. “In this podcast, we’re throwing out those old, outdated assumptions about ADHD. Those stigmas have held us back for long enough. It’s time
to change the narrative, not just around ADHD, but mental health in general.”
The podcast has also had a significant impact on its guests, too. “In some cases, guests have followed up and shared that the podcast helped them gain support from family and friends who were oblivious to their struggle until they listened to their episode,” said Guentzel.
Listeners can preview the series here: https://youtu.be/pZIqnXMNdU8, and tune in to full episodes on Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio, and Spotify.
Some of the episodes Guentzel hosts in October include:
● Laura Hoyos and Creating Community – Hoyos shares the story of how she’s working to break down stereotypes and educate and unite the Latinx community through her ADHD diagnosis.
● Bryan Le and Taking this Journey with Loved Ones – Le shares his story on his diagnosis and ADHD within the Vietnamese-American culture.
● Amy Marschall – Amy, a psychologist, spent a career diagnosing others with ADHD but was oblivious to her own ADHD.
● JeVona Maniex and Advocating for Yourself – Maniex shares her story of advocating for herself within an inequitable healthcare system as well as on the job.
Watch Maniex’s story here.
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