On AuDHD day Celia Gaze shares her compelling story

In Greater Manchester, an astonishing 168,000 individuals, both adults and children, are living with ADHD.

Many describe it as experiencing a relentless "noise in the brain," coupled with boundless energy and fluctuating abilities to multitask effectively.

Celia's personal journey took a pivotal turn when she was diagnosed with ADHD at the age of 53.

“It felt like a bolt out of the blue,” she told Mike Sweeney on BBC Radio Manchester, recounting how a chance meeting at a conference led someone to suggest that her own book revealed her ADHD traits, she revealed: “It never occured to me I had ADHD. Then one day I was at a conference at a university and this woman came up to me and told me. 'I have read your book, and you have ADHD,'.

"I had no idea. I was like, what sort of an introduction is that?'. Then as we got talking, she said to me, 'I read a chapter, and I can tell because you have an unusual way of using hotel rooms where you check in and all your work over a weekend. I tend to get all of my creative work done in spurts."

Armed with this life changing information, Celia said: “I’m not waiting; I’m going to pay for myself to get diagnosed,” and it turned out she indeed had ADHD, explaining a lot of things.

Celia's perspective on ADHD is both enlightening and empowering. It is a perplexing condition which makes individuals highly productive in hyperfocus at times and then unable to do anything at other times.

Looking back Celia wonders if this attributed to her burnout during her NHS career, which led to her studying a stress course, which led to her founding The Wellbeing Farm in the first place.

Hyperfocus is something people with ADHD often experience, because they feel compelled to do everything at once.

“I've talked before about ADHD being my superpower," said Celia.

"I'll be honest because I've only recently started on medication but before then you can think almost incredibly wide as a spectrum so you know I run a business own I'm sitting with my team in a meeting and I could be thinking of this and that and it confuses the hell out of them.

“My creativity is off the scale with ADHD. I can accomplish three times as much as someone who doesn’t have it.” she explained.

Before starting medication recently, her mind buzzed with an abundance of ideas, often bewildering her team as she tried to communicate them all at once.

After beginning her medication though, Celia was struck by a profound realisation: “Oh my goodness, is this how everyone else's brain works?”

She expressed a sense of frustration that the medication allows her to focus on one thought at a time, contrasting it sharply with her usual ability to juggle five or six.

Celia didn't shy away from discussing the difficulties that come with ADHD, such as impulsivity, which has sometimes complicated her professional relationships.

“There’s no filter between what I think and what I say,” she explained candidly.

Yet, she emphasised how medication can help quell her racing thoughts, especially during pivotal meetings with her staff, and when focusing on strategy.

“I think the medication just kind of calms you down, it makes you less impulsive, less kind of almost exhausting for everybody else," she said.

She added that if she wants a creative day she doesn’t take the medication.

“This is the brilliant thing because you can decide whether or not you're going to be creative. Finally I have found an on/off switch. I can now choose if I want to present normal Celia or really creative Celia. I don’t take my meds when I'm at the weekends or on a night out.

Describing it as an "on/off switch" for her cognitive processes as she embraces the unique qualities ADHD brings to her business, the Wellbeing Farm.

She didn't want to lose the edge of being a vibrant and sustainable venue known for its quirky charm, including bow-tie-wearing llamas.

She revealed: "As I am massively lacking dopamine, this equates to spending impulsivity, eating what the hell I want, I have no control over that. There's no filter between what you say and what you think. What comes out of my mouth has got me into trouble, especially with managing staff. I've lost some great staff.

"Her honesty extended to the challenges ADHD presents, especially regarding sleep and concentration, but her message was clear: she passionately advocates for hiring individuals with ADHD, praising their inherent creativity and dynamic personalities.

“When it comes to entrepreneurship, ADHD is a tremendous asset. It fuels the personality, ideas, and creativity needed to thrive,” she emphasised.

She said when faced with two candidates at a job interview, she would choose the one with ADHD every time: "If I had the choice, and I had some candidates in front of me for an interview and some had ADHD and others didn’t, I would really be strongly in favour of the ADHD ones because they are so creative. They are fantastic personalities. You'll find a lot of people in hospitality have them."

In moments of crisis, Celia believes those with ADHD excel, noting her own approach: “I tackle everything at 100 miles an hour because that’s just how I operate.”

But she doesn't feel alone because lots of her friends who are entrepreneurs are very successful, and yet the school system failed them.

“ADHD in Entrepreneurship is a brilliant trait because you need personality, ideas and creativity."

For her, and many other entrepreneurs with ADHD, it is a great motivator that transcends its challenges. Celia says it is her foundation of strength and innovation, and it drives her success.

Celia is available for speaking opportunities on this subject. She will be speaking at TEDx Scarisbrick this weekend. Check out The Wellbeing Farm's website.