Fresh light was shed on some of life's frustrations and challenges for a dad-of-two after being diagnosed with a behavioural condition at 58 years old.
Former Future Radio host Tim MacWilliam, 61, has been working through his attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) diagnosis and learning how to manage his condition.
Previously he struggled with impulsiveness and hyperactive tendencies and found it hard to listen, which meant he did not always fit in.
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He said: “I left school with no qualifications at all, I knew I wasn’t thick but I was made to feel like I was.
“I was always being told to sit still and listen, I had tendencies of daydreaming and interrupting.”
Tim, who lives in Wymondham, was undiagnosed for 58 years and since being diagnosed has noticed many other people being either diagnosed or questioning whether they have the condition.
He said: “I think it is partly because of lockdown. Lots of people were able to stop and realise what was going on.
“When forced to stop, people saw problems and difficulties that they maybe hadn’t been able to notice before.”
Tim started to notice that he was having severe mood swings and a lack of self-worth, and he noticed that he was saying things he shouldn’t.
“I have been with my partner Katherine for 38 years and she would often tell me I needed to listen. I was zooming out and being impulsive sometimes even saying unkind things.
“People don’t always talk about how dark ADHD can be, you can spend a lot of time thinking about suicide, even If you have no plans on doing it you can obsess over things like that.
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“I owe my life to my wife, she came into it and refused to let go – for someone to come in and not know the reason for your behaviour but accept all of you anyway, well, it's lovely.”
As well as a change in mood, Tim also finds that his ADHD causes him to be forgetful.
He said: “I was at the beach in Lowestoft and I thought I had lost my daughter, she was two at the time.
“I was searching everywhere for her I was retracing my steps and was really panicked.
“When I went back to the ice cream shop, I was explaining to the woman behind the till that I had lost my little girl, I was explaining what she looked like and then the lady told me she was on my shoulders.
“And she was, she had been there the whole time.”
He has many stories like this but getting his diagnosis has meant he can now understand the reasons these things happened.
And now Tim has written a book about his lifetime with ADHD to help others who may know someone, or who things they may be suffering to understand.
Entitled 'Sit Still, Timmy!', he added: “It is a biography mixed with a self-help book.
“I am aware there are lots of books about ADHD but I don’t think there's one like this.
“It’s honest, so much so that there are still some things I am unsure about sharing but I feel fortunate that I could look back and make sense of everything.”
And for many people, this book will be the first time people learn that he has the condition, including some of his friends, employees and clients.
He said: “I started my business in 1993 which is now a health and safety consultancy, so I don’t know how my clients will react when the man in charge of their health and safety has ADHD.”
Tim’s book is currently set to be released on April 30 and pre-orders can be made at timmacwilliam.com.
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