The Happy Mondays frontman, after being diagnosed with ADHD, blames his heavy drug use and wild days when he was younger on his struggles with the disorder.
- May 22, 2021
AceShowbiz - Rocker Shaun Ryder experienced a "eureka moment" when he was finally diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
The Happy Mondays frontman only learned he suffered with the condition - which causes inattentiveness, hyperactivity and impulsiveness - last year (20), and it allowed the 58-year-old musician to view his past wild behaviour in a different light, having previously attributed it to his heavy drug use.
The singer explained, "It's an absolute eureka moment because it explained everything."
Shaun thinks his diagnosis explains why he's lived a "wildly chaotic life."
Speaking on "White Wine Question Time", he added, "I couldn't learn. Your brain is not wired up the same, the messages don't shoot across."
"I had trouble understanding what people were saying, because there's other sorts of conditions with it - you know, controlling your temper and your emotions and everything else."
Shaun found out about his condition after having some concerns about his daughter.
He said, "I've got six kids, and four of them have got it (ADHD). My daughter, who's 12, when sort of things had gone a bit skew-whiff, we had to start looking into it and that's when I found out it's got to come from somewhere - and it's all come from me."
Shaun actually thinks that having ADHD turned him towards drugs during his younger years.
The singer recalled taking drugs in order to make himself feel more "normal" and less "uncomfortable."
Shaun - who now practises meditation to help ease his symptoms – shared, "Drugs made me feel normal. I was a fidgeter - I couldn't keep still. I always felt uncomfortable and then as soon as I took certain drugs, I didn't feel uncomfortable. I could sit still without moving about."
