By playing, you agree to uListen's Terms and Privacy Policy and YouTube's Terms of Service.

ADHD Chatter Podcast

Denise Welch details impact of late ADHD diagnosis

Denise Welch is an English actress, television personality, writer and broadcaster. Today, she opens up about her late ADHD diagnosis, and shares the many lessons she's learnt along the way.

Denise WelchguestAlex Partridgehost

Nov 19, 20242h 29mWatch on YouTube

Summaries, chapters, transcripts, and FAQs on this page are made by uListen, not YouTube.

Great conversations run long. Their best ideas don't have to.

uListen is free on iPhone, iPad, Android, Chrome, and Claude.

CHAPTERS

Jump to publisher timestamps

Chapter summaries

Denise’s raw snapshot of mental pain (cold open)
The episode opens with Denise describing extreme strategies she used to interrupt unbearable mental pain. Alex frames the conversation as an exploration of her ADHD and how it intersects with her life experiences.
- •Denise describes making herself vomit as a brief escape from intense head pain
- •Denise reflects that suicidal acts can be about ending pain rather than wanting to die
- •Alex introduces Denise and sets the episode’s focus on her opening up about ADHD
Dedication and Tiimo sponsor message
Alex dedicates the episode to listeners who clean as a response to mental overwhelm. He then delivers a sponsor segment about the Tiimo app and how he uses it to manage planning and reminders.
- •Alex dedicates the episode to people who clean to cope with a messy mind
- •Alex describes Tiimo as a neurodivergent-friendly planning and reminder app
- •He mentions challenges like time agnosia, memory load, task initiation, and procrastination
- •Alex explains features like a visual timer, lock-screen reminders, and breaking tasks into subtasks
The ADHD item reveal: a Real Housewives DVD
Alex reveals Denise’s chosen ADHD item under a cloth: a Real Housewives DVD. They flag that the meaning will be explained later, and Alex transitions into the show’s standard opening question.
- •Alex reveals the item as a Real Housewives DVD
- •Denise agrees to explain later why it represents her ADHD
- •Alex introduces the tradition of asking every guest the same early-life question
Early memories: low boredom threshold, masking, and deep sensitivity
Denise reflects on her earliest feelings of difference, emphasizing that she didn’t present as a stereotypically hyperactive child. She describes a lifelong people-pleasing streak and intense sensitivity, which still affects her daily reactions.
- •Denise says childhood hyperactivity wasn’t a prominent feature for her
- •She recalls a very low boredom threshold and difficulty staying interested
- •She describes trying hard to fit in and people-please
- •Denise shares how small interactions (like the bin man’s reaction) can deeply upset her
Diagnosis ‘by default’: Loose Women, depression as the ‘main’ lens, and learning about masking
Denise explains how her ADHD diagnosis came about through conversations and filming around Nadia Sawalha’s assessment connected to the show. She says she had long understood herself primarily through clinical depression, and only later began reconsidering ADHD and concepts like masking.
- •Denise describes the diagnostic process emerging via her workplace and Nadia’s filmed assessment
- •She recounts being told clinicians immediately suspected it might be her
- •Denise explains her long history with endogenous clinical depression and how it shaped her self-understanding
- •She contrasts her experience with a friend’s child who masks intensely at school but struggles at home
Trying ADHD medication: sobriety risk, frightening effects, and why she stopped
Denise recounts trying prescribed ADHD medication and being shocked by how quickly it triggered cravings for alcohol and cigarettes after years of sobriety. She emphasizes that medication is life-changing for many people, but for her it posed a serious relapse risk.
- •Denise describes expecting clearer focus and better organization from medication
- •She reports cravings for alcohol and cigarettes returning after taking the tablet
- •Denise says the experience felt dangerous given her history and sobriety
- •She stopped immediately and stresses medication affects people differently
Post-diagnosis reflections: addiction, postnatal depression, and struggles with numbers
Denise describes how the ADHD diagnosis led her to re-examine parts of her history without attributing everything to ADHD. She wonders about links between ADHD, postnatal depression, and substance use, and discusses lifelong difficulty with maths and day-to-day numeracy.
- •Denise questions whether ADHD contributed to her postnatal depression and substance abuse
- •She describes the idea of ‘self-medicating’ and mentions emerging links being discussed
- •Denise talks about fear and difficulty with numbers and maths affecting her work opportunities
- •Alex raises dyscalculia; Denise is cautious about adding more labels
Acting, dopamine, and attention-seeking—and how ADHD would’ve been viewed ‘back then’
Denise and Alex explore whether acting aligns with dopamine-seeking and boredom intolerance. Denise also reflects on generational attitudes toward mental illness and says ADHD would likely have been dismissed when she was growing up.
- •Denise says acting may have appealed because everyday life and school felt boring and unengaging
- •She describes early attention-seeking impulses and feeling she should be included in adult gatherings
- •Denise recounts her family taking her postnatal depression seriously, contrasting with widespread dismissal of depression
- •She describes a GP response that minimized her condition and suggests ADHD would’ve been laughed at then
Her 40s: addiction, cocaine, and the 2019 episode that changed her 60s
Denise describes her 40s as dominated by alcohol and later cocaine, which she calls particularly destructive to personality and decision-making. She then recounts a major depressive episode in 2019 that she documented publicly, and says something shifted afterward—leaving her feeling freer in her 60s.
- •Denise describes being a binge alcoholic and beginning cocaine at 38 during severe depression
- •She says cocaine altered her moral compass and led to behaviors she can’t believe were hers
- •Denise recounts an endogenous depressive episode in 2019 and how she documented it publicly
- •She describes feeling relief afterward from constant monitoring and fear of episodes returning
Why invisible illnesses are misunderstood: stage anxiety, ‘show must go on,’ and workplace stigma
Denise explains how hard it is to convey depression and anxiety to people who haven’t experienced them. She draws a line between normal nerves and debilitating anxiety, and describes how stigma forced her to hide mental illness behind physical excuses—especially in high-pressure work like soaps.
- •Denise says people confuse normal nerves with anxiety that disrupts breathing, memory, and functioning
- •She describes feeling compelled to keep performing even when unwell
- •Denise recounts hiding mental breakdowns during soap work by citing physical illness to avoid misunderstanding
- •She compares how people respond differently to physical illness versus mental illness, including in workplaces
Loneliness, masking, and wishing the show didn’t have to go on
The conversation turns to loneliness and the experience of feeling separate even when surrounded by others. Denise shares powerful examples of masking during performances and the emotional cost of pushing through when she was suffering.
- •Denise agrees neurodivergence can correlate with loneliness, even among colleagues
- •She describes masking intensely while feeling ‘dying inside’
- •Denise recounts moments wishing an external crisis would cancel performances so it wasn’t her decision
- •She shares how she coped during severe periods, including the sense of pain relief from brief physical sensations
Loose Women lessons: perceptions of men and women, media distortion, and self-editing
Denise discusses what years on Loose Women has taught her about men, women, and public narratives. She criticizes the way media frames women’s disagreements as “catty” conflict and explains how that misrepresentation fuels anxiety and overthinking.
- •Denise rejects the idea that the show is anti-men and describes enjoying gender differences
- •She says the show uniquely values a wide age range of women’s voices
- •Denise criticizes headlines that portray women’s debate as “toxic warfare” or personal feuds
- •She describes self-editing due to fear of clickbait coverage and impact on her family
Stalker experience: fear, ‘postcode lottery’ support, and justice-system frustration
Denise briefly addresses a stalking situation, explaining she can’t share details due to the current legal context. She emphasizes the emotional toll, the importance of support services, and her belief that victims’ rights are often outweighed by perpetrators’ rights.
- •Denise describes the situation as terrifying and ongoing
- •She highlights the value of a harm reduction unit and calls access a ‘postcode lottery’
- •Denise says the legal system can prioritize perpetrators’ rights over victims’ rights
- •She explains how the experience intensified her justice sensitivity and desire to push for change later
Motherhood, accountability, and relationships with her sons
Denise reflects on parenting with honesty, including the impact of addiction and depression and the process of taking accountability with her son. She describes being proud of her children and emphasizes how mental illness can affect the ability to feel love in the moment.
- •Denise says she did many things wrong but also many things right, and values accountability
- •She describes how depression can remove emotions and the ability to feel love temporarily
- •Denise discusses sobriety, regret, and wishing she could redo parts of early parenting
- •She describes strong bonds with her children and her tendency toward helicopter parenting and worry
RSD, justice sensitivity, and why misrepresentation hurts so much
Denise describes how criticism feels different when it’s rooted in falsehoods or twisting her words. She and Alex explore how injustice sensitivity and RSD can trigger spirals, and Denise explains how her husband helps her regulate and reality-check reactions.
- •Denise distinguishes fair critique from unfounded misrepresentation that feels ‘triggering’
- •She agrees injustice sensitivity is exhausting, especially when there’s no effective right to reply
- •Denise gives examples of spiraling after minor perceived judgments (like a supermarket interaction)
- •She describes her marriage as stabilizing and her husband as someone who talks her down from rumination
Explaining the Real Housewives DVD: ‘meditation’ via chaos, and overwhelm from minutiae
Denise explains her ADHD item: watching Real Housewives as a way to calm her mind when she spirals. She contrasts her ability to manage big crises with getting overwhelmed by small domestic details, and says the show’s drama and “move on” energy helps her reset.
- •Denise says Real Housewives provides mindless immersion that calms her during spirals
- •She describes finding relief when others’ chaos makes her problems feel smaller
- •Denise notes she can handle major issues but gets overwhelmed by day-to-day clutter and small tasks
- •She describes using the show like meditation to switch her brain off
ADHD Agony Aunt: divorce distress, support networks, and feeling ‘not enough’
Responding to a listener going through divorce with ADHD and mental health struggles, Denise emphasizes reaching out and finding support from people who understand. The conversation then shifts to the deeper feeling of not being “enough,” imposter syndrome, and the complexities of medication decisions.
- •Denise urges not isolating and suggests seeking support groups and people in similar circumstances
- •She notes social media can help locate local or relevant support resources
- •They discuss imposter syndrome and difficulty internalizing achievements
- •Denise questions Alex’s choice not to try ADHD medication and contrasts her experience with friends helped by meds
Where she’d be without ADHD: responsibility for everyone, racing mind, memory, and interruptions
Denise reflects on how ADHD shapes her social behavior and internal workload. She describes feeling responsible for connecting people and smoothing social situations, struggling with memory for who said what, and interrupting because she fears losing the thread.
- •Denise says she feels compelled to manage group dynamics and fill silence
- •She describes exhaustion from mental over-responsibility for things that aren’t hers to solve
- •Denise notes she remembers conversations vividly but can’t remember who said them, which fuels anxiety
- •She explains interrupting as a way to avoid losing thoughts and becoming anxious
Closing traditions and rapid-fire: three rules, impulsivity, habits, and fictional ADHD
The episode ends with the show’s traditions: Denise reads three “rules to live by” from the previous guest and reacts to them. In a lighter rapid-fire section, they discuss impulsive decisions, unfinished ideas, messaging preferences, and characters she suspects might have ADHD.
- •Denise reads: trust your gut, have courage and be kind, and ‘you only regret the things you didn’t do,’ partially disagreeing on regret
- •She shares a story about being asked why she’s ‘nice’ if she doesn’t believe in God
- •Denise names bungee jumping and going home with her husband after meeting him as impulsive acts
- •She says she hates voice notes, forgets reusable bags, and suspects Jim Carrey (and his roles) might have ADHD

Publisher timestamps

Get more out of YouTube videos.

Read along on your phone, search it beside the video, or ask your favorite AI app what was said.