Strictly Come Dancing star Ore Oduba appeared on a podcast to discuss his health diagnosis before opening up about his late sister, who died earlier this year
Former Strictly Come Dancing winner Ore Oduba has been diagnosed with ADHD. The 39-year-old star was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, which has symptoms including inattention, hyperactivity, impulsivity, restlessness and more.
Appearing on the Beyond The Label this week, Ore said he felt relieved that he could finally understand specific traits that had been present for most of his life. He said: “I’ve always known there are behaviours I have gone about – I love things being in a certain way, and they’ve been normal to me, and I’ve known they would be completely abnormal to other people, in fact, to the point where I go ‘I think this could be annoying for other people’.
“But I’ve always just had it as the way that I manage things, and that’s been OK. It’s just been a case of not necessarily showing it outwardly, and so I guess even in the last few weeks there are examples, just doing something where I go, ‘Oh my God, that’s ADHD in full flow’.”
He continued: “Getting diagnosed with ADHD has allowed me, even in the last two weeks, a kind of language for myself that I always knew my entire life but never understood, and that makes sense.”
Ore said his ADHD had been helpful to his work as an actor and presenter. He added: “Some of the symptoms translate a lot to what being successful is in the performing arts, and being onstage.
“It works wonderfully for learning choreography, or learning a script, or learning scene work, because we’ve got three weeks to put this thing together, and we completely obsess over that one thing to the point where there isn’t time to get it right in normal settings.”
During the same podcast, he opened up about his late sister Lola’s battle with the condition before they died by suicide aged 37 earlier this year.
Ore described how his late sister was described as a ‘nuisance’, ‘too much’, ‘too loud’ and ‘difficult’ growing up. “When you get told that or fed that back as a child, that you’re a problem at eight/nine years old, of course you’re going to start believing that,” he said.
“It’s so sad back in those days, we didn’t have the diagnoses that we have 1761166104. It’s not just the diagnoses. As you guys do, this is your practice, it’s not just the label. It’s how we manage that, it’s how we help kids understand who they are so that they can go out into the world with all the tools and best prepared as they possibly can, but my sister never had that.”
He went on: “So for their entire lives, they just thought that they were a problem. They thought they were an issue, they thought that they would struggle to fit in. In fact, they did struggle to fit in despite seeking community in all sorts of places.”
Ore held back tears as he read one of the two poems left by his sister, which was a piece about their mental health struggles. In the poem, they wrote: “Powered by a motor, running electric, a deep hum of a refrigerator, constant, unceasing.” They also said: “I’m tired.”
*If you’re struggling and need to talk, the Samaritans operate a free helpline open 24/7 on 116 123. Alternatively, you can email [email protected] or visit their site to find your local branch.
*If you are struggling with mental health, you can speak to a trained advisor from Mind mental health charity on 0300 123 3393 or email [email protected]
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