Help me finally afford an ADHD Diagnosis

Hi, I'm Alex, a 21 y/o from Southern Tasmania.

My entire life, I have struggled with my head. I never did well in school, have always struggled to make and keep friends, and virtually dropped out in year 9.

I've been formally diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder, General Anxiety Disorder and also suffer from chronic pain. I feel as if ADHD has a massive role to play for me in my general mental health, physical wellbeing and confidence. I want to feel happy.

My entire life, I've felt out of place, and like I can't keep up with everyone else. I feel as if I can't complete even the most mundane tasks the same way a 'normal' person could. I've always struggled to meet deadlines, manage finances, attend appointments, stay organised and keep my space tidy. I'm at a constant battle in my head with telling myself I'm 'just lazy' but still just not having the energy to do better. I spend hours in bed rotting — thinking about the urgent tasks I need to do but always struggling so badly to even take the first step to complete what I need to do.

I have tried a lot. I've tried journalling (probably lasted me 3 days), utilising my phone's reminders, AI schedulers, the lot. I've tried to speak to psychiatrists who push me aside and say 'yeah, look you probably have ADHD.... but here's a new antidepressant'. It has been spoken about a lot with various doctors about the high likelihood of having ADHD, but it's never gotten anywhere due to financial hurdles or flakey doctors.

I am finally taking the big step to officially get diagnosed and medicated for ADHD, so I can feel more at peace with myself, and hopefully I can switch off all of the background noise in my brain. I want to feel like a normal person and I want to feel like a 'normal', functioning member of society. I feel this will not only help my mental health, but my physical wellbeing too.

The biggest hurdle is the up-front cost.

I've been quoted over $1000 for the diagnosis with a local specialist, which right now, I absolutely cannot afford with the cost of our rent & utilities, especially as with my chronic pain — I can't work a full time job and am restricted to part time. I absolutely hate asking for money, and I'll only do it if it's the absolute last resort, so here I am kindly asking for your help on getting me this life-changing diagnosis.

I thank you for your support and love <3

Alex