My ADHD left me drowning in debt and unable to cope

Published: 20 October 2025. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online.

Lucy Rogers*, a 38-year-old from Devon, had long struggled with her finances. Still, the weight of debt became unbearable when she finally opened a letter notifying her of an increased utility bill. “I remember walking into work and bursting into tears,” she said. “I just thought: ‘I can’t physically afford to live anymore.’ That moment felt like the breaking point.”

Rogers has lived with ADHD for most of her adult life, although she was only diagnosed three years ago. Before understanding the condition, she struggled daily with tasks that many take for granted, from paying bills to budgeting her modest income. Each day, she would enter her flat and avoid opening her mailbox, unable to face the stack of letters demanding payment. Some were marked urgent, and many would only be opened when her mother visited and insisted she do so. “The pressure was relentless,” Rogers explained. “Every unopened letter felt like another weight pressing down on me.”

The constant financial strain caused severe anxiety and a feeling of powerlessness. Each unpaid bill seemed to multiply her stress, and she found herself trapped in a cycle of taking out small loans to cover immediate expenses while falling further behind on larger obligations. As her direct debits rose every six months by around £100, and the cost of living climbed steadily, the burden became insurmountable. “I finally broke,” she said. “I couldn’t carry the weight of it anymore, and the idea of facing all these obligations every day felt impossible.”

The psychological impact was severe. Rogers admits that at her lowest point, she considered ending her life. “Honestly, I thought about killing myself,” she said. “I just couldn’t cope with the relentless pressure of people demanding money I didn’t have. The stress was crushing, and I had no idea how to escape it.”

Experts confirm that ADHD can significantly impact financial management. Research by Monzo suggests individuals with ADHD may face an additional cost of around £1,600 per year due to impulsive spending, missed payments, and difficulty maintaining a budget. A survey conducted by YouGov involving over 500 respondents found that 80 per cent of women and 71 per cent of men reported anxiety caused by money problems linked to ADHD. For Rogers, these figures reflected her lived experience.

Rogers also contends with Graves’ disease, an autoimmune disorder affecting the thyroid, which contributes to fatigue, anxiety, weight loss, and other physical and mental challenges. “I struggled through most of my early adulthood without knowing I had ADHD,” she said. “I often wondered why daily tasks seemed so difficult compared to my peers. Paying bills, keeping track of money, and simply functioning as an adult felt like insurmountable challenges.” Even with automated payments set up for her bills, Rogers found it difficult to manage her budget effectively, and she often ran out of money before the end of the month.

Her limited disposable income, approximately £200 per month, typically lasted only ten days. The combination of ADHD and Graves’ disease left her too exhausted to cook, resulting in frequent takeaway meals, which further drained her finances. Rogers’ experience mirrors the struggles faced by millions of people with ADHD in England, where the NHS estimates that around 2.5 million individuals live with the condition. Daily life can become a continuous struggle, with tasks like managing money, paying bills, and filling out forms imposing a heavy mental load that can affect mental health.

Much of Rogers’ financial difficulty stemmed from executive dysfunction, a hallmark of ADHD that affects planning, organisation, problem-solving, and the ability to consider long-term consequences. Professor Barbara Sahakian, a Cambridge University expert on ADHD, explained that impulsivity, hyperactivity, and inattention are core symptoms that make everyday financial management challenging. “Many people with ADHD will act on impulse, purchasing items they cannot afford or forgetting about obligations entirely,” she said. “This is not due to carelessness, but the way the ADHD brain processes tasks and priorities.”

For Rogers, impulse purchases often took the form of books, which offered her an escape from her stressful reality. “I would sink into a story and forget about my life,” she recalled. Prof Sahakian noted that executive dysfunction means that planning and problem-solving are particularly challenging, making it difficult to anticipate the long-term impact of financial decisions. Even routine tasks such as paying bills, which most people may find manageable, can become overwhelming. “These things may simply drop out of working memory and be replaced by more pressing or interesting stimuli,” she said.

Rogers believes that better financial education and support from a younger age could have made a substantial difference. “I wish I’d been taught budgeting and money management in school,” she said. “Understanding money, debt, and how to make financial plans early on could have prevented me from reaching a crisis point.” In response, a Department for Education spokesperson stated that through its “Plan for Change,” the government intends to ensure young people leave school equipped with practical financial knowledge.

She also called for banks to take a more proactive approach to customers struggling with repeated overdrafts or difficulty paying bills. Financial institutions, she argues, could provide early interventions to prevent people with ADHD from falling into long-term debt. The Financial Conduct Authority supports this approach, offering guidance that people struggling with debt are not alone and encouraging them to seek help from lenders or free debt-advice services such as MoneyHelper.

When Rogers finally reached a breaking point, she contacted Christians Against Poverty, a debt-counselling charity, which guided her through a structured plan to tackle her finances. With their support, she was able to leave her one-bedroom flat and move into shared housing, giving her the breathing room to save money and begin managing her debt responsibly. “Being able to save for the first time was an incredible feeling,” she said. “Going through the process of servicing my debt gave me confidence, practical skills, and the experience to handle my money moving forward.”

Her story highlights the broader challenges faced by individuals living with ADHD, particularly the compounding effects of mental health conditions, chronic illness, and financial instability. Many people like Rogers encounter daily obstacles in basic money management, facing a cycle of anxiety, missed payments, and mounting debt that can feel impossible to escape without proper support and intervention.

Rogers’ experience demonstrates the critical importance of accessible education, understanding, and systemic support for people with ADHD. By combining professional help, financial guidance, and practical lifestyle adjustments, individuals in similar situations can regain control of their finances and improve their mental health. “I want others to know they are not alone,” Rogers said. “There is help out there, and it is possible to regain stability, even if it seems impossible at first.”

Her journey also underscores the need for broader societal understanding of ADHD as a condition that affects everyday functioning and decision-making. Awareness campaigns, financial education, and compassionate support networks can empower people with ADHD to overcome obstacles and avoid the crises that Rogers experienced.

While the road to recovery was challenging, Rogers’ story ends on a hopeful note. With structured support, practical planning, and the determination to manage her finances differently, she has moved from despair to a position of stability. “It was a long, difficult process, but now I can see a future where I am in control of my life and my money,” she said. “Learning to manage my debt and my ADHD has given me confidence I never had before.”

Rogers’ experience is a compelling reminder of the hidden costs of ADHD and the importance of providing early education, personalised support, and accessible resources to help individuals navigate the complexities of life with the condition.