Earlier this year, Aimee Lou Wood revealed that she had been diagnosed with ADHD with autistic traits “a few years ago,” adding to the Sunday Times’ Culture magazine: “It’s been advised that I should go for an autism assessment, they think that maybe it’s autism that’s leading the charge, and the ADHD is almost a byproduct of the masking.”
Aimee also explained that she’d exhibited neurodivergent traits throughout her childhood, but they had been dismissed as social anxiety and extreme shyness.
Reflecting on her diagnosis in an interview with Radio Times in September, Aimee said: “I don’t need everyone to understand me. The people that get me, get me. The anxiety and feelings of inadequacy come from trying to meet other people’s expectations, but what’s so moving is that when I unmask, other people do too.”
“The exhaustion and shame comes from covering things up, but it’s freeing when you say, ‘My brain doesn’t work like that,’” she added at the time. “Growing up, I felt a deep need to be ‘normal,’ but then I realized all my favorite people, all the people I admired, were weird — even my favorite characters, like Jane Eyre.”
And now, Aimee has explained how being diagnosed with ADHD has helped her understand exactly what she needs in order to thrive — and she’s no longer afraid of expressing this to other people.
This includes when she is at work, with Aimee recalling how she stood up for herself when she was struggling to shoot a scene for her upcoming movie Anxious People, which also stars Angelina Jolie.
Speaking to Harper’s Bazaar, Aimee said that she could feel herself starting to panic when multiple different crew members began shouting at her during filming for the emotional scene.
She firmly told them that in order to focus, she needed “one direction, one voice, no hand movements in her line of sight,” with Aimee also revealing the sweet way that industry veteran Angelina encouraged her to speak up.
“I’ve spent years feeling unable to say anything like that for fear of seeming argumentative,” Aimee told the publication. “But now I feel like I can take ownership of what I need to thrive, and tell people what won’t work for me.”
“When I spoke up, all I could see was Angelina giving me a thumbs up,” she went on. “She’s possibly the most famous woman ever, but she’s so normal.”
I’m so glad to hear that Aimee had Ange in her corner in this instance — let me know your thoughts in the comments below!