EXCLUSIVE Lola Young reveals why she is no longer 'messy' and hits out against the over glamorisation of ADHD among Gen Z as BRIT Award nominee reveals her own diagnosis
She rose to global fame this year with her hit song, Messy.
But now Brit School alum, Lola Young, has taken to social media to promote her ADHD medicine, Concerta, because it makes her 'see mess now and clean things up'.
Lola, 24, who was nominated for two BRIT Awards, highlighted that there was an 'over glamorisation' of the hyperactivity disorder which has broken out among Gen Z with many 'jumping on the bandwagon'.
But, she argued, the glorification of ADHD in recent years has also helped break down the stigma and made sure 'people are aware of what it's doing to your brain'.
The Croydon-born pop singer said: 'Six months ago I started taking Concerta and it has genuinely changed my life, my thought processing and it's changed how I see mess and I can clear up, I feel genuinely a lot happier.
'My experience on Concerta has been incredible, and I would highly recommend it. I think it's super important to break down the stigma of taking medication for mental health because, right now, if you had a heart condition, you may take some.
'So we should make sure physical health and mental health are viewed on par.'
Lola also emphasised the importance of getting a diagnosis of ADHD can 'change your life'.
She said: 'Getting a diagnosis can help you understand, but I would also recommend getting the medication I am on, which is Concerta.'
Concerta is a drug that increases attention and decreases impulsiveness and hyperactivity in patients with ADHD.
People taking the drug will feel a sense of euphoria, a higher energy level and better focus and concentration.
It is estimated 230,000 people in the UK are taking the medication for ADHD.
Lola revealed she wrote the hit single, Messy, in her bedroom and said: 'It's been speculated that it's about my parents.
'It's massively about some close family but it's a combination.
'It's more about myself, I am too messy. I've never held a broom in my life, everything in my life is a mess so it's a very fitting track.'
In the 2022 interview, Lola shared that she suffers from a rare schizoaffective disorder that had previously led her to manic episodes and hospitalisation.
She made the discovery aged 17 after having suffered with what she thought was clinical depression and bipolar disorder.
She explained that she had an uncle on either side of her family who also had schizophrenia and who had both tragically died.
Lola believed that the condition may in part have been triggered by smoking cannabis as a way to manage childhood trauma, which she chose not to disclose the details of.
She said she can usually sense an oncoming manic episode when she starts getting strange thoughts, but is usually able to medicate to keep things under wraps, though she has previously been taken by surprise and ended up being sectioned.
Lola admitted the unpredictability of her illness makes touring difficult, and she sometimes has manic episodes that last a month and don't sleep for several days on the trot.
Lola said that her illness can present her with a lot of guilt and shame, and that she often feels ostracised after incidents in which she has been unwell in front of people.
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