Former Coronation Street star Helen Flanagan has hit back at men who ghost women after sex in a social media post detailing her experiences as a woman with ADHD.
Helen is best known to soap fans as Rosie Webster, who was part of some major storylines during her time on the ITV soap.
In recent years, she has been incredibly open about her health struggles, and took to Instagram this week to share a carousel of images, each captioned with personal insights into how ADHD affects her day-to-day life.
ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) is a neurodevelopmental condition, which means that it affects how the brain works. People with ADHD may experience patterns of inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity.
Many people with ADHD also experience Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria (RSD). People who experience RSD feel intense emotional pain after failure or rejection, as the brain can’t regulate these emotions or behaviours – something that Helen reflected on in her post.
Discussing her romantic relationships alongside a picture of her younger self with a boyfriend, Helen admitted that they have always been ‘very intense’ and she ‘falls in love hard’.
On the next slide, which showed a picture of her crying, she continued:
‘Last time I had proper feelings for someone it just felt a lot. Intense. My friends say I’m like Cathy Earnshaw in Wuthering Heights lol. I get limerence and I also get terrible rejection sensitivity but I’m learning to deal with that better.’
‘When it comes to sex I’m not a casual girl – I’m a lover girl/wifey and I do get [attached],’ she wrote on the next slide. ‘I think guys that ghost girls after sleeping with them are big fat rats lol.’
On another slide, she added: ‘I go for someone that I find exciting. I go for a soul connection. Someone that makes me feel understood. I look for the male version of me.’
Helen didn’t just talk about how ADHD affects her romantic relationships. She also discussed motherhood, her relationships with her parents, and her previous mental health struggles.
She explained that her mental health was at its worst when she was 21, and that she had ‘OCD intrusive thoughts postnatal’. She also described her experience of psychosis, admitting that she ‘thought of the kids’ to get through.
Helen is the mother of three children, Matilda, Delilah and Charlie, who she shares with ex-partner Scott Sinclair.
The actress also highlighted the positives of ADHD, like the fact that she always has a funny story to tell.
The comments section of the Instagram post was full of support from Helen’s followers.
Fellow Corrie star Tina O’Brien, who plays Sarah Platt, left a series of love heart and clapping emojis, while Christine McGuiness added a love heart emoji.
There were also a lot of comments from people who could relate to Helen’s experiences.
‘Can relate to so many of these fellow ADHD queen,’ Suzie McFadden wrote, while Nikki Shore added: ‘I can relate to this so so much.’
