Aussie model Steph Claire Smith loses followers after devastating diagnosis: 'Guilt and shame'

Aussie influencer and founder of the health and wellness app Kic (Keep It Cleaner) Steph Claire Smith has opened up about finding out she has ADHD at the age of 30, telling the Stellar podcast Something To Talk About that she lost followers due to revealing her diagnosis after a series of tests.

The influencer said she felt 'relieved' to learn of her diagnosis, saying she often felt angry or ashamed of herself.

"For too long I have sat in this daily feeling of guilt and shame for not being this person I wanted to be, or this person that I know would be more likeable to others maybe. I have so much confidence in some areas of my life, always have," she wrote on Instagram when she revealed her diagnosis.

"But I’ve had this internal dialogue for far too long now that has led me to believe I am ‘dumb’, ‘lazy’, ‘unreliable’, ‘disrespectful of others' time’ and more and I can’t tell you what that has done for my confidence at work and in my personal and professional relationships.

"Getting this diagnosis has lifted some of that guilt and shame I’ve carried."

Steph Claire Smith reveals 'horrible sentiment' from online trolls after sharing ADHD diagnosis

On the Something To Talk About podcast, Steph opened up about what it was like to be trolled online after revealing her diagnosis, saying that people tend to still see it as a "trend" due to so many women being diagnosed later in life and that she was nervous to share her news initially.

"It is definitely a horrible sentiment online at the moment with ADHD because women were undiagnosed, a lot of people were coming out with the diagnosis, and [now] people think that it is this trend," she said. "People are just getting sick of hearing about it or whatever, so I was very aware of that and it was one of the things that made me nervous about sharing it."

She also revealed she lost followers after talking about her diagnosis.

"I don't ever look at my following number, I am not an analytical person, but recently for a client I had to look into my insights and I noticed there was a massive spike in unfollows and it was the day I posted about my ADHD diagnosis," she shared.

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On her Instagram and TikTok videos about her ADHD, people flocked to the comments to slam the influencer, saying she was "desperate to stay relevant" and trying to become "the poster girl for ADHD".

"Stoppppp speaking on behalf of ‘everyone with adhd’ please, speak your own truth but it’s this rhetoric that made me ACTIVELY push against my diagnosis for years because I could not relate to somebody with multiple successful businesses, regular work, or the seemingly put-together life you live online," one person ranted. "You cannot ignore the privilege you have to get this diagnosis, and the place you speak from is not an accurate representation for much of your audience."

Others however stuck up for the influencer. "The fear of ‘not’ getting diagnosed is so relatable! I had the same breakdown throughout the process, in case I’d unpacked all these behaviours but wouldn’t have an answer for them," someone wrote. "Wishing you the best for the journey onward from here- you are not alone!"

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Steph Claire Smith and husband Josh Miller expecting baby number two

In lighter news, Steph recently announced she and her husband Josh Miller were expecting baby number two, with the two already doting parents to three-year-old Harvey.

"Harvey’s going to be a big brother," she captioned a series of black and white photos.

Steph opened up further about the pregnancy in another Instagram post, saying, "It’s not lost on me how fortunate we were to have had another smooth ride in falling pregnant, I know how devastating and bumpy that road can be for others. Sending my love to anyone going through fertility challenges right now."

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