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Over the past year, I’ve been quiet. I haven’t shared much publicly about what’s been going on behind the scenes—but today, I’m ready. I’ve been doing detective work on my own body and brain, and what I found has completely shifted how I view myself, my health, and the way I navigate the world.

I’ve decided to break this down by each of the major things I discovered—because they’re not just diagnoses. They’re puzzle pieces that finally help my life make sense.

🧠 ADHD: The First Big Realization

I first realized I had ADHD in 2020, and that opened the door to the world of neurodivergence for me. Like many women, especially those socialized to mask, I had lived so much of my life thinking my challenges were personal failures—not neurological wiring.

For a while, ADHD felt like the missing piece. I dove into the research, connected with the community, and began learning how to build systems that work for the way my brain operates. But there was always a lingering feeling that there was more to the story—some things just didn’t quite fit.

🧩 Autism: The Missing Piece I Didn’t Know I Needed

One night in 2024, I was scrolling through Instagram when I stumbled across content about autism in women. As I read through post after post, a wave of realization hit me—hard. I had a complete breakdown. It was like someone had just described my entire life without ever having met me.

The masking, the intense interests, the difficulty making friends growing up, the need for routines, the sensory sensitivities—all of it suddenly made sense. I had always thought I was “just quirky” or “too intense,” but this was something deeper.

So I pursued a formal autism assessment with an autistic therapist who specializes in evaluations. After four sessions, multiple assessments, and deep reflection, I was officially diagnosed as autistic.

The diagnosis wasn’t a shock—it was a relief. It gave me language for what I’d always felt but never had the words for. It also explained why ADHD alone never fully resonated. I’m both.

🧬 MTHFR: The Genetic Mutation That Changed Everything

Around that same time, I started looking into my health from a genetic perspective. I’ve always been fascinated by genetics—my college thesis film was even about it. I had taken an AncestryDNA test years ago, and after watching a video by someone named Tracy, I uploaded my raw data to a site called Genetic Genie.

What I found? I’m homozygous for a specific gene mutation called MTHFR—yes, that’s really what it’s called (often jokingly referred to as the “mother-eff-er” gene).

This mutation affects how your body detoxes and processes folate, and it can have ripple effects across mental and physical health. It hit me hard—because this wasn’t theoretical. It was right there in my DNA.

I spent months researching it. The more I learned, the more things clicked into place—my energy issues, mood swings, anxiety, even my skin struggles. MTHFR is also highly correlated with both ADHD and autism, which was another sign that everything I was learning was interconnected.

This discovery changed my diet, my supplement routine, and the way I think about my body. I even created a Notion guide of things I’ve learned about MTHFR to help others navigate it.

🦴 Hypermobile EDS: The Final Puzzle Piece

Even with all of that, I still felt like something was missing—especially when it came to my chronic pain, poor posture, and slow skin healing. That’s when I came across hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (hEDS).

The moment I started reading about it, I knew. My pale skin, long fingers, flexible joints, ongoing pain, and even my lifelong bad posture—all of it suddenly made sense. I haven’t received an official diagnosis yet, but everything I’ve read (and everything my body has told me) points clearly in this direction.

What’s wild is that hEDS is often comorbid with MTHFR, autism, and ADHD. Once again, the dots connected.

While there’s no cure for hEDS, learning that I likely have it has given me so much clarity. I’ve started working on posture, looking into physical therapy, and adjusting how I approach exercise and skincare—because this affects everything, right down to how my skin heals.

🧡 What This All Means

Each of these discoveries—ADHD, autism, MTHFR, hEDS—has been life-changing on its own. But together, they form the clearest picture I’ve ever had of myself.

This isn’t about being broken or needing fixing. It’s about finally understanding how my brain and body work so I can support them better.

I’m not sharing this for sympathy. I’m sharing this because I know how powerful it can be to see yourself in someone else’s story. I would never have known to even look into these conditions if it weren’t for people sharing online. And if this resonates with you? Maybe it’s time to explore further too.

🔜 What’s Next

I’m planning deeper-dive videos and Substack posts on each of these topics:

• My autism diagnosis process & signs I missed

• How I changed my diet after learning I had MTHFR

• What I’ve learned so far about hEDS

• The tools and systems that are actually helping me cope

If you’re navigating your own health mysteries or neurodivergent identity, know that you are not alone—and you don’t need to do it all at once. You’re allowed to be a work in progress.

Thanks for reading. I’m grateful you’re here. 💛

Thanks for reading The Optimization Toolbox by Jenna Redfield! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

– Jenna

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