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Keeping a secret from someone you love is never easy.

This college student finally reached a point where she knew she needed help managing her ADHD, so she started therapy and finally got a diagnosis.

At first, she planned to keep it secret from her entire family.

But then, she opened up to her mom, and eventually, her sister.

Now, her dad is the only one who doesn’t know, and she’s afraid he’ll be hurt that everyone else found out before he did.

Read on to see why she didn’t want to tell him in the first place.

AITAH for not telling my dad about the diagnosis

I’ve been diagnosed with ADHD this year. Due to college, I’ve hit a wall, and I could no longer manage my problems and way of functioning.

I’ve tried therapy, then got the diagnosis, and I’m officially on meds.

I’m still very much struggling, but I want to believe I’m making some progress and doing something for myself.

I have very loving and supportive parents. At first, I never planned on telling either of them about therapy and everything else.

Now, her mom and sister know about it.

I got a job and paid for every session and all my other expenses myself.

Eventually, in the heat of the moment, I told my mom about therapy, and since then she’s known about everything for the last ±6 months.

I asked her not to tell my dad.

Eventually, my sister also found out, so now he’s the only one in the dark.

She’s scared her father will be hurt.

Now the issue is that I do trust my dad, and I know he would support me, but I have this thing where I want to seem capable in front of him. I’m also having more trouble being vulnerable with him than with my mom.

They give me everything and every opportunity to thrive in college, and yet I struggle.

I am also his child, and he deserves to know what’s going on in my life, but I’m scared of coming off as someone who’s making excuses for themselves. I will tell him everything eventually, but I’m scared he’ll be hurt that I only told my mom and not him at first.

AITA?

Eek! It’s easy to see why she feels this way, but most parents are pretty understanding.

Let’s see how the readers over at Reddit suggest she handle it.

This person doesn’t see that she did anything wrong.

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This reader tells her to stop masking.

According to this comment, it’s not hiding info, it’s just the timing.

This person would feel like they failed their child.

She didn’t do anything wrong.

Sometimes it’s easier to open up to one parent before the other, especially when you’re still trying to process everything yourself. That doesn’t mean she loves or trusts her dad any less.

At the same time, she probably shouldn’t wait too much longer.

If he’s as loving and supportive as she says he is, there’s a good chance he’ll understand. He’ll probably just be happy that she’s getting the help she needs and starting to feel like herself again.

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Author

Heather Hall

Heather Hall | Contributing Writer, Life & Drama

Heather Hall is a contributing writer for TwistedSifter specializing in internet culture, workplace conflict, and viral customer service stories. With over a decade of editorial experience in digital publishing, Heather excels at curating trending online discussions and providing insightful commentary on the daily dramas that capture the internet's attention.

Since beginning her career in 2011, she has developed deep expertise in SEO-driven digital content, having written for a wide array of publications covering lifestyle, business, and travel. At TwistedSifter, Heather focuses on synthesizing complex social media threads into engaging, highly readable narratives that highlight the human element of viral news.

When she isn’t analyzing the latest internet discourse, Heather is a dedicated mother of three sons who takes family gaming nights entirely too seriously—whether she is dominating in Mario Kart, exploring The Legend of Zelda, or jumping into Roblox.

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