Derry's Micky Doherty on how he's looking forward following life-changing ADHD and Dyspraxia diagnosis

The charismatic entertainer really needs no introduction in the North West, particularly in his beloved home city.

A presenter, entertainer, singer, dancer, charity fundraiser and much more, Micky is a familiar face and voice and his bubbly, outgoing persona has brought joy to many.

However, he has made no secret of the fact that he has gone through many dark days personally, having experienced addiction, self-harm and mental illness over the decades.

He speaks openly about these matters in a bid to help others and now, following a diagnosis of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Dyspraxia, does so again.

Speaking to the Journal, Micky said that, following the diagnosis, many aspects of his past now make more ‘sense’ to him and he is determined to move forward positively.

This includes competing in the forthcoming Liam Ball Triathlon and launching a new Youtube channel called ‘A Date with the Derry boy’.

The confirmation of ADHD and dyspraxia came following a frightening time of very ill health for Micky, where ‘everything came to a head’.

"I was very unwell in the last couple of years. I wasn’t sleeping for days. I was falling and I wasn’t sleeping from show to show. The flashing lights in the late night gigs weren’t helping. People used to ask me how I had the energy and it was because I just couldn’t settle. It was getting that bad that I had to stay with my sister and things got out of control with my mental health.”

Micky sought help and was referred to Old Bridge House, before receiving the diagnosis.

"When I was diagnosed, I decided I was going to turn it around and do something about it. I was going to do something positive. I had bad mental health since I was a young child. I know the people of Derry know me as someone who would make them laugh and entertain them, but I depended on them a lot as well for that love and euphoria.

"When I was coming off stage at night, I was so high and then when I went home, I was so low. From the age of 14, I was addicted. It’s been a tough journey, but I’m alive and I’m here.

"I was emotional after my diagnosis but I don’t feel on my own. I know it’s a condition and I’m reading up about it and finding out things. With the dyspraxia, my coordination has always been awful, but now I know it all fits. This has been going on a lifetime, I just hid it very well. But, I thought, this is a life-changing diagnosis and I wanted to change into something positive.”

Micky, who now takes medication and says he’s like a ‘new man’, set himself a challenge.

"I found that to change a habit in the brain it takes 21 days, so I started to do 21 days of affirmation. My brain started to heal a lot of itself from negative to positive. I’ve been doing cold water dipping for the last two years and that is amazing.

“I met a friend, Sean Rice of SRI Media and he asked if I would be interested in doing a Youtube Channel, which we’ve been recording. I also set myself a challenge to do the Liam Ball Triathlon. I’ve never swam in my life or got on a bike. I got in touch with friends Deborah Sainsbury and Lisa McIntyre and asked if I could go running with them and they took me out on the roads. I joined a swimming club, Shauna Mullan took me for my first lesson. I couldn’t even make it up the first length of the pool, but she never gave up on me. I also met with a schoolfriend called Gavin Divin, who is a north west triathlete. They are all such great supports.”

Micky is undertaking the triathlon – a 750m pool swim, a 20km bike and a 5km run – on May 28 to raise funds for Derry’s ZEST and ARC Fitness. He is being sponsored by North West Triathlon Club, the Bentley Group, Vogue Competitions and K-Dence Apparel.

With the Youtube channel, Micky wants to focus on mental health, positivity and well-being and the supports available within the community.

"Part one is going to be focused on the Liam Ball triathlon, Zest, which supports people who self-harm and ARC (Addiction Recovery Coaching) Fitness and then cold water dipping, meditations, helping your mental health etc. If that one Youtube channel could even help one person, it would be great. I want to use it it speak to people from all walks of life in Derry and also want it to be light-hearted fun.”

Micky said that, following his diagnosis, he now wants to ‘get on with life’.

"I know now where the self harming came from and I’m able to look back and see how I had low self worth. I struggled in school. No-one ever asked me if everything was alright. I was always seen as destructive or the class clown, or attention-seeking. Thankfully now, there are supports, but we didn’t have that.

“My mother, before she passed away, always said to me: ‘Michael, when you stop worrying about other people’s opinions, you start to live’, so I’m trying to turn something like my diagnosis around into something positive. They say our Lord fell three times, well I fell 53 times! But I’m still picking myself up. I get up all the time and I try all the time.”

See ZEST and ARC Fitness on Facebook to donate to Micky’s chosen charities.