Paris Hilton is diagnosed with ADHD, says ‘almost like a demon in your mind’

Paris Hilton is diagnosed with ADHD, says ‘almost like a demon in your mind’

• Paris Hilton shares ADHD and RSD diagnoses, discusses their impact on her life.
• She describes RSD as intense emotional pain from real or imagined rejection
• Hilton aims to reframe ADHD as a superpower and raise awareness

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Paris Hilton has spoken candidly about her mental health journey, opening up about a condition she says has deeply shaped her emotional life and career. The 44-year-old reality star, entrepreneur, and media personality revealed that she was diagnosed with ADHD in her late 20s and later learned she also experiences Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria, or RSD.

During her appearance on Dear Media’s podcast The Him and Her Show, Paris Hilton described RSD as an overwhelming emotional response to real or even imagined rejection. Trying to put the experience into words, she compared it to something dark and intrusive. “It’s kind of just this, almost like a demon in your mind that is, like, saying negative self-talk to you,” she said.

Hilton explained that RSD can make even minor interactions feel unbearable. “99 per cent of people with ADHD suffer from RSD. It’s basically, like, any thought of a negative perception, if you think someone is being rude or you feel something,” she shared. “You will feel it like it’s physical pain, and it’s not even real.”

Reflecting on her early fame and relentless media scrutiny in the 2000s, Hilton admitted that the emotional toll was heavy. “I’ve been through so many things in my life and just everything I was going through with the media,” she said, noting how criticism and public judgment amplified her inner struggles. Despite this, Hilton says she has become “obsessed” with learning more about ADHD and RSD, and with using her platform to spread awareness.

Rather than seeing these conditions as limitations, Hilton wants to shift the narrative. “I want people to know that it doesn’t have to be something that holds them back in life; it could be something that they can harness as a superpower to really go for their dreams in life,” she added.

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According to Female First UK, Hilton’s ADHD diagnosis came late partly because the condition was rarely discussed during her childhood. That lack of awareness reportedly affected her education and self-esteem. Hilton has spoken about this before, including in an interview with PEOPLE, where she recalled her school years. “For me growing up, like, no one was talking about ADHD in school. It was so difficult for me to remember things. I would constantly lose my homework and get in trouble with the teachers,” she said.

Today, Hilton is determined to reframe how ADHD is viewed. “I see this as my superpower, and I wouldn’t be the entrepreneur I am today without it,” she explained. “It was me, like, this drive, and always being in the future, and there’s, like, hard parts about it too, very overwhelming.”