At Rappler’s Social Good Summit 2025, the mental health advocate and podcaster talks about being diagnosed with ADHD as an adult and how having a community has helped her

MANILA, Philippines— Wake Up with Jim and Saab podcaster Saab Magalona-Bacarro was a 32-year-old mother of two young sons when she was first diagnosed with Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). 

“It’s like having a lot of tabs open in your web browser, and you just can’t pick one. It’s like, ‘oh, wait, wait, which one, which one?’ And then all of the tasks that you have are absolutely the same importance,” the mental health advocate explained at the Rappler Social Good Summit 2025 on Sunday, November 16.

Prior to learning she had ADHD, she found herself frustrated with a lot of her behaviors, like not being able to finish tasks, forgetting things, and cutting people off mid-sentence.

“I was really mean to myself, pre-diagnosis. I would think, ‘oh, you’re just so annoying’,” she shared.

In December 2020, she received a formal diagnosis that finally gave her the clarity she needed. Her laziness or personality wasn’t a problem, the way she originally thought — it was just how her brain functioned. 

Taking the first step

At the time, she was drowning in overwhelm and self-doubt, but was ultimately motivated to find help for her children’s sake. They needed her, and so she sought support for her ADHD. 

Saab Magalona-Bacarro, Chaos Control Club founder, speaks at the “Resilience, Well-being and Purpose Xperience Workshop” during the Social Good Summit on November 16, 2025.

She tried group coaching based in the United States, which gave her a new sense of self-understanding through listening to the stories of other people with ADHD. Accepting her diagnosis grew easier.

Finding that community reassured her that she wasn’t “going crazy” and that she wasn’t alone in her struggles. “You start thinking, ‘oh, okay, then that’s how your brain works,’ and we move forward,” she said.

Now, she strongly advocates for the ADHD community. She also founded the Chaos Control Club, offering Filipinos the same services that helped her navigate her mental condition, including group-coaching calls, private podcast feeds, and community hubs. 

“The best part is the community where we just talk about what we’re going through,” she said.

Questions lead to answers

Apart from ADHD, Magalona-Bacarro also advocates for cerebral palsy because of her son Pancho. She shared that although in the past, people would hide their disabled children at home out of shame or protection, she personally loves to show off all the things her child is capable of. 

Even when other children see her son in public and ask questions about his physical appearance, she doesn’t take it negatively. 

“I like it that there are opportunities to educate, especially for well-meaning kids and people who are actually curious to learn more,” she said.

Rather than treating mental and physical disabilities as something that shouldn’t be talked about, she encourages people to continue researching and learning about them. 

She had noticed a growing openness about mental health, especially since the pandemic, but she also acknowledges that there still remains a stigma for ADHD and mental disabilities. Many still believe that people with these conditions are simply being overly dramatic. 

Saab Magalona-Bacarro, Chaos Control Club founder, speaks at the “Resilience, Well-being and Purpose Xperience Workshop” during the Social Good Summit on November 16, 2025.

With this, she calls the public to be more open-minded and less judgmental towards these individuals. 

Apart from the stigma, she also recognizes that there is still a lot more to be done in terms of access to support and healthcare. 

“I feel like it has been said that ADHD is just something that only the privileged have. Like, the poor don’t have ADHD. Because [they] can’t afford a diagnosis or treatment,” she said.

She emphasized that the government should provide better accessibility to therapy and psychiatrists, so that more people can get a professional diagnosis and seek treatment. For her, it’s never too late to get help.

Ultimately, with the proper support and community, Magalona-Bacarro believes people with ADHD or other mental or physical disabilities can find a way to move forward despite their condition. –Alyana Fabella/Rappler.com

Alyana Fabella is a Rappler intern studying Bachelor of Arts in Communication at the Ateneo de Manila University.