Looking for further guidance and support on ADHD Women's Wellbeing? Check out my resource library here. The 'ADHD Women's Wellbeing Workshop Series' is on offer this July. Head here to learn more about the workshops and use code JULY to get 35% off.

If you've ever wondered why it took so long to get answers, for yourself or for your daughter, this episode is going to feel very familiar.

On this week's episode of The ADHD Women's Wellbeing Podcast, I'm joined by Dr Olivia Kessel, a former medical doctor who graduated from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and began her career in the trauma unit at Johannesburg General Hospital.

Olivia is now the host of the SEND Parenting Podcast and has spoken at the UK House of Lords on patient-centred care, appeared on BBC Radio and BBC Sounds, and addressed healthcare professionals and policy leaders on neurodiversity. She is also the mother of Alexandra, fourteen, who has mild cerebral palsy, dyslexia and ADHD, and the author of Beyond the Label: Empowering Parents of ADHD Girls.

In this episode, Olivia shares the remarkable and deeply personal journey that took her from practising medicine across three continents to founding the SEND Parenting community, after years of not recognising ADHD in her own daughter despite her medical background. We talk about why girls are still being diagnosed four to five years later than boys, how emotional dysregulation, masking and internalised struggles are so often missed, and what parents can actually do when they find themselves navigating a system that wasn't built for their child.

In this episode, we cover:

• Why girls with ADHD are still being diagnosed four to five years later than boys, and what needs to change
• How ADHD can present in girls as anxiety, people pleasing and internalised struggle rather than hyperactivity
• Why 52% of people with dyslexia also have ADHD, and why the two should never be looked at in isolation
• The emotional dysregulation that doesn't appear in the DSM diagnostic criteria, and why that matters
• Why Olivia, as a doctor, still missed her daughter's ADHD for years
• How the EHCP process almost broke her, and why it shouldn't be this hard for any family
• The four wheels that need to be running for an ADHD brain to thrive: medication, nutrition, sleep and school support
• Why early screening for neurodivergence in schools would benefit every child, not just those who are neurodivergent
• How Olivia's daughter Alexandra went from chaos to making cottage pie by herself after finally getting the right support
• What parents can bring to their GP to start asking the right questions

Discover other ADHD Women's Wellbeing Podcast parenting-related episodes here.

Timestamps:

00:00 - Welcome, and introducing Dr Olivia Kessel

01:44 - Olivia's career: from South Africa to Swaziland to the UK

08:55 - The EHCP process, and why it almost broke her

10:16 - How a former medical doctor missed her daughter's ADHD diagnosis

12:19 - Why girls are diagnosed so much later than boys

14:19 - How ADHD presents differently in girls: internalisation, anxiety and masking

16:27 - Dyslexia, ADHD and autism: why they rarely travel alone

18:17 - Sleep, emotional regulation and the things the DSM leaves out

22:06 - What changes when families finally understand their child's diagnosis

24:34 - Parenting with a neuroaffirming lens: Kate's own experience

27:06 - How Alexandra has grown in her own self-awareness at fourteen

30:26 - Why so many neurodivergent people were always there, just hiding

34:27 - Screens, social media and navigating this as an ADHD parent

40:19 - Why schools should teach every child as if they were neurodivergent

43:30 - Olivia's book Beyond the Label, her podcast and her ADHD mum community

45:33 - Why patients are currently leading the doctors on neurodiversity

Links and Resources:

• Find my popular ADHD workshops and resources on my website here.
• Follow the podcast on Instagram: @adhd_womenswellbeing_pod
• Visit Olivia's website: sendparenting.com
• Connect with Olivia on Instagram: @drolivia.sendparenting
• Listen to Olivia's podcast: SEND Parenting Podcast
• Get Olivia's book: Beyond the Label: Empowering Parents of ADHD Girls

Kate Moryoussef is a women's ADHD lifestyle and wellbeing coach and EFT practitioner who helps overwhelmed and unfulfilled newly diagnosed women with ADHD find more calm, balance, hope, health, compassion, creativity, and clarity.

Looking for further guidance and support on ADHD Women's Wellbeing? Check out my resource library here. The 'ADHD Women's Wellbeing Workshop Series' is on offer this July. Head here to learn more about the workshops and use code JULY to get 35% off.

If you've been told your pain is growing pains, anxiety or just something you need to live with, this episode might be the beginning of finally understanding what's actually been going on in your body.

On this week's episode of The ADHD Women's Wellbeing Podcast, I'm joined by Alexandra Orfanides, a London-based hypermobility specialist osteopath and founder of Hypermobility HQ.

Alexandra hosts the Help! I'm Hypermobile podcast and is the author of the book of the same name. She believes that "incurable" does not mean "untreatable," and she's on a mission to help the hypermobile community feel seen, supported, and informed.

In this episode, Alex and I talk about the significant overlap between hypermobility and neurodivergence, why so many women spend decades being dismissed or misdiagnosed, and what it actually means to understand your body through this lens. We also get into the difference between osteopathy and physiotherapy, how to recognise signs of hypermobility in children, and why self-treatment strategies are such a crucial part of managing a connective tissue condition day-to-day.

In this episode, we cover:

• What hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome and hypermobility spectrum disorder actually are, and why the terminology matters
• Why growing pains are not a real diagnosis, and what to look for in children instead
• The strong correlation between hypermobility, ADHD and neurodivergence
• How conditions like endometriosis, PCOS and dysmenorrhea overlap with hEDS and HSD
• Why gastrointestinal issues in children should never just be dismissed as IBS
• The difference between osteopathy and physiotherapy, and how to find the right practitioner
• How chronic pain, headaches and migraines can be connected to hypermobile connective tissue
• Why rhythmic movement, including swimming and dancing, can be so regulating for hypermobile and neurodivergent bodies
• The importance of self-treatment strategies for people who can't always access clinic appointments
• Why a diagnosis is a privilege, and how Help! I'm Hypermobile was written to reach the people who couldn't afford one

Timestamps:

00:00 - Welcome, and introducing Alexandra Orfanides

01:40 - Alex's personal story: growing up with undiagnosed pain

05:52 - From English literature to osteopathy

09:45 - Why hypermobility patients kept finding their way to Alex's clinic

11:46 - The overlap between hypermobility, ADHD and neurodivergence

14:12 - Osteopathy vs physiotherapy: what's the difference?

17:36 - Terminology: hEDS, HSD, condition vs disorder

20:30 - What patients are coming in knowing, and what they're not

23:57 - Signs to look for in children: growing pains, gut issues and more

28:15 - Endometriosis, PCOS and hormonal conditions in hypermobile bodies

30:39 - Migraines, headaches and the connection to the neck and connective tissue

36:32 - The gatekeeping problem and self-treatment strategies

39:24 - Working as a team with your patients

43:35 - Why Alex wrote Help! I'm Hypermobile

45:42 - How to work with Alex and what to expect

Links and Resources:

• Find my popular ADHD workshops and resources on my website [here].
• Follow the podcast on Instagram: @adhd_womenswellbeing_pod
• Visit Alexandra's website: hypermobilityhq.com
• Connect with Alexandra on Instagram, YouTube, TikTok and Pinterest: @hypermobilityhq
• Listen to Alex's podcast: Help! I'm Hypermobile
• Get Alex's book: Help! I'm Hypermobile: Your How-To Guide for hEDS, HSD, and Life in a Hypermobile Body
• Research: Gynaecological conditions in hEDS and HSD (Daylor et al., 2025): https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm14165636
• Research: Defining growing pains — a scoping review (O'Keeffe et al., 2022): https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2021-052578

Kate Moryoussef is a women's ADHD lifestyle and wellbeing coach and EFT practitioner who helps overwhelmed and unfulfilled newly diagnosed women with ADHD find more calm, balance, hope, health, compassion, creativity, and clarity.

Looking for ADHD support this summer? My entire 'ADHD Women's Wellbeing Series' is on offer this July. Head here to learn more about the workshops and use code JULY to get 35% off.

Now that summer is upon us, it can be both a vibrant and overwhelming time, and can often feel like riding a rollercoaster for your nervous system when you are ADHD or neurodivergent.

This season brings a whirlwind of social engagements and activities that ramp up our energy and excitement. But for many of us, this relentless pace leads to overwhelm and burnout if we don't balance that activation with necessary moments of calm. In this episode, we delve into understanding our nervous systems and recognising when we're becoming overactivated.

Activation itself isn't the problem; joy, excitement, creativity, travel, and meaningful work can all be activating. But staying in this energy for weeks can lead to reactivity, snapping, disturbed sleep, and emotional exhaustion. Kate shares her tips for bringing balance into daily life through micro mindful moments, rather than waiting for burnout to force you to slow down.

You'll hear how you can proactively weave grounding practices into your routine, whether it's a few minutes of breathwork, a walk in nature, or simply pausing to check in with yourself.

In this episode, we cover:

• How summer's whirlwind of social activities can feel exciting but overwhelming, especially for those of us with ADHD
• Why understanding the difference between nervous system activation and regulation is key to managing our responses during busy times
• Daily moments of regulation aren't luxuries, but necessary maintenance for our well-being
• How grounding activities like yoga, breathwork, or time in nature help us recharge and prevent burnout
• Why listening to our bodies is vital, and how ignoring signs of fatigue often leads to burnout
• How to find a rhythm between activation and regulation, rather than staying in a constant state of high energy or anxiety

🌟 The ADHD Women's Wellbeing Live Event Audio Experience is here!

My first-ever ADHD Women's Wellbeing Live event sold out, and now the full experience is available to you wherever you are, whenever it feels right.

Alongside three neuro-affirming experts, we spent four hours exploring the questions that matter most to women diagnosed late in life with ADHD. Get lifetime access here!

Links and Resources:

• Find my popular ADHD workshops and resources on my website here
• Follow the podcast on Instagram: @adhd_womenswellbeing_pod
• Grab your copy of my book, The ADHD Women's Wellbeing Toolkit here

Kate Moryoussef is an author, podcaster and women's ADHD lifestyle and wellbeing coach and EFT practitioner who helps overwhelmed and unfulfilled newly diagnosed women with ADHD find more calm, balance, hope, health, compassion, creativity, and clarity.

Looking for ADHD support this summer? My entire 'ADHD Women's Wellbeing Series' is on offer this July. Head here to learn more about the workshops and use code JULY to get 35% off.

Now that summer is upon us, it can be both a vibrant and overwhelming time, and can often feel like riding a rollercoaster for your nervous system when you are ADHD or neurodivergent.

This season brings a whirlwind of social engagements and activities that ramp up our energy and excitement. But for many of us, this relentless pace leads to overwhelm and burnout if we don't balance that activation with necessary moments of calm. In this episode, we delve into understanding our nervous systems and recognising when we're becoming overactivated.

Activation itself isn't the problem; joy, excitement, creativity, travel, and meaningful work can all be activating. But staying in this energy for weeks can lead to reactivity, snapping, disturbed sleep, and emotional exhaustion. Kate shares her tips for bringing balance into daily life through micro mindful moments, rather than waiting for burnout to force you to slow down.

You'll hear how you can proactively weave grounding practices into your routine, whether it's a few minutes of breathwork, a walk in nature, or simply pausing to check in with yourself.

In this episode, we cover:

• How summer's whirlwind of social activities can feel exciting but overwhelming, especially for those of us with ADHD
• Why understanding the difference between nervous system activation and regulation is key to managing our responses during busy times
• Daily moments of regulation aren't luxuries, but necessary maintenance for our well-being
• How grounding activities like yoga, breathwork, or time in nature help us recharge and prevent burnout
• Why listening to our bodies is vital, and how ignoring signs of fatigue often leads to burnout
• How to find a rhythm between activation and regulation, rather than staying in a constant state of high energy or anxiety

🌟 The ADHD Women's Wellbeing Live Event Audio Experience is here!

My first-ever ADHD Women's Wellbeing Live event sold out, and now the full experience is available to you wherever you are, whenever it feels right.

Alongside three neuro-affirming experts, we spent four hours exploring the questions that matter most to women diagnosed late in life with ADHD. Get lifetime access here!

Links and Resources:

• Find my popular ADHD workshops and resources on my website here
• Follow the podcast on Instagram: @adhd_womenswellbeing_pod
• Grab your copy of my book, The ADHD Women's Wellbeing Toolkit here

Kate Moryoussef is an author, podcaster and women's ADHD lifestyle and wellbeing coach and EFT practitioner who helps overwhelmed and unfulfilled newly diagnosed women with ADHD find more calm, balance, hope, health, compassion, creativity, and clarity.

Looking for ADHD self-empowerment, guidance and support? Look through my ADHD Women's Wellbeing resources here. My entire 'ADHD Women's Wellbeing Series' is on offer this July. Head here to learn more about the workshops and use code JULY to get 35% off.

I'm sure you relate to recalling an entire conversation from months ago or even song lyrics from the 80s, but forgetting why you walked into a room thirty seconds ago?

On this week's episode of The ADHD Women's Wellbeing Podcast, I'm joined by Dr Sarah Rudebeck, a clinical psychologist with a PhD in memory from the University of Oxford.

Sarah specialises in working memory and executive function difficulties in adults, and is the co-founder of Recallify, an AI companion for memory support. She works clinically in the NHS, with a particular interest in bridging the gap between what research tells us about memory and what people are actually offered in terms of help.

In this episode, we talk about the difference between memories that are simply hard to retrieve under pressure and genuine working memory difficulties, why so many ADHD adults share a similar cognitive profile of strong intellectual ability alongside weaker working memory and attention, and why working memory cannot be trained like a muscle, no matter how many crosswords or brain games we try. We also get into the practical side, from school admin and parenting reminders to household overwhelm and overbuying, and how Sarah's own frustration with the gap between research and everyday support led her to co-found Recallify.

In this episode, we cover:

• The difference between memories that are "in there" and memories you can retrieve under pressure
• What working memory actually is, and how it differs from attention, executive function and long-term memory
• The common ADHD cognitive profile: strong intellectual ability alongside weaker working memory and processing speed
• What happens during a neuropsychological assessment, and what it reveals about your own pattern of strengths and difficulties
• Why working memory cannot be trained like a muscle, and what the research on brain training actually shows
• How hormonal changes in midlife can affect word retrieval and confidence
• Where working memory difficulties show up day to day, from school admin to household overwhelm
• Why so many of us overbuy and overcompensate rather than under-organise
• Sarah's own experience of dyslexia and learning to lean on her strengths
• How Recallify came about, and how its brain dump and task features work

Timestamps:

• 00:00 - Welcome, and introducing Dr Sarah Rudebeck
• 01:23 - Sarah's background and her work in the NHS
• 02:43 - Why memory can feel reliable in conversation but fail under pressure
• 05:50 - What working memory actually is
• 08:36 - What happens during a neuropsychological assessment
• 12:21 - How working memory difficulties show up in children at school
• 14:41 - Why working memory cannot be trained like a muscle
• 19:44 - Everyday examples: parenting, school admin and household overwhelm
• 24:38 - Why so many of us overbuy rather than under-organise
• 29:31 - Using your strengths to work around your weaknesses
• 32:01 - How the gap in NHS support led Sarah to create Recallify
• 46:33 - Sarah's free trial offer for listeners

This week's episode is sponsored by elete, a simple way to support your hydration by adding essential electrolytes to the water you're already drinking. So many of us get completely absorbed in a task and forget to drink anything for hours, then wonder why we feel foggy or flat later in the day. Elete is sugar-free, with no artificial sweeteners or unnecessary additives, and it's trusted by health-conscious families, athletes and wellness professionals alike. Head to eletewater.co.uk and use the code WWP20 for an exclusive 20% listener discount.

Links and Resources:

• Find my popular ADHD workshops and resources on my website [here].
• Follow the podcast on Instagram: @adhd_womenswellbeing_pod
• Visit Recallify's website: recallify.ai
• Connect with Recallify on Instagram: instagram.com/recallify.ai, Facebook and LinkedIn
• Email Sarah's team for a free one-month trial of Recallify; each voucher is unique so you'll need to get in touch directly: [email protected]

Kate Moryoussef is a women's ADHD lifestyle and wellbeing coach and EFT practitioner who helps overwhelmed and unfulfilled newly diagnosed women with ADHD find more calm, balance, hope, health, compassion, creativity, and clarity.

Looking for ADHD support this summer? My entire 'ADHD Women's Wellbeing Series' is on offer this July. Head here to learn more about the workshops and use code JULY to get 35% off.

Some of the deepest childhood wounds don't come from parents who shouted or hurt us. Sometimes they come from parents who simply never had the tools to truly see us.

On this week's episode of The ADHD Women's Wellbeing Podcast, I'm joined by Sian Crossley, a London-trained psychotherapist, author and the founder of Break the Cycle Coaching.

With a background in both private practice and the NHS, Sian specialises in helping adults understand and heal from the lasting impact of emotionally immature parenting. Through her writing, courses and online community, she helps thoughtful, self-aware people untangle patterns like people pleasing, self-doubt and over-responsibility, so they can build healthier boundaries and more authentic relationships. She's the author of How to Heal from Emotionally Immature Parents, and now lives in Malaysia with her two young children, working with clients and audiences around the world.

In this episode, Sian and I talk about what emotionally immature parenting actually looks like, even in a childhood where all the practical boxes were ticked. We explore why feeling unseen can leave a lasting impact, how undiagnosed neurodivergence in a parent's generation often went unnamed and unsupported, and why grief and acceptance matter more than forgiveness when it comes to healing. Sian also shares the foundations of emotionally mature parenting, and how small, consistent changes, like simply asking a child how they feel, can start to break old patterns without anyone needing to be perfect.

In this episode, we cover:

• What emotionally immature parenting really looks like, even in a "good enough" childhood
• The difference between big T and little T trauma
• How undiagnosed neurodivergence in parents shapes the way love and connection are shown
• Parentification, and what it means when a child becomes their parent's emotional support
• Why grief and acceptance matter more than forgiveness when healing childhood trauma
• The "and, not but" technique for holding two truths about a parent at once
• Why childhood memories can feel fragmented after emotional neglect
• Breaking generational cycles without overcorrecting as a parent
• The four foundations of emotionally mature parenting: regulation, self-awareness, empathy and boundaries
• Why asking a child how something made them feel can change everything

Timestamps:

• 00:00 - Welcome, and introducing Sian Crossley and her book
• 02:40 - What emotionally immature parenting actually looks like
• 05:03 - Why feeling unseen can matter more than what was provided practically
• 06:15 - Parentification and becoming a parent's emotional support
• 07:51 - Kate's own story: a late ADHD diagnosis and family patterns
• 11:34 - Where healing actually begins
• 14:48 - Why too much empathy for parents can get in the way of healing
• 17:16 - Breaking the cycle without overcorrecting as a parent
• 22:41 - Why fragmented childhood memories are so common
• 25:23 - Grief, acceptance and why forgiveness isn't the goal
• 34:03 - The "and, not but" technique for holding two truths
• 39:05 - The four foundations of emotionally mature parenting
• 45:04 - How to work with Sian

🌟 The ADHD Women's Wellbeing Live Event Audio Experience is here!

My first-ever ADHD Women's Wellbeing Live event sold out, and now the full experience is available to you wherever you are, whenever it feels right.

Alongside three neuro-affirming experts, we spent four hours exploring the questions that matter most to late-diagnosed women. Get lifetime access here!

Inside the ADHD Women's Wellbeing Audio Experience, you'll find:

• Kate Moryoussef on post-diagnosis growth and her gentle framework for what comes next
• Dr Hannah Cullen on the neuroscience of ADHD and why your brain works the way it does
• Hannah Miller on reconnecting with purpose through a neurodivergent lens
• Adele Wimsett myth-busting on hormones, HRT, progesterone and perimenopause

Understand yourself more deeply, feel less alone, and finally access the expert knowledge you deserve because every woman with ADHD deserves access to the knowledge, expertise and understanding that for too long hasn't been available to us.

To get lifetime access for £44, click here.

Links and Resources:

• Find my popular ADHD workshops and resources on my website [here].
• Follow the podcast on Instagram: @adhd_womenswellbeing_pod
• Visit Sian's website: breakthecyclecoaching.co.uk
• Connect with Sian on Instagram: @sianmorgancrossley
• Check out Sian's book, How to Heal from Emotionally Immature Parents
• Start a free trial of Sian's membership here

Kate Moryoussef is a women's ADHD lifestyle and wellbeing coach and EFT practitioner who helps overwhelmed and unfulfilled newly diagnosed women with ADHD find more calm, balance, hope, health, compassion, creativity, and clarity.

With thanks to our Sponsor: This week's episode is sponsored by Elete, a simple way to support your hydration by adding essential electrolytes to the water you're already drinking. So many of us get completely absorbed in a task and forget to drink anything for hours, then wonder why we feel foggy or flat later in the day. Elete is sugar-free, with no artificial sweeteners or unnecessary additives, and it's trusted by health-conscious families, athletes and wellness professionals alike. Head to eletewater.co.uk and use the code WWP20 for an exclusive 20% listener discount.

🌟 Kate's opening a small number of 1-2-1 sessions, a chance to bring whatever's on your mind and get some focused time together. Book your session here.

This week's episode:

If you've ever wanted to scream into a pillow, shake out your whole body, or hide in the car just to feel something move through you, you are not broken. You are just finally listening to what your nervous system has been asking for all along.

On this week's episode of The ADHD Women's Wellbeing Podcast, I'm sharing a workshop I ran inside the More Yourself membership, where we go a little deeper into topics like this together, alongside guest experts and ongoing connection with other neurodivergent women.

This episode is all about regulation, both ours and our children's, and why the small, consistent tweaks matter so much more than any big overhaul. We talk about identifying what's quietly dysregulating us before we even notice it, why co-regulating with our kids starts with regulating ourselves first, and why so many of us, especially as women, were never taught how to safely let emotion move through our bodies. I share some of the somatic tools I lean on, including EFT, and a few honest, real-life examples of what this can look like in practice.

In this episode, we cover:

• Why self regulation always comes before co-regulating your children
• How to identify your own dysregulation triggers, from sleep and hydration to screen time
• Why small, consistent tweaks matter more than big overhauls
• How to talk to your child about big emotions once things have calmed down
• The hidden impact of constant phone notifications and micro-interruptions on your nervous system
• Why so many women have been conditioned to suppress their voice and emotions
• Using EFT and tapping as a release tool for emotional dysregulation
• Somatic ways to release stuck emotion, including shaking, dancing, singing and screaming
• Why giving your child a safe space to release big feelings matters
• The importance of self compassion and validating your own experience

Timestamps:

• 00:00 - Welcome, and introducing this week's More Yourself workshop episode
• 00:33 - What this episode covers: dysregulation, family dynamics and emotional release
• 02:21 - Today's episode begins
• 02:23 - Why regulating yourself comes first
• 03:30 - Working backwards to identify your own dysregulation triggers
• 04:30 - Co-regulating with your child once things have calmed down
• 05:30 - The impact of constant phone notifications on the nervous system
• 06:30 - Why women have been conditioned to suppress emotion
• 08:00 - Giving your child a safe space to release big feelings
• 09:30 - EFT, tapping and other somatic release tools
• 12:45 - Closing thoughts and where to find more support

🌟 The ADHD Women's Wellbeing Live Event Audio Experience is here!

My first-ever ADHD Women's Wellbeing Live event sold out, and now the full experience is available to you wherever you are, whenever it feels right.

Alongside three neuro-affirming experts, we spent four hours exploring the questions that matter most to late-diagnosed women. Get lifetime access here!

Inside the ADHD Women's Wellbeing Audio Experience, you'll find:

• Kate Moryoussef on post-diagnosis growth and her gentle framework for what comes next
• Dr Hannah Cullen on the neuroscience of ADHD and why your brain works the way it does
• Hannah Miller on reconnecting with purpose through a neurodivergent lens
• Adele Wimsett myth-busting on hormones, HRT, progesterone and perimenopause

Understand yourself more deeply, feel less alone, and finally access the expert knowledge you deserve because every woman with ADHD deserves access to the knowledge, expertise and understanding that for too long hasn't been available to us.

To get lifetime access for £44, click here.

Links and Resources:

• Find my popular ADHD workshops and resources on my website here
• Follow the podcast on Instagram: @adhd_womenswellbeing_pod
• Grab your copy of my book, The ADHD Women's Wellbeing Toolkit here

Kate Moryoussef is a women's ADHD lifestyle and wellbeing coach and EFT practitioner who helps overwhelmed and unfulfilled newly diagnosed women with ADHD find more calm, balance, hope, health, compassion, creativity, and clarity.

🌟 Kate's opening a small number of 1-2-1 sessions, a chance to bring whatever's on your mind and get some focused time together. Book your session here.

This week's episode: When we finally receive a diagnosis, it can feel like the missing piece. But for so many AuDHD women, it's only the beginning of a much longer journey — one that takes us back through everything we thought we knew about ourselves.

This week on The ADHD Women's Wellbeing Podcast, I'm welcoming back Dr Samantha Hiew, AuDHDer, scientist, and founder of ADHD Girls. Diagnosed with ADHD at 40, Sam has since received a working autism diagnosis after a seven-month struggle with clinicians who focused on developmental delays and trauma, rather than listening to her experiences.

Since we last spoke, Sam has launched a major lived experience survey, and the findings are both validating and hard to sit with. This is a rich and honest conversation about what it really means to be a neurodivergent woman navigating identity, relationships, midlife, and a healthcare system that still doesn't fully see us.

In this episode, we explore:

• Sam's seven-month fight for an autism diagnosis and what it reveals about how the system fails women
• What a lived experience survey of 400+ AuDHD women found about masking, identity and emotional safety
• Why AuDHD women are predisposed to abandon themselves and how masking becomes survival
• Relational trauma, sexual trauma, and patterns of conditioning in neurodivergent women
• Perimenopause, unmasking, and what the hormonal shift reveals
• Rebuilding self-trust and building community after a lifetime of masking as an AuDHD woman
• The seasons of womanhood framework and how perimenopause represents autumn
• The neuroscience of RSD and the salience network in ADHD and autism
• Why psychiatry prescribes without brain scans, genetic testing, or hormonal context and the harm this causes
• Self-advocacy tool for ND women navigating healthcare systems
• Sam's AuDHD women's advanced practitioner programme

Listen to our previous episodes with Samantha below:

Episode 28: Advocating For Your Neurodiversity In The Workplace with Samantha Hiew

Episode 108: The Intersection Between ADHD and Autism with Dr Samantha Hiew

Support and information on topics raised in today's episode:

Refuge website and support link

Women's Aid Website

The ADHD Women's Wellbeing Live Event Recording is here!

My first-ever ADHD Women's Wellbeing Live event sold out, and now the full experience is available to you wherever you are, whenever it feels right.

Alongside three neuro-affirming experts, we spent four hours exploring the questions that matter most to late-diagnosed women. Get lifetime access here!

Inside the ADHD Women's Wellbeing Live Recording, you'll find:

• Kate Moryoussef on post-diagnosis growth and her gentle framework for what comes next
• Dr Hannah Cullen on the neuroscience of ADHD and why your brain works the way it does
• Hannah Miller on reconnecting with purpose through a neurodivergent lens
• Adele Wimsett myth-busting on hormones, HRT, progesterone and perimenopause

Understand yourself more deeply, feel less alone, and finally access the expert knowledge you deserve because every woman with ADHD deserves access to the knowledge, expertise and understanding that for too long hasn't been available to us.

To get lifetime access for £44, click here.

Links and Resources:

• Find my popular ADHD workshops and resources on my website [here].
• Follow the podcast on Instagram: @adhd_womenswellbeing_pod
• Visit Samantha's website (samanthahiew.com) or connect with Samantha on LinkedIn
• Samantha's AuDHD women's advanced practitioner programme
• Samantha's self-advocacy tool for ND women navigating healthcare systems
• Master's Event: Transform Trauma Oxford

Kate Moryoussef is a women's ADHD lifestyle and wellbeing coach and EFT practitioner who helps overwhelmed and unfulfilled newly diagnosed ADHD women find more calm, balance, hope, health, compassion, creativity and clarity.

This week's episode is sponsored by Elete, a simple way to support your hydration by adding essential electrolytes to the water you're already drinking. So many of us get completely absorbed in a task and forget to drink anything for hours, then wonder why we feel foggy or flat later in the day. Elete is sugar-free, with no artificial sweeteners or unnecessary additives, and it's trusted by health-conscious families, athletes and wellness professionals alike. Head to eletewater.co.uk and use the code WWP20 for an exclusive 20% listener discount.

🌟 Kate's opening a small number of 1-2-1 sessions, a chance to bring whatever's on your mind and get some focused time together. Book your session here.

This week's episode: How often do you feel completely exhausted all day, yet when you get yourself to bed early, your brain switches on, and you're unable to sleep?

You do everything you're told to: no screens, no caffeine, a cool dark room, yet your brain is still filled with thoughts, to-do lists and the things you said 5 years ago.

But the reality is, for ADHD brains, sleep isn't a habit problem... It's a neurological problem. And the standard advice around skeeo hygiene and behaviour was never built with us in mind.

This week on The ADHD Women's Wellbeing Podcast, I'm joined by ADHD sleep expert, Heather Darwall-Smith, a psychotherapist specialising in sleep, with a particular focus on adults with ADHD.

Heather was herself diagnosed with ADHD late in life, and that lived experience sits alongside her clinical expertise in everything she does. Her new book, The ADHD Sleep Book: A Compassionate Guide for the Wired and Overtired Brain, is the first book dedicated specifically to ADHD and sleep.

In this episode, we explore:

• Why 75% of people with ADHD experience chronic sleep problems
• Chronotypes, body clocks, and ADHD sleep disorders explained
• Heather's late ADHD diagnosis: from panic attacks and bipolar misdiagnosis to clarity
• How the ADHD stress response causes hyperarousal and disrupted sleep at night
• ADHD medication timing and sleep: why getting both right is so complex
• How family sleep beliefs and intergenerational patterns affect ADHD rest
• Phone addiction, sleep, and navigating different sleep needs as a couple
• The hidden link between ADHD, binge eating, and sleep apnea
• Why perfectionism and insomnia feed each other in the ADHD brain
• Hormones, perimenopause, and ADHD, sleep, and when to get your bloods checked

Heather brings a unique blend of neuroscience, psychology, personal experience and genuine compassion to a topic that so many of us have struggled with in silence. If you have ever felt like you're the only one who can't sleep or just need to try harder, this episode is for you.

The ADHD Women's Wellbeing Live Event Recording is here!

My first-ever ADHD Women's Wellbeing Live event sold out, and now the full experience is available to you wherever you are, whenever it feels right.

Alongside three neuro-affirming experts, we spent four hours exploring the questions that matter most to women diagnosed late. Get lifetime access here!

Inside the ADHD Women's Wellbeing Live Recording, you'll find:

• Kate Moryoussef on post-diagnosis growth and her gentle framework for what comes next
• Dr Hannah Cullen on the neuroscience of ADHD and why your brain works the way it does
• Hannah Miller on reconnecting with purpose through a neurodivergent lens
• Adele Wimsett myth-busting on hormones, HRT, progesterone and perimenopause

Understand yourself more deeply, feel less alone, and finally access the expert knowledge you deserve. Because every woman with ADHD deserves access to the knowledge, expertise and understanding that for too long simply hasn't been available to us.

To get lifetime access for £44, click here.

Links and Resources:

• Find my popular ADHD workshops and resources on my website [here].
• Follow the podcast on Instagram: @adhd_womenswellbeing_pod
• Visit Heather's website: heatherdarwallsmith.com or adhdsleepclub.com
• Connect with Heather on Instagram @thesleeppsychotherapist and @adhdsleepclub
• Check out Heather's book, The ADHD Sleep Book

Kate Moryoussef is a women's ADHD lifestyle and wellbeing coach and EFT practitioner who helps overwhelmed and unfulfilled newly diagnosed women with ADHD find more calm, balance, hope, health, compassion, creativity, and clarity.

Building a business with an ADHD brain can feel less like following a carefully laid plan and more like learning to work with ever-changing waves of energy, focus, and creativity. How do you create something sustainable for you, and what are the best foundations to start from?

This episode is part of a workshop I delivered called Just Because You Can Solve It Doesn't Mean You Should. It's a gentle but powerful reframe for ADHD women building businesses who want to work with their nervous system rather than constantly pushing against it.

You'll discover why trying to force consistency, productivity, and motivation every day may be working against you, and how understanding your natural energy patterns can help you build a business that feels more sustainable and supportive.

This episode explores:

• Why coming to understand that ADHD energy is not linear can help you embrace fluctuations in your productivity and creativity.
• How hormonal cycles greatly influence your motivation and energy levels, which is important to recognise in business.
• Why you should practice self-compassion on low-energy days and reframe motivation
• Listening to your nervous system as crucial burnout prevention method to maintaining a sustainable pace of business.

By the end of the episode, you'll have simple reminders to help you tune into your nervous system, make decisions from a place of self-awareness, and build a business that supports your wellbeing as much as your success.

If you've ever felt like you're constantly trying to keep up, this conversation offers a different approach to honour your unique rhythms and helps you create success that feels true to you.

The ADHD Women's Wellbeing Live Event Recording is here!

My first-ever ADHD Women's Wellbeing Live event sold out, and now the full experience is available to you wherever you are, whenever it feels right.

Alongside three neuro-affirming experts, we spent four hours exploring the questions that matter most to late-diagnosed women. Get lifetime access here!

Inside the ADHD Women's Wellbeing Live Recording, you'll find:

• Kate Moryoussef on post-diagnosis growth and her gentle framework for what comes next
• Dr Hannah Cullen on the neuroscience of ADHD and why your brain works the way it does
• Hannah Miller on reconnecting with purpose through a neurodivergent lens
• Adele Wimsett myth-busting on hormones, HRT, progesterone and perimenopause

Understand yourself more deeply, feel less alone, and finally access the expert knowledge you deserve. Because every woman with ADHD deserves access to the knowledge, expertise and understanding that for too long simply hasn't been available to us.

To get lifetime access for £44, click here.

Links and Resources:

• Find my popular ADHD workshops and resources on my website [here].
• Follow the podcast on Instagram: @adhd_womenswellbeing_pod

Kate Moryoussef is a women's ADHD lifestyle and wellbeing coach and EFT practitioner who helps overwhelmed and unfulfilled newly diagnosed ADHD women find more calm, balance, hope, health, compassion, creativity and clarity.