ADHD in women is often misunderstood, even by ourselves — and hormones are a big part of the story. 

This week, host Cate Osborn chats with psychiatrist and researcher Dr. Lotta Borg Skoglund about how hormone cycles affect ADHD in women. From PMS to perimenopause, we explore how shifting hormones can change how ADHD shows up — and how that impacts mood, focus, and relationships.

Dr. Borg Skoglund shares what the research says, what often gets overlooked in diagnosis and treatment, and how understanding the patterns in your cycle can make everyday life a little easier.

Related resources

• ADHD Girls to Women by Dr. Lotta Borg Skoglund
• Lotta’s research group, GODDESS ADHD
• A guide to hormones and ADHD
• From the Climbing the Walls podcast: Are hormones the final frontier for women with ADHD?

Timestamps

(01:42) The changes in hormones during the menstrual cycle, and how they can affect ADHD symptoms

(04:57) ADHD symptoms across hormonal life milestones like puberty, pregnancy, and menopause

(10:21) The formation of Lotta’s research group GODDESS ADHD

(14:25) The importance of this overdue research, and the constant dismissal of women’s hormonal challenges

(17:12) Mapping your cycle to help understand your ADHD symptom fluctuations

(21:10) How do we track these things if our cycles are non-traditional?

(24:06) How do hormones connect to Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria?

For a transcript and more resources, visit the Sorry, I Missed This show page on Understood.org. 

We love hearing from our listeners! Email us at [email protected].

Understood.org is a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering people with learning and thinking differences, like ADHD and dyslexia. If you want to help us continue this work, donate at understood.org/give

For many women with ADHD, overachievement is a coping mechanism. It’s a way to cover up their trouble with focus, memory, or organization. But over time, it can lead to stress and burnout.

In this episode, Dr. Monica Johnson explains the connection between ADHD and the constant drive to overachieve.  Learn how to recognize the signs and give yourself permission to slow down. 

Related resources

• ADHD and perfectionism
• From ADHD perfectionism to empathy and grace (Livingston’s story)
• MissUnderstood: The ADHD in Women Channel

Timestamps

(00:58) What is overachieving?

(01:42) How overachievement is related to ADHD 

(03:01) Why ADHD women are prone to overachieving 

(04:44) Strategies to combat overachieving

For a transcript and more resources, visit the MissUnderstood channel page on Understood.org. 

We love hearing from our listeners! Email us at [email protected].

Understood.org is a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering people with learning and thinking differences, like ADHD and dyslexia. If you want to help us continue this work, donate at understood.org/give

If you haven’t heard of financial therapy before reading this, don’t worry. It’s new for us, too. 

But when a past Hyperfocus guest told us to look up Dr. Christine Hargrove, we listened, and were so curious we had to get her on the show. Fortunately, she was game to share her expertise with us and our listeners. 

She kindly answered our basic questions (what is financial therapy, really?) and some of the trickier ones, like how to manage finances with a partner when one of you has ADHD and the other doesn’t. 

Listen or watch now for a truly enlightening episode. 

Related resources

• Impulse buying, negative bank balances, and the ADHD tax (Paulette Perhach’s story)
• Podcast: ADHD and impulsive spending  

Timestamps

(02:41) What is financial therapy? 

(10:15) How can I get better at managing money with a partner? 

(20:43) What’s your best advice on ADHD and money? 

For a transcript and more resources, visit the Hyperfocus page on Understood.org.

We love hearing from our listeners! Email us at [email protected].

Understood.org is a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering people with learning and thinking differences, like ADHD and dyslexia. If you want to help us continue this work, donate at understood.org/give

Have you ever been given an exciting opportunity, then found yourself feeling inadequate, underqualified, and undeserving after getting started? What did those feelings of doubt ultimately do to your mental health, work-life balance, and performance?

This week on Tips from an ADHD Coach, Jaye explores why imposter syndrome is so common in ADHD brains, how it impacts your confidence, and what you can do to start believing in your own achievements.

Related resources

• ADHD and: Imposter syndrome
• From the ADHD Aha! podcast: Anxiety, imposter syndrome, and ADHD (Mallory’s story)
• Imposter syndrome at work: How I stopped feeling like a fake

Timestamps

(00:39) Anne’s quote

(02:42) How ADHD can make imposter syndrome more common

(07:44) Imposter syndrome is lying to you

(09:47) What can we do if we’re feeling like an imposter?

(14:29) Recap

For a transcript and more resources, visit the Tips from an ADHD Coach show page on Understood.org. 

We love hearing from our listeners! Email us at [email protected].

Understood.org is a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering people with learning and thinking differences, like ADHD and dyslexia. If you want to help us continue this work, donate at understood.org/give

If sex sometimes feels confusing, overstimulating, or just... a lot, you’re not alone. ADHD and sensory issues can show up during sex and in our physical relationships.  

This week, psychologist Dr. Lyne Piché joins us to discuss how ADHD and sensory challenges can shape our sex lives, and how to talk about it. From touch sensitivity to struggling to focus, we dive into why things might feel like “too much” one minute and “not enough” the next—and how to figure it all out.  

Related resources

• Dr. Piché’s website, drlynepiche.com
• Dr. Piché’s ADHD and Sex workbook
• An earlier Sorry, I Missed This episode: ADHD, sensory systems, and communication

Timestamps

(2:07) What is a sensory issue? 

(05:16) How do we build awareness and language about our sensory issues in the bedroom? 

(09:45) How do we tell the difference between sensory overload and just not being in the mood for sex? 

(12:15) The importance of trust in your partner, and not “enduring” something just for someone else

(15:22) How kink can help with sensory issues in sex

(16:42) Letting go of the shame over not liking the things that you’re “supposed” to like

(19:07) How can we talk to our partners about our sensory needs if we’re scared of hurting their feelings or disappointing them?

(22:47) Building “yes” spaces and talking to our partners about our sexy sensory dos and don’ts—without feeling unsexy

(27:44) Trying things out more than once to determine whether it’s a sensory issue or a preference

For a transcript and more resources, visit the Sorry, I Missed This show page on Understood.org. 

We love hearing from our listeners! Email us at [email protected].

Understood.org is a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering people with learning and thinking differences, like ADHD and dyslexia. If you want to help us continue this work, donate at understood.org/give

Some women with ADHD turn to self-medicating to cope with their symptoms. At first, it may seem to help. But over time, it can make ADHD harder to manage.

In this episode, Dr. Monica Johnson explains self-medicating and breaks down why some women with ADHD turn to it. Find out how self-medicating can be harmful and what healthier ways to cope might look like.

Related resources

• Tips from an ADHD Coach: Coping skills with consequences
• Experts weigh in: Marijuana and ADHD
• MissUnderstood: The ADHD in Women Channel

Timestamps

(00:59) What does self-medicating look like?

(02:34) Ways self-medicating can be harmful 

(07:53) Healthier ways to cope with ADHD

For a transcript and more resources, visit the MissUnderstood channel page on Understood.org. 

We love hearing from our listeners! Email us at [email protected].

Understood.org is a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering people with learning and thinking differences, like ADHD and dyslexia. If you want to help us continue this work, donate at understood.org/give

On this very special episode of Hyperfocus, host Rae Jacobson interviews three of these women — Sari Solden, Terry Matlen, and Dr. Ellen Littman — along with Dr. Michelle Frank, a psychologist taking up the torch for a new generation. 

Together, they discuss how they met, their journey to legitimize ADHD in women, and what they hope for the future. 

Related resources:

• Climbing the Walls
• MissUnderstood: The ADHD in Women Channel

Timestamps:

(06:22) Discovering you aren’t alone

(13:18) The disconnect between academia and the rest of the world

(21:22) The benefits of treatment and community 

(28:05) ADHD isn’t always a superpower

For a transcript and more resources, visit the Hyperfocus page on Understood.org. We love hearing from our listeners! Email us at [email protected].

Understood.org is a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering people with learning and thinking differences, like ADHD and dyslexia. If you want to help us continue this work, donate at understood.org/give

Are there parts of your personality that seem to contradict each other? Do you struggle to set expectations for yourself because your reactions, behavior, or emotions can be unpredictable?

This week on Tips from an ADHD Coach, Jaye talks about how, with ADHD, we can be consistently inconsistent—often showing extreme behaviors that seem to contradict each other. Listen for insights and tips that can help!

Related resources

• How to get motivated with ADHD

Timestamps

(00:40) Tanica’s quote

(01:30) ADHDers can often feel full of contradictions

(03:32) Common reasons ADHD can make us less consistent

(08:42) What can we do to be more reliable going forward?

(11:10) Recap

For a transcript and more resources, visit the Tips from an ADHD Coach show page on Understood.org.

We love hearing from our listeners! Email us at [email protected].

Understood.org is a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering people with learning and thinking differences, like ADHD and dyslexia. If you want to help us continue this work, donate at understood.org/give

Being a caregiver to a friend or loved one is hard—add ADHD to the mix, and it’s a whole different challenge.

Self-care and ADHD Coach Stephanie Antoine joins us to talk about what it’s like caring for our loved ones while managing executive dysfunction, burnout, and more. She also offers a few mindfulness practices to help us recenter when the stress feels like too much. If you’ve ever struggled to care for someone else while trying to keep yourself afloat, this one’s for you.

Related resources

• Stephanie’s website, stephanieantoine.com
• Download: Feeling stressed? Try the 5-4-3-2-1 mindfulness technique 
• From the ADHD Aha! podcast, Jessica McCabe on motherhood, social anxiety, and ADHD medication

Timestamps

(02:59) Why did Stephanie start helping others in caregiving roles?

(04:52) Executive function and caregiving, and beating yourself up

(07:51) How do we manage big feelings like frustration and resentment while caregiving?

(12:33) Perfectionism and caregiving

(17:14) The one thing Stephanie wants you to hear today

(19:09) A short guided meditation exercise from Stephanie

For a transcript and more resources, visit the Sorry, I Missed This show page on Understood.org. 

We love hearing from our listeners! Email us at [email protected].

Understood.org is a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering people with learning and thinking differences, like ADHD and dyslexia. If you want to help us continue this work, donate at understood.org/give

In this episode, Dr. Monica Johnson dives into how ADHD makes setting boundaries difficult. Listen as she breaks down why women with ADHD often struggle to say no. And get simple strategies to help protect your peace and improve your mental health.

Related resources

• ADHD and: Oversharing
• Setting boundaries in relationships with ADHD
• Tips from an ADHD Coach: People-pleasing everyone but ourselves

Timestamps

(01:43) How ADHD affects setting boundaries 

(04:18) Why setting boundaries is a challenge for some women with ADHD

(06:28) Strategies for setting boundaries 

For a transcript and more resources, visit the MissUnderstood page on Understood.org. 

We love hearing from our listeners! Email us at [email protected].

Understood.org is a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering people with learning and thinking differences, like ADHD and dyslexia. If you want to help us continue this work, donate at understood.org/give