• Angel's background and how she got into this line of work. 
• The most important thing we can do to help combat brain fog as we age (especially if we're already struggling with ADHD).
• Advice for people considering supplements.
• Certain foods that can help.

This week on the Adulting With ADHD podcast, I'm doing something a little different. As always, for podcast archives and to support the show, please visit patreon.com/adultingwithadhd!

Clarissa worked in corporate roles for three decades and when she went through menopause her mental health suffered. 

A self-described high functioning anxiety sufferer, she had managed her job. Until menopause hit. 

Clarissa explained when she started to go through menopause she wasn't sleeping well, her anxiety was worse, and she no longer coped with things like she used to. 

Her tipping point came early in a new role where she realized it was not the job for her. 

Mindfulness & Menopause

Clarissa has found mindfulness has helped her navigate the highs and lows of menopause. Women/ people can be in menopause for years, Clarissa pointed out learning to be in the moment can help accept this. 

A different outlook on menopause

Menopause has been a taboo topic, many have no idea what to expect when they start experiencing changes. 

Clarissa says she likes to reframe the way menopause is viewed. For some people who may have been parents, they can view it as their time. Or as motivation to take a chance and change things. 

Don't miss the full conversation! 

Clarissa's Link
https://clarissakristjansson.com/

About The Adulting With ADHD Podcast

It’s not just you – we aren’t talking enough about ADHD and hormones. There are so many things I wish I had known about hormones and ADHD earlier. They play such a fundamental role in the human body, deeply impacting a person’s life at all of their life stages.

As a former journalist and current ADHD’er, I unpack this topic through patient stories, expert interviews, and personal narrative.

With new episodes biweekly on Wednesdays, The Adulting With ADHD Podcast covers a variety of ADHD hormone topics including puberty, menopause, perimenopause, PMS, PMDD, and more. Why aren’t we talking about this more? What do you do if you find yourself struggling with ADHD and hormones? We discuss this and much more.

Need basic info about ADHD and hormones? Get the free quick guide at 

.

Show highlights

2:56 I probably now realize many years down the road that I was an anxiety sufferer, but I was very good at hiding it. 

4:32 But by that stage, I thought I was going to be stuck here in cities, something terrible was going to happen.

And then I had a panic attack at work, and that really was the tipping point. 

12:00 It all sounds so bad if we only think about the symptoms, but the good side is that we get up, the changes are to reframe. 

Katherine explained PCOS stands for polycystic ovary syndrome and there are a number of subtypes. When she treats a patient who may have PCOS she looks at how their hormone levels fluctuate during the month. 

When she treats patients she tries to look at the big picture instead of just treating the PCOS. She points out it's very treatable.  

PCOS & Your Mental Health 

She shares the possible link between hormone receptors and the way they influence a person's mental health. 

In relation to PCOS, women can have elevated testosterone. This can lead to weight gain, insulin resistance, acne, and more. 

Katherine dives into the different ways PCOS can impact a person's life and that there is a range of treatment options. 

Don't miss this great conversation about how PCOS can impact your mental health. 

Katherines Link

https://www.theshiftclinic.com/

About The Adulting With ADHD Podcast

It’s not just you – we aren’t talking enough about ADHD and hormones. There are so many things I wish I had known about hormones and ADHD earlier. They play such a fundamental role in the human body, deeply impacting a person’s life at all of their life stages.

As a former journalist and current ADHD’er, I unpack this topic through patient stories, expert interviews, and personal narrative.

With new episodes biweekly on Wednesdays, The Adulting With ADHD Podcast covers a variety of ADHD hormone topics including puberty, menopause, perimenopause, PMS, PMDD, and more. Why aren’t we talking about this more? What do you do if you find yourself struggling with ADHD and hormones? We discuss this and much more.

Need basic info about ADHD and hormones? Get the free quick guide at 

.

Show highlights

1:30 my real passion is helping women to heal. The health. And I guess the way that we look at things at shifts from, from our point of view is we're really interested in understanding the landscape of your entire health.

7:00  I do think it's important to get a diagnosis. And I think it's important to see somebody who will look at that bigger picture 

09:00 Outside of putting you on Metformin, which, you know, may or may not be effective in some way. Really the treatment options are the oral contraceptive pill, which isn't a treatment. The pill doesn't fix your period. It doesn't regulate it.

Check out our conversation to find out more about how it works. 

Adi's Link
https://www.ifocustest.com/

It’s not just you – we aren’t talking enough about ADHD and hormones. There are so many things I wish I had known about hormones and ADHD earlier. They play such a fundamental role in the human body, deeply impacting a person’s life at all of their life stages.

As a former journalist and current ADHD’er, I unpack this topic through patient stories, expert interviews, and personal narrative.

With new episodes biweekly on Wednesdays, The Adulting With ADHD Podcast covers a variety of ADHD hormone topics including puberty, menopause, perimenopause, PMS, PMDD, and more. Why aren’t we talking about this more? What do you do if you find yourself struggling with ADHD and hormones? We discuss this and much more.

Need basic info about ADHD and hormones? Get the free quick guide at https://adultingwithadhd.com/hormones.

Alisha's road to diagnosis may sound too familiar to many of you. Alisha was diagnosed with anxiety when she was a teenager, after having children she developed PMDD. 

During a cardiologist appointment, Alisha shared her trouble with focusing, often relied on caffeine, and was trying to juggle 3 children and a business! 

Her cardiologist referred her to a psychiatrist and during the Zoom consultation, she was diagnosed with ADHD. 

Genetic Factors

Alisha reflected on her upbringing and her parents' struggles with addiction. She now wonders if their drug use was a way of coping with undiagnosed ADHD. 

Managing PMDD and ADHD

Once Alisha understood her ADHD and PMDD she was able to find a way to manage both. One tool she has found helpful is to track her cycle so she knows when her PMDD symptoms are likely to start. 

Once she understood what her mood is like at different stages of her cycle, Alisha found it much easier to plan her days. 

Listen to the full episode to find out more about Alisha's journey. 

https://alishacrossley.com/https://adhdyoga.ca/adhd-yoga-

About The Adulting With ADHD Podcast

It’s not just you – we aren’t talking enough about ADHD and hormones. There are so many things I wish I had known about hormones and ADHD earlier. They play such a fundamental role in the human body, deeply impacting a person’s life at all of their life stages.

As a former journalist and current ADHD’er, I unpack this topic through patient stories, expert interviews, and personal narrative.

With new episodes biweekly on Wednesdays, The Adulting With ADHD Podcast covers a variety of ADHD hormone topics including puberty, menopause, perimenopause, PMS, PMDD, and more. Why aren’t we talking about this more? What do you do if you find yourself struggling with ADHD and hormones? We discuss this and much more.

Need basic info about ADHD and hormones? Get the free quick guide at https://adultingwithadhd.com/hormones.

Show highlights

2:40 diagnosed with anxiety through my teenage years, struggled with, um, PMDD after having children

6:10 I didn't even realize it, but she was screening me for ADHD. We taught to wow for two hours. And I really felt like I was more in a therapy session.

10:00 I'm always being sensitive to those changes prior looking at my cycles, but that ultimately is what made the ADHD symptoms more apparent and more problematic.

Show edited by HK Productions

The last time we caught up with Taucha she was trying to conceive, at the time of recording Taucha was ready to give birth. She shared how she has built her online yoga business into a community. 

Taucha made the decision to stop taking her medication while she and her husband were trying to conceive. While it was challenging she found it helpful to surround herself with people who could help her with everyday tasks. 

Like many expecting moms, Taucha was trying to figure out how to balance being a new mom and keeping her yoga studio going. She wanted to make sure she takes care of herself, her baby, and clients. 

Taucha has built a library of yoga sessions and resources, especially for people with ADHD. One idea she came up with to keep supporting ADHDers was to turn her online sessions into body doubling sessions. 

If you're not familiar with body doubling, it basically means having someone with you while you do a task. Which is super helpful for people with ADHD! 

It was great catching up with Taucha, don't miss the full conversation in this episode. 

https://adhdyoga.ca/adhd-yoga-

About The Adulting With ADHD Podcast

It’s not just you – we aren’t talking enough about ADHD and hormones. There are so many things I wish I had known about hormones and ADHD earlier. They play such a fundamental role in the human body, deeply impacting a person’s life at all of their life stages.

As a former journalist and current ADHD’er, I unpack this topic through patient stories, expert interviews, and personal narrative.

With new episodes biweekly on Wednesdays, The Adulting With ADHD Podcast covers a variety of ADHD hormone topics including puberty, menopause, perimenopause, PMS, PMDD, and more. Why aren’t we talking about this more? What do you do if you find yourself struggling with ADHD and hormones? We discuss this and much more.

Need basic info about ADHD and hormones? Get the free quick guide at https://adultingwithadhd.com/hormones.

Show highlights

4:00 Balancing a baby, business, and ADHD 

8:00 Body Doubling 

9:00 Full moon practice & setting intentions

Show edited by HK Productions

Sonia is a trained doula and mom so she knows a lot about childbirth. She shares how many people of color find it challenging to articulate their needs when they seek medical treatment. She recommends people articulate their needs and make sure they document anything that happens during a consultation. 

Sonia describes a just health system as one where everyone has access. Equality means it does not matter what your status is, you are treated with the same level of care as everyone else. 

She also believes bedside manner is key, if a healthcare professional listens to their patient it creates a far better experience. Being your own advocate and feeling like you have agency are also important components to a fair system. 

Don't miss this important conversation about what we can all do to create a fairer system. Sonia shares one of her most challenging situations in a hospital and what she did to demand a good outcome. 

https://www.drlesliek.com/

About The Adulting With ADHD Podcast

It’s not just you – we aren’t talking enough about ADHD and hormones. There are so many things I wish I had known about hormones and ADHD earlier. They play such a fundamental role in the human body, deeply impacting a person’s life at all of their life stages.

As a former journalist and current ADHD’er, I unpack this topic through patient stories, expert interviews, and personal narrative.

With new episodes biweekly on Wednesdays, The Adulting With ADHD Podcast covers a variety of ADHD hormone topics including puberty, menopause, perimenopause, PMS, PMDD, and more. Why aren’t we talking about this more? What do you do if you find yourself struggling with ADHD and hormones? We discuss this and much more.

Need basic info about ADHD and hormones? Get the free quick guide at https://adultingwithadhd.com/hormones.

Show highlights

7:30 A just health care system is equitable in the sense everyone has access 

10:00 It's incredible that we have been allowed, especially in this country to lead every industry around the world, but other countries are getting it right.

15:00 And I proceed to have my last baby all by myself. I brought him up onto my chest. I reached over, I had enough time and wherewithal in my mind. I reached over and grabbed my cell phone out of my bag.

Show edited by HK Productions

Leslie has over three decades working in the wellness space, both as a chiropractor and wellness coach. She works mostly with women who need help with their hormones. 

Through her work, Leslie has learned more about how gut health impacts hormonal health. She points out hormones aid digestion, impact moods, and energy levels. 

One of the most common complaints Leslie hears is about brain fog! Especially for people in peri-menopause or menopause. Leslie has found working on gut microbiology and a person's diet can improve brain fog. 

Finding an exercise you love is another important element to improving brain fog. Leslie walks every morning and explains it helps set her up for the day

One of the most important tips Leslie gives is making sure you're getting at least one serving of leafy greens in a day. An easy way of doing this is making a smoothie. Getting a good dose of nutrition helps our gut and our mood. 

Check out the full episode to learn more insights from Leslie on how we can improve our brain health. 

https://www.drlesliek.com/

About The Adulting With ADHD Podcast

It’s not just you – we aren’t talking enough about ADHD and hormones. There are so many things I wish I had known about hormones and ADHD earlier. They play such a fundamental role in the human body, deeply impacting a person’s life at all of their life stages.

As a former journalist and current ADHD’er, I unpack this topic through patient stories, expert interviews, and personal narrative.

With new episodes biweekly on Wednesdays, The Adulting With ADHD Podcast covers a variety of ADHD hormone topics including puberty, menopause, perimenopause, PMS, PMDD, and more. Why aren’t we talking about this more? What do you do if you find yourself struggling with ADHD and hormones? We discuss this and much more.

Need basic info about ADHD and hormones? Get the free quick guide at https://adultingwithadhd.com/hormones.

Show highlights

3:20 Brain fog & hormones

4:30 Gut microbiomes and what you eat

10:40 The role of exercise

13:30 Eating daily greens

Show edited by HK Productions