Women & ADHD

Episode 187 with Sarah Collins. “I’ve probably spent more money on therapy than anything else in my life, and yet nobody ever said anything about ADHD or neurodivergence.” Sarah is an activist and entrepreneur. Having grown up in apartheid South Africa, Sarah has spent much of her life passionate about social justice and improving the welfare of others, especially when it comes to gender equality...

Episode 186 with Holly D’Arcy. “Sometimes I cringe at the word ‘resilience,’ but I am grateful for my resilience because I often have to work harder than anybody else in the room to do the same thing.” Holly is a military spouse, mother, health coach, and competitive athlete who brings a unique perspective to the challenges and triumphs of navigating life with ADHD. Diagnosed at the age of 33, Hol...

Episode 185 with Clara Harris. “I told my therapist how there were so many thoughts swirling in my head — it was just so noisy that my ears were ringing. She paused and said, Um, maybe we should test you for ADHD.” Clara lives in Louisville, KY, and she is an actor, writer, and producer with over two decades of experience. In 2022, she produced and performed her solo show at the Edinburgh Festival...

Episode 184 with Melody Hubert. “My dad always said, ‘You're brilliant, but you have no stick-to-itiveness.’ I did so many different things but I couldn’t stick with anything for long.” Melody is a 45-year-old radiologic technologist from Central Florida. When her son was little, he was diagnosed with ADHD, but like many parents, it never occurred to her that she could also possibly have ADHD....

Episode 183 with Laura Mears-Reynolds. “This isn’t just a new chapter; it really does feel like a new life. My diagnosis not only changed but actually saved my life.” Laura is an ADHD activist and the host of the popular ADHD AF podcast. Laura's life was not only transformed but saved by her ADHD diagnosis at the age of 38. She wants all people with ADHD to be treated both medically and with t...

Episode 182 with Alex Gilbert & Katy Weber. “My ‘To Do’ list feels like a table covered in those buzzers they give you at chain restaurants. Everything feels urgent and everything is competing for my attention.” You may remember that I have another podcast called The ADHD Lounge , which I co-host with fellow ADHD coach Alex Gilbert. This week I’m sharing one of my favorite episodes from that p...

Episode 181 with Erin & Stephen Mitchell. “I want to start a support group for partners of people diagnosed in adulthood because they have to listen to us go on and on and on about our ADHD.” This episode is an interview I did with Erin & Stephen Mitchell for their podcast, Couples Counseling for Parents. I’m a huge fan of this couple and their work and I just loved this conversation so mu...

Episode 180 with Robin Tate. “It’s given such context to my life. There was such relief in knowing this is just my brain, this is just how it works!” Robin is an experienced teacher and professional coach. She has a Master’s of Science Degree in Reading and a Master’s of Arts Degree in Counseling. She is trained through the Asperger/Autism Network (AANE) as an AsperCoach as well as a Neurodiverse...

Episode 179 with Dr. Kathleen Nadeau. “One of the best ways to help women with ADHD is in groups. We heal each other by understanding each other, laughing together, and not expecting the same perfection we feel the outside world expects of us.” Dr. Nadeau is a clinical psychologist and founder of The Chesapeake Center, as well as an internationally recognized authority on ADHD. She is the author o...

Episode 178 with Anette Jacobsen. “A lot of women don’t pass the autism tests the first time because the questions are designed with young boys in mind. ‘Do you collect trains, planes, or information about birds?’ No, I don't. But right now my special interest is autism and ADHD, and you should see how many Trello boards I have.” Anette lives in Copenhagen, Denmark. Anette never suspected she...

Episode 177 with Ali Barton. “When I have gut feelings about things, you can't change my mind. It drives other people bonkers, but I trust my gut deeply.” Ali is a licensed mental health counselor in private practice just outside of Boston. She works primarily with women in their 20s through 50s, with ADHD, anxiety, disordered eating/eating disorders, parenting stressors, and relational confli...

Episode 176 with Dr. Amy Marschall. “We tend to frame neurodivergence not as ‘How are you doing?” but ‘What problems are you causing for the adults around you?’ If you’re not causing problems, then you must be fine.” Dr. Marschall has been a licensed psychologist since 2016. She’s a clinical advisor for ADHD Online , and currently owns a private practice, RMH-Therapy . Her clinical specializations...

Episode 175 with Connie Tu. “In many ways I miss my old mask because it worked for so many years. This new mask is taking a lot of work to build.” Connie lives in Bradford in Northern England and has spent the last 10 years as a skilled body artist in the medium of natural henna and ethically-sourced jagua. She received a dual diagnosis of Autism and ADHD about a year ago.  Connie was one of my In...

Episode 174 with Yasemin Bahar. “One of the great things about being neurodivergent is thinking outside the box and questioning things. When you're told ’2 + 2 = 4,’ you ask why. Why is it not 5?” Yasemin is a female-assigned intersex person living in Turkey. They have their BA & MA in psychology, and they co-founded the İnter Dayanışma Türkiye (Inter Solidarity Turkey) initiative, which...

Episode 173 with Cynthia Hammer. “Why are we being diagnosed at 50 with a condition we’ve had since birth? We need better ways to diagnose it sooner.” Cynthia was diagnosed with inattentive ADHD in 1992 when she was 49. At the time, she thought she was the only adult in the U.S. who had this disorder, but quickly learned she was not alone. She founded ADD Resources, a non-profit organization that...

Episode 172 with Heather Jean Ransom. “It feels so detached when I say ‘I have ADHD’ because it is part of me. I can't discern it from myself. I am ADHD.” Heather Jean was born in England and now lives in Germany with her husband and two daughters. She was diagnosed last year with ADHD at the age of 47.  We talk about her journey to diagnosis after a leave of absence due to chronic pain and fi...

Episode 171 with Gilly Kahn. “In school, my arms were constantly tattooed with pen marks and reminders. Post-it notes have been my friend since Day One.” Gilly is a licensed clinical psychologist working in a private group practice in the Atlanta area. She specializes in individual and group therapy focusing on neurodiversity, anxiety, and depression in youth.  Gilly gravitated toward working with...

Episode 170 with Lotta Borg Skoglund. “We miss the girls. Then they grow up and struggle and scream until they finally get a diagnosis, only to get a prescription and get abandoned again.” Lotta is a senior physician and associate professor of psychiatry at Uppsala University in Sweden. Lotta’s work centers on ADHD and women as well as how hormones impact the mental health of girls and women. She...

Episode 169 with Tracy Otsuka. “I have this thing, I call them ‘word holes,’ where all of a sudden I'll be talking and I’ll forget a simple word. It's like there's a hole in my brain and the word just kind of goes in there and I can't access it.” Tracy is a certified ADHD coach and the host of the popular ADHD for Smart Ass Women podcast. Over the past decade, she has empowered mil...

Episode 168 with Korra O’Neill. “I take a lot of pride in thinking about how my ancestors were probably the warriors who protected the village and took care of everybody in a way not everybody's brain can handle.” Korra is a queer AuDHD period biohacker and co-founder of Unleash Your Superpowers. Diagnosed at the age of 29, she now uses her understanding of period science, neurodivergence, and...

Episode 167 with Lindsay Guentzel. “I am very outgoing, so people assume I’m an extrovert. But I'm very much an introvert who needs to go back to my little dark hole and recharge.” Lindsay is a television and radio host, producer, writer and mental health advocate who started a new chapter in life after being diagnosed with ADHD in January 2021. She is also the executive producer and host of R...

Episode 166 with Matilda Boseley. “I missed it, my teachers missed it, my parents missed it, my therapist missed it, my doctors missed it, but TikTok figured it out in a couple of weeks.” Matilda is an award-winning social media reporter and presenter for Guardian Australia. Based in Melbourne, she has spearheaded the publication’s popular TikTok channel where she writes and hosts their short-form...

Episode 165 with Brooke Schnittman. “You try to accommodate and please everyone and it ends up biting you in the ass because you're the one who suffers.” Brooke is a compassionate ADHD coach who has worked alongside ADHDers and their families since 2006. However, Brooke herself wasn’t officially diagnosed with ADHD until 2019.  She now runs Coaching with Brooke, an international coaching organ...

Episode 164 with Gemma Wilson. “Women with ADHD live our lives on edge. We’re constantly thinking, Am I doing the right thing? Am I saying the right thing? Am I being inappropriate?” Gemma is a 41-year-old mum of 3 from Newcastle upon Tyne in the north of England. She is a business owner and describes herself as “a perfectionist and over-achiever who won’t settle for anything less than what I dese...

Episode 163 with McCall Letterle. “With the long waiting lists, patients are losing years of their life or their education going undiagnosed and untreated.” McCall is Qbtech’s Head of Commercial Operations - North America, where she is responsible for the regulatory, research, and clinical operations in the United States. Qbtech is a leading provider of objective ADHD tests, designed to help clini...