AMB Hypnosis & Therapy

24/12/2025

23/12/2025

The Overlooked Intersection of ADHD and Perimenopause in Women
The Silent Storm

When Sarah turned 38, she began noticing subtle shifts in her body and mind. Her sleep became fragmented. Her moods felt unpredictable. Her periods, once regular, became erratic. And the mental fog—thick and impenetrable—left her questioning if her ADHD was getting worse or if something else was happening.

Doctors told her it was stress. Some suggested she was “too young” for perimenopause. But what no one mentioned—what is rarely discussed—is that women with ADHD often enter perimenopause up to ten years earlier than the general population. That means many women start experiencing hormonal shifts in their early-to-mid 30s—a full decade before most expect to.

And for women like Sarah, the experience can be profoundly isolating and misunderstood.

What Is Perimenopause?

Perimenopause is the transitional phase before menopause, during which a woman's hormone levels—primarily estrogen and progesterone—begin to fluctuate. This phase can last anywhere from 4 to 10 years and is often marked by:

Irregular menstrual cycles

Mood swings

Anxiety or depression

Hot flashes and night sweats

Sleep disturbances

Cognitive changes (commonly called “brain fog”)

Decreased libido

Vaginal dryness and other urogenital symptoms

For most women, perimenopause begins in their mid-to-late 40s, but research and anecdotal evidence increasingly show that women with ADHD tend to experience these symptoms much earlier—and more severely.

Why Women with ADHD Are Affected Differently

There’s still much to learn about the biological interaction between ADHD and female hormones, but what we do know points to estrogen’s key role in brain function—particularly in dopamine regulation, the neurotransmitter most implicated in ADHD.

Estrogen helps boost dopamine. So when estrogen starts to fluctuate or decline during perimenopause, dopamine regulation becomes even more impaired, exacerbating classic ADHD symptoms like:

Inattention

Executive dysfunction

Emotional dysregulation

Memory problems

This hormonal rollercoaster doesn’t just worsen existing ADHD symptoms; it can also trigger new mental health challenges. Anxiety, depression, and irritability become more intense, and women often report feeling like they're “falling apart” without understanding why.

Why It's So Commonly Misdiagnosed—or Missed Entirely

The overlap between perimenopausal symptoms and ADHD symptoms is vast, and because medical research has historically focused on male biology, women are often left underdiagnosed, dismissed, or misdiagnosed.

Many women are told:

“You’re just stressed.”

“This is normal aging.”

“You should try meditating or exercising more.”

“Maybe it’s just your ADHD getting worse.”

These responses not only fail to address the hormonal root of the problem, but they also reinforce the internalized belief that the problem is the woman herself—not her biology or environment.

Mental Health and Hormonal Chaos

Studies now show that neurodivergent women report more intense mood symptoms during perimenopause than neurotypical women. This includes:

Increased depressive episodes

Heightened emotional sensitivity

Frequent emotional outbursts

Deepened feelings of shame, overwhelm, and isolation

Because ADHD already makes emotional regulation harder, the hormonal shifts of perimenopause can feel like emotional sabotage.

In fact, some women are first diagnosed with ADHD during perimenopause—because their coping mechanisms suddenly stop working and the internal chaos becomes impossible to ignore.

The Physical Toll

It’s not just the brain. Perimenopause in women with ADHD also manifests more intense physical symptoms, including:

Severe hot flashes and night sweats

Disrupted sleep cycles

Gastrointestinal issues

Increased pain sensitivity

Fatigue and chronic exhaustion

These symptoms, combined with the neurological challenges of ADHD, create a perfect storm of physical and emotional dysregulation.

And still, many doctors fail to see the full picture—treating symptoms in isolation, rather than looking at the complex interplay of ADHD and hormonal health.

The Real-World Impact: Life, Work, Relationships

For many women, this hormonal shift collides with the most demanding years of their lives—raising children, building careers, or caring for aging parents. When ADHD worsens due to hormonal decline, women report:

Decreased job performance

Struggles with decision-making and planning

Increased conflict in relationships

Crippling self-doubt and shame

And because these changes are gradual and internal, many women suffer in silence, believing they’re simply “failing at life.”

But they’re not failing.

They’re navigating an invisible biological transition with almost no support.

What Needs to Change

Medical Awareness
Healthcare providers need more training in the intersection of neurodivergence and women’s hormonal health. Routine screening for perimenopausal symptoms in ADHD patients—especially under age 45—should become standard practice.

Hormonal Literacy
Women with ADHD should be educated early on about how hormonal fluctuations can impact executive function. Understanding what’s coming can radically change how one prepares and copes.

Research Inclusion
Most ADHD research has historically focused on boys and men. It’s time for more gender-specific studies that look at the unique neuroendocrine pathways in women.

Tailored Treatment Plans
Treatments may include ADHD medications, hormone replacement therapy (HRT), lifestyle modifications, and mental health support—but these must be personalized, not one-size-fits-all.

Community Support
Women need spaces—online and offline—where they can share experiences, gather information, and access validation. Peer support is just as crucial as medical care.

Women with ADHD are not imagining their early, intense perimenopause. It’s real, it’s under-researched, and it’s profoundly affecting the lives of millions.

But with awareness comes empowerment. The more we talk about it, the more we learn. And the more we learn, the better we can support ourselves—and each other.

If you are a woman with ADHD navigating perimenopause and feel like something is shifting beneath your feet, trust yourself. Seek answers. You are not broken. You are not alone. You are simply walking a path that few have been willing to map—until now.

21/12/2025

20/12/2025

16/12/2025

Interrupting can be a common challenge for individuals with ADHD, especially when attention, impulse control, and executive functioning are involved.

It’s not a reflection of rudeness or lack of respect. Instead, it’s your brain’s impulse control and processing speed interacting with the fast pace of conversation.

Recognizing these signs is the first step toward understanding your ADHD and building strategies that work for your brain.

Some common signs of struggling with interrupting include:
🎈 Difficulty waiting your turn in conversations
🎈 Blurting out answers or thoughts before others finish
🎈 Talking over others or cutting people off
🎈 Going on frequent tangents mid-discussion
🎈 Difficulty following the natural flow of conversation
🎈 Interrupting others’ stories or explanations
🎈 Responding impulsively without processing fully
🎈 Struggling to pause before speaking
🎈 Feeling frustrated when others speak slowly or take time
🎈 Needing to share ideas immediately to avoid forgetting them

At Blue Sky Learning, our neurodiversity-affirming therapists and coaches help clients navigate ADHD challenges in communication, develop self-awareness, and build strategies that honor their brain’s needs.

📩 Book a free 20-minute consult at www.blueskylearning.ca or email hello@blueskylearning.ca

💻 Follow for more neurodiversity-affirming mental health content.

16/12/2025

12/12/2025

Great explanation 🖊️

02/12/2025

This week is Grief Awareness Week, and a chance to recognise how any type of loss can affect our wellbeing.

There’s no right or wrong way to feel — grief affects everyone differently.

If you're finding things difficult, there’s support that can help.

➡️ https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/feelings-symptoms-behaviours/feelings-and-symptoms/grief-bereavement-loss/

28/11/2025

13/11/2025

Cherish those who expand your mind