ADHD in women is far more complex than being distracted, forgetful, or unable to sit still. In this episode, Dr. Jolene Brighten, ND, author of ADHD and Women, breaks down how ADHD actually presents in women, why so many women are first diagnosed with anxiety or depression, and how estrogen, progesterone, dopamine, the menstrual cycle, pregnancy, postpartum, and perimenopause can influence symptoms. We explore executive dysfunction, time blindness, rejection sensitivity, procrastination, medication, hormone therapy, exercise, sleep, nutrition, caffeine, meditation, and practical strategies for working with an ADHD brain instead of constantly fighting against it. Ultimately, Dr. Brighten reframes ADHD not as personal failure, but as a different operating system that requires different tools to thrive. Follow Jolene @drjolenebrighten Follow Chase @chase_chewning ----- 00:00 What science gets wrong about women and ADHD 02:32 Why studying the female brain is so complicated 04:18 Hormones and ADHD medication effectiveness 06:45 Can we recover decades of missing female health data? 08:01 Estrogen, dopamine and the menstrual cycle 09:32 Personality flaw or ADHD symptom? 11:50 Why women are diagnosed with anxiety and depression first 13:56 Why female ADHD doesn't always look hyperactive 14:42 Time blindness explained 16:33 ADHD is really a problem of dysregulation 17:27 What ADHD actually is—and isn't 20:03 Are you born with ADHD? 22:56 Hormones, masking and the female ADHD experience 26:37 When ADHD begins showing up in girls 27:50 ADHD medication in children 30:03 Can a brain scan diagnose ADHD? 31:13 Procrastination vs. task paralysis 33:47 ADHD in high-performing women 36:32 Rejection sensitivity dysphoria 39:07 Can changing your self-talk improve symptoms? 40:08 How to interrupt negative ADHD thought loops 44:46 Dopamine, phones and doomscrolling 45:54 Why ADHD brains need pleasure 48:24 What Parisian cafés can teach us about attention 51:02 ADHD medications: what women should know 53:42 HRT, estrogen and ADHD symptoms 57:30 Should the goal be getting off ADHD medication? 1:00:03 When medication becomes a bigger conversation 1:02:10 Exercise, sleep, environment and nutrition—ranked 1:03:05 20 minutes of exercise and focus 1:03:42 Iron deficiency, sleep and ADHD 1:04:12 Why nutrition comes last—but still matters enormously 1:06:01 Are women simply not eating enough? 1:09:31 Rapid fire: the best and worst ADHD morning habits 1:15:51 The "different operating system" approach 1:19:06 What Ever Forward means to Dr. Brighten ----- Episode resources: FREE sample of MitoPure from Timeline Strong Coffee Company code CHASE for 15% off Get Jolene's new book on Amazon