The Shit Show: When ADHD and Perimenopause Decide to Have a Party

Danielle Hodson
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  • Mental Health

ADHD and perimenopause on their own can be challenging. Put them together and things can get seriously messy. Brain fog. Forgetfulness. Exhaustion. Overwhelm. Mood swings. Sleep going to shit. Losing your train of thought halfway through a sentence. Wondering why the hell you can't seem to function like you used to. The Shit Show is for women who are living it. Real conversations about what happens when ADHD and changing hormones collide, why everything can suddenly feel harder, and what you can actually do about it. No b******t. No “just try harder”. Just straight-up conversations about the shit show that is ADHD and perimenopause.

Episodes

  1. 4d ago

    Why Am I So F*****g Angry All The Time!

    Would love to hear about your experiences- send me a message! Why Am I So F*****g Angry All the Time? If you've noticed that your patience has disappeared, your reactions feel more intense, or you're getting irritated by things that normally wouldn't bother you, you might be wondering what the hell is going on. In this episode, I look at the connection between ADHD, emotional regulation, perimenopause, sleep and cognitive changes. We explore what the research actually tells us about emotional dysregulation in ADHD, what we know about cognitive and sleep changes during perimenopause, and where the research into ADHD and menopause is still developing. I also talk about why the thing that triggers your anger might not actually be the whole story, and why understanding your capacity matters. Most importantly, I finish with three practical strategies you can use to start recognising your patterns, create a pause before reacting, and know when it's time to talk to your healthcare professional. This isn't about blaming everything on ADHD or hormones. It's about understanding what's happening, separating what we know from what we don't yet know, and becoming more curious about our own brains and bodies. Thanks for listening to The Shit Show. If you enjoyed this episode, follow the podcast and share it with someone who might need to know they’re not the only one figuring this shit out. Find out more about InTune, the app designed to help women with ADHD understand what’s going on with their brain and hormones, and work out what they need today. https://adhdmenopausehub.com/

  2. 4d ago

    Why Does Everything Have to Be Bloody Perfect?

    Would love to hear about your experiences- send me a message! Why does everything have to be bloody perfect? In this episode of The Shit Show, I talk about my lifelong struggle with perfectionism, fear of criticism, people pleasing and the need to be over-prepared. I look at how these things can become ways of compensating for ADHD-related difficulties, and how perimenopause can completely f**k with the systems and strategies you've relied on for years. I talk about masking, procrastination, elaborate lists and systems, being hypersensitive to criticism, and what happens when suddenly you don't have the same capacity to keep everything under control. I'll also share three strategies that have helped me: challenging the need for perfection, recognising when criticism is triggering you, and knowing when your b******t tolerance has reached zero. Because sometimes you don't need to try harder. You need to step away, take a breath, and give yourself permission to be a little less bloody perfect. Thanks for listening to The Shit Show. If you enjoyed this episode, follow the podcast and share it with someone who might need to know they’re not the only one figuring this shit out. Find out more about InTune, the app designed to help women with ADHD understand what’s going on with their brain and hormones, and work out what they need today. https://adhdmenopausehub.com/

  3. 4d ago

    Cognitive Functioning: Bloody Brain Fog and Boredom

    Would love to hear about your experiences- send me a message! Why am I so f*****g bored all the time? In this episode, I talk about something I've really noticed since finding out I've got ADHD: how quickly I can lose interest when something isn't engaging to me. I talk about sitting through boring conversations, my recent experience at a webinar where my brain basically checked out, and why it can feel almost impossible to keep listening when something just isn't interesting. Then there's perimenopause and the brain fog. For me, it's a double whammy of boredom and struggling to process information. I can be interested and focused one minute, and the next I'm thinking, "What the f**k are you talking about?" I talk about ADHD, boredom, attention, brain fog, cognitive functioning and the frustration of feeling like your brain just isn't cooperating. I also share three simple strategies to try when you're struggling with boredom or brain fog: Make boring things active. Add stimulation where you can. Reduce the cognitive load when your brain is foggy. Because sometimes you're not lazy, you're not rude, and you don't not care. Sometimes your brain is just saying, "This is f*****g boring, and I can't process any more information today." And honestly? I think we need to listen to that a little bit more. Thanks for listening to The Shit Show. If you enjoyed this episode, follow the podcast and share it with someone who might need to know they’re not the only one figuring this shit out. Find out more about InTune, the app designed to help women with ADHD understand what’s going on with their brain and hormones, and work out what they need today. https://adhdmenopausehub.com/

  4. 4d ago

    Executive Function: Why the F**k Can't I Start or Finish Anything?

    Would love to hear about your experiences- send me a message! Why can I desperately want to get something done and still not be able to start it? In this episode, I talk about executive function, ADHD, procrastination and the absolute frustration of knowing what you need to do but somehow being unable to get your brain to cooperate. I use my own PhD as a very real example. I want to finish it. I need to finish it. But the editing? I f*****g hate editing. The small, detailed, cognitively demanding work is exactly the kind of thing my ADHD brain wants to avoid. I also talk about why "I'm just lazy" isn't a particularly useful explanation, how perimenopause has affected my executive functioning, and why the strategies that worked for me in the past don't always work now. And I finish with three simple strategies you can actually use when you're struggling to start or finish something: Make the starting point ridiculously small.  Use a ten-minute timer.  Focus on the next physical action. Because sometimes you don't need more motivation. You just need to make it easier for your brain to start. Thanks for listening to The Shit Show. If you enjoyed this episode, follow the podcast and share it with someone who might need to know they’re not the only one figuring this shit out. Find out more about InTune, the app designed to help women with ADHD understand what’s going on with their brain and hormones, and work out what they need today. https://adhdmenopausehub.com/

  5. 5d ago

    Why Did I Only Discover I Had ADHD at 52?

    Would love to hear about your experiences- send me a message! I always thought the way my brain worked was just who I was. The dancing, the daydreaming, the multiple tabs open in my head, the procrastination, the sensitivity to criticism. I thought everyone was like that to some degree. It wasn't until I went through perimenopause that things started to change. It was like the mask I'd been wearing without even knowing it started to drop away, and suddenly I could see just how much I'd been masking to appear "normal." In this episode, I talk about growing up with ADHD without knowing it, what happened when perimenopause entered the picture, the shit show that followed, and what happened when I finally got diagnosed and tried medication. I also talk about the unexpected upside of getting older: caring a whole lot less about what other people think and becoming much more comfortable with my own agency and autonomy. This is my experience. It might be yours too. Or it might not. Either way, let's talk about it. Thanks for listening to The Shit Show. If you enjoyed this episode, follow the podcast and share it with someone who might need to know they’re not the only one figuring this shit out. Find out more about InTune, the app designed to help women with ADHD understand what’s going on with their brain and hormones, and work out what they need today. https://adhdmenopausehub.com/

  6. 5d ago

    Why Does Today Feel Like A Shit Show?

    Would love to hear about your experiences- send me a message! Why does today feel like a shit show? You wake up feeling like you've got a hangover, even though you haven't been anywhere near a party. You've slept, but somehow you haven't really slept. Your brain is awake at 2 a.m. worrying about things you wouldn't normally worry about, and then the next day you're staring at your to-do list wondering where the f**k you're supposed to start. In this episode, I talk about what it's like when your capacity changes from day to day, why things that used to feel easy can suddenly feel ten times harder, and what happens when ADHD, sleep, energy, executive function and motivation all decide to have a little party of their own. I'm also talking about what I've had to do differently. My top three. What's actually important today? What can wait until tomorrow? And how I've had to stop comparing what I can do today with what I used to be able to do. Because sometimes, it really is just a shit show. And that's okay. You can only do what you can do. Thanks for listening to The Shit Show. If you enjoyed this episode, follow the podcast and share it with someone who might need to know they’re not the only one figuring this shit out. Find out more about InTune, the app designed to help women with ADHD understand what’s going on with their brain and hormones, and work out what they need today. https://adhdmenopausehub.com/

  7. Season 1, Episode 1 Trailer

    The Shit Show: When ADHD and Perimenopause Decide to Have a Party!

    Would love to hear about your experiences- send me a message! Welcome to The Shit Show: When ADHD and Perimenopause Decide to Have a Party! This is a podcast about ADHD, perimenopause, menopause, and all the shit that comes with trying to navigate life when your brain and hormones seem to have other plans. I’ll be talking about the things that happen when ADHD and hormonal changes collide, why things that used to be easy can suddenly feel ridiculously hard, and the things I’ve learned along the way. No pretending I have all the answers. No complicated medical jargon. Just honest conversations, real experiences, and hopefully a few laughs along the way. Because sometimes you just have to laugh at the shit show. Thanks for listening to The Shit Show. If you enjoyed this episode, follow the podcast and share it with someone who might need to know they’re not the only one figuring this shit out. Find out more about InTune, the app designed to help women with ADHD understand what’s going on with their brain and hormones, and work out what they need today. https://adhdmenopausehub.com/

Trailer

About

ADHD and perimenopause on their own can be challenging. Put them together and things can get seriously messy. Brain fog. Forgetfulness. Exhaustion. Overwhelm. Mood swings. Sleep going to shit. Losing your train of thought halfway through a sentence. Wondering why the hell you can't seem to function like you used to. The Shit Show is for women who are living it. Real conversations about what happens when ADHD and changing hormones collide, why everything can suddenly feel harder, and what you can actually do about it. No b******t. No “just try harder”. Just straight-up conversations about the shit show that is ADHD and perimenopause.

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