Women & ADHD

Thank you for creating this podcast, and for your wonderfully genuine conversations with inspiring guests. I feel like I’m building “my tribe” through listening to this (and some other) podcast, and wish you all weren’t just “imaginary friends” 😂

I’m a 36 year old mom of three who was just diagnosed with ADHD. For years, I felt an intense amount of shame and embarrassment and always felt inadequate. It felt as though everyone else in the world was handed some secret Handbook of Life and had it all figured out. Meanwhile, I was struggling to shower and perform basic daily tasks. Ive always had this incredible amount of energy, so many creative ideas, and passion for life but could never execute any of it without feeling like a complete failure. It’s led to me retreating from others, giving up, and not trying new things. I have felt deficient, like a horrible mother and wife and friend in every way, unable to really communicate or even understand what was going on in my brain for so long. This has all led to so much frustration, depression, and emotional dysregulation. I randomly stumbled across Episode 15 in which Katy shares her own story. For the first time, I felt like someone really knew what it felt like to be me. She articulated so many of the feelings I had struggled to communicate. I sent this episode to my husband, my parents, my friends saying “Look! This is how I’ve felt for years and didn’t know how to tell you!”. Thank you, Katy, for this podcast and for being a voice for so many of us who are just starting out this diagnosis journey. Because of this podcast, I don’t feel alone anymore. I’m sure lots of other women feel the same.

I stumbled on your podcast after searching “Women ADHD” a couple months ago. The rabbit hole I fell into was your recent episode regarding PMDD and ADHD- it validated so many of my experiences and emboldened me to seek out my own diagnosis of ADHD. Lo and behold the deep valleys of emotional deregulation (anxiety, depression) I face are very well timed to my cycle… turned out I also have PMDD. I’ve binged about 50 episodes, and my goal is to consume all 200. I am learning so much from you and your guests’ experiences of ND tendencies, and building my vocabulary is helping with my low self esteem. I have struggled with rejection fear my entire life as well, having always been told by parents, “friends”, bosses, teachers, romantic “partners”, that I am overly sensitive, too emotional. I’ve never felt accepted(able) and it has been an incredible journey to discover myself and to find meaning in my experiences. I’m on a path toward medication and CBT to improve my life now, and I just wanted to share this note to share my gratitude for your work. You are helping people change their lives. Thank you.

This podcast has given me so much confidence in navigating my recent ADHD diagnosis. Katy and all the speakers give realistic advice and also help me feel heard and validated. Thank you so much for creating this podcast!