Find my popular ADHD Women's Wellbeing workshops and resources on my website here.
So many of us were told for years that our painful periods, flooding cycles, monthly mood crashes and hormonal struggles were just something to push through. This compilation episode is about what's actually been going on hormonally all along.
This week's episode is all about the overlap between ADHD, hormones and women's health — a connection Kate has been talking about since the very beginning of the podcast, and one that is still not being taken seriously enough in clinical practice.
We hear from three conversations. Dr Lotta Borg Skoglund, Associate Professor of Psychiatry and specialist in ADHD and hormonal health, on the link between estrogen and heart health, why perimenopause doesn't follow a straight line, and why so many neurodivergent women are still being told they're too young or not symptomatic enough to be taken seriously.
Dr Liz Murray, doctor, activist and author of Not Just Painful Periods, on her own decade-long road to an endometriosis diagnosis, what coming off the pill without the right information can do, and what she's doing through her charity to change the way the next generation of doctors are trained.
And Laura Federico and Morgan Miller, authors of The Cycle Book, on why cycle tracking is so much more than period data, how it can help us understand RSD, mood, energy and focus across the month, and why reconnecting with our bodies might be one of the most compassionate things we can do for ourselves.
In this episode, we cover:
The link between estrogen, heart health and menopause, and why this is the number one cause of death in post-menopausal women
Why perimenopause doesn't follow a straight line, and why symptoms can start long before periods become irregular
Why neurodivergent women are more likely to experience PMDD, endometriosis, PCOS and severe PMS
How losing estrogen suddenly can significantly raise cardiovascular risk, and why this is so often dismissed
Dr Liz Murray's own endometriosis story, and why being a doctor didn't protect her from a delayed diagnosis
What can happen when women come off the pill without understanding what it may have been masking
Why the conversation GPs need to have with women about the pill is still not happening
What women need to know about the red flag symptoms that warrant further investigation
The overlap between ADHD, hypermobility, connective tissue issues and hormonal conditions
Why cycle tracking is far more than knowing when your period is due
How tracking can help you notice patterns like RSD intensifying in the second half of your cycle
Why reconnecting to your body, even briefly each day, is a genuinely life-changing act
Timestamps:
00:00 - Welcome and introduction to this week's compilation
03:00 - Dr Lotta Borg Skoglund: estrogen, heart health and what women need to know
06:00 - Why cardiovascular risk rises after menopause, and what that means for ADHD women
08:00 - The lifestyle factors that compound risk for neurodivergent women
10:00 - Why perimenopause symptoms can appear while periods are still regular
12:00 - The confusion of fluctuating estrogen levels and what it feels like from the inside
16:00 - Dr Liz Murray: a decade to diagnosis and what went wrong
18:00 - How the pill masked endometriosis and what coming off it without guidance cost her
20:00 - What GPs can do, and the conversations that still aren't happening
22:00 - Red flags that warrant further investigation, and why you don't need to wait
24:00 - The overlap between ADHD, neurodivergence and hormonal conditions
28:00 - What Liz's charity is doing to change how future doctors are trained
31:00 - Laura Federico and Morgan Miller: cycle tracking as a tool for self-understanding
35:00 - Tracking through perimenopause, HRT and changing cycles
37:00 - How cycle data helps you understand mood, energy and RSD across the month
39:00 - Coming back into your body as a radical act of self-compassion
42:00 - Tracking when your cycle isn't regular or predictable
Links and Resources:
Kate Moryoussef is a women's ADHD lifestyle and wellbeing coach and EFT practitioner who helps overwhelmed and unfulfilled newly diagnosed women with ADHD find more calm, balance, hope, health, compassion, creativity, and clarity. Discover my popular ADHD Women's Wellbeing workshops and resources on my website here.
Follow the podcast on Instagram: @adhd_womenswellbeing_pod
Get my book, The ADHD Women's Wellbeing Toolkit (also available in ebook and audiobook) here
Join the More Yourself membership community here
Visit Dr Lotta Borg Skoglund's website: lottaborgskoglund.com
Connect with Dr Lotta Borg Skoglund on Instagram
Get Dr Lotta Borg Skoglund's book: Female Hormones and ADHD: The Impact on Brain and Body
Visit Dr Liz Murray's website: drlizmurray.com
Connect with Dr Liz Murray on Instagram
Get Dr Liz Murray's book: Not Just Painful Periods: Endometriosis, Fibroids and Menstrual Health
Visit Laura and Morgan's website: itslauraandmorgan.com
Get The Cycle Book: An Interactive Step-by-Step Guide to Tracking Hormones and Knowing Your Body
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