Doctor (25 years experience): ADHD Women Need To Stop Doing THIS | Dr Helen Wall
episodePreviously titled “The Darkest Side Of Female ADHD (And How To Recover FAST) | Dr Helen Wall” — renamed by the publisher on Aug 3, 2026
Transcript
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Women with ADHD are definitely not coming in begging for an ADHD diagnosis.
What struggles do women with ADHD face?
She wants answers. She wants validation of how she's feeling and why she's feeling that way.
How does undiagnosed ADHD affect women's mental health?
That's very, very different to wanting a diagnosis of ADHD. Dr. Helen Wall has over 25 years experience in improving the lives of women with ADHD. As an ADHD specialist, She's dedicated to helping women with ADHD who are coping with menopause. With women with ADHD, there's a high degree of emotional regulation differences. We don't talk enough about the effects of hormones on our brains, on our chemical messengers. We talk about our periods, about fertility, reproduction. We need to get into the nitty-gritty of what this actually does to our brains.
Just how bad can it get for ADHD women as they approach menopause?
I can't even get the words out to tell you how bad this can get because...
Huge announcement just before we start.
Do ADHD women deserve an apology from the medical community?
Tickets to the ADHD Chatter podcast live theatre show are selling fast. I'll be joined on stage by three leading psychiatrists and we'll be unpacking all things ADHD, how to process a late diagnosis or DHD and of course the dreaded rejection sensitivity dysphoria. I really hope you can join me for a night full of validation, laughs and insights and one that will remind you that you're not broken, just different and that you have always been enough. It's on the 19th of May in London. You can find a link to the tickets in the description. I can't wait to meet you in person. Helen, welcome.
What are the effects of hormones on women with ADHD?
Hello, thank you for having me.
You've been a doctor for 20 years, and you've recently authored this amazing book, Menopause and ADHD. During your fascinating career, what have you learned about the trials and tribulations of ADHD, specifically in women?
I think ADHD has so many positive traits to it.
How does menopause impact women with ADHD?
People with ADHD are some of the most emotionally intuitive, creative, driven people. I've had the pleasure of meeting. I think the difficulty, particularly for women, is how we define it in society and clinically and medically as well. It really saddens me that I still have colleagues who truly believe, and this is medical professionals, that ADHD is all about being hyperactive. You know, that image of a boy chucking a chair around the classroom, not able to sit down and learn. You know, as they get older, having addictions, being in trouble with the police, all of these sort of stereotypes. And they're being transferred to women and girls and therefore women and girls are being missed. So I think the biggest travesty for me in this is not that, you know, women have ADHD because actually that's not, that shouldn't be a barrier to anything.
What message of hope is there for women with ADHD?
We make it a barrier because we're diagnosing women late. We're missing them. We're mislabelling them, which is even worse.
What common questions do audiences have about ADHD?
We're diagnosing them with anxiety, stress, depression, medically sort of unexplained symptoms. And we're not getting to the nub of the problem. And that's what we need to start doing, really. And I think if we can do that, we can open up a whole world of opportunities for girls and women with ADHD.
Wow. Yeah, I couldn't agree more. And I mean, it's heartbreaking, right? And what do you think the toll is or the knock on effects to a woman's mental health when they are labeled incorrectly for so much of their life?
It's huge. It's absolutely huge. And this is what happens when I see women in perimenopause or menopause. We're not just identifying that they've got ADHD at that point in time. We're opening up a whole can of worms about what's gone before. All the missed opportunities, all the misinterpretations, the mislabelling. Many women are carrying that with them when they come into my room with perimenopause and it becomes evident that there's something else going on here. And I think what we are not very good at in medicine is thinking, well, okay, this lady may have anxiety, burnout, depression. I'm not saying the two can't coexist. But I think perhaps what we're not good at in women particularly is looking at what's the thread running through this?
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–0:04
2
What struggles do women with ADHD face?
0:04–0:09
3
How does undiagnosed ADHD affect women's mental health?
0:09–0:51
4
Do ADHD women deserve an apology from the medical community?
0:51–1:29
5
What are the effects of hormones on women with ADHD?
1:29–1:53
6
How does menopause impact women with ADHD?
1:53–2:48
7
What message of hope is there for women with ADHD?
2:48–2:54
8
What common questions do audiences have about ADHD?
2:54–44:27
Speakers
2 identifiedMore from ADHD Chatter
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