ADHD Awareness Month 2026: What Actually Helps?
This October, I'm putting community, real experiences and practical support at the heart of ADHD Awareness Month. There are live conversations, Instagram Lives, podcast events and ways for you to share what actually helps in your own life. Visit the Events page to see what’s happening and get involved.
_________________________________________
We talk a lot about hormones and ADHD. But this conversation goes much deeper.
What if the fatigue, anxiety, gut issues, difficult periods and the way your ADHD seems to shift throughout your cycle aren’t separate problems? What if they’re all giving you information about what’s happening in your body?
This week on The ADHD Women’s Wellbeing Podcast, I’m joined by Dr Jolene Brighten for a fascinating and powerful deep dive into the biology behind ADHD in women, and some of the connections we just aren’t talking about enough.
Jolene is a board-certified naturopathic endocrinologist, nutritionist, certified menopause specialist and bestselling author of Beyond the Pill and Is This Normal? Her new book, ADHD and Women: A Guide to Understanding Your Hormones and Thriving with ADHD, is out now.
And she does not hold back in this conversation.
We get into progesterone, histamine, endometriosis, PMDD and perimenopause, and what they can mean for women with ADHD. We explore why symptoms that appear unrelated may be more connected than we realise, why so many women have spent years being passed between specialists and why understanding ADHD as something that affects the whole body can completely change the conversation.
Jolene also shares her own story, from her son’s ADHD diagnosis to being diagnosed with endometriosis after 29 years of periods and later discovering she is autistic.
This is one of those episodes that may have you joining dots you didn’t even realise were connected. If you’ve ever felt as though your hormones, brain and body are all speaking different languages, this conversation could help you understand the bigger picture.
Advertisement⏐Try AG1 now at http://drinkag1.com/adhdwomen and get £20 off your first order + 5 AG1 Travel Packs for on the go, a bottle of Vitamin D3+K2, and the Welcome Kit for FREE. No risk with the 30-day money-back guarantee. Find all details about the health benefits in the link. Study results are on file with AG1, 2023.
_____________________
In this episode, we cover:
Jolene's late diagnoses of ADHD, endometriosis and autism, and why accommodations are so often mistaken for success
Why fatigue and anxiety are among the most common symptoms of endometriosis, and how it can be present without any pain
The links between ADHD, endometriosis, PMDD and fibroids, and why medicine so often treats them as coincidences
How histamine and mast cells may be connected to 2am to 4am waking, irritability and emotional dysregulation
What happens to dopamine, serotonin, acetylcholine and GABA when oestrogen and progesterone drop
Why hysterectomy and hormone suppression don't cure PMDD or endometriosis, and what this means for ADHD women
Body identical progesterone versus synthetic progestins, progesterone intolerance and why starting low and going slow can help
What research tells us about hormonal contraception and depression in ADHD women
Why movement is so powerful for the ADHD brain, and an honest look at why it can feel so hard to do
Alcohol, GABA and the luteal phase, and why we were never designed to be productive all the time
Timestamps:
00:00 - Welcome and introducing Dr Jolene Brighten
02:30 - Jolene's journey to ADHD, endometriosis and autism diagnoses
05:30 - Entrepreneurship, accommodations and the support nobody sees
08:00 - What endometriosis can look like, including when there's no pain
10:00 - Jolene's endometriosis story, from childhood gut issues to secondary infertility
15:00 - Mast cells, histamine and the brain, immune and hormone connection
17:00 - Kate's experience with endometriosis, adenomyosis and continuous progesterone
21:00 - Access to care in the UK, US and Canada
23:00 - Why ADHD is the operating system you were born with
25:00 - What happens to the brain when oestrogen and progesterone drop
27:00 - PMDD: why it may be more than one condition
29:00 - NAC, mitochondria and the ADHD brain in perimenopause
32:00 - Progesterone, progestins and the research on contraception and depression
35:00 - ADHD as a full-body condition and the gut microbiome
37:00 - Progesterone intolerance, dosing and different ways of taking it
42:00 - Serotonin, dopamine and how the ADHD brain adapts
43:00 - Exercise, BDNF and giving your brain more energy
46:00 - Hysterectomies, unsupported women and the generations before us
48:00 - Alcohol, GABA and the luteal phase
49:00 - Rejecting productivity culture and honouring the need to rest
53:00 - Superpowers, kryptonite and asking what it's costing you
56:00 - Where to find Jolene's book and resources
Links and Resources:
Find 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
Get Jolene's book, ADHD and Women (also available in ebook and audiobook): drbrighten.com/adhd-and-women
Visit Jolene's website for free articles on hormones, ADHD, PMDD and endometriosis: drbrighten.com
Listen to Jolene's podcast: The Dr. Brighten Show
Connect with Jolene on Instagram: @drjolenebrighten
Watch Jolene on YouTube: @DrJoleneBrighten
If today’s episode brought up anything for you, these organisations offer support and information:
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.