MissUnderstood: The ADHD in Women Channel

Last fall, I heard something that floored me: The tests we have for ADHD in adults don’t work very well.

As an adult with ADHD, I think about this all the time because our diagnosis is so stigmatized and so misunderstood. It’s overdiagnosed. It’s underdiagnosed. Everybody has it. Nobody has it.

If only there were a silver bullet or some test that could definitively say yes or no.

So, I asked the two Chicago School faculty members who got me thinking about this after their presentation at the CHADD conference last year: Jessica Rosenfeld, a clinical psychologist, and Reneh Karamians, a  neurorehabilitation psychologist.

They explained why adult ADHD diagnosis is so difficult, and how new scan technology holds promise for spotting ADHD in the brain. 

For more on this topic

Listen: Is ADHD genetic? We asked a Harvard scientist

Listen: Understood Explains: ADHD in adults

For a transcript and more resources, visit Hyperfocus on Understood.org. You can also email us at [email protected]

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Listen to Everyone Gets a Juice Box, a new podcast from Understood.org where host Jessica Shaw has honest talks with parents raising kids who learn and think differently.
Understood.org is a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering people with learning and thinking differences, like ADHD and dyslexia. If you want to help us continue this work, donate at understood.org/give

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Have you ever stayed up all night replaying a meeting in your head? Or obsessed over an email? Or questioned every instinct you have? If making decisions feels like a full-time job, this one’s for you!

We’re talking with Dr. Mark Schrime, a surgeon with a PhD in the science of decision-making. Hear about the exhausting cycle of analysis paralysis, second-guessing, and decision fatigue that’s a reality for many people with ADHD. 

For more on this topic

Listen: Analysis paralysis

Read: ADHD and analysis paralysis

For a transcript and more resources, visit Sorry, I Missed This on Understood.org. You can also email us at [email protected].

Listen to Everyone Gets a Juice Box, a new podcast from Understood.org where host Jessica Shaw has honest talks with parents raising kids who learn and think differently.
Understood.org is a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering people with learning and thinking differences, like ADHD and dyslexia. If you want to help us continue this work, donate at understood.org/give

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Why can a small stressor like a confusing email or a last-minute change suddenly feel like the floor just dropped out from under you? One minute you’re fine. The next, you’re overwhelmed, avoiding, and stuck in a loop of guilt and overthinking.

Dr. J walks through what’s actually happening in your brain and nervous system during an ADHD mood spiral and how avoidance becomes “relief with hidden fees.” 

You’ll leave with simple, science-backed ways to regulate, start small, and recover faster when your brain gets loud.

For more on this topic

Try: ADHD Unstuck (a free self-guided activity)

Listen: ADHD and emotional dysregulation

Read: ADHD and mood swings

For a transcript and more resources, visit MissUnderstood on Understood.org. You can also email us at [email protected]

.

Listen to Everyone Gets a Juice Box, a new podcast from Understood.org where host Jessica Shaw has honest talks with parents raising kids who learn and think differently.
Understood.org is a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering people with learning and thinking differences, like ADHD and dyslexia. If you want to help us continue this work, donate at understood.org/give

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

If your ADHD symptoms seem to have leveled up out of nowhere, you’re not losing it. Hormones play a much bigger role in ADHD than most of us understand, especially during perimenopause and menopause.
Today, we’re chatting with licensed counselor Mandi Dixon about why focus, memory, sleep, and emotional regulation can suddenly fall apart in your 40s. We also dig into why ADHD meds may stop working the way you’re used to — and what actually helps when carefully built systems stop cooperating.
For more on this topic: 
Listen: ADHD and hormones
Read: A guide to hormones and ADHD
Read: ADHD and periods
Explore: The Menopause Society
For a transcript and more resources, visit Sorry, I Missed This on Understood.org. You can also email us at [email protected].

Listen to Everyone Gets a Juice Box, a new podcast from Understood.org where host Jessica Shaw has honest talks with parents raising kids who learn and think differently.
Understood.org is a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering people with learning and thinking differences, like ADHD and dyslexia. If you want to help us continue this work, donate at understood.org/give

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

By now, New Year’s resolutions already feel… kind of over. 
In this episode, Dr. J breaks down why traditional resolution culture doesn’t work for ADHD brains — and how to approach goal setting after the January hype has worn off. 
We talk about executive dysfunction, motivation, and dopamine. And we share practical ways to set goals that are flexible, realistic, and actually sustainable. No fresh start energy here!
For more on this topic: 
Listen: ADHD and perfectionism
Listen: When ambition doesn’t match output
Read: Little goals can be better than big resolutions
For a transcript and more resources, visit MissUnderstood on Understood.org. You can also email us at [email protected].

Listen to Everyone Gets a Juice Box, a new podcast from Understood.org where host Jessica Shaw has honest talks with parents raising kids who learn and think differently.
Understood.org is a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering people with learning and thinking differences, like ADHD and dyslexia. If you want to help us continue this work, donate at understood.org/give

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.