Head, heart, hormones: Why women’s ADHD care should treat the whole person (classic)

Last year, Hyperfocus took a field trip to San Diego for an ADHD conference called APSARD, which stands for the American Professional Society of ADHD and Related Disorders (quite a mouthful). A conference of ADHD professionals might not sound fascinating, but it was — and we learned a ton. But there was one person and one talk I really wanted to find: A keynote speech about how ADHD affects women’s bodies by Dr. Sandra Kooij.  What Sandra is doing is something so sensible and radical: Looking at ADHD as a whole-body issue. Digging into how it can affect women’s hormones, our health, and especially our hearts.  I find Sandra’s research fascinating and was thrilled when she agreed to sit down for a conversation with me. We didn’t waste any time and quickly set up a makeshift studio for this week’s episode of Hyperfocus.  Also, a quick note on the audio this week: We had to record this episode outside the conference hotel, on a bustling patio full of ADHD professionals and some noisy birds. So, please forgive the extraneous sounds.  Note: We originally published this episode on March 6, 2025. Related resources MissUnderstood: The ADHD in Women Channel Did my ADHD make me more likely to have postpartum depression? ADHD Powerbank: Sandra’s video platform The Head, Heart, Hormones foundation (in dutch with translations)  Prevalence of hormone-related mood disorder symptoms in women with ADHD  The heart health and ADHD connection For a transcript of this episode and more resources, visit the Hyperfocus page on Understood.org. We’d love to hear from you. Email us at hyperfocus@understood.org You can also listen to episodes of Hyperfocus on The ADHD Channel for Women (formerly known as MissUnderstood). Understood 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.