In this episode of ADHDtime on Air, Daniella Karidi, PhD, sits down with Liz Lewis, writer, researcher, coach, and author of You Are Not the Problem: Late-Diagnosed ADHD Women and the Invisible Forces That Shape Us.

Together, they explore why so many women are diagnosed later in life, the invisible pressures that shape the ADHD experience, and how understanding ADHD through a broader lens can help move women from self-blame to self-understanding.

Liz Lewis is a writer, researcher, and ADHD coach dedicated to supporting women and mothers with ADHD. For more than a decade, she has written about ADHD, motherhood, relationships, and mental health, helping women better understand themselves and their experiences.

Why are so many women diagnosed with ADHD later in life? According to Liz Lewis, ADHD is only part of the story. Social expectations, gender roles, caregiving responsibilities, and the pressure to "hold it all together" can make ADHD more difficult to recognize and even harder to live with.

In this conversation, Liz shares insights from her new book and discusses late diagnosis, masking, motherhood, relationships, hormones, and self-understanding. Together, Liz and Daniella explore how we can move beyond viewing ADHD as an individual problem to solve and begin examining the invisible forces that shape women's lives.

• Being diagnosed later in life does not change the past, but it can change how you understand it.

• Many challenges attributed to personal failure may actually reflect the interaction between ADHD and unrealistic expectations placed on women.

• Moving from self-blame to self-understanding creates space for greater self-compassion, support, and growth.

• Why women are often diagnosed later in life
• The emotional impact of late diagnosis
• Gender expectations and invisible pressures
• Motherhood, relationships, and ADHD
• Hormones, perimenopause, and ADHD
• Moving from self-blame to self-understanding

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Book: You Are Not the Problem: Late-Diagnosed ADHD Women and the Invisible Forces That Shape Us https://amzn.to/4w8wlar

Substack: Yes, and ...

Website: https://www.adhdtime.com/

YouTube: @ADHDtimeOnAir

00:00 Introduction
05:30 What people get wrong about ADHD in women
09:00 Why late diagnosis matters
14:00 Why women are often missed
20:00 Relationships and ADHD
25:00 Motherhood and ADHD
33:00 Hormones and perimenopause
37:00 Who this book is for
39:00 Messages to younger and future selves

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