Women & ADHD cover art

Women & ADHD

Women & ADHD

By: Katy Weber
Listen for free

About this listen

A late diagnosis turned her world upside down. Now Katy Weber interviews other women who discovered they have ADHD in adulthood and are finally feeling like they understand who they are and how to best lean into their strengths, both professionally and personally.

Copyright 2020-2025 All rights reserved. Hygiene & Healthy Living Personal Development Personal Success Psychology Psychology & Mental Health
Episodes
  • Jen Fry: Setting boundaries & saying no

    Jen Fry: Setting boundaries & saying no
    Jan 5 2026

    Episode 205 with Jen Fry.


    “I like to tell people that I’m not nice. I’m kind, but I’m not nice. I think niceness is weaponized way too much against people.”


    Jen is an educator, speaker, and author of the book “I Said No: How to Have Boundaries and Backbone While Not Being a Jerk.”


    Saying no is supposed to be simple — but for so many women with ADHD, it feels loaded with guilt, overthinking, and the fear of disappointing everyone around you.


    Jen is a former college volleyball coach with a PhD in sports geography, and she now works at the intersection of conflict, culture, and sport, speaking to teams and organizations around the country.


    We talk about the ADHD tendency to be a people-pleaser, and why Jen proudly says she’s kind, not nice. In this conversation, we talk about ADHD, hyperfocus, time blindness, imposter syndrome, and why so many high-achieving women end up chronically overcommitted, burnt out, and resentful.


    We also explore what it really takes to say no — not just to other people, but to our own overexcited ADHD brains, our endless ideas, and our impulse to fill every spare moment.


    If you’ve ever struggled with boundaries, overcommitting, or worrying that saying no makes you “difficult,” this episode is going to hit very close to home.


    Website: jenfrytalks.com

    Instagram: @jenfrytalks


    Links & Resources:

    I Said No: How to Have Boundaries and Backbone While Not Being a Jerk by Dr. Jen Fry

    The Power of Likeability (Forbes)

    - - - - -


    Episode edited by E Podcast Productions


    Find the transcript of this episode at www.womenandadhd.com/transcripts


    - - - - -

    Women & ADHD coaching: www.womenandadhd.com/coaching

    - - - - -

    Work 1-on-1 with Katy: www.womenandadhd.com/katy

    - - - - -

    Order the “Hey, it’s ADHD!” course: www.womenandadhd.com/adhdcourse

    - - - - -

    Did you love this episode? Click here to pledge a one-time donation to the podcast!

    - - - - -


    If you are a woman who was diagnosed with ADHD and you’d like to apply to be a guest on this podcast, visit womenandadhd.com/podcastguest.


    Instagram: @womenandadhdpodcast

    Tiktok: @womenandadhdpodcast

    Twitter: @womenandadhd

    Facebook: @womenandadhd



    Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/women-and-adhd/donations

    Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

    Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
    Show More Show Less
    59 mins
  • Rae Jacobson: The diagnosis boom … and backlash

    Rae Jacobson: The diagnosis boom … and backlash
    Dec 1 2025

    Episode 204 with Rae Jacobson.


    “There is a difference between traits and impairment. If we dilute the idea of ADHD into something that just seems familiar, we risk shutting out the people who really need help.”


    Rae is a journalist, an ADHD and learning disorders expert, and the Lead of Insight at Understood, where she also hosts the podcast Hyperfocus. Rae has spent over 20 years digging into the stories and science of neurodivergence. She’s a former senior editor at the Child Mind Institute, and her work has appeared in New York Magazine, the Daily Beast, Rolling Stone, Parenting, American Girl, and more.


    Rae and I talk about her very winding path to an ADHD diagnosis: growing up as the “smart kid who did terribly at school,” getting diagnosed with LD-NOS, dyscalculia, and dysgraphia, and then finally, in her early 20s, realizing she has ADHD. Rae shares the life-changing experience of attending Landmark College — a school specifically for students with ADHD and learning disabilities.


    We also wrestle with the current ADHD discourse: the difference between relatable traits and true impairment, what happens when “everyone has ADHD,” and why that can both broaden awareness and quietly shut people out of care. We talk about internalized ableism, the ongoing cycles of skepticism (“quit your whining”) and backlash online, and the need for voices that pair lived experience with journalistic fact-checking.


    And of course, we talk about Hyperfocus, Rae’s podcast at Understood that zeroes in on what fascinates us most about ADHD, mental health, and learning.


    Website: Understood.org

    Instagram: @understoodorg


    Links & Resources:

    The Berkeley Girls with ADHD Longitudinal Study (S. Hinshaw)


    - - - - -


    Episode edited by E Podcast Productions


    Find the transcript of this episode at www.womenandadhd.com/transcripts


    - - - - -

    Women & ADHD coaching: www.womenandadhd.com/coaching

    - - - - -

    Work 1-on-1 with Katy: www.womenandadhd.com/katy

    - - - - -

    Order the “Hey, it’s ADHD!” course: www.womenandadhd.com/adhdcourse

    - - - - -

    Did you love this episode? Click here to pledge a one-time donation to the podcast!

    - - - - -


    If you are a woman who was diagnosed with ADHD and you’d like to apply to be a guest on this podcast, visit womenandadhd.com/podcastguest.


    Instagram: @womenandadhdpodcast

    Tiktok: @womenandadhdpodcast

    Twitter: @womenandadhd

    Facebook: @womenandadhd



    Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/women-and-adhd/donations

    Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

    Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
    Show More Show Less
    59 mins
  • Dr. Anupriya Gogne: ADHD & executive dysfunction in the perinatal period

    Dr. Anupriya Gogne: ADHD & executive dysfunction in the perinatal period
    Nov 3 2025
    Episode 203 with Dr. Anupriya Gonge.“For mothers, the executive functioning demands keep shifting. Just as you find your rhythm, everything changes again.”Dr. Anupriya Gogne is a board-certified addiction psychiatrist who specializes in women’s mental health, She is also the Division Director of Outpatient Psychiatry at Brown University Health in Rhode Island. Over the past eight years, she has worked closely with adult and perinatal women navigating a wide range of psychiatric challenges. After her own late-in-life ADHD diagnosis, Dr. Gogne began to reframe much of what she was seeing in her clinical work — particularly in high-achieving women who had spent years feeling overwhelmed, misunderstood, or misdiagnosed. This personal and professional insight led her to write the book “Neurodevelopmental Disorders in Adult Women: Special Considerations in the Perinatal Period,” which offers a clinical guide for trainees and practitioners and sheds light on the often-overlooked experiences of neurodivergent women and mothers.We discuss how ADHD often presents differently in women, especially during the perinatal period, and how executive dysfunction can be mistaken for laziness, depression, or character flaws. Dr. Gogne shares her own experience of being a high-functioning but chronically exhausted student and professional, and how the diagnosis helped her understand her lifelong struggles with attention, restlessness, and self-criticism. We talk about the gendered ways society responds to executive dysfunction in mothers vs. fathers, the importance of strengths-based and trauma-informed care, and the intersection of ADHD with culture, trauma, and hormonal transitions. Dr. Gogne also shares how cultural norms in India shaped her ability to mask and compensate for her symptoms, and why she believes ADHD is not a disorder, but rather a state of nervous system dysregulation that deserves more compassionate and individualized treatment.In this episode, we discuss:Dr. Gogne’s late ADHD diagnosis and its impact on her clinical workThe need for strengths-based, individualized approaches in perinatal psychiatryHow mothers and fathers experience executive dysfunction differentlyHow trauma and hormonal shifts intersect with executive dysfunctionWebsite: https://www.brownhealth.org/providers/anupriya-gogne-mdLinks & Resources:Neurodevelopmental Disorders in Adult Women: Special Considerations in the Perinatal Period by Dr. Anupriya Gogne(Get 20% off with code: SPRAUT)- - - - - Episode edited by E Podcast ProductionsFind the transcript of this episode at www.womenandadhd.com/transcripts- - - - -Women & ADHD coaching: www.womenandadhd.com/coaching- - - - -Work 1-on-1 with Katy: www.womenandadhd.com/katy- - - - -Order the “Hey, it’s ADHD!” course: www.womenandadhd.com/adhdcourse- - - - -Did you love this episode? Click here to pledge a one-time donation to the podcast!- - - - -If you are a woman who was diagnosed with ADHD and you’d like to apply to be a guest on this podcast, visit womenandadhd.com/podcastguest.Instagram: @womenandadhdpodcastTiktok: @womenandadhdpodcastTwitter: @womenandadhdFacebook: @womenandadhdSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/women-and-adhd/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 2 mins
All stars
Most relevant
Think try Llamalife.co productivity help by and for women with ADHD, which helps build in dopamine hits to help you get through your tasks on your to do list ( and manage time far better). just listened to the episode with the makers. let's do this!

fantastic, thank you for making this!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This podcast is just amazing for anyone with adhd or suspecting they may have.
it honesty got me through all the anxiety of waiting on my assessment and helped me to believe that my experience was real!
even now after my diagnosis this is my go to when I'm feeling down and like I'm not normal.
thank you so much Katy and all the wonderful women who share there story 🧡

So validating.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Katy, thank you for bringing my tribe close and for helping me to understand myself, accept myself and forgive myself all the harshness and badness I had for myself all my life.

Teresa Knudsen

So much understanding

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.