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Why can’t we just get out of the car, the bed, or the shower? We dig into ADHD transitions: the in-between moments that drain us. We talk about executive dysfunction, time blindness, sensory shock and hyperfocus, plus how the menstrual cycle plays a part for ADHD women. Then we share practical tips to make transitions easier, like buffer time, bridge actions and making the next step more appealing. You’re not lazy. Transitions are hard. And sometimes, the car wins. 🚗 Share your hardest transition in the comments!

It's 1:47am, you've got work at 8, and you're deep in a video essay you stopped enjoying ages ago. This week we're talking ADHD and sleep. We cover the science (people with ADHD release melatonin later), why bad sleep and ADHD symptoms feed each other, revenge bedtime procrastination, how hormones and the luteal phase make everything harder, and why every business idea arrives between 11pm and 1am. Plus the strategies that actually help: working with your body clock, sunrise lamps and dim lights, the bedtime brain dump, and lowering the bar on the "perfect" night's sleep. We're not doctors. If sleep is really affecting you, please speak to your GP. Leave us your best ADHD sleep tip in the comments, and follow so you never miss an episode.

ADHD and driving: crashes, zoning out, road rage, and failed tests. We share our worst driving stories and dig into why ADHD brains genuinely struggle behind the wheel, plus what the research actually says about crash risk. Relatable, chaotic, and validating for anyone who's ever "come to" three miles from where they last remember driving. We hope you enjoy it - remember to follow and leave a review if you enjoy our episodes xx

Spent years thinking you're too lazy, too much, too sensitive, or just not good enough? You're not alone—and it's probably not you, it's your ADHD. In this episode of Hold On, What Was I Saying?, Megan and Emily break down 10 realistic, actually-doable strategies for rebuilding self-esteem after decades of masking and internalized criticism. If you were diagnosed with ADHD later in life, you've likely spent years absorbing messages that your struggles are character flaws. That narrative doesn't disappear overnight—not even after diagnosis. This episode validates that loss while offering a practical roadmap for reclaiming confidence as a neurodivergent person in a neurotypical world. What They Cover: Rename the symptom, not yourself — How to catch negative self-talk in the moment and reframe executive dysfunction as a symptom, not a personality traitTrack wins in a format that actually sticks — Why gratitude journals fail for ADHD brains and what works instead (voice memos, photo folders, running notes)Build your proof list for hard days — Combat success amnesia and have concrete evidence of your achievements when RSD hits after rejectionFind your people before you need them — Why ADHD can be isolating and how to build relationships with people who truly understand youAudit who gets access to your unmasked self — Learning which relationships require masking and which ones let you be authentically yourselfRedefine productive on your own terms — Stop comparing yourself to neurotypical Instagram routines and create a definition of productivity that works for your neurodivergent brainGrieve the years — The bittersweet reality of late ADHD diagnosis and how to process grief while moving forwardSeparate "I forgot" from "I don't care" — How ADHD forgetfulness isn't evidence that you're uncaring or lazyLower the stakes on systems — Treating trial-and-error as data, not personal failureKnow when it's bigger than mindset — When to seek professional help for depression, anxiety, and persistent hopelessness Why This Episode Matters: If you struggle with ADHD rejection sensitive dysphoria (RSD), perfectionism, or internalized shame, this conversation offers validation without toxic positivity. Megan and Emily aren't here to tell you to "just do Pilates and manifest"—they're here to acknowledge that rebuilding self-esteem after years of masking is genuinely difficult, and sometimes you need professional support. Perfect for anyone who's been called lazy, dramatic, unfocused, or "too much"—and then realized it was ADHD all along. Ideal for ADHD women, neurodivergent adults, recently diagnosed people, and anyone exploring the intersection of ADHD, mental health, and self-compassion. Perfect if you search for:ADHD self-esteem | ADHD confidence | ADHD podcast | ADHD women | Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria | RSD ADHD | Neurodivergent mental health | ADHD coping strategies | ADHD tips and tricks | Executive dysfunction | ADHD diagnosis | Late diagnosed ADHD | ADHD masking | Self-compassion ADHD | ADHD anxiety | ADHD depression | Building confidence with ADHD | ADHD girls podcast | Neurodivergent podcast | Mental health podcast About Hold On, What Was I Saying?:The ADHD girl guide podcast exploring life, mental health, and navigating the world as a neurodivergent person. Raw, relatable, and unapologetically honest.

Channel 4 just announced a documentary asking one question: is ADHD a myth or a social construct? In this episode, we unpack why that framing is not just wrong — it's harmful. We talk about the science behind ADHD (including its 75–80% heritability rate, the highest of any neurodevelopmental condition), why underdiagnosis — not overdiagnosis — is the real story, and why late-diagnosed women in particular are pushed to doubt their own experience every time a headline like this drops. We get personal about our own diagnoses, the family members who "joke" that ADHD is just too much McDonald's and screen time, and why scrutinising assessment quality is fair — but denying the condition exists is not. If you've ever second-guessed your own diagnosis after seeing a headline like this, this one's for you. 🎧 New episodes every week. Follow so you don't miss the next one.

Welcome back to another ADHD Girl Guide! This time we're talking diagnosis, one of the biggest and most misunderstood parts of the ADHD conversation. We went through two completely different routes to get here: NHS Right to Choose and a private assessment, and we're breaking down what each one actually looks like, the waitlists, the costs, and the workarounds nobody tells you about. We dig into the self-diagnosis debate (spoiler: it's valid, but it's a first step, not a final answer), why "over-diagnosis" isn't the problem people think it is, and how other conditions can overlap with and mask ADHD symptoms. Plus, our top 10 tips for anyone starting the process - from picking the right assessor to what we wish we'd known before walking in — and the advice we'd give our younger selves if we'd been diagnosed sooner. If you've ever sat there thinking "maybe I have ADHD, but what if I'm not X enough for it to count" — this one's for you. You deserve the answers. Disclaimer: we are not medical professionals. This episode is based on personal experience, not clinical advice.

This week we're diving deep into attachment theory — anxious, avoidant, disorganised, and everything in between — and how ADHD makes it all so much more intense. We get brutally honest about our own most "unhinged" moments in relationships (hello, retroactive jealousy 👀), the fear of rejection that shapes how we love, and why chasing "secure" love can feel scarier than the chaos we're used to. We talk childhood roots, why your attachment style isn't a life sentence, and the one relationship that matters more than any romantic one: the one with yourself. If you've ever wondered "why do I do this in relationships?" — this episode is for you. In this episode: Anxious vs. avoidant vs. disorganised attachmentOur most unhinged relationship moments (we're not proud, but we're honest)How ADHD intensifies attachment woundsRetroactive jealousy and where it comes fromLearning to accept secure love when you're not used to itWhy healing starts with your relationship with yourself Grab a glass of wine and settle in — this one's a vulnerable one.

trigger warning: this one's a bit heavier than usual. We're talking eating disorders, body image and how they show up differently when you've got ADHD. we get into binge eating (and why it's so under-diagnosed, especially in women), the shame spiral that follows it, growing up in the Tumblr pro-ana era, and why rejection sensitive dysphoria makes body comments stick for life. we also go there on the Ozempic conversation; the accessibility of it, the trend of it, and why beauty standards always seem to circle back to whatever's hardest for "normal" people to get. plus: masking as a hidden driver of disordered eating, ARFID and sensory sensitivity in neurodivergent people, why scales are lying to you, and the stories behind our own body image baggage (boat parties, boob jobs, and the bikini we avoided for years). we're not experts, just two adhd women talking honestly about something that doesn't get talked about enough. if you're struggling, please reach out to BEAT or your GP. follow for new episodes every week 🧠

If you've ever eaten the same meal every single day for three weeks and genuinely loved every bite, and then suddenly couldn't look at it ever again, this episode is for you. This week we are getting into something that doesn't get talked about enough in ADHD spaces: food. Not in a diet culture way, not in a wellness way, in a why have I ordered the exact same thing from this restaurant fourteen times and felt zero shame about it kind of way. Because the ADHD relationship with food is its own thing entirely. The hyperfixations that take over your entire personality for a month. The safe foods you return to when your brain has nothing left. The forgetting to eat until your blood sugar crashes and suddenly every emotion you own arrives at once. The specific paralysis of standing in front of a full fridge and genuinely being unable to decide what to eat. The way a favourite food can go from the only thing you want to completely repulsive overnight with absolutely no warning. It's chaotic. It's neurological. And it turns out it makes a lot more sense when you understand how the ADHD brain actually works. In this episode: What food hyperfixations actually are and why the ADHD brain keeps returning to the same thingsThe safe food list — what yours says about you and why the grief when a safe food stops working is completely realForgetting to eat and then eating everything — the blood sugar crash spiral and why it keeps happeningDecision fatigue and food — why a full fridge can feel more overwhelming than an empty oneThe dopamine hit of food and why ADHD brains are especially wired to seek itBeige food, sensory sensitivity and why certain textures and foods feel genuinely unbearableThe restaurant order thing — why so many ADHDers find one thing they love on a menu and never order anything else ever againADHD medication and appetite — what actually happens and how to work around itThe chaos of food shopping with ADHD — buying seventeen ingredients for a recipe and then ordering a takeaway anywayThis is not a nutrition episode. We are not here to tell you what to eat. We are just two women with ADHD comparing notes on the most unhinged food habits we have and figuring out why our brains work this way. Chaotic, honest, and very relatable — especially if your current hyperfixation meal is getting slightly out of hand. New episodes every week. If this one made you feel less alone, please leave us a review — it genuinely helps more people find the show. #ADHD #ADHDFood #FoodHyperfixation #ADHDWomen #ADHDPodcast #NeurodivergentFood #ADHDEating #SafeFoods #ADHDLife #NeurodivergentLife #ADHDTips #WomenWithADHD #ADHDCommunity #FoodAndADHD #ADHDBrain

Is ADHD actually a disorder — or is it a brain that evolved for a completely different world? In our first ever guest episode, we sit down with Dr. Alex Curmi — psychiatrist, psychotherapist, and host of The Thinking Mind podcast — for one of the most eye-opening conversations we've ever had on this show. We get into evolutionary psychology, why the ADHD brain may have been an extraordinary advantage in hunter-gatherer times, and why modern life — think open-plan offices, smartphones, TikTok, and 9-5 schedules — is essentially kryptonite for the way our brains are wired. But this episode goes way beyond the theory. Dr. Alex gets into the stuff that actually affects our day-to-day lives: why so many women aren't diagnosed until their thirties or forties, why medication alone isn't enough, and the specific, practical interventions that can genuinely help with the ADHD symptoms that nobody talks about enough — impulsive spending, emotional dysregulation, and rejection sensitive dysphoria. In this episode: What evolutionary psychology actually is and why it changes how you see your ADHD brainThe hunter-gatherer theory — why ADHD traits that feel like problems today may have been survival superpowersWhy smartphones and social media actively make ADHD symptoms worse (neurologically, not just in a "phones bad" way)The real reason so many women are diagnosed late — and what gets missedWhy ADHD is a spectrum and what severe ADHD actually looks like day-to-dayThe overdiagnosis vs. underdiagnosis debate — Dr. Alex's honest, nuanced takeWhy medication is just one piece of the puzzle and what else needs to happenDialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) techniques for emotional regulation and RSD — explained simply and actually usefullyThe journaling technique Dr. Alex uses with patients to rewire impulsive spending habitsHow to structure your life and career around your ADHD strengths rather than constantly fighting your weaknessesWhere to start if you're struggling and don't know what to do nextDr. Alex's take-home message: You don't have to stay stuck. Start with the simple stuff — sleep, exercise, cutting back on overstimulating tech. Try the strategies. And if you've tried a lot by yourself and you still need more support, reach out to a professional. But don't let your problems just simmer. We are not medical professionals — we are just two women with ADHD having the conversations we wish someone had with us sooner. Dr. Alex is the expert in the room and this one is genuinely worth listening to twice. Find Dr. Alex Curmi:🎙️ The Thinking Mind Podcast — available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube📱 Alex Curmi Therapy New episodes every week. If this one helped you feel less alone or gave you something useful, please leave us a review — it genuinely helps more people find the show. #ADHD #ADHDWomen #EvolutionaryPsychology #ADHDDiagnosis #ADHDPodcast #MentalHealth #DBT #RejectionSensitiveDysphoria #EmotionalDysregulation #ADHDTips #NeurodivergentWomen #ADHDInWomen #LateADHDDiagnosis #ADHDLife #Psychiatry #ADHDBrain

We just got back from six nights at Kala Festival in Albania, and we are feeling it. When you have ADHD, that kind of exhaustion hits ten times harder than it does for anyone else — and honestly, it felt like the perfect time to record this episode. This is our ADHD Girls Guide to Making Life Easier — and we want to be really clear about what this is not. It's not a self-improvement episode. We're not going to tell you to colour-code your kitchen cupboards, batch cook on a Sunday, or buy a beautiful planner you'll use for three days and then feel terrible about. We've all tried that. We know how it ends. Instead, we're sharing the real, honest, sometimes completely unhinged strategies that have actually made our lives more manageable — the hacks that might look lazy or silly from the outside, but are genuinely clever adaptations for a neurodivergent brain. We're calling this a permission slip, because that's exactly what it is. In this episode we cover ten practical tips including: why frozen and pre-cut veg is a game changer for reducing decision fatigue around cooking, how meal kit boxes like Gusto and HelloFresh remove the overwhelming mental load of planning and shopping, our "chuck-it bucket" method for tidying without the paralysis of having to put everything in exactly the right place, the in-your-shoe trick and visual cues for never forgetting things again, why uniform dressing and a capsule wardrobe can save your entire morning before it even goes wrong, the two-minute rule and how doing tiny tasks immediately stops them piling up into unbearable background noise, phone charging habits and screen time boundaries that actually protect your sleep and your focus the next day, body doubling for life admin — not just work and studying, how to automate your bills, groceries, prescriptions and more so you're making fewer exhausting decisions every single day, and why you need to stop apologising for the workarounds that make your life work. We also get really honest about the shame that comes with having ADHD in a world that wasn't built for us — the guilt of forgetting the washing, losing your keys, leaving your laptop on a plane during a layover in Hong Kong, spending £200 in Tesco when you only went in for one thing — and why getting a diagnosis changed everything for both of us when it comes to finally understanding our brains. If you have ADHD, suspect you might have ADHD, or just feel like the typical organisation advice has never once worked for you, this episode is for you. We hope it makes you feel a little less alone, a little less broken, and a lot more equipped to figure out what actually works for your brain. New episodes every week — make sure you follow us so you never miss one.

Are you ADHD, or are you just a mess? (We're both, apparently.) This week we're getting into one of the most important conversations in the ADHD space right now — why social media has made it so hard to know what's real, what's accurate, and what's just the algorithm doing its thing. We talk about the actual clinical difference between ADHD traits and ADHD impairment, why women are so often missed or misdiagnosed, the very real problem of ADHD baiting on TikTok, why 75% of social media ADHD content isn't clinically accurate, and the uncomfortable truth about when ADHD becomes an excuse rather than an explanation. Whether you're diagnosed, questioning, or just doom-scrolling content that makes you feel seen — this one's for you. In this episode: What actually separates ADHD from just being a bit forgetful or chaoticWhy women are diagnosed so much later — and how hormones and masking play into itADHD baiting: what it is and why it's more harmful than you thinkHow to consume ADHD content on TikTok without self-diagnosing off a 30-second reelThe difference between ADHD as an explanation vs. ADHD as an excuseWhy not replying to that text for a week isn't always just your ADHDHold On, What Was I Saying? is the podcast for women with ADHD — honest, unfiltered, and never taking itself too seriously.

Welcome back to ADHD Girls' Guide! This week we're throwing open the doors on something we know every ADHD girlie has — the Shame Shed. Whether it's an actual box on top of your wardrobe or a loft full of bamboo straws from a business that never quite launched, we're talking about all the hobbies, projects and hyperfixations we started with absolute fire... and quietly abandoned. From DJ decks and crochet to Bob Ross oil painting, Duolingo guilt-trips and failed lockdown gardens, we're getting into why the ADHD brain is wired for novelty-seeking, what the shame around "not finishing things" is really about, and how to actually make peace with it. We also talk about body doubling, breaking the honeymoon phase, and why not everything needs to be monetised — sometimes a hobby is just allowed to be a hobby. In this episode: Our most chaotic "shame shed" confessionsWhy ADHD brains hyperfocus, then drop things — and what's actually going onThe lockdown hobby spiral we all went throughHow to tell the difference between a hyperfixation and something worth sticking toBuilding structure to survive past the honeymoon phaseWhy starting things is actually really braveHonest, chaotic and (hopefully) a little healing. You are not lazy. You are not inconsistent. You just have a very enthusiastic brain.

ADHD and money — two things that genuinely don't mix well. In this episode, we get brutally honest about our worst money moments (a £2,000 Pilates course Emily never completed, anyone?), why ADHD brains treat every pay cheque like free money, and the 10 rules that have actually helped them get a grip on their finances. No financial jargon. No judgment. Just two women with ADHD sharing the systems that work for brains like ours — because future you who wakes up suddenly organised and on top of a spreadsheet? She's not coming. In this episode: Why ADHD brains impulse buy (hint: it's dopamine, not stupidity)The credit card rule every ADHDer needs to hearHow to use AI to budget your salary in minutesWhy Monzo might actually be the best tool for ADHD money managementThe "fill the basket, don't buy the basket" trick that saves hundredsWhy you need to stop waiting for Future YouWhether you've ever spent your entire salary in the first week, forgotten to cancel a free trial for 7 months, or genuinely thought a refund counted as free money, this one's for you. We are not financial advisors. We are just two girls with ADHD trying our best. New episodes every week. Follow, rate, and review if this helped you feel a little less alone.

This week we're getting into one of the biggest struggles for ADHDers; people pleasing and boundaries. We talk about the ADHD fawn response, why we say yes to plans we don't want to go to, the exhausting reality of being an empath (including making up entire sad backstories for strangers on the tube), and the pressure to be the "chill girl." We share personal stories... from staying in a 6-month situationship with someone who didn't want the same things, to inventing dying grandparents to get out of plans, to crying over bedroom curtains. Plus practical tips for setting boundaries when conflict makes you want to crawl out of your skin, how to spot the signs your boundaries need work, and why the right people will never ask you to abandon yourself to keep them comfortable. If you're someone who can't say no, ghosts difficult conversations, or feels responsible for everyone else's happiness — this one's for you.