PRIMED for ADHD Podcast with Andrea Toole
If you’re a woman in midlife with ADHD, you’re in the right place.
This podcast will inform you, challenge the way you see yourself and your brain, and remind you that ADHD doesn’t have to control your life.
As a coach, I believe in practical, personalized action.
Through my PRIMED™ framework, I help my clients create strategies that are meaningful, realistic, and sustainable.
While I often speak directly to high-achieving women in midlife, the insights and tools I share are relevant for adults with ADHD at every stage of life.
Because ADHD isn’t about doing more, it’s about building a life for your racing brain, not against it, so it’s easier to be accountable.
As an ADHD coach and educator, I help women take charge of their ADHD, instead of feeling like it’s running the show.
I help women who are ready to stop using ADHD as an excuse. It’s a reason, not an excuse.
PRIMED for ADHD Podcast with Andrea Toole
Why ADHD feels harder in perimenopause
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If you’re a woman with ADHD in midlife and your brain suddenly feels harder to manage, this episode is for you. (Men: Share this with the women in your life.)
In this episode of PRIMED for ADHD, I explore what happens when ADHD intersects with perimenopause and why long-standing strategies stop working. You’ll hear how hormonal and brain chemistry shifts affect focus, motivation, memory, and emotional regulation for women with ADHD in midlife.
I unpack what’s happening beneath the surface, why common advice often misses the mark, and how to let go of the belief that these changes are a personal failing. This is especially relevant for high-functioning women who have spent years compensating and holding everything together, only to find the same workload now feels much heavier and that life feels harder overall.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- How perimenopause affects women with ADHD—beyond basic hormone explanations
- Why estrogen fluctuations matter for focus, motivation, memory, and emotional regulation
- How identity, competence, and self-trust are affected
- Why this stage is a transition, not a regression
- What support works better now than the strategies you’ve relied on for decades
- Key questions to ask yourself now to find relief
- Too much about my skin
This episode offers clarity and context for women with ADHD in midlife and perimenopause, so you can recognize what’s changing and respond with steadiness instead of self-criticism.
If you have any questions about what I discussed, there's a resource below and you can reach out with questions.
Coming up next:
The next episode will discuss coaching versus therapy and how each can support you in different ways
Resources:
Read Navigating ADHD during perimenopause: https://www.andreatoolecoach.com/blog/navigating-adhd-during-perimenopause
Read When the house gets quiet: ADHD, midlife, and sending kids off to college:
https://www.andreatoolecoach.com/blog/adhd-in-the-empty-nest
Learn about my coaching framework:
https://www.andreatoolecoach.com/the-primed-difference
1:1 Support: https://www.andreatoolecoach.com/services
If you want to practice this kind of support in real time, that’s what WILD Minds is for. Be a part of a community of professional women managing ADHD in midlife.: https://www.andreatoolecoach.com/wildminds
Episode transcript:
https://www.andreatoolecoach.com/s/PRIMED-season-2-episode-3-Transcript-ADHD-and-Perimenopause-b832.pdf
Contact for questions or comments:
https://www.andreatoolecoach.com/contact
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