How Hormones Affect ADHD in Women

Hormones play a powerful—and often overlooked—role in how ADHD shows up across a woman’s lifespan. In this episode of All Things ADHD, Dara Abraham, DO, a board-certified psychiatrist specializing in adult ADHD, unpacks how hormonal shifts from puberty through perimenopause and menopause can affect focus, mood, energy, and medication response. Dr. Abraham explains the interplay between estrogen, progesterone, and key brain chemicals, why ADHD is often missed or misunderstood in girls and women, and why symptoms may intensify at certain points in the menstrual cycle or later in life. The conversation also explores practical, evidence-based strategies for managing ADHD during hormonal transitions, including treatment adjustments, self-advocacy, and lifestyle supports—offering insight for women who have ADHD, parents of girls and adolescents with ADHD, and clinicians alike. Dara Abraham, DO, is a board-certified psychiatrist who focuses on adult ADHD and mental health advocacy. She is in private practice in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her expertise and insights have been showcased in articles, podcasts, and conferences, where she works tirelessly to promote awareness and deepen understanding of ADHD and related conditions. This episode is sponsored by Otsuka. Discover more at Otsuka-us.com/CNS.

You can listen to How Hormones Affect ADHD in Women online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

How Hormones Affect ADHD in Women is an episode from National Resource Center on ADHD by Children and Adults with ADHD (CHADD).

This episode is 01:04:47 long.

This episode was published on Jan 14, 2026.

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