On this very special episode of Hyperfocus, host Rae Jacobson interviews three of these women — Sari Solden, Terry Matlen, and Dr. Ellen Littman — along with Dr. Michelle Frank, a psychologist taking up the torch for a new generation.

Together, they discuss how they met, their journey to legitimize ADHD in women, and what they hope for the future.

Related resources

• Climbing the Walls
• MissUnderstood: The ADHD in Women Channel

Timestamps

(06:22) Discovering you aren’t alone

(13:18) The disconnect between academia and the rest of the world

(21:22) The benefits of treatment and community

(28:05) ADHD isn’t always a superpower

For a transcript and more resources, visit the Hyperfocus page on Understood.org.

We love hearing from our listeners! Email us at hyperfocus@understood.org.

Introducing “MissUnderstood,” the first-ever podcast channel for women with ADHD. Listen now: lnk.to/missunderstood

Understood is a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering people with learning and thinking differences, like ADHD and dyslexia. If you want to help us continue this work, donate at understood.org/give

Join health and science journalist Danielle Elliot as she investigates the rise of women recently diagnosed with ADHD. Listen to Climbing the Walls now.

In honor of Mother’s Day weekend, we’re sharing an episode of our sibling podcast from Understood.org, ADHD Aha! The episode features our very own Rae Jacobson and, appropriately, it’s a conversation about motherhood. More specifically, it’s about being a mom (and a woman) with ADHD. Hope you enjoy, and see you in two weeks.

What makes being a mom with ADHD so hard? Navigating executive functions and emotional labor, for one. And feeling burned out when burnout isn’t an option — because there’s always something else that needs your very limited attention!

Talking about it with someone who just “gets it” is such a relief. In this episode, Laura talks to her friend and colleague Rae Jacobson, also a mom with ADHD. Listen to their conversation and insights on this bonus Mother’s Day episode.

Related resources

• Rolling with my ADHD Mom Brain
• Building self-compassion skills
• 3 things I’m learning as a new mom with ADHD

To get a transcript of this show and check out more episodes, visit the “ADHD Aha!” podcast page at Understood.

We’d love to hear from you. Email us at hyperfocus@understood.org.

Introducing “MissUnderstood,” the first-ever podcast channel for women with ADHD. Listen now: lnk.to/missunderstood

Understood is a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering people with learning and thinking differences, like ADHD and dyslexia. If you want to help us continue this work, donate at understood.org/give

Join health and science journalist Danielle Elliot as she investigates the rise of women recently diagnosed with ADHD. Listen to Climbing the Walls now.

“Thriving” is often held up as something to work toward in life, the gold standard for existence. If you have a learning difference or you’ve experienced mental health issues or even just went through a tough time, you’ve probably gotten some advice on what it takes to thrive.

But for me, it’s never been clear what it means to thrive. It’s an abstract concept with many definitions. As someone with ADHD, it feels like thriving can be a codeword for hiding parts of myself that aren’t exactly desirable to the rest of the world.

Yet thriving remains a constant point of discussion in mental health. It’s a conversation my colleague Sarah Greenberg and I have been having on and off for years. That’s because Sarah’s been working on a new way to understand and measure thriving, and she has a take on it I’ve never heard before.

Sarah is the vice president for expertise and strategic design at Understood.org. She’s a licensed psychotherapist and has been a leader in digital mental health for many years. She’s also really smart, thoughtful, and has a very different perspective on thriving than I do.

So we decided it would be a good idea to record one of our conversations for an episode of Hyperfocus.

Related resources

• What does it mean to thrive?
• Masking my ADHD at work was exhausting, so I stopped

Timestamps

(2:12) Are you thriving, or are you masking?

(5:11) Internal vs. external thriving

(23:04) The deficit model and erasure

(27:35) Privilege and thriving

For a transcript of this episode and more resources, visit the episode page on Understood.org.

We’d love to hear from you. Email us at hyperfocus@understood.org.

Introducing “MissUnderstood,” the first-ever podcast channel for women with ADHD. Listen now: lnk.to/missunderstood

Understood is a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering people with learning and thinking differences, like ADHD and dyslexia. If you want to help us continue this work, donate at understood.org/give