Head, heart, hormones: Why women’s ADHD care should treat the whole person | Hyperfocus

Earlier this year, Hyperfocus took a field trip to San Diego. We were there to visit an ADHD conference called APSARD which stands for the American Professional Society of ADHD and Related Disorders (quite a mouthful).

A conference of ADHD professionals might not sound fascinating but let me tell you – it was. We learned a ton. But amid all the fascinating talks and people, there was one person and one talk I really wanted to find: A keynote speech about how ADHD affects women’s bodies by Dr. Sandra Kooij.

Sandra isn’t someone you can just invite over for a chat if you live in New York. First, she’s busy, but more importantly, she lives and works in the Netherlands. I find her research fascinating, and when I heard she was going to be speaking at APSARD I knew we had to talk to her. What Sandra is doing is something so sensible – and so radical. Looking at ADHD as a whole-body issue. Digging into how it can affect women’s hormones, our health, and especially our hearts.

So, when I was able to finally track her down, I was thrilled when Sandra agreed to sit down for a conversation with me. We didn’t waste any time and quickly set up a makeshift studio and made this week’s episode of Hyperfocus.

Also, a quick note on the audio this week: We had to record this episode outside the conference hotel, on a bustling patio full of ADHD professionals and some noisy birds. So please forgive the extraneous sounds.

Timestamps
00:00 Intro
04:07 Swedish registry study data on diseases in people with ADHD
07:06 ADHD and hormones
13:56 Cardiovascular disease in women
20:21 Talking to your doctor about diseases related to ADHD

Related resources:

MissUnderstood: The ADHD in Women Channel
https://www.understood.org/en/podcast...
Did my ADHD make me more likely to have postpartum depression?
https://www.understood.org/en/podcast...
ADHD Powerbank: Sandra’s video platform
https://www.adhdpowerbank.com/
The Head, Heart, Hormones foundation (in dutch with translations)
https://www.h3-netwerk.nl/en/home-eng...
Prevalence of hormone-related mood disorder symptoms in women with ADHD
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33302...
The heart health and ADHD connection
https://www.understood.org/en/article...

For a transcript and more resources, visit the Hyperfocus page on Understood
https://www.understood.org/en/podcast...

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