"I Thought I Was Losing My Mind": Late ADHD Diagnosis in Perimenopausal and Menopausal Women

For countless women, the path to an ADHD diagnosis does not begin in childhood. It begins in midlife, when the hormonal shifts of perimenopause and menopause strip away the coping strategies they spent decades building without ever knowing why they needed them. Suddenly, the brain fog, the emotional overwhelm, the inability to focus feel unbearable and unfamiliar. Many fear they are developing dementia or simply falling apart. Research confirms that although ADHD begins in early childhood, the symptoms and impairment in women may only be recognized for the first time during perimenopause or menopause. For many women, struggling through this transition becomes the very catalyst that leads them to finally seek and receive an ADHD diagnosis, opening the door to understanding why they struggled all their lives.

Leading this conversation is Dr. Sonia Syed Rehman, a Clinical Psychologist and Lifespan Neuropsychologist with extensive experience in neuropsychological assessment and treatment of…