A podcaster who has transformed the conversation on ADHD in women and girls has been presented with a top podcasting industry award.
Kate Moryoussef, from Manchester, has won gold in the parenting category at the British Podcast Awards for The ADHD Women’s Wellbeing Podcast.
Kate, who was rubbing shoulders with the likes of Peter Crouch, Alan Carr and Pete Wicks at the awards ceremony, told the JC: “It was very exciting to win this award. There were lots of big names in the room – and me.”
The 46-year-old, who attends Shaare Hayim Congregation, found out she had ADHD when she was 40, many years after both her brothers had been given the diagnosis as children.
“My daughter was being assessed for all sorts of things – dyslexia, dyscalculia and dyspraxia – and none of them were quite ticking all the boxes. When I did a Google search of ADHD traits in women and girls, they definitely matched my daughter, but so many of those traits were in me too.”
Having previously worked in PR, Kate had recently retrained in health and wellbeing, and after her own ADHD diagnosis, found herself asking: “Where is the information on ADHD and women’s wellbeing?”
Finding very little of it around, she decided to do her own research. Since then, as well as launching The ADHD Women’s Wellbeing Podcast, which, within less than five years, has had 3.7 million downloads, she has also written a book, The ADHD Women’s Wellbeing Toolkit, and runs workshops, filling what she sees as a void in the medical profession.
“Women’s health has never been a priority as the medical world is mostly male dominated, so the research into women and ADHD hasn’t been there, and if you aren’t taught about it in medical school, you don’t know what to look for.
“Doctors need to catch up. There is still a lot of dismissal and a lot of women having to advocate for themselves.”
Part of the reason that women and girls may not have previously been diagnosed at the same rate as males is because ADHD symptoms usually present very differently. While boys are more likely to show disruptive behaviour, girls’ symptoms might include skin-picking, nail-biting, doodling, says Kate. “They might also suffer from sleeplessness, a feeling of claustrophobia, anxiety and OCD.”
At the same time, women and girls have a tendency to mask the difficulties they are experiencing to look like they are managing – even when they aren’t. “They wonder why everyone else seems to be able to process information, have successful friendships, and hand their homework in on time. There will also be women in their 50s and 60s with brilliant careers, who are masking to compensate.”
Kate has a theory that there is a higher proportion of neurodiversity within the Jewish community than in the general population. “Albert Einstein was 100 per cent neurodivergent”
As for her own experience of ADHD, Kate says it manifests itself “very much internally”, explaining: “I have a lot of anxiety, a very busy brain. There are a lot of steps I need to take before I can sleep – I take magnesium, sprays, HRT and need special pillows.
“I have lots of ideas, passion and enthusiasm, but the flipside of this is that I need sleep and decompression, since if I have too many ideas, my nervous system feels overwhelmed. It’s a bit of a tug of war between my brain not wanting to stop versus my nervous system needing to calm down.”
She says she manages her ADHD not by taking medication – although she is not against this for those who find it helpful – but by setting boundaries. “What should I be saying no to? What should I be saying yes to? It’s about curating a lifestyle that’s better for you.” At the same time, she focuses on eating well and getting enough exercise.
Kate has a theory that there is a higher proportion of neurodiversity within the Jewish community than in the general population. “We see so much innovation and passion, so a lot of crossover with ADHD traits. Albert Einstein was 100 per cent neurodivergent.”
Describing herself as “a real feminist”, she says that being neurodivergent can be particularly hard for women when they are expected to manage a career, kids, and in the Jewish community, “to show up as the perfect Jewish housewife”.
Kate pushes back at the suggestion, made by some politicians and parts of the media, that ADHD is being overdiagnosed. In fact, she argues, “neurodiversity needs to be normalised”, and it is our education and workplace systems which need an overhaul.
“Our education system hasn’t been changed in 100 years. There is a theory that we should be treating all pupils like they are neurodivergent as they will all benefit from more time spent outside and greater use of audio and visual resources. And while some employees might work well sitting in an office for eight hours a day without natural light, we should find ways to allow everyone to thrive.”
As a mother with ADHD, and with four children who all have ADHD, “which shows up in different ways”, the podcast brings both perspectives.
Its launch coincided with the emergence of the conversation about ADHD in women, and since then, the topic "has really exploded. There are women in their 60s and 70s who are now getting diagnosed and telling me: ‘I’m finally able to understand why I’m like who I am.’
“But early diagnosis is really important, so girls who are 14 and 15 don’t have to suffer or feel shame. I don’t see ADHD as a label. I see it as an understanding, a key to unlocking who you are.”
The ADHD Women’s Wellbeing Podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts
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