Hyperfocus with Rae Jacobson – Details, episodes & analysis

If you follow ADHD news, you might’ve heard that diagnosis rates in women nearly doubled during the pandemic. Danielle Elliot was one of them, receiving her diagnosis just before she turned 37. 

Danielle is also a science and health journalist. So, she did the thing that many reporters are inclined to do — she began investigating this big, new thing in her life and how it fit into the world around her.

As she dug in deeper, she landed on two big questions relating to the pandemic diagnosis boom: Why women? And why now? Her answers culminated in a new podcast from Understood.org called Climbing the Walls. It’s a six-episode series, and the first installment is out now. 

This week on Hyperfocus, Danielle visits the show to talk about her ADHD experience and what it’s like reporting a story where you’re one of the characters. 

Related resources

• Listen to Climbing the Walls
• I’m a journalist with ADHD. Here’s how I get it done.
• ADHD and women

Timestamps

(1:25) The origins of Danielle’s story 

(7:50) Surprises during the reporting process

 (12:05) What it felt like to get a diagnosis 

(22:14) Danielle’s big takeaways from making the show

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

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

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

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

It often seems that the more complex a subject is, the more people tend to oversimplify it.

If your social media feeds are anything like mine, that’s definitely the case. Especially when it comes to science. 

One of those often-oversimplified things is dopamine. This neurotransmitter, or brain chemical, has become a target for catchy headlines promising new ways to “hack your dopamine.” Seriously. If you don’t believe me, type in “dopamine hacks” on YouTube and enjoy the endless scroll.

This week on Hyperfocus, we take a deep dopamine dive with psychologist Dr. Ari Tuckman and sort out fact from fiction.

Related resources

• How I beat my social media habit (and how you can too)
• Tips from an ADHD Coach: Is it love or is it dopamine?
• Attention: How it’s different from working memory

Timestamps

(3:01) What is dopamine? 

(8:48) How do dopamine and ADHD relate? 

(16:59) The truth behind dopamine “hacks” 

(25:25) What a clinician wishes we knew

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

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

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

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

*Note: This episode includes discussion of suicide and self-harm. Please take care when listening and skip this one if you need to.*

Dr. Stephen Hinshaw is one of the leading voices when it comes to ADHD in women and girls.  

That’s in large part due to his work on The Berkeley Girls study. (Its full name is The Berkeley Girls with ADHD Longitudinal Study, but most people know it by that shorthand or acronym: The BGALs study.)

Under Steve’s leadership, researchers began studying 140 girls with ADHD and a control group of nearly 90 girls without it. They’ve been following these girls into their adulthood, producing a reams of information that has helped shape current understanding of ADHD in women and girls.  

That said, Rae Jacobson had plenty of questions for Steve: Why did you want to study ADHD in girls at a time when it was typically seen as a boys’ disorder? Why is it that one type of ADHD seems to lead to such negative outcomes? What do we do about the stigma that still surrounds the disorder?  

Related resources

• Steve’s books
• The 3 types of ADHD
• How ADHD can affect your mental health

Timestamps

(2:20) The beginnings of The Berkeley Girls study

(4:26) Combined-type ADHD and negative outcomes

(9:18) Self-esteem, ADHD, and girlhood

(16:20) ADHD as a “trend”

(20:40) What to do about ADHD stigma   

To get a transcript of this show and check out more episodes, visit the Hyperfocus podcast page at Understood.org

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

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

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

At work, neurodivergent people face a bunch of different hurdles — stigma, burnout, firings, higher unemployment rates, and more. 

In recent years, all kinds of businesses have begun various types of neurodiversity initiatives. On the surface, these initiatives are supposed to foster inclusion and make working better for everyone.

But host Rae Jacobson wondered: Do these initiatives actually do anything, or are they just good marketing? 

She put the question to Rachel Lowenstein, a brand consultant and content creator whose job involves working with business leaders to make workplaces more inclusive.

Rachel explains how these efforts can create positive change and aren’t just neurowashing (think greenwashing, but for neurodiversity inclusion). And she also shares why these efforts are personal for her as a woman with autism. 

Related resources

• 5 ways you can help your workplace be more inclusive
• Survey reveals workplace stigma for neurodivergent employees
• What is neurodiversity?

Timestamps

(4:11) How to make people relate to neurodiversity

(11:18) The curb-cut effect: What helps me can help everyone

(14:50) What does a neuroinclusive retail job look like?

(20:39) Why a larger community is a stronger one

To get a transcript of this show and check out more episodes, visit the Hyperfocus podcast page at Understood.org

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

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

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

ADHD can create all kinds of challenges in the workplace. Like a list of infinite things to do and to remember. A busy, ever-changing schedule. And co-workers who don’t always know what’s going on in your mind. 

There’s a lot to figure out. But recently, Rae Jacobson found herself wondering what it's like on the other side — to manage someone who’s neurodivergent and still figuring it out. 

So, Rae called her former boss, Caroline Miller, the editorial director of the Child Mind Institute. 

On this episode of Hyperfocus, Rae and Caroline go over this question and Caroline shares some advice on ADHD at work — for employees and managers alike. 

To get a transcript of this show and check out more episodes, visit the Hyperfocus podcast page at Understood.org

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

Related resources

• “Masking my ADHD at work was exhausting, so I stopped”
• Workplace supports: A guide for employees 
• 3 big myths (and truths) about workplace accommodations
• How to ask for a workplace accommodation  

Timestamps

(03:49) Caroline’s first thoughts on working with Rae

(09:16) Neurodiversity initiatives: Trends vs. real support

(17:04) “Hope is not a plan”

(22:05) Caroline’s keys for hiring 

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

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Rae Jacobson has been friends with Katherine Martinelli since they were 6. In the classroom, they were polar opposites: Katherine, a star student; Rae, scrambling and struggling with then-undiagnosed ADHD and dyscalculia. 

As they grew older, they both became mothers and professional writers and editors. Rae got diagnosed and found the support and systems that worked for her. 

When, well into their 30s, Katherine called to say she'd been diagnosed with ADHD, Rae was shocked: “My queen of competence has ADHD?”

On this episode of Hyperfocus, Rae digs into what made her and Katherine’s ADHD experiences so vastly different. 

Related resources

• ADHD and women: The essentials
• “Understood Explains” podcast: ADHD diagnosis in adults
• How ADHD is diagnosed in adults
• “In It” podcast: When your child’s diagnosis leads to your own (podcast)

Timestamps

• (03:56) Martinelli’s diagnosis
• (07:27) Memories of Rae in school
• (11:39) Hyperfocusing and other early signs
• (15:39) “Am I an ADHD imposter?”

To get a transcript of this show and check out more episodes, visit the Hyperfocus podcast page at Understood.org

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

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

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Rae had heard that there was a link between ADHD and postpartum depression. But with a tiny baby to care for and a life to navigate, she had more pressing things to deal with. 

But the question kept bugging her: Does ADHD make you more likely to have postpartum depression?

This week on Hyperfocus, Rae finally gets some answers to questions she has had for years. Her guest is Dr. Catherine Birndorf, an expert on postpartum mood disorders and co-founder, CEO, and medical director of The Motherhood Center of New York.

Related resources

• Catherine’s book: What No One Tells You
• 3 things I’m learning as a new mom with ADHD
• 72 hours in the life of a working mom with ADHD
• Parenting tips when you and your child have ADHD

Timestamps

(02:55) ADHD as a postpartum concern

(09:47) PMADs: Not just the ‘baby blues’

(14:21) What can struggling parents do?

(21:07) Medication and pregnancy

To get a transcript of this show and check out more episodes, visit the Hyperfocus podcast page at Understood.org

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

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

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hyperfocus is a show that zeroes in on what fascinates us about ADHD, learning, and mental health. Join journalist Rae Jacobson as she tackles big questions like, “Why can’t I get my ADHD meds? Who exactly gets to define a diagnosis? And can ADHD make postpartum depression worse?”

New episodes launch every other Thursday wherever you get your podcasts.

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

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

We’re back with another episode from our Hyperfocus field trip to San Diego. While we were at the APSARD (American Professional Society of ADHD and Related Disorders) conference, one of the talks that really piqued our interest was on genetics and neurodevelopmental disorders, including ADHD. 

Genetic science is tough to understand. And, as you’ll hear in this interview, we had a lot to learn and a lot of questions. Is ADHD genetic? And if it is, what does that mean for people who have it? What does it mean for treatment? 

Luckily, Dr. Anne Arnett, a scientist at Boston Children’s Hospital and assistant professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical school, was kind enough to brave a chilly, windy outdoor recording. In this conversation, she help us understand more about what we know (and what we don’t) about ADHD and genetics. 

Related resources

• Video: Dyscalculia, dyslexia, and genetics
• Can genetic testing help me find the right ADHD medication?
• Is ADHD hereditary?
• ADHD runs in the family (Michelle’s story)
• The Arnett Lab at Boston Children’s Hospital

Timestamps

(2:01) Is ADHD genetic?

(8:28) Genetic vs. environmental factors and ADHD co-morbidities

(11:50) What does the latest research mean for people with ADHD?

(13:55) Is there genetic testing for ADHD?

(18:56) Why bother with early detection?  

(21:44) Anne’s goals for her research

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

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

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

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Earlier this year, Hyperfocus took a field trip to San Diego for 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 it was — and we learned a ton. But 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. 

What Sandra is doing is something so sensible and radical: Looking at ADHD as a whole-body issue. Digging into how it can affect women’s hormones, our health, and especially our hearts. 

I find Sandra’s research fascinating and was thrilled when she agreed to sit down for a conversation with me. We didn’t waste any time and quickly set up a makeshift studio for 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. 

Related resources

• MissUnderstood: The ADHD in Women Channel
• Did my ADHD make me more likely to have postpartum depression?
• ADHD Powerbank: Sandra’s video platform
• The Head, Heart, Hormones foundation (in dutch with translations) 
• Prevalence of hormone-related mood disorder symptoms in women with ADHD 
• The heart health and ADHD connection

Timestamps

(4:07) Swedish registry study data on diseases in people with ADHD

(7:06) ADHD and hormones  

(13:56) Cardiovascular disease in women

(20:21) Talking to your doctor about diseases related to ADHD

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

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

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

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.