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What if the conversation you needed to hear wasn't one Kate was leading, but one where she was being asked the questions for a change?
Welcome back to a More Yourself Monday episode. This week I'm sharing a conversation I had as a guest on the Limited Time Only podcast, hosted by Esther Stanford and Susie Riddell. It's a beautifully produced show that feels like a proper chin wag over a cup of tea, and I had such a good time talking to them.
In this conversation, we go into some topics that don't always get as much space on the main podcast: what my life looked like before diagnosis, the shame that came with finally getting those answers, and the very real experience of sensory overload and limited social batteries. We also talk about how burnout can creep in quietly rather than arriving all at once, how hormones and perimenopause can amplify everything, and why decompression and downtime aren't luxuries; they're necessities.
I hope you find it as useful and validating to listen to as I found it to record.
In this episode, we cover:
- What Kate's life looked like before her ADHD diagnosis at 40, and how her daughter's struggles during the pandemic finally connected the dots
- Why the initial reaction to diagnosis is so often shame rather than relief, and how that shifts over time
- Sensory sensitivities, limited social batteries and why understanding these is so freeing
- Why ADHD and trauma are deeply interlinked, but trauma does not cause ADHD
- How fluctuating hormones and perimenopause amplify ADHD traits, and why this hits neurodivergent women harder
- What ADHD burnout actually looks and feels like when it builds slowly rather than arriving all at once
- Knowing which "season" you're in and why that matters before making any big decisions
- Why decompression time is non-negotiable, not a nice-to-have
- Simple daily practices: movement, outdoor time and breathwork to regulate your nervous system
- Learning to say no, protect your bandwidth and stop performing for everyone else
Timestamps:
- 00:00 - Welcome to this More Yourself episode
- 01:00 - Introducing the Limited Time Only podcast and what this conversation covers
- 02:58 - Kate's story: life before diagnosis and how her daughter's struggles led to both of their assessments
- 07:34 - Why girls with ADHD get missed, and the epidemic myth
- 08:50 - The shame that comes with diagnosis, and navigating it publicly
- 10:33 - Labels, autism, and finding language that doesn't hold us back
- 15:02 - Sensory sensitivities, limited social batteries and permission to protect your energy
- 18:27 - The parent experience: protecting yourself when you're already pouring into everyone else
- 23:14 - Hormones, perimenopause and why ADHD traits can feel amplified in midlife
- 28:57 - Gabor Maté, trauma and ADHD: why Kate disagrees with the causation theory
- 34:56 - Burnout, boundaries and knowing your bandwidth
- 40:42 - The empowerment of finally knowing your limits
- 49:50 - How to recognise which season you're in
- 52:33 - What ADHD burnout really looks like when it creeps in slowly
- 55:22 - Simple practices: movement, breathwork and giving yourself buffers
Links and Resources:
Kate Moryoussef is a women's ADHD lifestyle and wellbeing coach and EFT practitioner who helps overwhelmed and unfulfilled newly diagnosed women with ADHD find more calm, balance, hope, health, compassion, creativity, and clarity.
