One little-known side effect of menopause and perimenopause? They may make your ADHD symptoms harder to manage. Here’s how one businesswoman dealt with her shifting hormones — and stayed on top of her workload.
A woman with ADD going through menopause and stressed about her responsibilities
폐경기를 겪으며 책임감에 대한 스트레스를 받고있던 주의력 결핍장애를 가지고있는 한 여성
An ADDitude reader wrote: “I am a 42-year-old business executive diagnosed with ADHD. I have a confession to make. Lately, I don’t like calling people on the phone or returning calls. I think perimenopause may be causing this glitch.
I also find myself getting confused and shutting down when confronted with a bunch of projects at work all at once.
나는 또 직장에서 한꺼번에 많은 프로젝트에 직면하면 혼란스러움을 느끼고 일을 중단하곤 하는 자신을 발견했다
I need more time to process things. I know I have ADHD, and I know my hormone profile is changing.
I take medication, but what strategies do you have to ease this collision course between diagnosis and hormones? What can I do to make things easier on myself?”
나는 약을 먹고 있지만 진단과 호르몬 사이의 충돌을 쉽게 해결할수 있는 전략이 있을까요? 내 자신에게 닥친것들을 손쉽게 해결하기 위해 내가 할수있는 일은 무엇일까요?
ADHD symptoms change as we age, and as life circumstances become more complicated and stressful.
Hormones, in particular, often exacerbate ADHD symptoms as women edge closer to menopause.
특히 호르몬은 흔히 여성이 폐경기에 가까워지면서 ADHD증세가 악화시키게 된다
In fact, as you’ve pointed out in your question, this worsening of symptoms may occur during perimenopause, when estrogen levels begin to drop.
We know that when estrogen levels decrease, cognition suffers. Women struggle with memory, word retrieval, and other cognitive activities. In fact, for some, the change in cognitive function is so drastic that some think they are developing dementia or Alzheimer’s.
Lower levels of estrogen may cause mood disorders. During this time of hormonal fluctuations, we find that ADHD medication and strategies for managing ADHD symptoms may not work as effectively as they once did.
에스트로겐 수치가 감소하면 기분장애를 일으킬수 있다. 이러한 호르몬변동의 시기에는 ADHD 치료제와 ADHD증상 관리전략이 예전만큼 효과적으로 작용하지 않을수 있다
Your new difficulty in dealing with phone calls and feeling overwhelmed when faced with multiple projects may be due to your estrogen deficits.
당신이 전화를 응대하는데 새로운 어려움을 느끼거나 여러프로젝트에 직면했을때 압도감을 느낀다면 에스트로겐의 결핍이 원인일수가 있다
Changing hormone levels, combined with ADHD, creates a tough situation for a lot of women in the workplace.
What’s a Woman to Do?
The first thing I suggest is to discuss these new challenges with your physician or medical provider. Look back and think if these struggles have been there all along, or if they are worse since perimenopause. You’ll want to also rule out any other reason for your current challenges outside of the ADHD/hormone connection — thyroid disease, allergies, and so on.
If your medical provider gives you a clean bill of health, discuss your situation with your prescribing doctor. Many doctors make the mistake of increasing stimulant medication for women whose hormonal changes are causing the kinds of challenges you describe. Patricia Quinn, M.D., an expert on ADHD and hormones, suggests that this may not be the best solution. She suggests discussing possible hormone replacement therapy with the doctor.
Another possible explanation for your difficulties is additional stress in your life. Is your boss demanding more of you lately? Are there other things going on in your life that are challenging you mentally?
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Here are some strategies women can use when, like you, they feel overwhelmed at work. The first step, always, is to identify the problems.
Phone Challenges
> You say that you hate calling people on the phone. One way around this is to schedule your calls early in the day, so you don’t think about them very long. Try making calls first thing in the morning, when not a lot is going on, and check them off your to-do list.
Make calls first thing in the a.m. and cross them off your list.
Is there someone at work who can take some of the phone calls off your plate? Maybe trade tasks — do something a colleague hates to do in exchange for her making some of the phone calls. Bartering chores is a great way to deal with difficult tasks.
> If that’s not possible, identify what exactly makes you hate the phone calls so much. Do you get bored? Do you feel anxious? Are you afraid you might forget what to say? Do you hate the prep or follow-up involved?
> If you get distracted on the phone, playing with fidgets and doodling on a piece of paper can keep you focused. I stayed focused on lectures in college by doodling in the margins of my notebooks.
> Instead of phone calls, encourage clients or other business contacts to email or send text messages to you.
Workflow Challenges
As we age, we not only deal with hormonal changes, but with an aging brain as well. As a result, we are more easily overwhelmed. It can become harder to juggle all the things thrown at us.
> Bring in more support, if possible. If you have assistants, hand off more responsibilities to them. Many with ADHD have a terrible time delegating, partly because it can trigger a sense of perceived failure (“I should be able to do it all myself”). Help them to help you by working together on setting up systems that work, starting with a schedule.
가능하면 더 지원을 받도록 하라. 부하직원이 있으면 그들에게 당신의 책임을 더 넘겨주라. ADHD를 가진 많은 사람들은 위임을 하기 어려워하는데 원인의 일부는 실패에 대한 인식(나는 내가 모든것을 할수 있어야한다) 을 촉발할수 있기 때문이다. 일정부터 시작하여 효과적인 시스템을 구축하는데 함께 노력함으로서 그들이 당신을 도와주도록 해주라.
> Stop taking everything on. Learn to say no (when appropriate). Negotiate extra time for getting tasks done.
> Write it down. When you begin to feel overwhelmed, analyze what is upsetting you. Perhaps you feel you don’t have enough time to take on all the projects that have landed on your desk. Try whittling down larger projects into mini-tasks. One way to do that is to write an outline:
1.Describe the project.
2.What needs to be done first?
3.What needs to be done next?
4.What is the deadline?
5.Who can help me take on parts of this project?
6.What can she do?
Writing things down reduces stress on the ADHD brain. Some people find that using a voice recorder to break down a task can be helpful, too.
Deadline Challenges
> If you wait until the last minute to finish a project — a common problem for people with ADHD — set up a schedule to divide the project into parts, and assign each part a day and a time. For instance:
Monday
9 a.m.: phone calls to xyz
11 a.m.: Spend a half hour working on report
Noon: lunch
1 p.m.: Write the first paragraph of the analysis report
Use visuals to avoid taxing your brain.
Challenges with the Boss
> Many people are overwhelmed when a boss “spits out” orders or expectations, especially verbal commands. If your boss does that, get in the habit of carrying a pad and taking notes as you discuss new assignments, or ask him or her to write down the specifics of what you need to do. Say that this is the best way for you to get the job done, as it gives you the opportunity to re-read the plan. Again, having your boss email you the assignment in detail is an excellent way to deal with his demands when your brain is already tired.
Professionals on Board
> Working with professionals familiar with ADHD can bring tremendous relief to someone who doesn’t feel up to a task. In your case, it may be working with an ADHD coach who can help you set up systems at work, and hold you accountable for getting things done. The job of a coach is to encourage you and work with your strengths. You can find an ADHD coach in the ADDitude Directory.
> Another option is to work with a professional organizer, who can de-clutter and organize your office with you. Make sure the person you hire understands ADHD-related challenges, so he or she is not judging you as you organize your office.
동굴 벽화속에서 나타난 말들에 대하여
People have been captivated by horses for a long time. They appear more than any other animal in cave paintings dating back 30,000 years. But how did horses make the journey from wild animals to ones humans could hitch themselves to and even ride, determining the fate of civilizations and dramatically altering history?
Equids originally evolved in North America. Sometime after 4 million years ago, ancient equid species began trotting across the Bering land bridge. Eventually, they spread through Eurasia and into Africa, diversifying into the lineages that would lead to modern-day horses, donkeys, and zebras. Early humans, including generations of the first people to live in the Americas, hunted wild horses, sometimes fashioning their bones into tools. Then, between 15,000 and 5,000 years ago, likely because of a changing climate, hunting by humans, and competition with bison, horses disappeared from the American archaeological record. But they’d be back eventually. In the meantime, on the other side of the world around 2,000 BCE, something very consequential happened: people on the western Eurasian steppe domesticated horses. By then, people in western Asia had already domesticated many animals and begun using some of them to pull carts. But, because horses were generally faster and more difficult to control, steppe people developed a bridle-and-bit system and chariots with lighter, spoked wheels.
Horses were soon integrated into many ancient cultures. In contrast with horse-drawn charioteering, horseback riding appears to have been less common at first. Archaeological evidence suggests that people who did mount horses during this early stage did so without structured saddles or stirrups. This sometimes altered or damaged the skeletons of riders and horses alike.
People continued breeding for less aggressive horses with greater endurance and weight-bearing abilities. And they developed techniques and tools for improved control and comfort. After around 1000 BCE, cavalry appeared in combat across much of Asia. Riders of steppe and desert cultures became renowned for their prowess on horseback.
Ceremonial horse sacrifice also made its way into the funerary traditions of some cultures. One royal Scythian burial site from around the 9th century BCE contained the remains of approximately 200 horses fitted with riding gear.
Officials in ancient China recognized how advantageous horses were for their neighbors and some coveted larger numbers of them for their own empire. Around 100 BCE, the Chinese emperor reportedly ordered a 30,000-man army west that laid siege to a city and had its king killed— all for 3,000 of the so-called “heavenly horses” of Ferghana.
Between the 4th and 8th centuries CE, steppe horsemen spread riding technologies like stirrups across cultures. And nomadic groups eventually coalesced into unstoppable forces on horseback. The Mongol Empire rose to power in the 13th century, and raided, traded, and toppled empires over previously unthinkable distances. They developed a horse-backed postal relay system that stretched more than 60,000 kilometers. Their imperial successes relied on the well-being of their horses— and leaders knew it. In 1252, before launching his next military campaigns, Möngke Khan sent officials ahead to prohibit cattle grazing so there’d be plentiful pastureland for their steeds.
Horses continued to spread, eventually spurring equestrian empires reaching a south of the Sahara. By the mid-14th century, the Mali Empire was said to have had a cavalry of more than 10,000 that controlled some 1 million square kilometers of West Africa. And by 1500, horses were finally reintroduced to the Americas. They appear to have escaped Spanish control rapidly as Indigenous people from the Pampas to the Great Plains exchanged them via expansive trade networks.
Colonization and trade spread horses even further around the globe. And well into the 20th century they were a widespread and essential means of travel and transport. This didn’t come without problems: issues of hygiene and animal welfare emerged, especially in cities. And many human hubs transformed with the introduction of non-living modes of transport, like the automobile. Nevertheless, people have maintained their multifaceted relationships with horses— riding, herding, racing, or admiring them— from the steppes of Mongolia to the prairies of Montana, ever since.