80 - Menopause & Mindfulness with Clarissa Kristjansson
03/07/22 • 18 min
1 Listener
Clarissa worked in corporate roles for three decades and when she went through menopause her mental health suffered.
A self-described high functioning anxiety sufferer, she had managed her job. Until menopause hit.
Clarissa explained when she started to go through menopause she wasn't sleeping well, her anxiety was worse, and she no longer coped with things like she used to.
Her tipping point came early in a new role where she realized it was not the job for her.
Mindfulness & Menopause
Clarissa has found mindfulness has helped her navigate the highs and lows of menopause. Women/ people can be in menopause for years, Clarissa pointed out learning to be in the moment can help accept this.
A different outlook on menopause
Menopause has been a taboo topic, many have no idea what to expect when they start experiencing changes.
Clarissa says she likes to reframe the way menopause is viewed. For some people who may have been parents, they can view it as their time. Or as motivation to take a chance and change things.
Don't miss the full conversation!
Clarissa's Link https://clarissakristjansson.com/
About The Adulting With ADHD Podcast
It’s not just you – we aren’t talking enough about ADHD and hormones. There are so many things I wish I had known about hormones and ADHD earlier. They play such a fundamental role in the human body, deeply impacting a person’s life at all of their life stages.
As a former journalist and current ADHD’er, I unpack this topic through patient stories, expert interviews, and personal narrative.
With new episodes biweekly on Wednesdays, The Adulting With ADHD Podcast covers a variety of ADHD hormone topics including puberty, menopause, perimenopause, PMS, PMDD, and more. Why aren’t we talking about this more? What do you do if you find yourself struggling with ADHD and hormones? We discuss this and much more.
Need basic info about ADHD and hormones? Get the free quick guide at
- Adulting With ADHD.
Show highlights
2:56 I probably now realize many years down the road that I was an anxiety sufferer, but I was very good at hiding it.
4:32 But by that stage, I thought I was going to be stuck here in cities, something terrible was going to happen.
And then I had a panic attack at work, and that really was the tipping point.
12:00 It all sounds so bad if we only think about the symptoms, but the good side is that we get up, the changes are to reframe.
Clarissa worked in corporate roles for three decades and when she went through menopause her mental health suffered.
A self-described high functioning anxiety sufferer, she had managed her job. Until menopause hit.
Clarissa explained when she started to go through menopause she wasn't sleeping well, her anxiety was worse, and she no longer coped with things like she used to.
Her tipping point came early in a new role where she realized it was not the job for her.
Mindfulness & Menopause
Clarissa has found mindfulness has helped her navigate the highs and lows of menopause. Women/ people can be in menopause for years, Clarissa pointed out learning to be in the moment can help accept this.
A different outlook on menopause
Menopause has been a taboo topic, many have no idea what to expect when they start experiencing changes.
Clarissa says she likes to reframe the way menopause is viewed. For some people who may have been parents, they can view it as their time. Or as motivation to take a chance and change things.
Don't miss the full conversation!
Clarissa's Link https://clarissakristjansson.com/
About The Adulting With ADHD Podcast
It’s not just you – we aren’t talking enough about ADHD and hormones. There are so many things I wish I had known about hormones and ADHD earlier. They play such a fundamental role in the human body, deeply impacting a person’s life at all of their life stages.
As a former journalist and current ADHD’er, I unpack this topic through patient stories, expert interviews, and personal narrative.
With new episodes biweekly on Wednesdays, The Adulting With ADHD Podcast covers a variety of ADHD hormone topics including puberty, menopause, perimenopause, PMS, PMDD, and more. Why aren’t we talking about this more? What do you do if you find yourself struggling with ADHD and hormones? We discuss this and much more.
Need basic info about ADHD and hormones? Get the free quick guide at
- Adulting With ADHD.
Show highlights
2:56 I probably now realize many years down the road that I was an anxiety sufferer, but I was very good at hiding it.
4:32 But by that stage, I thought I was going to be stuck here in cities, something terrible was going to happen.
And then I had a panic attack at work, and that really was the tipping point.
12:00 It all sounds so bad if we only think about the symptoms, but the good side is that we get up, the changes are to reframe.
Previous Episode
79 - PCOS & ADHD with Katherine Maslen
In this episode, I'm joined by the host of The Shift podcast and naturopath, Katherine Maslen. What is PCOS?
Katherine explained PCOS stands for polycystic ovary syndrome and there are a number of subtypes. When she treats a patient who may have PCOS she looks at how their hormone levels fluctuate during the month.
When she treats patients she tries to look at the big picture instead of just treating the PCOS. She points out it's very treatable.
PCOS & Your Mental Health
She shares the possible link between hormone receptors and the way they influence a person's mental health.
In relation to PCOS, women can have elevated testosterone. This can lead to weight gain, insulin resistance, acne, and more.
Katherine dives into the different ways PCOS can impact a person's life and that there is a range of treatment options.
Don't miss this great conversation about how PCOS can impact your mental health.
Katherines Link
https://www.theshiftclinic.com/
About The Adulting With ADHD Podcast
It’s not just you – we aren’t talking enough about ADHD and hormones. There are so many things I wish I had known about hormones and ADHD earlier. They play such a fundamental role in the human body, deeply impacting a person’s life at all of their life stages.
As a former journalist and current ADHD’er, I unpack this topic through patient stories, expert interviews, and personal narrative.
With new episodes biweekly on Wednesdays, The Adulting With ADHD Podcast covers a variety of ADHD hormone topics including puberty, menopause, perimenopause, PMS, PMDD, and more. Why aren’t we talking about this more? What do you do if you find yourself struggling with ADHD and hormones? We discuss this and much more.
Need basic info about ADHD and hormones? Get the free quick guide at
- Adulting With ADHD.
Show highlights
1:30 my real passion is helping women to heal. The health. And I guess the way that we look at things at shifts from, from our point of view is we're really interested in understanding the landscape of your entire health.
7:00 I do think it's important to get a diagnosis. And I think it's important to see somebody who will look at that bigger picture
09:00 Outside of putting you on Metformin, which, you know, may or may not be effective in some way. Really the treatment options are the oral contraceptive pill, which isn't a treatment. The pill doesn't fix your period. It doesn't regulate it.
Next Episode
81 - Surviving Menopause Med-Free with Angela Counsel
[Pssst ... To access the podcast archives, visit patreon.com/adultingwithadhd.] In this episode, I’m joined by naturopath and menopause coach Angela Counsel to discuss how to survive menopause naturally. Highlights: -Angela’s menopause story -Is HRT the only way to get through menopause? -What can women do to make menopause easier for them -Angela’s take-home message for every woman struggling with menopause To learn more about Angela, visit angelacounsel.com.
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