Sharon Collon:
Welcome to another episode of the ADHD Families Podcast. Today I've got the very incredible Jules Galloway. And now I've known Jules for a long time, and she has been my personal naturopath for quite some time. And she has recently discovered that she has ADHD. And she's got an incredible podcast called Late Diagnosis ADHD. And she also has, I'll put her contact details for her website at the end, so you can see what her Neuropathy website is. But I'd like to welcome you to the podcast to hear a little bit about your story, Jules.
Jules:
Thank you so much for having me. Before we jumped on today, I was actually thinking like, how long have we actually known each other now? And honestly, it's been quite a while and we've seen each other go through so much stuff in that time, I think. And yeah, I'm really excited to talk with you about this today because it's been a topic that we've talked about for many, many years, given your family members, but now I'm on the other end of it.
Sharon Collon:
Don't you think that's just the most incredible bit of serendipity there as well? Like,
Jules:
Oh,
Sharon Collon:
it's
Jules:
maybe
Sharon Collon:
very interesting.
Jules:
we were always each other's people, maybe.
Sharon Collon:
Yes, yes. Now tell me a little bit about your journey with ADHD. I'd love to hear about it.
Jules:
Yeah, so I had that very typical kind of childhood and background that I'm hearing from so many other ADHDers right now who are being diagnosed sort of midlife and beyond in that I talked too much at school, I got into trouble for staff, the school reports were always like she's very smart but not applying herself to her full extent, she does her work but then she distracts others, all of that but no one ever picked anything up. And then I managed to white knuckle my way through a university degree and still nobody picked it up, even though I found some of those things so hard. And then I went into the corporate world and I hated the corporate world, but still nobody picked up why I hated the corporate world. And then... Like what I've been hearing with a lot of others, in fact, a lot of people, I don't have kids, but a lot of people say they start to tweak when they take their kids for an ADHD assessment. It was the same with me, except it was my husband James. So he went for an ADHD assessment and on the second appointment, you know, you bring your partner with you and They were asking me all the questions and I was answering them for him, but I was mentally keeping track in my own head of how many of those questions I could have just answered for me. And I was like, oh God, tick, tick. Shit, do you think this might be me too?
Sharon Collon:
Hehehe
Jules:
And then it began. So I started looking into ADHD and I didn't realize how differently it can show up in women. young girls in higher functioning people or you know like people with like decent amount of intelligence like they're the ones who are slipping through the cracks and not being assessed and nobody suspecting anything until quite a late stage so it was only when I was 46 that I got the diagnosis and that was last year and that obviously that's even quite a mission in Australia at the moment getting that done. So, you know, many months and lots of money later, my husband and I now both have a diagnosis of combined type ADHD. It explains so many things like we, James and I have been together, we've just realized for 25 years this month. And we will have been married 23 years next month. And we only just found out six months ago, eight months ago, that this is what was going on for us. And So we have navigated a relationship where both parties have combined type ADHD for two decades and then some. And we were just coming out the other end of all of the feelings that go with that as well going, wow, we've really beaten some odds there. And no wonder, first of all, no wonder we were attracted to each other. And secondly, oh my goodness, how did we not implode? And I mean, so many times we nearly did. And then our next thought was, let's start a podcast about it because like I've already had a podcast in the past. I know how to do it. We wanted to start connecting with other like-minded people, i.e. people who've been diagnosed with ADHD later in life. And so now we've got LD ADHD, the podcast, and we're really enjoying it because we get to interview other people who are just like us and... It doesn't feel like work and it's the best job ever. And also I'm still a naturopath on top of all of that. So, but of course, like being the way that I am, of course, as soon as I knew what was going on in terms of my brain type, I started researching like a mofo and went down that rabbit hole for months on end. And then I was like, cause I already do speaking. So now I'm starting to do speaking gigs in my industry. educating other practitioners about ADHD and how to manage clients with this brain type and how to do it in a neuroaffirming way. And yeah, so it's all happening over, of course, of course, as soon as like
Sharon Collon:
Yeah.
Jules:
something like that would happen. Like I'm, I'm a pretty driven person. And so of course, I just like threw myself into it. It's like, right, that's it. I'm going to learn everything. I need to learn about this.
Sharon Collon:
You know, what you described is, you know, quite a common scenario that, you know, that ADHD, the diagnosis getting missed, especially in females, during their younger years, they get missed. And
Jules:
Yep.
Sharon Collon:
perhaps it's because they're not showing those outward, not always, but they're not showing those, the hyperactivity as much. It's all happening in here inside the brain, that hyperactivity.
Jules:
Yeah.
Sharon Collon:
And I see it all the time and I feel quite sad for females in general that they're missing out on early intervention and they're missing out on maybe a learning or understanding a little bit about their brain. They're not finding out until their 40s and perhaps when
Jules:
Yeah.
Sharon Collon:
their partner like yours or their children get diagnosed. So it is quite sad when you think about it.
Jules:
It really is like James and I both had to have a bit of a moment of grief for both of us. Like he went through a lot when he found out he'd been diagnosed because he wasn't in a job that he loved and he does feel like he's missed a lot of opportunities and if he had known earlier like maybe with the right support he could have ended up somewhere different. in terms of his goals and his life. And so he went through a massive amount of grief, which we do like delve into a lot on the podcast because he's very open in terms of talking about it. Whereas like I'm really happy in my job. Like I'm, I've got a successful career. I love my job. It took me a long time to work out that I shouldn't work for someone else and that I suck at working for now we know why I suck at working for other people uh and also why I suck at doing the same job day in day out like those things don't suit me but once I figured that out and that was long before the ADHD diagnosis once I figured that out at least I knew what I wanted to be and I had I was already on a mission to kind of help people with like chronic health conditions and burnout and fatigue and whatnot so for me I was I was, I still went through a bit of a grief process, but not as much as, as James did. But I, I think with my grief process, it was more, I was almost looking backwards and looking forwards and almost grieving the future as well, because I, I realized that the thing I've, I've done all these things in my life that I can, I guess, be pretty proud of, like getting a uni degree and. and growing my business and whatnot but also it took like so much energy and it like I would go through these work burnout work burnout work burnout cycles where I'd be like go do achieve and then like fall in a massive hole and get really sick and end up with like these you know inflammatory things going wrong in my body and then I pull myself out of that hole and then go, right, what's the next thing we want to achieve? Work, work, do, achieve. But then I realized that that's not very smart and I'm not practicing what I preach. But also I also realized that looking forward, like I'm gonna have to change my expectations on myself because if this is the brain type I have, you can't really change that. And so then I went through like that bargaining phase of grief where you go, right, well, maybe we'll just like. So medications that will allow me to do all the things I want to do. So, you know, what sort of what have we got that will make me more neurotypical? All right, I'll try all of you. So I tried all the drugs. None of them actually worked well for me. The side effects were really gnarly. And I was one of those people that they just didn't. Yeah, it wasn't a good fit. Like, I really tried. I really, really wanted to make it work. Even though I'm a naturopath. I'm like, I'm going to like. take these drugs and it's gonna allow me to like sit at a desk for eight hours a day and get all the things done. No, did not work, got really, got really sick from that. Even my hair was falling out. I was like, no, this is not for me. So then I had to go through the grief of, well, I guess you're just never gonna be able to do those things like the other people can do in the world. And yeah, that, that was a bit of a shock for me because I always just thought I could kind of like. diet and supplement and biohack my way out of it. And then if I could just finally find the right recipe of supplements and herbs and, you know, ice baths or mindset or something, I always thought I could beat this thing that was holding me back. And then as soon as I realized that it was a brain type and then I'm kind of stuck with it, I was like, oh, well, shit. Then let the grief begin, but I'm all right now. I'm all right now. I've worked my way through that now.
Sharon Collon:
It's interesting what you spoke about, about that sprinting mentality and then burning out and recovering, because I think that a lot of our listeners would very much identify with that.
Jules:
Mm-hmm.
Sharon Collon:
We know that ADHD and women is very linked to burnout. And so you wouldn't be alone in that
Jules:
No.
Sharon Collon:
suggestion at all. Do you have as ways of, as you've been through it, numerous times, do you have ways when you talked about picking yourself up out of that hole that you would be able to some suggestions for people to do the same?
Jules:
Yeah, don't do it again. Um, but we're
Sharon Collon:
Ha!
Jules:
going to.
Sharon Collon:
We often don't realize that we're doing it, right? Until
Jules:
Yes,
Sharon Collon:
we're too far in.
Jules:
or we because we are such optimists, we think it won't be as bad as last time. I won't push myself as far as I did last time. I won't make myself sick. I've learned how to not do that. And then next minute, you've done it again. You're like, Oh, whoops. So yeah, I think we need to honor the fact that You can take some herbs and some supplements and tweak your diet and there are some wonderful things that you can do and I'm happy to guide you through that. However, it's a little bit enabler-ish, is that a word? It's like if I'm going to enabler-ish,
Sharon Collon:
It is on this podcast.
Jules:
yes we've got a new word today, it's called enabler-ish. No, but if I'm giving you things and then it enables you to then go and smash yourself even more. is that responsible naturopathy, right? So it's a bit like if someone came to you and said, I'm a smoker and I like smoking and I'm probably gonna keep smoking every now and again, and could I please have some lung herbs because it's making me cough. What would you say? It'd be like, kind of like, oh, look, I hear you coughing. I can see that it's a problem. Here are some lung herbs, but also we need to have a chat about... the fact that if it's enabling you to smoke more, is this the right thing for us to be doing? So on one hand, like I would be happy to give you beautiful herbs for your adrenals and supplements to prop you up. And you know, there's so many cool new toys to play with at the moment that I've been researching, but none of them, none of them fix anything. Cause like we don't, we don't really need to be fixed. This is not a health condition that needs curing. This is a brain type. And so I used to think that I could fix this, but that's not really the case. And like, but we can definitely smooth things out, ease things down, you know, ease things for people and make, you know, if your brain's on fire, we need to put that out basically, so, but you're still going to wake up the next day and still have the same neuro type. So. Yeah, like this, like this beautiful nervous system herbs, like if, you know, if you've been burning the candle at both ends and it's affecting your digestion, which I know it does with me, right? I'm having, I'm actually in the middle of like the last week was like my busiest week of the year because I'm going overseas next week and I finished off all my patients last week. Um, and that was huge. And also I've got a speaking gig and they want three slideshows in by the end of this week. So I've been like head down, butt up. like the busiest week of the year last week. And then of course, like heartburn, reflux, hiccups, go figure. Like my digestion just was toast, right? And I do
Sharon Collon:
Hmm.
Jules:
all the right things. I'm doing like the gluten-free, dairy-free, sugar-free diet, whole foods, rara, and my digestion was still toast, right? So like there's own, you know, and so of course I'm like taking the herbs and supplements for that. And that, you know, it's kind of helped a little bit, but do you know what would also help it? Like not having all that on in one week.
Sharon Collon:
The
Jules:
So
Sharon Collon:
stress.
Jules:
yeah. And like even my business coach was said, you need to go and have some fun now. Can you go for a walk or a bike ride or something, or have a bath or something? She's like, you need to stop. That's the only thing that's gonna fix this is you need to stop and do less, which is very counterintuitive. So. Yeah, it's, you know, and like when people get stressed, like they end up with insomnia, like when we do too much and we hit that crispy burnout point, like insomnia kicks in. That's when you're in, you know, your inflammation wraps up a notch. If you're in any way autoimmune oriented, like that's when you're autoimmune disease. Hello. Here's
Sharon Collon:
I raised
Jules:
one we
Sharon Collon:
my
Jules:
prepared
Sharon Collon:
hand.
Jules:
earlier. So yeah. Yeah, Sharon, tell everyone what that's like. So, you know,
Sharon Collon:
don't want
Jules:
that,
Sharon Collon:
to scare them.
Jules:
no. And so women in particular, unfortunately, we burn out faster and more things go wrong because we've got this like these female hormones that just love to have a party with everything else. And when your estrogen's up and then your cortisol, which is your stress hormone, when that goes up, they have a party together. And then you, you know, you've got your old mate histamine turns up as well. And then it's a real party. And then your autoimmune stuff kicks off and, so, you know, we, we need to unravel that. And then, yes, if it's, if it's autoimmune, that's kicking in, we'll be going in with anti-inflammatories and we'll be sorting out the gut because the gut is often running the inflammation show anyway, but, but honestly, we're often just going in with things that help to bring the stress down and help to support the nervous system. And then, and then, yeah, I try and like biohack my way through life. Like. I'm currently taking like tyrosine and B vitamins and magnesium and zinc. Like I do not go anywhere without magnesium and zinc. Like zinc's like my desert island nutrient. And then, you know, and I take them at specific doses that are specific for me and everyone's gonna have their own specific dose that works for them. And so there's so many things like, and I know when my gut's not right, my ADHD symptoms are so much worse. like far, far worse. And I start to get scattered and I start to get like twitchy and I can't sit still and I'd like, I'll be like fiddling under the desk while I'm talking to people and like, and I start to get that real spinning the wheels, like open up a tab, no, don't want to do that, shut that tab, open up a tab, no, don't want to do that, shut that tab, open up that email, look for an email that I want, I said don't want to answer any of them, shut that tab, keep going, 20 minutes later, haven't done a thing, kind of ADHD spinning the wheels. But I know that when I've got all the nutrients working better, that's less likely to happen. Doesn't go away altogether. But it's all about just kind of putting out the fire where I can. But yeah, at the end of the day, honoring the fact that maybe my body doesn't wanna go at a million miles an hour all the time might be a suggestion too. But.
Sharon Collon:
Hahaha!
Jules:
How many of us actually do that though? Like I get bored sitting around.
Sharon Collon:
Do you know, I think you've raised a really interesting point, right? Like it's this, like we like to be busy. Like people with ADHD like to be busy. Their brains are ideas factories. Like they're great at creating
Jules:
Yeah.
Sharon Collon:
cool ideas. And so it's very tempting to be very busy and to burn ourselves out. You know, like it's very easy. It actually feels productive a lot of the time and feeling
Jules:
Yeah.
Sharon Collon:
like slowing down actually feels a little bit. feels a bit wrong
Jules:
Boring.
Sharon Collon:
sometimes, you know.
Jules:
Yeah, and also I get a
Sharon Collon:
Tell
Jules:
bit,
Sharon Collon:
me what do
Jules:
I
Sharon Collon:
you
Jules:
get
Sharon Collon:
do
Jules:
anxious.
Sharon Collon:
to slow down? Mm.
Jules:
I have an amazing bathtub out on a balcony that overlooks nature, which is my secret weapon.
Sharon Collon:
Amazing.
Jules:
Yeah, it is, it's incredible. Like we, yeah, when we saw that bathtub, we're like, we have to have this place because you feel like you're sitting in the trees. But I also have to take a book out there with me because I can't just sit and, but it is nice. It is beautiful. And if it's still light outside, you can sit and watch the birds and it's incredible. But that's about the only thing I can do. That like I've tried meditation. I'm really happy for everyone in the world who can meditate. Like I'm happy for you all, whoever you are, like love your work, that's great. I never. I just suck at it and I thought the solution was to try meditating more. No, no, but also surfing is like meditation for me. Stand up paddle boarding on beautiful calm flat water around like the canals of Nusa here. Like that's meditation for me. Going for a walk in nature is meditation for me. And so once we, you know, once you start to become acquainted with how your brain works, you can start to look outside the square of what everyone says you should be doing to relax and find your own way of doing it. And one of the most important things that was said to me during the ADHD assessment process was the psychologist was had to explain to me that I do have hyperactive traits and I was like fighting tooth and nail like, no, I'm fine. I don't have hyperactive traits. I've, you know. I don't think I'm hyperactive. I don't think I'm combined type. I think I'm inattentive. I often stare out the window and she's like, you know how you answered to, there's the question on the assessment about whether you get up at inappropriate times. Like you can't sit in a seat for, I forget how it's worded, but it's about not being able to sit still for long periods of time and you get up at inappropriate times. And I'm like, please. I'm a naturopath. Sometimes we have consults that go for like 19 minutes. I can sit still. She's like, yeah, but what's going on under the desk? I'm like, oh, a fair bit of fidgeting. But then she also
Sharon Collon:
Hahaha
Jules:
said, she also said, oh, yeah, but that's, that's when it's required, required of you. Like you need, you know, like you have to stay still because otherwise going to freak the client out. She goes, what if you're watching a movie? She's like, when's the last time you watched a whole movie without stopping in the middle? And I'm like, oh no, we always have like intermission here at our house. Like, and she goes, yeah, and it'll be some lame excuse. Like you have to get up to pee or you need a smack. And I'm like, yeah. She's like, well, movies only go for two hours. Did you pee before the movie started? Yes. She's like, you don't really need to get up to pee then do you? And I'm like, no, I just needed to get up. So once you realize like what, how hyperactive can look for some people. Then through further questioning and talking with the psychologist, I also realized that a lot of hyperactivity goes on in the head, right? It's all happening with me. It's all going on from the neck up. So hyperactive for me can be like racing thoughts or skipping from one thought to the next, to the next, to the next, to the next, and it's spinning, spinning. Like that is also a form of hyperactivity. And so telling that person to meditate, I mean, if they can, like I said, I'm happy for you. If you can do that, I'm so stoked for you, but it's just not me. But if you give me something to do with my hands, like knitting or crochet or mosaic or something like that, like I can, I will sit and do a jigsaw puzzle in my downtime, but I have to have a podcast in my ears at the same time. but I find that so relaxing. Like just sitting in a sunny spot near my window, like chipping away at a jigsaw puzzle, listening to something, I'm like happy for hours. So every, and for me, I think a lot of it, I do go to the gym or I do go for a surf or I do go for a walk or a bike ride. So for me, it's like getting it out physically before it gets me, I think is the thing. But every single person's gonna have their own version of what works for them. And we've grown up and spend a lot of our adult lives being told these rules about what relaxing should look like. I think we need to throw it all in the bin and start again.
Sharon Collon:
Oh my goodness. Oh, that really resonates with me. We, when we built this house, we built a cinema room because we thought that's what you should do, right? And then it came because we were building our, our dream house. We were going to put a cinema room in it. And it came to a point in the build where I actually said to Anthony, we have never watched a movie as a family. Are we going to start or is this like a useless room? And so this room now is my office.
Jules:
Nice.
Sharon Collon:
Right?
Jules:
Well
Sharon Collon:
It never
Jules:
played.
Sharon Collon:
was
Jules:
You
Sharon Collon:
a
Jules:
got
Sharon Collon:
cinema
Jules:
a nice
Sharon Collon:
room.
Jules:
office.
Sharon Collon:
Well, it was it's all dark, right? There's no windows because it was going to be a cinema room. But we had to
Jules:
Uh...
Sharon Collon:
acknowledge that we do not watch movies as a family. Never have never have never been able to sit through them. Yeah, it's not something that brings us joy. It just we fight about what movie it is for half an hour. And then everyone gets up and like it becomes like a war zone in there. It's not a relaxing thing, but I think it's about finding what is relaxing to that individual. Like you said, the walks and being active for you, doing a little bit of something creative for you can be really, it's freeing to know that it doesn't have to be, if getting a massage stresses you out about sitting there and trying to be relaxed in the massage, then maybe that's not
Jules:
Oh,
Sharon Collon:
the best relaxing thing.
Jules:
my husband James hates getting massaged because he has to lay there and like, he's not even that good with like someone touching him for like an hour. He's like, nah, it's not right. He's not, he's the sort of person if you know him, you can hug him, but if you don't know him, don't try and hug him kind of person. So
Sharon Collon:
Mm-hmm.
Jules:
like not a good candidate. No, it's like, oh, but
Sharon Collon:
I'm
Jules:
they're
Sharon Collon:
sorry.
Jules:
so relaxing. So yeah, like it's going to look different for everyone. Like one of. One of the moments when I felt the most at peace and the most meditative like in my whole life was, and like, let's just preface this by saying, I'm a terrible surfer. So when I say I go surfing, like don't picture me actually doing amazing things. Like it's more splashing and falling in and getting hit in the head with surfboards,
Sharon Collon:
I'm gonna go to
Jules:
right?
Sharon Collon:
bed.
Jules:
But the first, the very first time that I paddled out, out of my own depths. So I'd been practicing and practicing in the white wash and I was finally ready to paddle out the back and there was pretty quiet so out I went and I paddled out and sat behind where the waves were breaking and oh my goodness like when you sit in this particular spot you kind of drift up and down on your surfboard in rhythm with the sets that are coming through because you're sitting behind the brake and holy moly like I've never felt more at one with nature. in my life. Like that first time I sat out there, I was just like, I was one with the ocean man. Like I was like, this is, this is what everyone's talking about. Now I get it. And although like that first feeling, it's never going to feel like that every time you go out. Like the last time I went surfing, I was sitting out behind the break and there was this incredible stingray that was like floating around underneath me, like under the surfboard. And, and you know, I took my feet out of the water and then appreciated it. But just, you know, I have like, he's really, look at the size of that tail. Might just lift up my feet right now. But like then I could sit and watch like how majestic this thing was, like cruising around underneath us all. And to me, like being out in nature like that, that's meditation for me. That's as good as it's ever gonna get, but it does, it feels special. And I, that hour or two that I'm out there. don't think about anything else but the water, the waves, the wind, what's it, you know, this, you know, don't hit the stingray, you know, whatever. But I'm certainly not thinking about work or my shopping list or what Joe Bloggs said to me on Wednesday afternoon that got my backup, none of that, right? It's just, it's just me in the ocean and, and so whatever that's going to be for you. whether it's reading or knitting or crocheting or mountain biking or going to the gym or going to a zumba class or whatever it is like that's it that's the thing you need to do more of.
Sharon Collon:
And it's beautiful that everyone's different so you can find your own thing. It's all an experiment. We're all just experimenting to find our own little thing about what brings us joy at that time.
Jules:
And that thing might change as you get older or wiser or try new things or get sick of doing the old things, like there's no rules.
Sharon Collon:
That's right. Now I'd love to hear some of your advice. So as a person who has been late diagnosed,
Jules:
Mm-hmm.
Sharon Collon:
if we've got a, perhaps most of my audience are women about our age, perhaps sitting there thinking, hmm, I have suspicions that I might be a little bit ADHD like my children because probably their children are listening to this podcast. What advice would you tell them?
Jules:
First of all, I would say that the gold standard is to get assessed. And in a perfect world, it would be nice if we could all get assessed. And I think getting assessed and getting that diagnosis gives you validation and it gives you information. It gives you power to be able to choose the next chapter of your life wisely. However, That's not a reality for a lot of people. Like it costs us a fortune and we're a double income family with no kids. And we still had to like scrape the money together because we both got assessed within like a couple of months of each other. And I know that in Australia, like the waiting lists are so long and then... If you've got a few kids and they all need assessments, like of course they're going to get priority first because like that's how it goes in families. And so don't let anyone tell you that like self-identifying is not valid. If you think you're an ADHDer and you identify as being an ADHDer, like that's okay with me. And it needs to be okay with you and your circles as well. So. Yes, aim for an assessment when you can, because I really feel like there's some, you start to get that, you get this definite feeling and you know, unfortunately then, or fortunately, you do go through all the grief and the stuff like once you know for sure, like then you, all of those feelings start to unravel and I do feel like it's that piece of paper for a lot of people that starts that unraveling process and although it sucks and it's a bit bitey and you cry a lot and all of that, like... you have to go through it in order to heal. But at the moment, if all you can do is just self-identify, I'm all right with that, my husband's all right with that, we did a whole podcast on why we think that's okay, because for some people that's all they can do. And then go and find your people. Like I bet you won't have to go far, like you probably just have to look at the five most called numbers in your phone, you know, in your phone, like all the people you message the most on Facebook. Like... they're probably your ADHD crew. So I don't know about you Sharon, but like, I don't know, like the, we roam in packs. I find the
Sharon Collon:
Neurokin.
Jules:
neuro kin, exactly, exactly. That's what my psychologist called it. And she's like, yeah, oh yeah, neuro kin. When you meet them, you'll know because you get this fizzy feeling and it all fizzes up and the energy fizzes up and you're like, oh, you're my person, let's hang out. And yeah, of course we find each other. because the neurotypicals are sometimes a bit vanilla, right? So, you know, of course these are the people that we had big experiences with in our 20s and our 30s and that we went traveling with and that we bonded with and they were the people we wanted to share a room with when we were backpacking through wherever it was. Of course it was, you know, so look around you, find your neuro kin, reconnect with them, talk to someone, get some help and then If you haven't seen a psychiatrist yet, it means that you don't have access to medications, right? So there are things you can still do. If I put my naturopath hat back on, right? Naturopath hat goes on. There are things we can do that we can, that can help with ADHD symptoms, but also what we call comorbidity. So comorbidities is a really awful name. for all the other things that ADHD is often have on board at the same time, but it's like anxiety, depression, insomnia, OCD, gut problems, irritable bowel, da da, PMDD, huge one, premenstrual dysphoric disorder, huge one. So if you've got some of those comorbidities going on, like go and see a naturopath or a nutritionist or an integrative GP or... whoever it is that resonates with you, like even your doctor, I don't mind. Just like get the help that resonates for you. But go and get some of those other things managed and under control as well. Because now that you know what's fueling the anxiety or what's fueling the insomnia or what's fueling some of those other comorbidities, now that you know that ADHD might be actually like taking the wheel and driving that bus sometimes, like at least you have an understanding of what's happening. below the surface what's driving this, but then we still need to make life easier for you and more livable for you. You know, I want you to thrive. So there's lots of things we can do. I would never promise a cure. Like I said, I don't even believe in a cure for ADHD because it's a brain type, not a health condition that needs to be solved. But if you're in pain, whether it's physically or emotionally, mentally, if you're in pain, if your life's not where you want it to be, you're not thriving, like there are things that we can do for that and once you get to your, you know, mid-40s or so ladies, there's this thing called perimenopause that's gonna come and like turn the screws in. So yeah, I think another reason that a lot of women of a certain age are getting diagnosed right now is that perimenopause can sometimes make ADHD symptoms become a little bit less manageable. So you used to be just a bit distracted, now you're like full blown, can't get anything done kind of thing. Brain fog kicks in during perimenopause, fatigue happens, like so many things, so many unpleasant things for us all to look forward to. But... If you're going through perimenopause and that's starting to spike the ADHD symptoms, then we don't just need to work on the ADHD symptoms, we need to work on the hormones. And again, naturopath or nutritionist, if you're that way inclined, GP, integrative GP, or gynecologist, someone who can prescribe you drugs, if you're that way inclined, I don't mind, I don't judge, whatever's going to work for you. Or a combination of the two is often where it lands. So maybe a little bit of HRT. plus a sprinkling of liver herbs and nerve tonics and nutrients and things as well. So like, you know, you don't even have to pick a team. You can go and get a team to work for you. You can get acupuncture and see a naturopath and see a GP and that will actually often work better for a lot of people. So make sure you gather a team around, like get your people around you, get your team around you and please, like put yourself first sometimes. I know like, There's a lot of mom guilt and other guilt. And then we, you know, throw ourselves into work or we throw ourselves into family and forget to look after ourselves. But I'll tell you what, like the older I get, like I'm 47 now and the older I get, the more I realize like not gonna get away with that anymore. Like I have to put myself first sometimes, otherwise it's all just going to implode.
Sharon Collon:
That's terrific advice. And it's been
Jules:
I'm going to go ahead and close the video.
Sharon Collon:
so great chatting with you today, Jules. Now tell me, if people are looking for you, where can they find you?
Jules:
Yes, I'm all over the interwebs. Um,
Sharon Collon:
Hahaha
Jules:
so no, so, uh, my two main Instagram accounts are Jules Galloway health. And then the one I share with James is LD underscore ADHD. And on Facebook, we are Jules Galloway to health and late diagnosis ADHD. You can find me at JulesGalloway.com. You can find the podcast at late diagnosis, ADHD.com. So many things, but also if you just like go to Spotify, Apple and type in LD ADHD, like you'll find us. And yeah, we're a friendly bunch. And honestly, James and I are having a ball doing the podcast and interviewing other late diagnosed ADHDs on the podcast. And I love how now I get to do the fun one, you know, with him. And then I get to put the serious naturopath research, integrative kind of hat on, functional medicine hat on in my job. So I feel like I've got the best job at the moment. Like none of it really feels like work. And so if you do need help with anything like reach out and let me know, and I offer consults via Zoom, but also if you did want to see someone face to face, I've got a whole group full of ADHD savvy practitioners. that I run on Facebook. So basically I've got a network of practitioners in Australia that I can always refer you to as well. So if you need a naturopath or a nutritionist, just reach out.
Sharon Collon:
Amazing! Thank you so much for your time today!
Jules:
Thank you for having me. It's been so wonderful.
Sharon Collon:
Definitely.
