You know what’s fun? Randomly forgetting the word “pothole” while texting someone very important life advice. (I had to completely rewrite the message because I couldn’t think of the word.) Or getting very bent out of shape because I left my purse at the gym and feared losing my corrected 2025 Mahjong card. (Don’t worry, I did get it back… also wow, my 20 year old self would think I am so lame.) This is my current reality living with my friend, Perry. Which is what we have nicknamed perimenopause at our house.
I’ve always considered myself a fairly put-together human—lists, systems, all the things—but lately I find myself spiraling because I forgot to buy almond milk or I can’t find my favorite sweatpants with a hole in the crotch. (Please bury me in these pants.) The physical stuff is weird, sure, but it’s the emotional rollercoaster that really throws me. I know it’s perimenopause, but it feels like it mimics ADHD.
Is It ADHD or Perimenopause?
Penn and I have talked about ADHD a ton (if you’re new here, Penn has ADHD and we even wrote a book about it.) But when my own symptoms started looking ADHD-adjacent, I had questions. Brain fog? Check. Forgetfulness? Check. Emotional dysregulation? BIG check. I kept asking myself: Wait, do I have ADHD now? Or is this just my hormones setting fire to my executive functioning?
Turns out (after speaking to actual medical professionals) a lot of the symptoms overlap. And when you combine a perimenopausal partner with an ADHD partner, it’s like living in a very loving, very distracted sitcom. This week on the podcast, we decided to make it into a game show: Is It ADHD or Perimenopause? (Spoiler alert—there are no winners, only people holding sponges and crying in the kitchen.)
Dance Clubs At 4pm, Anyone?
In the show, we also talk about being on Oprah’s podcast (we did not have this one our bingo card!), read some hilarious listener advice, and reflect on my dating past. Penn and I also debated whether we were done with dance clubs and surprisingly I say NO! We’re not getting too old for them, they just need to start earlier. I want to sweat it out on the dance floor before dinner, shower, do my skincare routine, sip herbal tea, and be in bed by 9. (If that’s not peak midlife magic, I don’t know what is.)
Would you go to a 4pm dance club? Tell us in the comments!
