Perimenopause, ADHD-Like Symptoms, and the Missing Piece No One Explains

pippamarsden
Jan 19
3 min read

Many women enter perimenopause feeling mentally unfamiliar to themselves.

They’re not falling apart — but they don’t feel as capable, calm, or resilient as they once did.

Focus becomes slippery. Emotions feel closer to the surface. Small things feel disproportionately draining.

Some women begin to wonder if they have ADHD. Others don’t use that language, but quietly worry that something is “wrong”.

At Root Cores, we see this differently.

What’s happening is not a personal failure — it’s a predictable change in brain biology.

Why Perimenopause Can Feel Like ADHD (Even If You’ve Never Had It)

Perimenopause is not just about changing periods.It is a neurological transition.

The hormones that fluctuate during this time — particularly oestrogen and progesterone — don’t only affect reproduction. They play a critical role in how the brain manages:

Focus and attention
Emotional regulation
Stress tolerance
Mental flexibility

These are known as executive functions — the same brain skills that are challenged in ADHD.

That’s why:

Women with ADHD often feel their symptoms intensify in perimenopause
Women without ADHD experience ADHD-like symptoms for the first time

Perimenopause doesn’t suddenly give someone ADHD. It temporarily reduces the brain’s ability to self-regulate, making strain that was once hidden impossible to ignore.

What’s Happening in the Brain

Oestrogen: the support hormone

Oestrogen helps the brain use key chemical messengers:

Dopamine, which supports focus, motivation, and follow-through
Serotonin, which supports mood stability and emotional resilience

In perimenopause, oestrogen fluctuates unpredictably.

As a result:

Motivation becomes inconsistent
Concentration is harder to sustain
Emotional resilience drops

This is why tasks don’t feel harder because you care less — they feel harder because your brain has less chemical support.

Progesterone: the calming influence

Progesterone helps calm the nervous system and supports restorative sleep.

As levels decline:

Stress responses become stronger
Sleep becomes lighter or more fragmented
Mental overload increases

This is why many women describe feeling wired but tired — mentally alert, yet deeply fatigued.

The Missing Piece: BDNF (And Why It Matters)

This is the part most women are never told about.

BDNF, short for Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor, is a protein that supports the brain’s ability to:

Adapt to change
Form new connections
Regulate mood and emotions
Recover from stress

You can think of BDNF as the brain’s resilience and adaptability support system.

When BDNF levels are healthy, the brain is more flexible, more emotionally steady, and better able to cope with challenge.

Why BDNF drops in perimenopause

BDNF is influenced by both hormones and stress.

Oestrogen supports BDNF production
Chronic stress suppresses it

In perimenopause:

Hormonal fluctuation reduces this support
Many women are simultaneously under sustained life stress

The result is a brain that feels:

Less adaptable
More easily overwhelmed
Slower to recover emotionally

This helps explain why even women who have always coped well suddenly feel mentally fragile.

Where Training Fits — Even If You’ve Never Trained Before

Training is not about being sporty, disciplined, or “good at exercise”.

At Root Cores, training is about sending supportive signals to the brain and nervous system.

One of the most powerful effects of training is that it increases BDNF.

This means that appropriately introduced movement can:

Improve mental clarity
Increase emotional resilience
Support focus and motivation
Help the brain adapt more easily to stress

Crucially, this does not require intense workouts or an exercise identity.

Walking, gentle cardiovascular work, simple strength training, and structured movement can all increase BDNF when introduced in a supportive, sustainable way.

You do not need to earn this benefit.You do not need to push through exhaustion. You simply need a thoughtful starting point.

Why This Becomes a Turning Point for Many Women

For some women, understanding this leads to an ADHD diagnosis.

For many others, it leads to something equally valuable:

Relief
Self-compassion
A new way of working with their body instead of against it

Exploring training during perimenopause is not about fixing yourself.

It’s about supporting a brain that is operating under new biological conditions.

And for many women, this becomes the beginning of a quality of life they didn’t know was possible — not because they tried harder, but because they finally had the right information.