Published: 17:08 BST, 28 August 2026 | Updated: 17:08 BST, 28 August 2026
The moment I knew I needed help remains absolutely crystalline in my memory.
My son, then two, was in his bedroom, screaming and thrashing around in his cot.
I, though, was across the hall, sitting frozen on my bed, while the tears rolled down my cheeks.
He had been up since 6am – yet nine hours later was once more refusing to take his nap.
I was watching to make sure he was physically safe, but I was in total despair. I had nothing left in the tank to try to calm him.
When he eventually cried himself to sleep, I lay back on my bed, weeping. Why was I so bad at motherhood?
The routines, the emotional intensity of it all, the endless juggling and organisation – at that moment, it all seemed overwhelming.
Other women I knew enjoyed motherhood in a way I just didn’t. Some had three or four children, and were so calm and composed. I felt like my hair was on fire.
So desperate was I that, then and there, I got my laptop out, found a private psychiatrist and asked to go on their waiting list.
When I eventually reached the top of that waiting list, they said the cause of my problems was ADHD. I was 33 years old.
Other women I knew enjoyed motherhood in a way I just didn’t. Some had three or four children and were so calm and composed. I felt like my hair was on fire, writes Liz Lewis
While there has been much talk of how we parent children with ADHD, there is distinctly less about how women with the same condition cope when they become mothers.
In short – how does it affect mother and child when the mother is the one with ADHD? And does becoming a mother in itself exacerbate ADHD symptoms?
Today, 14 years later, I’m an ADHD consultant and advocate – and have met with thousands of women who are struggling with their ADHD.
