ADHD in women, and how breathwork can help (speaking at the Great British Food Festival 2025)

At this year’s Great British Food Festival, I was asked to speak on the talk stage panel about ADHD in women, and how breathwork can help with some of the symptoms. As you may know, there has been a huge rise in ADHD diagnoses in women since 2020. A large contributing factor to this was the fact that so many people had more quiet time with themselves during the Covid-19 pandemic.

ADHD was always something that was primarily seen as a male condition. And while it’s often said that it presents differently in boys, with more hyperactivity, I remember being very hyper as a child. It’s just recognised differently in boys, when hyperactive or ‘naughty’ behaviour is normalised. You know, ‘boys will be boys’ and all that. If we’re generalising, boys were just allowed to get away with more ‘bad’ behaviour, while girls are more typically expected to be still and quiet, not causing as much disturbance. And of course, children deemed as ‘naughty’ are always just expressing emotional needs through their behaviours; there’s nothing wrong with them.

Speaking onstage at the Great British Food Festival 2025

When I found out I had ADHD, I was working in mental healthcare. I was writing a lot of content about ADHD and realising, Oh my god, this is me. So I pursued a diagnosis and just ended up learning so much about myself, and the way that I was. I’m not saying people have to get a medical diagnosis to be validated in their experiences; self-diagnosis is just as valid. 

At the time, I personally just really wanted to find out how I operate, and what was best for me, backed by professional advice. As it turned out, the journey I went on was mostly one of self-discovery, through lots of my own research. I ended up discovering breathwork, which was a game-changer for emotional regulation and calming my nervous system with ADHD. 

We tend to hold a lot of stress in our bodies, which significantly impacts our attention levels, our emotions and our physical energy. So any somatic processing practices are incredible for people with ADHD. Once I started learning those for myself, I started to feel a lot calmer and more regulated. Not 100% of the time, of course, but I was armed with the tools to bring myself back to a grounded place whenever I felt stressed and emotionally dysregulated. 

When we get really good at finding that inner stillness and looking after our body and mind, we’re much better place to be able to love ourselves more. Without knowing how to centre ourselves and be mindful of our emotions and unconscious triggers, we’re much more likely to overreact to situations and add to our stress levels. We’re then more likely to experience rejection sensitive dysphoria all these things that are associated with ADHD.

I was asked to come back and speak on a second Great British Food Festival panel the following week

It’s funny, I wasn’t even expecting to talk about ADHD that much on the Great British Food Festival panel, in relation to my journey with breathwork and working in the wellbeing space. But of course it was what most people wanted to hear about, and I’m glad, because my ADHD diagnosis was one of the most relevant aspects of my story.

If I’d never realised I had ADHD, I’d never have gone down the road of training in breathwork and somatic processing. These modalities have been so beneficial in helping me develop my mind-body connection, and learn how to be more comfortable in my own skin.

I now love helping others to nurture this deeper self-connection and combat the stress of busy minds, dysregulated nervous systems and overwhelming emotions. So if you ever have any questions about ADHD, diagnosis, breathwork or anything else, my inbox is always open.