A little bit 
about me…….

Hi, I’m Joanne Pope — a 47-year-old mum of three boys, wife, and a woman who has spent most of her life trying to make sense of a brain that never quite worked the way everyone else’s seemed to.

For as long as I can remember, I knew I struggled. School was hard, not because I wasn’t capable, but because keeping up felt like running a marathon on shifting sand. I was the emotional one, the daydreamer, the girl who could hyper-focus for hours on things she loved but felt completely overwhelmed by the simplest tasks. I overthought everything, worried constantly, felt criticism deeply, and pushed myself to perfection because I didn’t understand why things felt harder for me than they 

appeared for others.

I carried those struggles into adulthood, masking, coping, working twice as hard to stay afloat—until at 46, everything caught up with me. Burnout hit like a wall. Suddenly the strategies that had “worked” (or worked well enough) stopped working. Perimenopause, hormonal shifts, and old childhood wounds I’d buried for decades rose to the surface. I found myself unable to function in the way I always had, and it was terrifying.

I sought answers. Therapy, counselling, reflection… and then came the breakthrough that changed everything.

I was finally diagnosed with ADHD.

At 47, the puzzle pieces of my entire life suddenly made sense. The struggles. The strengths. The overwhelm. The intensity. The burnout. And especially why 

perimenopause made it all feel impossible — because the hormonal shifts had stripped away the scaffolding I’d unknowingly relied on for years.

Understanding my ADHD wasn’t just a diagnosis — it was a relief, a reawakening, and the beginning of healing.

Now, I’m passionate about creating space for women like me: women 

diagnosed later in life, navigating ADHD while juggling perimenopause, motherhood, work, identity, and the emotional weight of a lifetime of “pushing through.”

If you’ve ever felt misunderstood, “too much,” “not enough,” or like you’re constantly trying to keep it all together — you’re not alone. I’m here to share what I’ve learned, what I’m still learning, and to help other women feel seen, supported, and understood.

This is my journey — messy, honest, and still unfolding — and I hope it helps you feel a little more at home in your own.