How Women With A.D.H.D. Manage Their Money

In testing an app she developed for managing A.D.H.D., Dr. Hamdani noticed an additional challenge for women.

“I have found such a clear correlation with my impulsivity and my cycles,” she said. Estrogen dips on premenstrual days, she explained, and because estrogen and dopamine typically work together, low estrogen means low dopamine, causing her to be more impulsive.

“I cross-correlated it with my credit card statements, and there’s a $600 bump in those days,” she said.

Scratching the Dopamine Itch

“Dopamine’s the magic molecule,” said Dr. Edward M. Hallowell, a board-certified psychiatrist and founder of the Hallowell ADHD Centers, where I was diagnosed. Dopamine, a neurotransmitter, plays a role in attention and mood and is, as he calls it, the great mediator of pleasure.

“When you access it properly, it gives you pleasure, and when you access it improperly, you become an addict,” he said. “It’s a very powerful little molecule, and people do all kinds of things in search of their dopamine hit.”