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October 07, 2026
Anita Robertson prepared for everything when she became a mom. Then the parts nobody warned her about showed up anyway.
Anita is a licensed clinical social worker, therapist, ADHD mom, and author of ADHD and Us. She's back on the show with her new book, Being a Mom with ADHD, and I was honored to write the foreword.
Knowing her ADHD history, she had a plan for postpartum mental health. That part went fine. What blindsided her was everything else: a birth that left her barely able to move, sensory needs suddenly going unmet, hormones changing how her brain worked, and a son who didn't sleep through the night for three years. When an occupational therapist fixed his bedtime in a few weeks with a simple sensory routine, her first thought was, why is this not common knowledge?
In this episode, Anita and I get into how pregnancy and hormones affect the ADHD brain, why she gave mom guilt a name and a villain's hat, what mom rage is actually telling you, and why she says stop fighting for consistency and redesign your setup instead.
If motherhood has made you feel like you're losing your mind, this conversation will show you how much of it was never your fault.
“If your ADHD feels harder since becoming a mom, look at what changed before blaming yourself: sleep, movement, hormones, recovery, or support. You may need the right support, not more effort.”
- Anita Robertson
“A lot of moms are afraid to say, ‘I do not feel connected to my baby,’ or ‘I am not okay,’ because they think that means something terrible about them."
- Anita Robertson
“I want ADHD moms to know: you don’t have to make yourself small and miserable to fit someone else’s idea of motherhood.”
- Anita Robertson
"Sometimes we expect a year’s worth of motherhood from ourselves in a single day."
- Anita Robertson
"Naming the guilty voice makes it easier to recognize that not every thought in your head belongs to you."
- Anita Robertson
"One of the biggest gifts motherhood taught me was how to prioritize rest, my own needs, and letting other people help."
- Anita Robertson
- Anita shares how pregnancy, hormones, sensory processing, sleep deprivation, and physical recovery intensified her ADHD experience as a new mom.
- She explains how occupational therapy and sensory strategies transformed her son’s sleep after three exhausting years.
- Anita discusses birth trauma, postpartum mental health risks, pelvic floor therapy, and why mothers need support before problems become crises.
[22:11 – 45:31] Mom Guilt, Identity, and Parenting Your Way
- Anita explains how shame, unrealistic expectations, and the “guilty trickster” can convince ADHD moms they are constantly falling short.
- She reframes motherhood around self-acceptance, asking for help, embracing imperfection, and trusting what actually works for your family.
- Instead of forcing consistency, Anita encourages moms to redesign their environment, work with their strengths, and treat parenting as an evolving adventure.
[45:31 – 01:10:31] Outsourcing, Mom Rage, and Letting Go of the Shoulds
- Anita and Tracy discuss paying or asking others to handle draining tasks so ADHD moms can preserve their energy for what matters most.
- Anita connects mom rage to unmet needs, unequal labor, exhaustion, and the pressure to manage everyone else’s discomfort.
- Her central message is to parent your way, let people help, trust yourself, and stop measuring motherhood against someone else’s definition of what a “good mom” should be.
ADHD isn’t a productivity problem. It’s an identity problem.
That’s why most strategies don’t stick—they weren’t designed for how your brain actually works. Your ADHD Brain is A-OK Academy is different. It’s a patented, science-backed coaching program that helps you stop fighting your brain and start building a life that fits. 👉Learn more here
- Website: anitarobertson.com
- Facebook: @anitarobertsonlcsw
- Instagram: @anitarobertsonlcsw
- Tiktok: @strengthinyourmind
- LinkedIn: anitarobertson
- Youtube: @strengthinyourmind
