ADHD Is About More Than Focus — Our Psychiatrist Explains the Surprising Body-Wide Connection
Dr. Margo Pumar, MD
Medical Director | Psychiatrist | ADHD & Reproductive Psychiatry
Dr. Margo Pumar is the medical director and a board-certified adult psychiatrist at The Arbit Center for Mental Health specializing in ADHD and reproductive psychiatry. With a clinical focus on the intersection of mental health and physical wellbeing, Dr. Pumar brings a whole-person perspective to psychiatric care — treating the full complexity of how conditions like ADHD affect not just the mind, but the body. She has been featured in national media including The Washington Post for her expertise in ADHD and its broader health implications. Dr. Pumar sees patients via telehealth and at Arbit's San Francisco location.
The Washington Post | June 2026
The conversation around ADHD is expanding — and Dr. Margo Pumar, Arbit Center's Medical Director and psychiatrist specializing in ADHD and reproductive psychiatry, is helping lead it.
In a recent feature from The Washington Post, Dr. Pumar shed light on the growing body of research linking ADHD to chronic pain, anxiety, disordered eating, migraines, and long COVID. For years, ADHD has been framed almost entirely as a focus and attention disorder — but researchers are now uncovering just how deeply it affects the whole body.
One of the key mechanisms discussed is central sensitization — a phenomenon where the nervous system becomes hypersensitive to sensory signals, amplifying a person's perception of pain and discomfort. Research suggests this may be more common in people with ADHD, partly due to neuroinflammation, which affects the brain and spinal cord and is increasingly recognized as a factor in ADHD itself.
Dr. Pumar explained how this plays out emotionally too. People with ADHD who are living with chronic pain can find themselves caught in loops of fear-based thinking — consumed by worry that their symptoms will never improve. That psychological spiral, she noted, can actually make physical symptoms worse by further sensitizing the nervous system.
"It's one body," Dr. Pumar told the Post. "There are no secrets."
It is a perspective that sits at the heart of the care we provide at The Arbit Center. Whether you are navigating a new ADHD diagnosis, managing co-occurring physical or mental health conditions, or looking for a psychiatrist who truly sees the full picture — we are here.
Read the full Washington Post article →
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