ADHD Symptoms For Women
Women with ADHD typically experience symptoms of emotional volatility and sensitive to rejection. They might also experience insomnia and low quality sleep, which may cause the symptoms to become worse.
Girls and women often hide their ADHD symptoms better than men, using coping strategies to meet the social expectations and norms. This can lead to a misdiagnosis as well as a delay in treatment.
1. Difficulty Focusing
For many women with ADHD concentration is the most difficult thing to do. This neurodevelopmental disorder makes it difficult to focus at school in meetings at work, or when reading and listening to other people talk. It can also be challenging to manage everyday tasks like keeping track of appointments or remembering to take your medication.
Difficulty focusing is one of the most common adhd symptoms for girls and women, regardless of their gender identity or whether they have hyperactive/impulsive or inattentive ADHD. Women suffering from the inattentive type of the disorder may struggle to organize their house or desks and may have difficulty focusing on tasks according to CHADD. These difficulties can cause them to miss appointments, arrive at the wrong place at the right time or not follow through on their tasks. They can cause them to feel bad about themselves and blame themselves for their problems and think they are incompetent or forgetful.
Attention-deficit ADHD can also lead to poor performance at work or in school and can lead to the accumulation of debt. They can be triggered by stress or other mental health conditions like anxiety and depression, which often co-occur with ADHD in women, according to CHADD.
Teachers and parents could be biased against males and girls, leading to some women and girls to be misdiagnosed. They may not be able to express their ADHD symptoms as well, especially the hyperactive/impulsive ones, and may have difficulty finding treatment that works for them.
For women who are adults with ADHD, symptoms can also be caused by hormonal changes. For instance, they could be more apparent during menstrual cycles, or during perimenopausal transition, the period leading up to menopause--when estrogen levels dip and can cause emotional issues, including mood swings and anger.
Adults suffering from ADHD can benefit from stimulant medication to improve their focus but it won't cure the condition. Other strategies, like lifestyle changes, mindfulness training and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) can help with focus and organization. Some schools and workplaces offer accommodations to help with these issues.
2. Forgetting Things
Forgetfulness can make managing daily tasks and responsibilities challenging. You may find it difficult to keep track of important details particularly when they happen in a noisy setting. You may also find yourself having trouble remembering appointments or getting late to work or school. Inability to pay bills or reply to emails is common among women suffering from ADHD, which can create financial stress and make you feel overwhelmed. You may have difficulty working in a noisy or noisy workplace and frequently get lost in conversations, causing others feeling disregarded or untruthful.
Many girls and women who have ADHD also struggle to keep friendships. They are also at risk of being forced into inappropriate sexual behaviour or becoming victims of violence from intimate partners. They are more likely than other people to feel overwhelmed due to the fact that they struggle to control their emotions. They might also have trouble with self-esteem, and may be more likely to view their issues as "personal flaws" rather than recognizing that their behavior is linked to their ADHD symptoms.
Women and girls who suffer from ADHD are also underdiagnosed due to gender bias, since their symptoms are more evident than those of males and females. They might be more likely to camouflage their symptoms as mood or anxiety issues, which can result in being misdiagnosed and incorrectly treated.
The symptoms of ADHD differ with the fluctuation of hormones particularly during puberty, when estrogen drops and progesterone increases. This can result in a wider variety of symptoms, making it harder to identify and treat ADHD.
Diagnosed and treated, you can learn how to manage ADHD symptoms. You can also try lifestyle changes, for example, eating a well-balanced diet and limiting caffeine, sugar and other stimulants that could cause symptoms to become worse. Meditation and mindfulness techniques can calm your mind and reduce restlessness and impulsiveness. They can also improve the regulation of emotions. A mental health professional could be able to assist by discussing possible accommodations that can aid you in managing ADHD symptoms at work or in school.
3. Disruptive Behavior
In most cases, females who suffer from ADHD are more likely to experience inattention than hyperactive or impulsive ones. This could be due to the fact that girls and women have different brains than men and boys. Or it could be due to the level of brain activity areas that control impulsive behavior.
It can be a challenge for doctors to recognize ADHD in women. Many women develop coping strategies to disguise their symptoms. Some are healthy, but others are not long-lasting and could lead to other health problems. For instance, some women use excessive alcohol and drugs to cope. They might also develop depression or other mental health problems such as anxiety. These unhealthy coping mechanisms can make it harder for someone to recognize that they are suffering from a disorder and can delay an accurate diagnosis.
Disruptive behavior is a common symptom of adhd for women. It can impact their work or school performance, and even their relationships. They typically involve not being focused on a particular task, not remembering important events or tasks and being easily distracted by other things in their environment or in their minds. They might fidget, tap their feet or hands, or make a squirming sound. They may also yell or speak loudly, and may interrupt.
add in women test with the inattentive subtype are prone to having difficulty staying focused during lectures or conversations and juggling schoolwork, reading, or writing assignments, following directions in the classroom or at work, and juggling daily tasks. They might be unorganized and forgetful. They can also be messy. It can be difficult for them to stick with tasks or commitments. They are more vulnerable to losing or misplacing items like keys, wallets and eyeglasses.
Having the predominantly hyperactive/impulsive type of adhd can disrupt work or school, cause social problems, and create relationship challenges. This type of disorder can cause trouble at home, at work, as well as at schools, and can cause feelings of restlessness, boredom, and frustration. They have a difficult time waiting for their turn at school, at home, or in the workplace and they frequently interrupt others. They aren't able to control their behavior and tend to behave recklessly.
4. Anxiety
Women and girls who have ADHD may have a harder time to cope with their symptoms. This is due in part to the expectations of society that require women and mothers be the primary caregivers for their children and household. If a woman with ADHD is unable to fulfill her obligations, she may be afflicted with anxiety and stress that can cause low self-esteem. This, in turn, makes it more difficult to seek out treatment for her ADHD.
Additionally, women who suffer from ADHD frequently have a difficult time getting diagnosed because their symptoms are not as pronounced as those of boys and men. They may present with primarily inattentive symptoms, which do not have the same outward appearance as hyperactive/impulsive ADHD symptoms, making them less likely to receive a referral for treatment from teachers and parents. They are more likely to develop coping mechanisms which mask their ADHD symptoms. For example excessive fidgeting and forgetfulness could be interpreted as signs of anxiety disorders.
Symptoms of ADHD in women can vary at different times throughout the woman's life. For instance, during periods of hormonal changes, like menstruation or pregnancy, women may notice her ADHD symptoms to become more intense. This can cause her to be viewed as a victim of prejudice or considered being emotionally overly sensitive.
The information in this article is based on research into how ADHD affects people based on their sexual. Verywell Health acknowledges that sex is a reference to biology, including chromosomal makeup, hormones, and anatomy; while gender is a subjective sense of being a woman, man, or nonbinary person. This distinction is important because it helps us comprehend how and why ADHD can manifest differently in women and men. In this article, we will refer to males and people who were assigned male at birth as boys and men. We also refer to females and those who were assigned females at conception as girls and women. This is consistent with how numerous research studies employ this term. For more information, read Verywell Health's guide on gender and sexuality.