ADHD Symptoms For Women
Women who suffer from ADHD typically experience symptoms of emotional volatility and sensitivity to rejection. They may also suffer from insomnia and poor sleep quality which can make symptoms worse.
Women and girls often mask their ADHD symptoms more effectively than men, using coping strategies to meet the social expectations and norms. This can lead to a misdiagnosis and delays in treatment.
1. Trouble focusing
For a lot of women suffering from ADHD, focusing is the most difficult thing to do. Symptoms of this neurodevelopmental disorder could make it difficult to stay on task at school, during meetings at work, or when reading and listening to others talk. It can also be difficult to manage everyday tasks, such as keeping track of appointments or making sure to take medications.
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. According to CHADD, women with the inattentive type of the disorder may struggle to organize their home and their desks. They may also find it hard to prioritize their tasks. These issues can result in them missing appointments, showing up at the wrong time or place or not completing their tasks. These issues can cause them to feel embarrassed about themselves and they might blame themselves for their problems.
Inattentive ADHD symptoms can also make it hard to manage the demands of life, resulting in poor school or work performance as well as the accumulation of debt. They are often triggered by stress or other mental health conditions, including depression and anxiety, which often co-occur with ADHD in women, as per CHADD.
Some girls and women with inattentive ADHD are not diagnosed or recognized due to the prejudices that teachers and parents might be prone to towards males and females. 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 who suffer from ADHD symptoms, they can be worsened by hormonal changes. They can be more evident during menstrual cycles or perimenopausal periods which is the period leading up to the menopausal phase of a woman, when estrogen levels drop and cause emotional problems such as mood swings and irritation.
Adults suffering from ADHD may benefit from stimulant medication to improve their focus but it won't solve the problem. Other strategies like mindfulness training, lifestyle changes, and cognitive behavioral therapies (CBT) can help with focus and organization. Some schools and workplaces offer facilities that can help with these issues.
2. Forgetting Things
Inattention can make managing your daily chores and responsibilities difficult. You may have difficulty remembering important information about events or people particularly when they occur in a crowded or noisy environment. You might also find yourself having trouble remembering appointments or getting late to work or school. Women with ADHD tend to forget to pay bills or respond to emails, which can lead to financial stress and a feeling of urgency. You might have trouble working in a busy or loud office and often get lost in conversations, leaving others feeling ignored or misunderstood.
adhd in adult women test and girls suffering from ADHD are also having a difficult time maintaining friendships and are at risk of being forced into sexual activities that are not desired or being victims of violence from intimate partners. This is due to the fact that they have a harder to manage their emotions and are more likely to feel overwhelmed. They may also have issues with self-esteem and could be more likely to interpret their problems as "personal imperfections" instead of acknowledging the fact that their behavior is correlated to their ADHD symptoms.
Because of gender bias, women and girls with ADHD are not diagnosed because their symptoms are less obvious than those of males and boys. They might be more likely to camouflage their symptoms as anxiety or mood problems which could lead to being misdiagnosed or incorrectly treated.
The symptoms of ADHD vary with hormone fluctuations particularly during puberty, when estrogen drops and progesterone rises. This can lead to a greater variation in symptoms throughout the day, which can make it more difficult to identify and manage ADHD correctly.
Being diagnosed and receiving treatment can help you develop the life skills needed to manage your ADHD symptoms. You can also try lifestyle changes, for example, eating a well-balanced diet and limiting sugar, caffeine and other stimulants that could cause symptoms to get worse. It is also possible to practice mindfulness and meditation techniques to help calm your mind, decrease impulsiveness and restlessness and improve your emotional control. A mental health professional may be able to help you by discussing possible accommodations that can help you manage ADHD symptoms at work or at school.
3. Disruptive Behavior
Women with ADHD tend to be more sluggish than hyperactive or the symptoms of impulsivity. This could be due to the fact that the brains of women and girls differ from the brains of males and females or it could have to do with the amount of activity is taking place in the parts of the brain that manage impulsive and disruptive behavior.
It can be difficult for doctors to recognize ADHD in women. Many women develop coping mechanisms to mask their symptoms. Some of these are healthy, while others aren't sustainable and may cause other health problems. Some women, for example are prone to drinking excessively and other drugs to deal with their problems. They may also develop depression or other mental health issues like anxiety. These unhealthy ways of coping can make it difficult for people to recognize mental health issues and delay the diagnosis.
Disruptive behaviors are a common adhd symptom in women that can affect work or school performance and relationships. They typically involve not being focused on a task, forgetting important events or tasks and being easily distracted by other things in the environment or in their thoughts. They might fumble or tap their hands or feet or squirm in their seats. They may also talk loud or yell, and they can be interruptive.
adhd in adult women test who suffer from the primarily inattentive subtype of adhd can struggle to concentrate on lectures or conversations; keeping up with reading, writing or schoolwork; adhering to instructions at work or in class; and juggling daily tasks. They may be disorganized, forgetful, and messy. It can be challenging to keep up with commitments or tasks. They are more likely to lose or lose items like glasses, wallets, keys and even wallets.
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 school, and can lead to feelings of agitation and boredom. It can also cause frustration. They have a difficult waiting to be called upon at school, at home, or in the workplace and often interrupt others. They are not able to control their behavior and tend to behave recklessly.
4. Anxiety
Girls and women who suffer from ADHD may have a harder time to manage their issues. This is due to social expectations that insist that mothers and women be the primary caregivers for their children and their household. If a woman is struggling to fulfill her obligations this can cause anxiety and low self-esteem. This in turn makes it more difficult to seek out treatment for her ADHD.
In addition, women with ADHD often have difficulty getting diagnosed as their symptoms are not as prominent as those of men and boys. 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. In addition they are more likely to develop strategies for coping that mask their ADHD symptoms, such as excessive fidgeting and forgetfulness, that could be mistaken for symptoms of anxiety disorders.
The symptoms of ADHD can also change throughout the woman's life. Women may experience ADHD symptoms during hormonal changes such as menstrual cycle and pregnancy. This can lead to being viewed as a woman who is emotionally overly sensitive and can cause a sense of frustration.
This article is based on research into how ADHD affects different individuals based on their gender. Verywell Health recognizes that sex is a biological phenomenon: chromosomal makeup, hormones, and anatomical structure, while gender is an internal perception of what you're like as a man, woman, or if you're non-binary, or a person. This distinction is important because it helps us know how and why ADHD can manifest differently in men and women. In this article we will refer to both men and those assigned male at birth (AMAB) as boys and men and women and people assigned female at birth (AFAB) as girls and women. This terminology is used in many research studies. To find out more, check out Verywell Health's guide to gender and sexuality.