ADHD Symptoms in Adult Women
Women who have undiagnosed ADHD may have issues at work or in their relationships. It's important to recognize the signs and find a treatment that is effective for you.
Symptoms of ADHD in adults are more likely to be the inattentive type than hyperactivity/impulsive. A proper diagnosis can help improve your life by addressing your symptoms and focus your attention on what's important.
1. Trouble paying attention
Women may have difficulty paying attention to details, recollecting deadlines and appointments or underestimating the amount of time it takes to complete an assignment. They might also find it difficult to keep track of their responsibilities in their relationships or at work, get easily distracted, and fail follow through with promises. They might also be impulsive, have difficulty managing their emotions, and blurt out thoughts without considering them.
It is crucial to be aware of and treat symptoms of ADHD in women who are adults. Inability to pay attention can cause problems with friendships and relationships. Women may have difficulty to make new friends, or might struggle in their current relationships due to constant fights, missed opportunities for fun and being ignored. Women also may struggle to manage the demands of work, home and childcare.
It's not easy for health professionals and therapists alike to recognize ADHD in many people. But that doesn't mean it's not real or that the person has to try harder to stay on task. Rather, a diagnosis is based on the extent to which the symptoms affect everyday functioning across a variety of aspects of life.
Women are more likely to suffer from inattentional symptoms than those who are hyperactive or impulsive which is why they're not diagnosed. Additionally many women who suffer from ADHD suffer from a sense guilt about their condition because they don't conform to the stereotypes of people with ADHD. This can make it more difficult to seek assistance or seek treatment.
Certain women with ADHD are not diagnosed for a long period of time because they attempt to conceal their symptoms and manage. Additionally they are more likely to have multiple comorbidities that may cover up their ADHD symptoms, including depression, anxiety and digestive issues. They are also more likely to have hormonal fluctuations that could cause their symptoms to flare up or disappear, like during the menstrual cycle as well as during pregnancy and perimenopausal.
2. Organizational Issues
Women with ADHD often experience forgetfulness, disorganization and emotional dysregulation. These symptoms can make it difficult for them to handle their everyday tasks, keep up with their responsibilities and maintain relationships. They may also experience a low self-esteem and suffer from anxiety. Women who have not been diagnosed with ADHD often feel that they're not achieving the expectations of society and have a difficult time keeping up with their peers in terms of academic achievement, job performance, and social relationships.
ADHD in women can manifest itself as procrastination, hyperfocus or forgetfulness. These problems can lead women to miss appointments, fail to pay bills on time, and feel overwhelmed. Hyperfocus can result in a loss in concentration on other important tasks as well as a misunderstood understanding of time. This makes it difficult to shift from one task to another. Procrastination can also result in an increase in anxiety, stress and the constant feeling of being behind.
Communication problems that are nonverbal as well as verbal, are another common symptom of ADHD. This could include talking too much, interrupting others or saying inappropriate things. This could include a lack of ability to be patient or having difficulty understanding the boundaries of social interaction. It is important to remember that these behaviors don't necessarily suggest a lack of intelligence or ability.
Many women with ADHD come up with strategies to mask their symptoms. This can have both positive as well as negative consequences. Some of these coping mechanisms may be healthy. For example keeping a daily calendar or setting reminders for important events. Others could be harmful, such as using alcohol or drugs to hide symptoms or ignoring them altogether. It is therefore important that women who suspect that they have ADHD seek help from a professional.
Women with ADHD might benefit from medication, lifestyle modifications, therapy, or other treatments. Some of these include cognitive therapy to deal with negative thoughts and beliefs mindfulness techniques and relaxation as well as exercise, a balanced diet, and adequate sleep. A doctor may also recommend accommodations to make work or school simpler.
3. Disruptive Behaviors
Women who suffer from ADHD are often afflicted by emotional dysregulation. ADHD adult female symptoms is why they can become discontent and frustrated when their problems aren't resolved. It can be difficult to maintain relationships, whether it's with romantic partners, colleagues, or friends. For example, forgetfulness and impulses can cause the frustration or confusion in romantic relationships and cause feelings of loneliness, loss, or depression. A tendency to seek out thrills on the spur of the moment could be mistaken by others as a lack of interest or indifference.
This is why ADHD symptoms are frequently missed or under-diagnosed in women and girls. They may be unable to recognizing that their struggles are caused by the disorder due to stereotypes and social norms regarding gender roles and behavior.
Girls and women with ADHD might conceal their symptoms to avoid embarrassment. This can lead to being less often referred for diagnosis than men and boys with the same symptoms. Furthermore there is a gender bias in research that determines diagnostic criteria could be a factor in this disparity. Hartung and Widiger discovered in a recent study that women and girls with ADHD symptoms are more likely to go undiagnosed and under-diagnosed than men and adults. This could be due to the fact that doctors are trained to view hyperactive and hyperactive and ADHD symptoms as more typical of males and females and can make them easier to recognize and referred for evaluation.
Adults, ADHD symptoms can manifest as restlessness and difficulty relaxing. These are typical ADHD symptoms, but they can have a major impact on the lives of adults. People with ADHD may feel agitated and have difficulty sitting still, particularly if they're feeling anxious or stressed. They also tend to fidget and tend to be very talkative, often interrupting or completing other people's sentences without thinking that they're causing offence.
If you suspect that you suffer from ADHD, your GP or registered psychologist may refer you to a psychiatrist for an assessment. You can also self-refer. This content was reviewed by Madeline Dykes (clinical psychologist) and members of the Thriving Madly network in Christchurch in October 2024. It was updated in November 2022.
4. Social Problems Skills
Women with ADHD may have difficulty managing their emotions and communicating effectively at work. This can lead to issues in personal relationships and with professional goals. They may be unable to recognize and responding in a timely manner to feedback. This can lead to disappointment or anger. They may also struggle to maintain healthy eating and sleeping habits, which could increase anxiety. In some cases, women with ADHD develop unhealthy coping mechanisms in order to deal with these problems. They may include substances abuse or eating disorders, or self-injury that is not suicide-related (NSSI), such as cutting or burning.
Women with ADHD might find it more difficult to get help as adults than men because they often hide their symptoms. In order to make themselves acceptable to society and meet expectations, they usually develop coping strategies. This could make it more difficult to be recognized by others as having ADHD symptoms. These strategies for coping could be as simple as creating lists and setting reminders or more complex, such as developing a strategy to manage their emotions or developing mindfulness strategies.
However, these coping methods can backfire and cause symptoms to become worse. These strategies can make it hard to get a good night's sleep, which is crucial for managing ADHD symptoms. Women suffering from ADHD may also feel overwhelmed by the demands of everyday life, which can exacerbate ADHD symptoms.
Although it's true that more boys are diagnosed with ADHD than girls, this gap becomes smaller when they reach the age of adulthood. This is due to the fact that it's normal for women to experience a range of symptoms throughout their lives, and this can result in a diagnosis at different dates.
Changes in hormone levels could also affect ADHD symptoms among women. If they have a higher estrogen level during pregnancy, for instance, their symptoms may improve. This is because estrogen levels can help regulate the brain chemicals that influence attention. However, if they begin to have low estrogen levels due to perimenopausal changes or age or perimenopausal symptoms, their ADHD symptoms may become worse.
Adults suffering from ADHD can get a correct diagnosis and receive effective treatment. This includes cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) neurocognitive psychology, as well as other treatments that can help those with ADHD improve their daily functioning. They are also able to attend meetings of support groups for ADHD to share their experiences with others who are on the same journey and gain valuable information from their colleagues.