ADHD Symptoms in Adult Females
The condition is often misdiagnosed among women, despite the fact that it affects both men and woman equally as adults. This is likely due to gender stereotypes and the ability of women to hide their symptoms.
Many healthcare professionals aren't equipped and experience to detect ADHD in women. In the end, many women are misdiagnosed prior to receiving the treatment they need.
1. Disorganization
Girls and women who suffer from ADHD have trouble coordinating. This condition is difficult to manage. For instance, your desk may be a jumble of tangled papers, 17 chapsticks, and a ticket to the Kings of Leon concert you went to in 2008. As you purchase products that promise to keep you organized your office and home probably still feel messy and chaotic.
Your inability to keep track of your responsibilities could result in missing deadlines and appointments. In addition, you could be struggling with a concept known as "time blindness," which means you can't remember or understand how much time it takes to finish a task. This can leave you unhappy and feeling that you're not doing an adequate job in your career or in your personal life, particularly when it seems like other people don't value your efforts.
You may also have difficulty controlling your emotions, which could cause you to overreact in stressful situations. Your fast-paced verbal communication could result in miscommunications and misunderstandings with family members as well as your coworkers. You could make statements that hurt feelings of others without a thought. You might also have difficulty stopping yourself from speaking before you think things through, as the tendency to be impulsive is common among people with ADHD.
If you have ADHD it's possible that a portion of your symptoms are rooted in gender stereotypes or ideas about how men, women, and boys should behave. This can make it harder for you to recognize and treat your ADHD.
In addition to having a diagnosis you may also benefit from behavioral therapy to deal with the root cause of your condition. It could take some time to discover the most effective strategies to cope, but using them will allow you to feel in control of your life and improve your relationships with family, colleagues, and friends.
2. Impulsivity
People with ADHD are prone to intense emotions. However their brains aren't capable of filtering them or analyze them. This means they can get overwhelmed by a single setback or have difficulty being able to assess the mood of others. It also makes it easier for them to be distracted by small issues like the book that's out of stock or an acquaintance who's late for take a spin class.
Many women suffering from ADHD overcome their attention difficulties by masking symptoms and devising strategies for coping. They may be highly conscientious or an obsessive at work or school and have difficulty keeping the track of appointments and bills or important dates. They may struggle with self-talk control and talk excessively or interrupt others frequently.
The hyperactive/impulsive subtype of ADHD tends to be more common in boys and men, but it's not unusual for women to have these symptoms too. These symptoms include an abrupt urge to begin, stop, or change activities. They also include not being able to wait for your turn in a conversation and being unable to discern social cues.
While gender stereotypes can influence on the development of ADHD in women, it is not always easy to spot these issues. The scales used to measure ADHD symptoms are still biased toward male behavior, and some healthcare experts may be misinformed or misunderstand the symptoms of women.
Many women who suffer from ADHD also note that their symptoms tend to become worse during times of hormonal changes, like during the menstrual cycle or pregnancy, or perimenopausal (the run-up to menopause). This can intensify emotional symptoms and cause frequent feelings of anger, frustration, or depression. They may also experience an ongoing feeling of discontent with their relationships or lives. This could lead to depression, substance abuse, and unhealthy coping behaviors. It's important that women understand that these symptoms do not reflect their worth or value as human beings. With a well-planned treatment plan, you can improve or even eliminate these symptoms.
3. Attention
Everyone has difficulty paying attention and focusing at times, with ADHD, these symptoms occur so frequently that they interfere with your life. You may make careless mistakes at work or school or forget appointments or you may spend long hours delaying. You are unable to wait your turn and interrupt other people in conversations.
Attention deficit symptoms in adults could include an inclination to dive into projects without fully planning and analyzing them, which leads to poor or insufficient results. You may also be easily distracted and leave projects unfinished. This could be an unwatered vegetable garden planted, but not watered, or an organizational system that you assembled and then put away on your nightstand to collect dust.
People with inattention ADHD suffer from chronic disorganization at home and at work. You may have difficulty finding important documents, bills or keys and misplace things frequently. You may be unable to keep your track of time and become late for work, school or even meetings.
Women with hyperactive/impulsive ADHD are less likely to experience these inattentive symptoms, but they can still have problems with organization, time management and self-control. People with these signs may make or do actions without thinking about the consequences, like talking over other people or making strange sounds when they are alone. They might be unable to sit still and adjusting their chair or move. They might have issues keeping their job and could have frequent disagreements with coworkers and managers.
In some cases, the mood swings and emotional distress caused by ADHD can cause frustration and miscommunication in relationships. This is particularly true in romantic relationships as well as at work. adhd in women adults who suffer from ADHD are also more likely to have co-occurring conditions, like anxiety, depression or bipolar disorder.
Girls and women who suffer from ADHD may face many difficulties when seeking treatment. This includes gender bias and a tendency to conceal symptoms or underestimate their severity, and gender bias. Famous women like Em Rusciano and Mia Freedman who have openly discussed their struggles with ADHD have helped raise awareness. However, a lot of girls and young woman still do not know they have it.
4. Anxiety
An anxiety disorder is characterized by constant anxiety. While everyone feels anxious or nervous occasionally, anxiety disorders are characterized by persistently high levels of anxiety. You might feel an uncontrollable feeling of anxiety or anxiety, a fast heartbeat, difficulty staying calm and having trouble thinking clearly. There is also an underlying sense of danger in situations that you know aren't risky. The most frequent types of anxiety include general anxiety disorder, phobias, agoraphobia as well as separation anxiety, panic disorders and selective mutism.
Anxiety is more common among women suffering from ADHD than in men and it is more likely to become worse during certain periods of a woman's life, such as around her menstrual cycle and pregnancy or perimenopausal. This can make it harder to manage daily activities and social interactions and lead to feelings of self-doubt and general dissatisfaction with your life.
You are very sensitive to rejection and you have a difficult time accepting criticism. You can easily interpret feedback incorrectly, or anticipate rejection. You might get annoyed by small things that other people do not see as an issue with.
Mood swings are also a sign of adult adhd in women. You may find that you are prone to having unpredictable emotions or find it difficult to control these. You might also be prone to self-injury that isn't suicidal like scratching, burning or hitting yourself.
It's important to seek a diagnosis when you are experiencing any of the symptoms mentioned above. It can help you better know your issues and offer you strategies for improving your living quality. You can take an ADHD test online, or talk to your doctor for an assessment from a professional. In some cases your doctor may prescribe medication to help alleviate your symptoms. In other cases they may recommend an amalgamation of lifestyle changes and cognitive behavioral therapy. In either case, it's important to begin making positive changes to your lifestyle as soon as you can. This can help you regain control of your life and feel more confident and competent.