ADHD Symptoms in Adult Females
While ADHD affects men and women equally throughout adulthood, the condition often isn't recognized by females. This is likely due to gender stereotyping and the ability females to hide their symptoms.
Many healthcare professionals lack the knowledge and experience to identify ADHD in women. This means that many women are misdiagnosed prior to receiving the proper treatment they require.
1. Disorganization
Girls and women with ADHD often struggle with disorganization, a condition that can be a challenge to manage. Your desk, for example, may be a mess of papers, 17 different chapsticks, and tickets from the Kings of Leon show you attended in 2008. As you spend money on products that claim to help you stay organized, your home and office probably still feel chaotic and messy.
Inability to stay on top of your work could result in missed deadlines and missed appointments. You might also be struggling with "time blindness," where you don't recall or know how long it takes to complete the task. This could leave you feeling frustrated and feeling like you're not doing a good job in your career or personal life, especially when it seems like others don't appreciate your efforts.
You may also be having trouble controlling your emotions, which could cause you to overreact in stressful situations. Your high-speed verbal communication can cause confusion and miscommunications with your family and colleagues, and you may make comments that hurt the feelings of others without even knowing. In addition, since impulsivity is common for those with ADHD it is possible that you will find it difficult to resist saying things before thinking them through.
If you have ADHD, it's likely that some of your symptoms are rooted in gender stereotypes and ideas about how men, boys and women should behave. This makes it difficult to identify and treat ADHD.
You could also benefit from a treatment for behavioral issues to address the root causes of your disorder. Although it might take some time to identify the appropriate strategies for coping, implementing these strategies can make you feel more in control of your life and enhance relationships with your family and friends as well as coworkers.
2. Impulsivity
People who suffer from ADHD have intense emotions. However their brains aren't capable of filtering them or analyze them. This means they may be overwhelmed by one setback or have difficulty being able to discern the mood of others. It also makes it easier for them to be distracted by minor issues such as the book that's out of stock or an acquaintance who's late for spin class.
Many women with ADHD manage their attention difficulties by masking symptoms and devising strategies for coping. They may be perfectionists or extremely attentive at work or in school however, they have trouble keeping track of important dates, bills and appointments. They may also have issues with self-control and verbal control. They may also talk excessively, interrupt others often, or dump information during conversations.
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. The symptoms include a sudden urge to start, stop or alter the course of action; being unable to wait your turn in a conversation; and difficulty in interpreting social signals (like facial expressions or body language).
While gender stereotypes can have an influence on the development of ADHD in women, it is difficult to recognize these issues. Rating scales that are used to determine ADHD symptoms are still skewed toward male behavior and some healthcare experts may be misinformed or underestimate the severity of a woman's symptoms.
Many women with ADHD have reported that their symptoms are more severe during times of hormonal change like menstrual cycles, pregnancy, and perimenopause. This can lead to emotional symptoms like frustration, irritability or depression. They may also have an unrelenting feeling of discontent in their lives or relationships. This could lead to substance abuse, low-self-esteem or unbalanced coping strategies. It is crucial for women to understand that these symptoms do not reflect their worth or value as human beings. If you follow a proper treatment strategy, you can lessen or even eliminate these signs.
3. Attention!
ADHD is defined by a high frequency of these symptoms. While everyone struggles to focus and pay attention at times, they are so frequent that they can interfere with your everyday life. You may make careless mistakes at school or work, forget appointments or spend a lot of time procrastinating. You're not able to wait your turn and interrupt others in conversations.
Adults who are inattentive can be prone to jump into projects without thoroughly planning them and researching them. This leads to incomplete results or subpar ones. You could also get easily distracted and leave projects unfinished. This could be an unwatered vegetable garden planted but never watered, or an system of organization that you built and then left on your nightstand for it to rot.
People with inattentive ADHD suffer from chronic disorganization at home and at work. You may have difficulty finding important documents, keys or bills and lose things regularly. You could also forget to keep your track of time and become late for work, school or for 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 such as yelling at others or making nonsensical sounds when they are on their own. They are unable to sit still and might fidget or pace in their seats. They might be unable to keep a job, and have frequent disputes with their coworkers and manager.
In some instances, the mood swings or emotional stress caused by ADHD can lead to frustration in relationships and misunderstandings. This is especially true in romantic relationships as well as at work. People with ADHD also are more likely having co-occurring conditions like depression, anxiety or bipolar disorder.
Women and girls with ADHD have a myriad of obstacles when seeking diagnosis and treatment, including gender bias and a tendency to hide their symptoms or underestimate the severity of their symptoms. High-profile women such as Em Rusciano and Mia Freedman who have spoken out about their struggles with ADHD have helped raise awareness. But, many girls and young woman still aren't aware of it.
4. Anxiety
An anxiety disorder is characterized by constant anxiety. While everyone feels anxious or nervous occasionally, anxiety disorders are characterized by a constant high level of anxiety. You might experience an uncontrollable feeling of anxiety or anxiety, a fast heartbeat, trouble staying at peace and having difficulty focusing. You might also have an increased sense of danger even in situations that aren't likely to be dangerous for you. The most commonly encountered kinds of anxiety include general anxiety disorder, phobias and agoraphobia and panic disorders, separation anxiety and selective Mutism.
Anxiety is more prevalent in women suffering from ADHD than in men, and tends to get worse at certain times in the woman's life for instance, during her menstrual cycle, pregnancy or perimenopause. This can make it difficult to handle everyday tasks and social interactions and may lead to feelings of low self-esteem or discontent.
You are extremely sensitive to rejection, and you have a difficult to accept criticism. You can easily misinterpret feedback or even anticipated rejection, and you may get angry over minor things that others do not see as an issue with.
Mood swings are also one of the symptoms of adhd in women who are older and you could discover that your mood is unpredictable or difficult to control. undiagnosed adhd in women might also be prone to self-injury that is not suicidal which includes scratching, burning or hitting yourself.
If you're struggling with any of the above symptoms, it's crucial to receive a diagnosis. It will help you understand the issues you're facing, and give you strategies to improve the quality of your life. You can take an online ADHD test, or go to your doctor for a thorough assessment. In certain instances doctors may prescribe medication to help alleviate your symptoms. In certain instances, your doctor may recommend an amalgamation of lifestyle changes and cognitive behavior therapy. In any case, it's important to make positive changes to your lifestyle as soon as you can. This can help you regain control of your life, and make you feel more confident and competent.