ADHD Symptoms in Adult Women
Women who aren't diagnosed with ADHD may face challenges at work or in their relationships. It's crucial to recognize the signs of ADHD and find the right treatment for you.
Symptoms of ADHD in adults are more likely to be the inattentive type than hyperactivity/impulsive. A correct diagnosis can to improve your life by managing your symptoms and focus your attention on the things that matter.
1. It is difficult to pay attention
Women may struggle with their inability to pay attention to details and remember deadlines, appointments and appointments or underestimate the time it will take to complete tasks. They may also struggle to keep track of their responsibilities in their relationships or at work, get easily distracted, and aren't able to keep promises. They may also be afflicted by impulsivity, trouble managing their emotions and the tendency to mutter things without thinking it through first.
The inability to pay attention to the needs of ADHD symptoms in women of adulthood can cause problems with friendships and relationships, which is why it is important to identify the signs and seek treatment. Women might find it harder to make new friends, or they might struggle in their relationships, with recurring fights and missing opportunities to have fun and being ignored. They may also have a harder time managing the demands of work, home and childcare.
Many people who suffer from ADHD do not meet the diagnostic criteria, and it can be hard for health care providers or therapists to detect the condition. This doesn't mean it's not real, or that the person needs to work harder to stay focused. The diagnosis is based on the extent to which the symptoms impact the daily activities in a variety of areas of life.
Women are more likely to experience inattentional symptoms than hyperactive or impulsive ones which is why they go undiagnosed. Many women who suffer from ADHD are also embarrassed of their symptoms since they don't fit the stereotypes of ADHD. This can make it more difficult to seek help or access treatment.
Women who suffer from ADHD are not diagnosed for a long period of time, because they try to hide their symptoms and manage. Additionally, they are more likely to have comorbidities that can conceal their ADHD symptoms, like depression, anxiety and digestive issues. They are also more likely to suffer from hormonal fluctuations that may cause symptoms to flare up or disappear, like during menstrual cycles as well as during pregnancy and perimenopausal.
2. Organizational Problems
Women suffering from ADHD frequently experience a lack of memory, disorganization and emotional dysregulation. These symptoms can make them incapable of completing daily tasks, meet their obligations, or maintain relationships. They may also experience low self-esteem or be anxious. Women with undiagnosed ADHD often feel like they are failing to meet social expectations and have a hard time keeping up with their peers in terms of academic achievement or job performance. They also have a harder time maintaining social relationships.
In addition to a lack of organization and forgetfulness, ADHD in adult women can be manifested as hyperfocus or procrastination. These issues can result in women missing appointments, not paying bills on time and feeling overwhelmed. Hyperfocus can lead to a lack of attention to other things that are important and a poor sense of time, which can make it difficult to switch from one activity to another. Procrastination can also cause anxiety, stress, and a constant sense of being in a lag.
Communication issues, both verbal and nonverbal, are another common manifestation of ADHD. This could mean excessive talk, interrupting other people, or uttering inappropriate phrases. This can include an inability for her to be patient or having difficulty understanding social boundaries. It is important to remember that these behaviors don't necessarily signal a lack of the ability or intelligence.
Many women suffering from ADHD have coping strategies to manage their symptoms. These strategies can have positive and negative impacts. Some of these strategies for coping may be healthy. For instance using a calendar for the day or creating reminders for important events. Some aren't for example, using alcohol or drugs to conceal symptoms or completely ignoring them. As a result, it is crucial for women who suspect ADHD to seek out help from a mental health professional.
Women with ADHD might benefit from taking treatment, lifestyle changes or therapy, as well as other treatment options. Some of these include cognitive behavioral therapy to deal with negative beliefs and thoughts, mindfulness and relaxation techniques and exercise as well as a balanced diet and adequate sleep. A medical professional can also recommend accommodations that will make school or work more manageable.
3. Disruptive Behaviors
Women who suffer from ADHD may struggle with emotional dysregulation. As a result, they often become frustrated and discouraged when the challenges of life aren't solved. It can be challenging to keep relationships going, whether with romantic partners, coworkers or even friends. For example, forgetfulness or impulsivity may cause confusion or frustration in romantic relations and cause feelings of depression or loneliness. A tendency to look for thrills on the spur of the moment could be taken to mean an absence of interest or apathy.
This is why ADHD symptoms are often overlooked or misdiagnosed for girls and women. They may also have difficulty recognizing that their struggles are related to the disorder due to social norms and stereotypes about the behavior of women and men.
Women and girls with ADHD may camouflage symptoms to avoid embarrassment. This could result in being less often referred for diagnosis than males and females with the same symptoms. In addition there is a gender bias in the research that determines diagnostic criteria may contribute to this disparity. In a recent study, Hartung and Widiger found that women and girls are more likely to be under-identified and not diagnosed than boys and men with the same ADHD symptoms. This could be due to the fact that doctors are conditioned by their education to think of hyperactive and impulsive ADHD as more prevalent in both men and boys. This can make them easier to recognize and to refer to a specialist for evaluation.
Adult ADHD symptoms can manifest as restlessness and difficulty calming down. These are typical symptoms of ADHD however, in the later years of adulthood they can have a profound impact on the quality of life and well-being. People with ADHD may be irritable or find it hard to remain still. This is particularly when they're feeling anxious or stressed. They are also susceptible to fluttering around and can be overly talkative, often interrupting or finishing sentences of other people without even thinking they're causing offence.
If you think you may be suffering from ADHD and are concerned, you can be recommended to a psychiatrist by your doctor or psychologist. Alternatively, you can self-refer. This content was reviewed by Madeline Dykes (clinical psychologist) and members of the Thriving Madly network in Christchurch in October 2024. The content was updated in November 2022.
4. Social Skills Problems
Women suffering from ADHD may struggle to communicate effectively or to manage their emotions in the workplace. This can create problems that interfere with personal relationships and professional goals. For example, they might struggle to understand and respond to feedback, which can cause frustration and even disappointment. Additionally, they might have trouble maintaining healthy eating and sleep routines, which can cause anxiety. In some instances women suffering from ADHD develop unhealthy coping mechanisms in order to deal with these problems. These include eating disorders, addiction to substances, and non-suicidal harming of oneself (NSSI) such as cutting, burning, or scratching.
As women grow older, those with ADHD are more likely to seek treatment than men, as they tend to mask their symptoms. They often come up with strategies to cope in order to conform to the expectations of society, which can make their ADHD symptoms difficult for others to detect. These strategies for coping may be as simple and straightforward as setting reminders and making lists, or they could be more complex such as finding ways to control their emotions or developing mindfulness techniques.
However, these strategies can backfire and make symptoms worse. These strategies for coping can make it hard to get the rest you need which is essential to managing ADHD symptoms. Women with ADHD can also feel overwhelmed by the demands of everyday life, which can lead to an increase in ADHD symptoms.
While combined ADHD symptoms in adults that more boys are diagnosed with ADHD than girls, this gap becomes smaller as they grow older. 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 the diagnosis at various times.
Changes in hormone levels can also affect ADHD symptoms among women. If they have higher levels of estrogen during pregnancy, for example, their symptoms may improve. Higher levels of estrogen help regulate brain chemicals that influence the ability to focus. If they start to notice a decrease in estrogen levels due to perimenopausal or age-related decline, their ADHD symptoms might get worse.
Fortunately, it's possible for people with ADHD to get a correct diagnosis and get effective treatment. These include cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), neurocognitive psychology, and other therapies that can help people with ADHD improve their everyday functioning. They are also able to attend meetings of support groups for ADHD to share their experience with other people on the same journey and gain valuable information from their peers.