ADHD Symptoms in Adult Females
While ADHD affects both genders equally in adulthood, the condition typically goes undiagnosed in females. This is likely due to gender stereotypes and the ability of women to mask their symptoms.
Many healthcare professionals lack the expertise or experience needed to recognize ADHD in women. Many females are not diagnosed correctly and don't receive the treatment they need.
1. Disorganization
Women and girls with ADHD often struggle with disordered thinking, which can be a challenge to manage. Your desk, for example, may be a mess of papers, 17 chapsticks, and tickets from the Kings of Leon show you attended in 2008. As you buy products that claim to keep you organized your office and home are likely to remain messy and chaotic.
Inability to keep on top of your work can cause you to miss deadlines and appointments. You may also experience "time blindness," where you don't know or remember how long it takes to complete an assignment. This can make you feel frustrated and believe that you're not doing a good enough job in your career, or even your personal life.
You may also have difficulty regulating your emotions, which may make you overreact in stressful situations. Your high-speed verbal communication can create misunderstandings and miscommunications with your family as well as your coworkers. You may make comments that hurt feelings of others without a thought. You may also have trouble stopping yourself from speaking before you have thought things through, as the tendency to be impulsive is common among people suffering from ADHD.
If you have ADHD it is possible that some of your symptoms stem from gender stereotypes or cultural ideas about how women, men and boys should behave. This can make it harder for you to recognize and treat your ADHD.
In addition to having a diagnosis it is possible that you will benefit from behavioral therapy to deal with the root cause of your condition. While it could take some time to find the appropriate strategies for coping, implementing these strategies can make you feel more in control of your life as well as improve relationships with family and friends as well as coworkers.
2. Impulsivity
People with ADHD are prone to intense emotions. However, their brains are not able to filter them or analyze them. This means they may be overwhelmed by a single setback or have difficulty being able to accurately assess the emotional state of their peers. This can also make them more susceptible to being distracted by small inconveniences, such as a book out of stock or a shaky friend.
Many women with ADHD conceal their symptoms and come up with coping strategies to compensate for their attention problems. They could be perfectionists or extremely attentive at work or in school however, they have trouble keeping on top of important dates, deadlines and appointments. They might also struggle with self-control in speech and frequently interrupt others, talk too much, 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. These symptoms include an abrupt desire to start or stop activities. They can also be characterized by being unable to wait for your turn in a conversation and being unable to discern social cues.
While gender-based stereotypes can play a role in the development of ADHD, it's not always easy to determine if women suffer from these issues. The scales used to measure ADHD symptoms are still skewed towards male behavior, and some healthcare professionals might misunderstand or underestimate the severity of a woman's symptoms.
Many women who suffer from ADHD also report that their symptoms become worse during times of hormonal changes, like during menstrual cycles or pregnancy, or perimenopausal (the period leading up to menopausal). Highly recommended Resource site and cause frequent feelings of anger, frustration, or depression. They may also experience an ongoing feeling of unsatisfaction with their relationships or lives. This may lead to depression, substance abuse, and unhealthy coping behaviors. It is crucial for women to understand that these symptoms don't indicate their worth or importance as a human being. With a good treatment program, you can reduce or even eliminate these symptoms.
3. Attention
ADHD is often characterized by a higher frequency of these symptoms. While everyone struggles to concentrate and pay attention at certain times and in a variety of ways, they are so frequent that they can impede your daily life. You may make careless errors at work or at school, forget appointments or spend a good amount of time delaying. You are unable to stand in line and interrupt others in conversations.
Adults who are inattentive can also jump into projects without fully planning them and researching them. This can lead to poor results or even subpar ones. You may also get distracted quickly and tend to leave projects unfinished -from the garden that got planted but never watered to the new system of organization which was erected and put aside to dust on your nightstand.
People who have inattention ADHD also struggle with an ongoing sense of disorganization in their home and workplaces. You may have difficulty finding important documents keys, bills or even keys and may lose things on a regular basis. You may also forget to keep your track of time and become late for school, work 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 say or do things without thinking about the impact, like talking over others or making nonsensical sounds when they're alone. They might be unable to sit still, and may flitter around in their seats or at a fast pace. They can have trouble keeping their job and could have frequent disagreements with coworkers and managers.
In some instances, the mood swings or emotional stress caused by ADHD may lead to frustration in relationships and misunderstandings. This is especially the case in romantic relationships as well as at work. People with ADHD also are more likely being afflicted with comorbid conditions, such as bipolar disorder, depression or anxiety disorder.
adhd symptoms in adult women and girls who suffer from ADHD are often faced with a range of obstacles when seeking treatment and diagnosis, including gender bias and a tendency to hide their symptoms or underestimate the severity of them. The rise of famous women such as Mia Freedman and Em Rusciano who have spoken out about their struggles with ADHD has helped raise awareness, yet many young women and girls still don't know they have the condition.
4. Anxiety
Although most people experience anxiety or anxious from time to time, persistently outsize anxiety is the hallmark of an anxiety disorder. You might feel an uncontrollable feeling of anxiety or anxiety, a fast heartbeat, trouble staying calm and difficulty thinking clearly. You might also feel a sense of danger in situations that you are aware are not dangerous. The most common types of anxiety are general anxiety disorder, agoraphobia, separation anxiety, phobias and panic disorders.
Anxiety is more prevalent in women with ADHD than in men and tends to get worse during certain periods of a woman's life for instance, during the time of her menstrual period and pregnancy or perimenopausal. This can make it harder to handle everyday activities and social interactions and lead to feelings of low self-esteem and a general feeling of discontent with your life.
You're very sensitive to rejection and have a hard time accepting criticism. You are prone to misinterpret feedback, or even anticipating rejection and you can be angry about minor things that others don't find an issue with.
Mood swings can also be a symptom of adult adhd in women. You might notice that you have unpredictable moods or find it difficult to manage them. You may also be susceptible to self-injury that isn't suicidal, such as hitting, burning or scratching yourself.
It's important to seek out a diagnosis if you're experiencing any of the symptoms mentioned above. It will help you identify your issues and give you strategies to improve your quality of living. You can take an ADHD test online or talk to your doctor for a professional assessment. In certain instances, a doctor may prescribe medication to ease your symptoms. In other instances they may recommend an amalgamation of lifestyle changes and cognitive behavior therapy. In any case, it's essential to make positive changes as soon as possible. This will help you gain control of your life, and feel more confident and capable.