20 Fun Infographics About Adult Female ADHD Symptoms
ADHD Symptoms in Adult Females
The condition is often misdiagnosed in women, even though it affects men and women equally as adults. This is likely due to gender stereotypes and the capability of women to hide their symptoms.
Many healthcare professionals lack the experience or knowledge to recognize ADHD among women. Many females are misdiagnosed and fail to receive the care they require.
1. Disorganization
Women and girls with ADHD are often plagued by disordered thinking, which can be a challenge to manage. For instance, your desk may be a mess of muddled papers, 17 different chapsticks, or a ticket to the Kings of Leon concert you went to in the year 2008. Even though you may have spent money on products to help you organize your workspace, your home or office is likely still messy and chaotic.
Inability to keep track of your tasks may result in missed deadlines and appointments. You might also struggle with "time blindness," where you don't recall or know how long it takes to finish the task. This could leave you feeling in a state of discontent and feeling as if you're not doing an adequate job in your work or personal life, particularly if it feels like other people don't value your efforts.
You might also have trouble regulating your emotions. This could cause you to overreact when confronted by stressful situations. Your rapid verbal communication may cause confusion and miscommunications with family members and colleagues, and you could make statements that hurt feelings of others without even knowing. You may also be having trouble stopping yourself from speaking before thinking things through, as it is common for people suffering from ADHD.
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 act. This makes it difficult to identify and treat ADHD.
You could also benefit from behavioral treatment to address the root cause of your disorder. It may take a while to determine the most effective coping strategies, but implementing them will allow you to feel more in control of your life and improve your relationships with family, colleagues, and friends.
2. Impulsivity
People who suffer from ADHD experience intense emotions. However their brains aren't capable of separating them from or assess them. This means they can get overwhelmed by one setback or have difficulty being able to accurately assess the emotional state of other people. This makes them more susceptible to being distracted by minor issues like an out of stock book or an unreliable friend.
Many women with ADHD conceal their symptoms and come up with strategies to cope with their attention problems. They may be perfectionists or extremely meticulous at work or in school but struggle to keep the track of important dates, bills, and appointments. They might also struggle with self-control and verbal control. They may also talk excessively, interrupt others often, or ramble 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 begin, stop or alter the course of action and being unable to hold for your turn during a conversation and difficulty interpreting social cues (like facial expressions or body language).
While gender stereotypes can impact on the development of ADHD for women, it's not always easy to spot these issues. The scales of rating used to detect ADHD symptoms are still biased towards male behavior. Some healthcare professionals may miss the mark on a woman's ADHD symptoms.
Many women suffering from ADHD also say that their symptoms get worse during times of hormonal changes, for example during menstrual cycles, pregnancy, or perimenopause (the period leading up to menopausal). This can cause emotions such as anger or irritability as well as depression. They may also have an unrelenting feeling of discontent in their relationships or lives. This may lead to substance abuse, low self-esteem, and unhealthy coping behaviors. This is the reason it's so important for women to realize that these symptoms are not an indication of their worth or worth as a person. The good news is that with a solid treatment plan the symptoms can be alleviated or even eliminated.
3. Attention
ADHD is defined by a high frequency of these symptoms. While everyone struggles to focus and pay attention at certain times the frequency of these symptoms is so high that they can disrupt your day-to-day life. You may make careless errors at work or at school, or miss appointments or spend a large deal of time procrastinating. You're not able to be patient and not interrupt other people in conversations.
Inattentive symptoms in adults can be accompanied by the tendency to get involved in projects without thoroughly planning and researching them, which can result in inadequate or poor results. You might also get side-tracked easily and tend to leave projects unfinished- from the vegetable garden that got planted but never watered to the new organizational system which was erected and left to gather dust on your nightstand.
People with inattentive ADHD also struggle with an ongoing sense of disorganization, both in their home and workplaces. You may have difficulty finding important documents, bills or keys and may lose items on a regular basis. You may be unable 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 consequences such as yelling at others or making a nonsensical sound when they are on their own. They are unable to sit still and can move around or get out of their seats. They might have trouble keeping the job they have, and are in frequent disputes with their coworkers and their manager.
In some instances, the mood swings and emotional distress caused by ADHD can lead to frustration in relationships and miscommunications. This is especially the case in romantic relationships as well as at work. People who suffer from ADHD are also more likely to have co-occurring conditions, like depression, anxiety or bipolar disorder.
Women and girls with ADHD are likely to face many challenges when seeking treatment. These include gender discrimination as well as a tendency to cover up symptoms or minimize their severity, as well as gender bias. The rise of high-profile women such as Mia Freedman and Em Rusciano who have publicly shared their personal struggles with ADHD has helped raise awareness, but many girls and young women still don't know they have the condition.
4. Anxiety
An anxiety disorder is defined by persistently excessive anxiety. While everyone is anxious or nervous at times anxiety disorders are defined by constant high levels of anxiety. You may experience an uncontrollable feeling of anxiety or fear, a rapid heartbeat, trouble keeping calm and difficulty thinking clearly. You might also feel the sense of danger even in situations that you are aware aren't dangerous. The most frequent forms 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 men, and tends to get worse at certain times in the woman's life, such as around the time of her menstrual cycle and pregnancy or perimenopausal. This can make it difficult for women to deal with everyday tasks and social interactions and can trigger feelings such as low self-esteem or discontent.
You are very sensitive to rejection, and you have a tough to accept criticism. treatment for adhd in women can easily misinterpret feedback or even anticipating rejection and you can get angry over small things that others do not see as a problem with.
Mood swings are a part of the adult female adhd symptoms and you could discover that your mood is unstable or difficult to control. You could also be susceptible to self-injury that is not suicidal, such as burning, scrubbing or hitting yourself.
If you're struggling with any of the above symptoms, it's essential to receive a diagnosis. It will help you understand the challenges you're facing, and offer 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 some cases, your doctor might prescribe medication to alleviate your symptoms. In some cases your doctor might suggest the combination of lifestyle changes and cognitive behavior therapy. In any case, it's important to make positive changes in your life as soon as you can. This will help you gain control of your life and make you feel more confident and competent.