ADHD Symptoms in Adult Females
The condition is often misdiagnosed in women, despite the fact that it affects both men and woman equally as adults. This is likely due to gender stereotypes and the capacity of women to conceal their symptoms.
Many healthcare professionals don't have the expertise or experience needed to identify ADHD among women. As a result, many females are misdiagnosed before receiving the proper treatment they need.
1. Disorganization
Girls and women who suffer from ADHD are often plagued by disorganization. This disorder can be difficult to manage. Your desk, for instance, may be a mess of papers, 17 chapsticks, and tickets from the Kings of Leon show you attended in 2008. Even though you may have invested money in products to help you organize your workspace, your home or office is likely still messy and messy.
Inability to stay on top of your tasks can lead to missed appointments and forgotten deadlines. In addition, you could struggle with a concept called "time blindness," which means you can't remember or understand the amount of time it takes to complete an assignment. This can cause you to feel frustrated and like you aren't doing a good enough job in your career, or even your personal life.
You may also have difficulty managing your emotions. This can lead you to react excessively when confronted with stressful situations. Your rapid verbal communication may cause confusion and miscommunications with family members and coworkers, and you may make comments that hurt others' feelings without a thought. In addition, since impulsivity is common for people with ADHD it is possible that you will be unable to stop yourself from making statements without considering them.
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 makes it difficult to recognize and treat ADHD.
In addition to a diagnosis it is possible that you will benefit from behavioral therapy to tackle the root of your condition. Although it might take a while to discover the right coping mechanisms using these strategies, they can make you feel more in control of your life and improve relationships with your family, friends, and coworkers.
2. Impulsivity
People who suffer from ADHD are prone to intense emotions. However their brains aren't capable of separating them from or analyze them. This means they may be overwhelmed by one setback or struggle to assess the emotional state of their peers. This makes them more prone to being distracted by minor inconveniences, such as an out of stock book or a friend who isn't reliable.
Many women suffering from ADHD conceal their symptoms and come up with coping strategies to compensate for their attention issues. They could be highly organized or an obsessive at school or work and have difficulty keeping track of appointments or bills, as well as important dates. They might also struggle with verbal self control and may talk too much or interrupt others often.
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 change activities and being unable to hold your turn in conversation; and difficulty in interpreting social cues (like facial expressions or body language).
While gender stereotypes can impact on the development of ADHD in women, it's difficult to recognize these issues. Rating scales used to identify ADHD symptoms are still skewed towards male behavior and some health experts may be misinformed or underestimate the severity of a woman's symptoms.
Many women with ADHD also say that their symptoms get more severe during times of hormonal changes, such as menstrual cycle or pregnancy, or perimenopausal (the period leading up to menopausal). This can cause emotional issues and cause frequent feelings of anger, frustration, or depression. They may also feel a persistent feeling of discontent with their relationships or life. This can lead to depression, substance abuse or unhealthy coping strategies. This is why it's crucial for women to realize that these signs aren't a reflection of their value or worth as an individual. With a good treatment plan, you can improve or even eliminate these signs.
3. Inattention
While everyone struggles with paying attention and focusing, with ADHD the symptoms can occur often enough that they cause disruption with your life. You may make careless mistakes at school or work and forget appointments, or spend many hours putting off work. You are unable to stand in line and interrupt others during conversations.
Attention deficit symptoms in adults could be accompanied by a tendency to jump into projects without thoroughly planning and analyzing them, which leads to incomplete or subpar results. You could also get easily distracted and abandon projects that are not completed. This could include the vegetable garden that was planted but never watered, or a brand new organizational system that you assembled and then put on your nightstand to accumulate dust.
People with inattentive ADHD also struggle with a chronic sense of disorganization, both in their home and workplaces. You may have difficulty finding important documents keys, bills or keys and lose things regularly. You may also lose your track of time and end up late for work, meetings or school.
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. Women with these symptoms might make or do actions without thinking about the consequences such as yelling at others or making nonsensical sounds when they're alone. They have difficulty sitting still and may fidget or pace in their seats. They can have trouble maintaining a job and might have frequent conflicts with coworkers and managers.
In some cases the mood swings or emotional distress caused by ADHD can cause frustration in relationships and miscommunications. This is especially true in relationships with partners as well as at work. People who suffer from ADHD also are more likely to having comorbid conditions such as bipolar disorder, depression or anxiety disorder.
Girls and women with ADHD have a myriad of challenges when seeking treatment and diagnosis that include gender bias and a tendency to conceal their symptoms or underestimate the severity of their symptoms. The rise of famous women like Mia Freedman and Em Rusciano who have publicly shared their personal struggles with ADHD has helped raise awareness, but many young women and girls still don't know they have the condition.
4. Anxiety
An anxiety disorder is characterised by constant anxiety. Although everyone feels anxious or nervous from time to time anxiety disorders are defined by a constant high level of anxiety. You might feel a constant feeling of unease or anxiety, a fast heartbeat, trouble keeping calm and difficulty thinking clearly. You may also feel a heightened sense of danger even in situations that aren't likely be dangerous to you. The most common types of anxiety are general anxiety disorder, agoraphobia and separation anxiety, phobias and panic disorders.
Anxiety is more prevalent in women with ADHD than in men, and it tends to worsen during certain times of women's lives, such as around the time of her menstrual cycle and pregnancy or perimenopausal. This can make it harder to manage daily tasks and social interactions and lead to feelings of self-doubt and general dissatisfaction with your life.
You are extremely sensitive to rejection, and you have a difficult acceptance of criticism. https://output.jsbin.com/ricufehihu/ to interpret feedback incorrectly, or anticipate rejection. You might get upset over small issues that others don't see an issue with.
Mood swings are also a symptom of adult adhd in women. You might notice that you have unpredictable moods or find it difficult to control these. You could also be susceptible to self-injury that isn't suicidal like burning, scrubbing, or hitting yourself.
If you're experiencing any of the above symptoms, it's crucial to receive a diagnosis. It will help you comprehend the challenges you're facing and provide you strategies to improve your quality of life. You can take an ADHD test online or consult your physician for a professional assessment. In some cases your doctor may prescribe medication to help alleviate your symptoms. In certain instances, your doctor may recommend a combination between lifestyle changes and cognitive behavior therapy. In any case, it's important to change your lifestyle as quickly as you can. This will help you get back in control of your life and feel more confident, productive and competent.