Signs of ADHD in Women
Women are under tremendous pressure to care for their families and maintain healthy relationships and be productive at work. ADHD symptoms can make all of these tasks seem impossible.
It's important to get diagnosed and treated for ADHD. It can help you manage these symptoms and improve the quality of your life.
1. You are always late
Being late for work is a typical sign that you might have ADHD. People suffering from ADHD may have trouble managing their time and can be easily distracted by other tasks. This can cause issues at school or work for example, like not remembering homework or ignoring important meetings. It can also cause a lot of stress for you and those who depend on you. To help you stop being late, consider setting a reminder on your phone or calendar and be sure to prepare your bedroom the night prior to. It is also recommended to give yourself a few minutes extra to reach your destination.
Some women with ADHD also have difficulty making friends, since they constantly miss social occasions. They might also have difficulty learning to read social cues or understand body language. They may also have trouble staying focused on conversations and becoming lost in thoughts.
Lastly, some girls with ADHD go undiagnosed because their symptoms are more difficult to notice than the hyperactive/impulsive ones seen in boys and men. Teachers and parents are also more likely to refer males or boys for an ADHD assessment as opposed to girls.
2. You are having difficulty focusing
People with ADHD are easily distracted and lose focus of their tasks. If they are engaged in a conversation with others they can often go off in a different direction or talk about things that do not relate to the issue in question. They can also have trouble being still and are more likely to be impulsive and take risky decisions.
These issues can cause problems with family, friends and colleagues. People who suffer from ADHD are prone to forgetting appointments or not meeting deadlines. They can also be disorganized and can spend a lot of time on unimportant tasks or have trouble relaxing at home. They might also have difficulty being able to concentrate at work or keep up with their finances.
Boys are more likely than girls to be diagnosed as having ADHD in children. However, as they grow older the prevalence of ADHD evens out. It is thought that this is due to the fact that females are more likely to experience a higher incidence of symptoms and are more likely to seek treatment after one of their children is diagnosed with the condition. Changing hormone levels, especially during menopause, can also influence the severity of ADHD symptoms.
3. You have poor memory
Women who suffer from ADHD struggle with remembering important dates, like birthdays and anniversary dates. They also forget meetings. They may also have difficulty remembering names, which makes it difficult to keep up in social settings and conversations.
People suffering from ADHD often have poor filters. They say things without really thinking about them. This can cause many "foot-in-mouth" moments which can be very frustrating for coworkers and loved ones.
The difficulty of a woman to maintain and making friends is a different sign of adhd. Many women with ADHD struggle to manage their emotions which can result in difficult romantic relationships. This can increase their chances of being pressured to engage in inappropriate sexual activities or be the victim of abuse from their intimate partners.
adhd in adult women treatment with ADHD struggle to meet societal expectations in areas such as parenting, homemaking, relationships, and career. This can add a lot stress to their lives, which makes it difficult to recognize and deal with ADHD symptoms. Women may develop coping strategies, such as alcohol or drugs, to hide their symptoms. This can impede treatment. Diagnoses are the first step in identifying and addressing the challenges. You can find help.
4. You have trouble making decisions
Women who struggle to make decisions may procrastinate or be unable complete tasks, since they aren't sure which tasks to prioritize. They also have difficulty remembering and keeping track of the decisions they've made. This kind of ADHD affects work performance, relationships, and self-esteem.
Symptoms of ADHD in women are more difficult to identify than in children because teachers and parents don't make girls the focus of evaluation as often as they do for boys. Women are also better in hiding their symptoms. They may develop strategies for coping that enable them to appear "normal" and meet societal expectations, for instance by using apps to manage their daily activities.
Women may receive an official diagnosis by their primary care physician who can refer them to a physician of specialization. Based on the results of the test the doctor may recommend medication or talk-therapy. Therapy sessions with your therapist can help you learn better coping strategies and assist you in swapping negative thoughts for positive ones. They can also help you and your family improve communication, which can be difficult when one or more of the people in a relationship have ADHD. The medication can help to reduce symptoms, and increase productivity at work or in school.
5. You struggle with multitasking
Women with ADHD are often overwhelmed when they have to complete deadlines and perform many tasks. They may also experience difficulty regulating their emotions and finding it difficult to find or keep friends, especially when they struggle to pick the social signals and are prone to impulsive behaviors.
Women who struggle to multitask are more likely to suffer from at risk of developing adhd. They also may lose or misplace items and get easily distracted. This is an issue for women working in an environment where they are constantly interrupted.
In addition, if you have the hyperactive/impulsive type of adhd, having trouble staying quiet and being able to control your emotions can lead to frequent outbursts that are not only disruptive to others but can be damaging to your career. This kind of ADHD is more likely to be misdiagnosed by women as the symptoms are more subtle than those of the inattentive form.
Women with undiagnosed ADHD adulthood might also develop coping strategies to disguise their struggles. For instance they may seek out self-medication with alcohol or drugs to fit into the mainstream. This can further exacerbate symptoms as they struggle with chronic feelings of inadequacy. This can lead to uneasy relationships and a general sense of self-worth deficiency.
6. You Have Trouble Managing Your Time
In the workplace, ADHD time management problems can be a serious concern. It's difficult to get work done when you do not have a system in place for filing documents, returning phone calls, or completing projects in time. Even if your work is excellent your supervisors might be concerned about your professionalism when you repeatedly miss deadlines.
Women with ADHD are more likely to have the inattentive subtype of symptoms, which can make it harder for them to be diagnosed and treated than men or boys with the hyperactive/impulsive type of symptoms. This is because doctors and teachers are more likely to recognize the hyperactive/impulsive symptoms in boys and men, and may be less familiar with the inattentive-type symptoms of women with ADHD.
Women with untreated ADHD also might be more likely to develop anxiety or depression with co-occurring disorders and may have a difficult time maintaining relationships. Women are expected to be caregivers which can increase the symptoms of ADHD particularly in the absence of access to the appropriate treatment or support. This can cause tensions between family members, friends and romantic partners. These strained relationships can heighten tension and miscommunication and make it harder for women to seek assistance.
7. You're having a hard time making friends
Women with ADHD may find it difficult to have trouble making friends. One reason is that women are expected to be able of performing many roles. This includes raising children, maintaining a relationship and thriving at the workplace. As they attempt to fulfill these expectations their symptoms can become more severe. They could also be at an increased chance of developing poor relationships with their peers, or co-existing anxiety disorders and mood disorders. Women are more likely than men to develop coping strategies that mask ADHD symptoms. This can result in over-exercising or staying up later than needed and relying on phone reminders or daily schedules to help them manage their lives.
Forgetfulness and impulsiveness are also undesirable behaviors that can create problems at work and in personal relationships. For example, forgetting about a friend's birthday party can make them feel jilted and that you don't appreciate them. Disrupting conversations or getting angry at the slightest provocation could also cause conflicts and miscommunications. Becoming aware of your expectations for your friendships can prevent bad feelings, misinterpretations, or resentment. You can achieve this by using a calendar to keep track of your friends' important dates, a notepad to keep track of details about new friends, and following through with commitments.