Signs of ADHD in Women
Women are under tremendous pressure to take care of their families and maintain healthy relationships and be productive at work. ADHD symptoms can make these tasks seem like a nightmare.
It is essential to be diagnosed and treated if you have ADHD. It can assist you in dealing with these symptoms and improve your overall life quality.
1. You're Always Late
Being always late is one of the most frequent signs that you may be suffering from ADHD. People suffering from ADHD are often unable to manage their time and are easily distracted by other activities. This can lead to issues at school or at work, such as missing important meetings or not remembering homework assignments. This can create stress for you and the people who depend on your presence. To help you stop being late, set an alarm on your phone or calendar and ensure that you prepare for the night prior to. It is also recommended to allow yourself an extra few minutes to reach your destination.
Some women who suffer from ADHD are also having trouble making friends, as they are constantly missing social events. They might also have trouble understanding social cues and recognizing body language. They might also have difficulty concentration and may get lost in their 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. Parents and teachers are more likely to refer boys or men for an ADHD assessment than they are for girls.
2. You have difficulty focusing
People with ADHD are easily distracted and lose focus of their work. When they are in conversation with others they can often go off in a different direction or talk about topics that do not have anything to do with the subject that is being discussed. They might also have difficulty being still and are more likely to be impulsive and make risky decisions.
These issues can affect relationships between family members as well as friends and coworkers. People who suffer from ADHD are prone to forgetting appointments or ignoring deadlines. They could also be unorganized or spend too much time doing unimportant tasks. They may also have trouble focusing at work or have trouble manage their finances.
Boys are more likely than girls to be identified as having ADHD in children. As adults, the rates are equal. This is believed to be due to the fact that women are more likely than men to have recurrences in symptoms and to seek treatment when one of their children has been diagnosed with ADHD. The fluctuation in hormone levels, particularly during menopausal transition, can influence the severity of ADHD symptoms.
3. You have a weak memory
Women who suffer from ADHD have a hard time remembering important dates, such as birthdays and anniversary dates. They also tend to forget meetings. They may also have trouble remembering names, which makes it difficult to keep a pace in social settings and conversations.
It's also normal for people with ADHD to have a poor filter, meaning they say things without thinking about them. This can result in a lot "foot in mouth" instances that can be stressful for family members and coworkers.
The difficulty of a woman to maintain and forming friendships is another indication of adhd. Many girls with ADHD have trouble managing their emotions and this can lead to difficult romantic relationships. This puts them at risk for being pressured into unwanted sexual activity or being victims of intimate partner violence.
Many women suffering from ADHD struggle to live up to society's expectations in areas such as parenting family, homemaking, relationships and career. This can lead to more stress in their lives, which makes it harder to identify and treat ADHD symptoms. Some women have coping strategies to hide their symptoms, such as using alcohol or other drugs, which can interfere with treatment. It is crucial to be diagnosed as a first step to identify and addressing these issues. The good news is that you can seek assistance.
4. You're having difficulty making decisions
Women who have trouble making decisions may end up putting off or unable to complete tasks because they have difficulties deciding which tasks should be prioritized. They also have trouble recalling their choices and following through on them. This kind of ADHD can affect work performance, relationships and self-esteem.
The signs of ADHD in women may be more difficult to identify than in children, as parents and teachers do not refer girls to evaluation as often as they do for boys. Furthermore, women are better in masked symptoms. They can develop strategies to cope that help them appear "normal" and conform to social expectations, such as by using apps to manage daily activities.
Women can be given an official diagnosis by their primary care physician, who can refer them to a specialist of specialization. Depending on the results, the doctor could recommend medication or talk therapy. In therapy, your therapist can help you learn more effective ways to cope and help you swap negative thoughts for positive ones. They can also assist you and your family members improve communication, which can be a problem when one or more of the members of a couple suffer from ADHD. The medication can help control the symptoms, and improve productivity at work or in school.
5. You have trouble multitasking
Women suffering from ADHD often feel overwhelmed when they try to keep deadlines in line or complete several tasks at once. They may also experience difficulty regulating their emotions and finding it difficult to find or keep friends, particularly when they struggle to pick the social signals and are prone to impulsive behavior.
Women who have difficulty multitasking are also more likely to develop more likely to suffer from adhd. They can also find or lose items and become easily distracted. This is an issue for women who work in environments 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 less obvious than those that are associated with the inattentive form.
Women with undiagnosed adult ADHD might also develop strategies to disguise their struggles like using alcohol or drugs to help themselves, or to be accepted by other people. This can further exacerbate symptoms as they struggle with constant feelings of inadequacy. This can lead to strained relationships and a general feeling of low self esteem.
6. You're having difficulty managing your time
ADHD problems with time management can be a major issue in the workplace. It's difficult to get work completed when you don't have a system of filing paperwork, returning calls, or finishing projects on time. Even if you're doing great work, your boss will doubt your competence if you repeatedly fail to meet 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 who aren't treated for ADHD might also be more likely than other individuals to suffer from co-occurring anxiety or depression, and may have difficulty maintaining relationships. Women are expected to be caretakers which can worsen the symptoms of ADHD in many women, especially when they don't have access to the right treatment and support they need. This can lead to broken relationships between family members, friends and romantic partners. These relationships that are strained can increase the frustration and cause misunderstandings, making it more difficult for women to reach out for assistance.
7. You have trouble making friends
Finding it difficult to make friends can be a real challenge for women suffering from ADHD. One reason is that women are expected to be capable of performing many roles. This includes raising children, maintaining relationships and thriving at the workplace. signs and symptoms of adhd in women may be suffering from symptoms that become worse as they attempt to meet the expectations. They could also be at an increased risk of developing poor relationships with their peers or having co-existing mood disorders and anxiety disorders. Women are more likely than men to develop coping strategies that conceal ADHD symptoms. This could lead them to over-exercise, stay up later than they should, and rely on schedules or reminders on their phones to manage their lives.
Impulsivity and forgetfulness are undesirable behaviors that can create problems at work and in personal relationships. For instance, not remembering a friend's party can cause them to feel depressed. They might also think you don't have any interest in them. Also interrupting conversations with irrelevant thoughts or expressing anger at a moment's notice can lead to misunderstandings and conflict. Manage your expectations about your relationships to avoid negative emotions, misinterpretations and resentment. You can accomplish this by keeping a calendar to track the important dates with your friends and using a notepad to record information you learn about new acquaintances and delivering on promises.