Signs of ADHD in Women
Women are under a lot pressure to care for their families and maintain healthy relationships and perform well at work. ADHD symptoms can make all of these tasks seem impossible.
It is crucial to be diagnosed and treated if you have ADHD. It can assist you in dealing with these symptoms and improve the quality of your life overall.
1. You Are Always Late
Being always late is one of the most frequent signs that you may be suffering from ADHD. People with ADHD can have difficulty managing their time and can be easily distracted by other tasks. This can cause problems at school or at work like missing important meetings or forgetting about homework assignments. This can create stress for you and the people who depend on your presence. To stop being late, try setting an alarm on your calendar or phone, and make sure to prepare your bedroom the night prior to. Also, you should give yourself a few minutes extra to get to your destination.
Women who suffer from ADHD also have trouble making friends, as they're constantly missing social occasions. They might also find it difficult to discern social cues or understand body language. They might also have difficulty concentrating and 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. Teachers and parents are also more likely to refer men or boys for an ADHD assessment than they do for girls.
2. You Have Trouble Focusing
People suffering from ADHD are easily distracted and lose track of their tasks. If they are engaged in a conversation with someone else, they may frequently go off into a tangent or speak about topics that do not relate to the issue in question. They might also have a difficult time staying still and may be more reckless.
These problems can strain relationships between family members as well as friends and coworkers. People with ADHD tend to forget appointments or not meeting deadlines. They may also be disorganized or spend too much time doing non-essential tasks. They may also have problems working effectively or have difficulty keep up with their financial obligations.
Boys are more likely than girls to be identified as having ADHD in children. However, as adults they are more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD. This is believed to be because 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. Changes in hormone levels, especially during menopausal transition, can influence the severity of ADHD symptoms.
3. You may have a poor memory
Women who suffer from ADHD frequently have trouble remembering important occasions, such as birthdays, anniversaries, or gatherings. They may also have difficulty remembering names, making it difficult to keep up in social situations and conversations.
It's also normal for people with ADHD to have poor judgment which means they speak their thoughts without thinking them through. This can result in a lot "foot in mouth" instances that can be frustrating for coworkers and family members.
A woman's difficulty maintaining and making friends is a different indication of adhd. adhd in women symptoms with ADHD have difficulty managing their emotions and this can lead to difficulties in romantic relationships. This puts them at risk of being pressured into unwanted sexual activity or being victims of violence from their intimate partners.
Many women with ADHD find it difficult to keep up with the social expectations of parenting and homemaking, as well as relationships. This can lead to more stress in their lives, making it difficult to recognize and manage ADHD symptoms. Some women have developed coping strategies to hide their symptoms, like using alcohol or drugs which may interfere with treatment. Diagnoses are the first step in identifying and managing issues. There is help available.
4. You have trouble making decisions
Women who are struggling to make decisions can delay or fail to complete tasks, since they are unsure of what tasks to prioritise. They also have difficulty remembering and executing decisions they have made. This kind of ADHD impacts the performance of their work, relationships, and self-esteem.
The symptoms of ADHD in women may be harder to diagnose than in children due to the fact that teachers and parents don't make girls the focus of evaluation as often as they do for boys. Women are also more adept at hiding their symptoms. They may develop strategies for coping that help them 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 physician, who may refer them to a specialist of specialization. Based on the results, the doctor could recommend medication or talk therapy. Therapy sessions with a therapist can teach you healthier coping skills and help you switch negative thoughts with positive ones. They can help you and your family improve communication. This can be challenging when both or one of the partners in a relationship suffer from ADHD. The medication can help manage the symptoms and increase productivity at work or in school.
5. You're having difficulty multitasking
Women suffering from ADHD often find themselves feeling overwhelmed when they try to keep deadlines in line or complete multiple tasks at the same time. They may also experience difficulty regulating their emotions and finding it difficult to find or keep friends, especially when they are unable to pick the social cues and can be prone to impulsive behavior.
Multitasking issues are another indication of adhd in women, as is their tendency to be easily distracted and to lose or misplace items. This can be a problem for women working in a workplace 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. Women may be more likely to be undiagnosed with this type of ADHD because their symptoms are not as evident as those of the typical inattentive type.
Women who are not diagnosed with ADHD adulthood may also develop coping strategies to mask their struggles. For example, they may self-medicate with alcohol or drugs to blend into the mainstream. This can further worsen their symptoms as they struggle with chronic feelings of inadequate, which can lead to tension in relationships and a general feeling of self-worth being shattered.
6. You are having trouble managing your Time
In the workplace, ADHD time management problems can pose a serious problem. It's difficult to get things completed when you don't have a system for filing documents, returning phone calls, or completing projects in time. Even if your work is excellent, supervisors may wonder 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 suffer from co-occurring depression or anxiety and may have trouble maintaining relationships. Women are expected to be caregivers, and this can worsen the symptoms of ADHD particularly if they do not have access to the right treatment or assistance. This can also lead tensions between family members, friends, and romantic partners. These strained relations can increase frustration and misunderstandings which makes it more difficult for women to seek out help.
7. You have trouble making friends
Women who suffer from ADHD can find it frustrating to be unable to make friends. One reason is that women are expected to be capable of performing various roles. This includes caring for children, maintaining a relationship and thriving in the workplace. When they attempt to meet these expectations their symptoms can become more severe. They may also be at a higher risk of developing bad social relationships with peers or co-existing mood disorders and anxiety. Women are more likely than men to develop coping strategies that cover ADHD symptoms. This could cause them to over-exercise, stay up later than they should and rely on schedules or reminders on their phones to manage their lives.
Forgetfulness and impulsiveness are also problematic behaviors that can cause problems at work and in personal relationships. For instance, forgetting to attend a friend's party can cause them to feel depressed. They might also believe that you don't care about them. Also interrupting conversations with irrelevant thoughts or getting angry at the drop of a hat can cause confusion and conflict. Manage your expectations about your friendships to avoid bad emotions, misinterpretations and anger. You can do this by keeping a calendar that tracks the important dates of your friends or using a notepad record information you learn about new friends and keeping your promises.