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 these tasks seem unattainable.
If you think you may be suffering from ADHD, it's important to be treated and diagnosed. It can help you deal with these symptoms and enhance your overall quality of life.
1. You Are Always Late
Being always late is among the most prevalent signs that you may have ADHD. People suffering from ADHD can have difficulty managing their time and are easily distracted by other tasks. This can lead to problems at work or school like forgetting to complete homework or ignoring important meetings. It can also create a lot of stress for you and those who depend on you. Set a reminder on your phone or on your calendar to help avoid being late. Also, get ready the night before. Also, try to allow some extra time for yourself to get to the place you're headed.
In addition, some women with ADHD struggle to make friends because they're constantly missing out on social gatherings. They may also have difficulty taking social cues into consideration and recognizing body language. They may 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 more likely to refer men or boys to an ADHD assessment as opposed to girls.
2. You're having trouble focusing
It is common for people with ADHD to get distracted or lose track of what they are doing. In a conversation, they might frequently wander off-topic or discuss other things. They might also have difficulty sitting still, and are more likely to be impulsive and take dangerous decisions.
These problems can strain relationships with family, friends and co-workers. For example, it is common for people suffering from ADHD to be late for appointments or forget deadlines. They may also be disorganized or spend too much time doing unimportant tasks. They might also have difficulty being able to focus at work or manage their finances.
Boys are more likely than girls to be identified as having ADHD in children. As adults the prevalence of ADHD evens out. This is believed to be due in part to the fact that women are more likely than males to experience recurrences of symptoms and to seek treatment when one of their children is diagnosed with ADHD. The fluctuation in hormone levels, particularly during menopausal changes, may affect the severity of ADHD symptoms.
3. You Have Poor Memory
Women with ADHD are often unable to remember important occasions, such as birthdays, anniversaries, and meetings. They may also have trouble remembering names, which could make it difficult to keep pace with conversations and social settings.
People suffering from ADHD tend to have poor judgment. They say things without really thinking about them. This can lead to many "foot in mouth" instances that can be stressful for family members and colleagues.
A woman's difficulty in maintaining and forming friendships is another indication of adhd. Many women with ADHD struggle to manage their emotions. This can cause them to fall into challenging relationships with their romantic partners. This puts them at risk for being pressured into sexually inappropriate activities or becoming victims of intimate partner violence.
Many women suffering from ADHD struggle to meet societal expectations in the areas of parenting family, homemaking, relationships and work. This can cause a lot more stress in their lives, which makes it more difficult to recognize and manage ADHD symptoms. Women have developed coping strategies to disguise their symptoms, such as using alcohol or other drugs which may interfere with treatment. Diagnoses are a crucial first step in identifying and addressing the challenges. There is help available.
4. You're having difficulty making decisions
Women who have trouble making decisions might find themselves putting off or finding it difficult to complete tasks because they have difficulty deciding which tasks should take priority. They also have difficulty remembering and following through with decisions they've made. This type of ADHD impacts work performance, relationships, and self-esteem.
The symptoms of ADHD in women are more difficult to recognize because parents and teachers do not refer girls as often as boys for evaluation. Women are also better in hiding their symptoms. They can develop strategies to cope that enable them to appear "normal" and conform to social expectations, such as using apps to manage daily activities.
Women can get an official diagnosis from their primary physician and they may refer them to a specialist. Depending on the results, the doctor may suggest medication or talk therapy. In therapy, your therapist will help you develop better ways to cope and help you to replace negative thoughts with positive ones. They can assist you and your family to improve communication. This can be challenging when one or both partners in a relationship have ADHD. Medications can help control the symptoms and boost the efficiency at school or at work.
5. You are having trouble multitasking
Women with ADHD often feel overwhelmed when they try to complete deadlines or perform several tasks at once. They may also have trouble regulating their emotions and finding it difficult to make or keep friends, particularly when they struggle to pick the social signals and are prone to impulsive behaviors.
Women who are unable to multitask are more likely to suffer from more likely to suffer from adhd. They can also find or lose items and become easily distracted. This is especially problematic for women at work where constant interruptions make it hard to stay focused or concentrate.
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 type of ADHD is more likely to be misdiagnosed by women as the symptoms are more subtle than those associated with the inattention type.
Women with undiagnosed adult ADHD may develop strategies to cover up their issues by using alcohol or drugs to self-medicate, in order to be accepted by other people. This can further worsen their symptoms as they struggle to cope with the constant feeling of inadequate, which can lead to tension in relationships and a general feeling of low self-esteem.
6. You Have Trouble Managing Your Time
In the workplace, ADHD time management problems can be a major issue. If you don't have a system to complete projects, return calls or file paperwork, it's difficult to get things done. Even if you are doing excellent work, your supervisors may question your competence if you regularly 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 with untreated ADHD might also be more likely than others to experience co-occurring anxiety and depression, and may have difficulty maintaining relationships. The society expects women to be caregivers which can increase the symptoms of ADHD in many women, particularly when they aren't getting the appropriate treatment and support they require. This can also lead broken relationships between family members, friends and romantic partners. These relationships can cause frustration and misunderstandings which can make it difficult for women to seek assistance.
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 able of balancing multiple roles. This includes caring for children, maintaining a healthy relationship and thriving in the workplace. As they attempt to meet these expectations, their symptoms may exacerbate. They may also have 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 mask ADHD symptoms. This can lead to over-exercising and staying up later than needed, and relying on phone reminders or daily schedules to help them manage their lives.
Other problematic behaviors include impulsiveness and forgetfulness which can cause problems in both work and personal relationships. For example, forgetting to mention an event at a friend's house can cause them to feel depressed and don't appreciate them. Likewise, interrupting conversations with unrelated thoughts or becoming angry at any moment could lead to miscommunication and conflicts. Managing weblink of your friendships can prevent bad emotions, misinterpretations and resentment. You can accomplish this by keeping a calendar of the important dates of your friends, using a notepad to record information you learn about new friends, and following through on promises.