Many women constantly feel emotionally low, disorganized, overwhelmed, or feel like they are failing in life despite all their efforts. What if all this burnout and exhaustion is not a personal flaw but an undiagnosed ADHD? ADHD in women often remains undiagnosed because they don’t express their emotions and remain subtle. This is usually labeled as emotionally unstable or a daydreamer. The symptoms of ADHD in women are much different, and it is commonly misdiagnosed as anxiety or depression.
In this article, you will get to know the symptoms of ADHD in women, why it remains undiagnosed, and how it can be diagnosed and treated.
What Are The Symptoms Of ADHD In Women?
ADHD is a neurodevelopmental disorder that causes issues in everyday life activities, such as maintaining work and relationships with friends and partners. In women, ADHD symptoms are often inattentive instead of hyperactive or impulsive. However, these symptoms delay the diagnosis, as it is harder to notice.
1. The excessive daydreaming
ADHD women are often misdiagnosed as being ‘shy’, ‘reserved’, or ‘spacy’ because they don’t express their emotions. Unlike men with ADHD are hyperactive and catch the attention of everyone’s eye, clearly showing the symptoms of ADHD. This leads to forgetting things and makes them constantly being on deadlines.
2. Hormonal changes
Hormonal changes impact different areas of life. However, women experiencing ADHD have extreme shifts in mood and a lack of focus during the menstrual cycle or pregnancy.
3.Challenges in social gatherings
ADHD in women causes extreme difficulty in making new friends or interacting at social gatherings. They have a lack of interest in others’ conversations unless the topic is of their interest. Women with ADHD have low self-esteem, which makes it hard to start a conversation with anyone.
4. Mental clutter and fatigue
ADHD Women have a mental war going on in their heads, which makes it difficult to focus on tasks or prioritize their stuff. The hyperactive symptoms in women happen internally in their heads, which leads to exhaustion.
5. Emotional Difficulties
Women struggling with ADHD may experience a rollercoaster of emotions. They experience emotions more deeply and intensely, which further leads them to extreme mood swings. Due to these shifts in emotion, women often experience depression and anxiety.
6. Physical health problems
ADHD impacts various areas of life as well as your physical health. Women struggling with ADHD have difficulty remembering doctor appointments or taking medications.
7. Relationship challenges
Maintaining relationships with your friends, family, and coworkers is way more challenging if one is experiencing ADHD. ADHD women often remain absent-minded during important conversations with their partners or in meetings. The hyperactive nature makes you blurt out even without thinking, which causes conflicts or breakups.
8. Impulsivity and limerence
Women with ADHD experience emotions intensely if they fall in love, which leads to limerence. The Impulsive nature makes women fall for the wrong relationships.
However, impulsivity also leads them to financial issues, like they shop impulsively, interrupt others while talking, or sometimes bully others due to their impulsive nature.
9. Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria (RSD)
ADHD women have a deep fear of getting rejected because they are emotionally sensitive and remain irritated. It leads to low self-esteem or self-doubt and withdrawal from going out and meeting people.
10. Sensory sensitivity
Women experiencing ADHD feel every small thing that is happening around them, such as loud noises, direct sunlight, or tight clothes. It severely impacts the mood of women experiencing ADHD.
How Does ADHD Impact Differently In Women As Compared to Men?
Men and women have different symptoms of ADHD. Women are more likely to experience the signs of inattention. Furthermore, this table will help you understand the main differences between ADHD in men and women.
| ADHD In Women | ADHD In Men |
| Symptoms are more obvious in adulthood | Symptoms are obvious from childhood |
| More inattentive | More hyperactive & impulsive |
| Often misdiagnosed with other conditions | It can be diagnosed accurately because the symptoms are more obvious |
| Anxiety, lack of confidence, and loneliness are more common in women | Aggressive and disruptive nature is more common in men |
How To Diagnose ADHD In Women?
There is no single test available to diagnose ADHD in women. However, the diagnosis can be done by an experienced mental health care expert. They will check the medical history, family history, and do some questionnaires to get to know the symptoms of ADHD. ADHD is a childhood-onset condition; your healthcare provider may ask to meet your caregiver, teacher, or parents, who know your exact condition from childhood.
If you feel like you are emotionally drained and struggling to manage your symptoms, talking to a mental healthcare professional can be helpful.
What Treatments Are Available To Manage ADHD In Women?
Treating ADHD requires medications and therapies, and sometimes a mental health expert combines both to get the desired treatment. Medication alone is not enough to treat the symptoms of ADHD in women. However, a mental healthcare professional recommends treatment according to the severity of the condition.
Medications
- Stimulants
- Non-stimulants
- Antidepressants
Note: Medications have side effects; careful monitoring and taking the right dosage are important. Consult with your mental health experts before starting any medication.
Psychotherapies
Psychotherapy, also known as talk therapy, is used to treat several mental disorders, including ADHD. There are many types of psychotherapies to treat ADHD, including Cognitive behavioral therapy, Dialectical behavioral therapy, and group therapy.
1. Cognitive behavioral therapy
CBT is an evidence-based treatment that has proven effective for treating ADHD in women. CBT is a type of talking therapy. It is based on the principle that thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are interconnected. CBT targets unsettling thoughts and beliefs by intervening in thoughts and behaviors and changing them into helpful ones.Cognitive behavioral therapy helps the person identify the negative thoughts that cause anxiety and challenge them in a way to reduce them.
2.Dialectical behavioral therapy
DBT is also a form of Cognitive behavioural therapy. It helps ADHD women who are struggling with emotional distress and is based on the idea that two opposing things can co-exist. In therapy, it means that you can accept your thoughts and emotions and still move on from them by changing them into productive thoughts and emotions. In other words, with DBT, people become able to regulate those negative emotions that are involved in making the person become inattentive, impulsive, or hyperactive. In this therapy, a person learns the skills of emotional regulation and distress tolerance.
3. Group therapy
Group therapy is an evidence-based modality that helps in managing ADHD in women. It’s a form of psychotherapy that helps to reduce feelings of loneliness and provides a sense of belonging and togetherness. It involves a secure, stable, and caring environment where a small group of people gather together and share their life journey with each other. It provides a structure in our lives and makes us learn, heal, and grow. Group settings can be organized by a mental healthcare therapist. It helps in building new coping skills, emotional resilience, and shared learning.
Moreover, group therapy is the most effective tool for reducing the challenges associated with ADHD in everyday life.
Let Us Help You Change Your Life
Do you remain drained, emotionally unstable, and disorganized? You might be experiencing ADHD. At Renewed Mental Health Group, our highly experienced team is committed to providing quality treatment to individuals struggling with mental health conditions. We have a dedicated team of experts who develop new perspectives that will help you in healing. Our approach is grounded in holistic principles, which lead you to a balanced and fulfilling life.
Book your consultations today!
In a Nutshell
ADHD is a brain disorder that often occurs in childhood and persists till adulthood if it remains underdiagnosed. It affects differently in childhood, men, and women. However, it remains underdiagnosed in women because the symptoms are not obvious as they stay quiet, internal, and masked for years by hard work, perfectionism, or people-pleasing. They remain inattentive and have fewer symptoms of hypoactivity & impulsivity.
Additionally, women experiencing ADHD have symptoms that include difficulty managing relationships, making friends, interacting at social gatherings, limerance, sensitivity towards getting rejected, physical health issues due to forgetfulness and lack of exercise, emotional sensitivity, excessive daydreaming, and hormonal changes.
However, it can be diagnosed by a mental healthcare expert through structured interviews, questionnaires, or reviewing your medical and family history. It can be treated with a combination of medication and therapies, which include Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, DBT, and group therapy.