Understanding women with ADHD

Hello smarts. In case you had not noticed I'm a woman with ADHD. Which means I've the same internal health condition as a man with ADHD-- But it does affect me else. Before I jump into this I want to point out That in my occasion on ADHD in girls, I had a lot of guys in the commentary going" stay. I've the GIRL donation?" There's no" girl donation" of ADHD, It's just that we know from exploration that women-- At least Cis unsexed women, we do not have enough exploration yet on those who are both neurodiverse and gender different-- tend to present else to cismen due to a combination of natural and social factors, and that that difference can mean our ADHD does not get honored or treated effectively. Also some of this may apply anyhow of gender Because everyone is different. Anyone can have the further internalized donation of neuro diversity that occasionally gets missed. So if any of this sounds familiar, the conclusion is the same go get checked out, get the support you need. OK. So let’s jump into the exploration. ADHD is the same complaint no matter what gender you're the same brain regions and neurotransmitter systems are affected and the same core poverties are present But the performing symptoms what people actually see can show up else due to the natural difference between males and ladies as well as the social differences in the gests of men and women. As a result of gender and coitus differences ADHD leads to different donations and issues For illustration women are frequently anticipated to be good at organizing planning, and other administrative functions and society is generally lower forgiving to women when they mess up. We tend to work harder to “ fit in ” and “ be good ” due to social pressures. Ladies with ADHD tend to show further inattentiveness than hyperactivity or freakishness, and are more likely than males to develop anxiety, tone regard issues and other internalizing problems, while males with ADHD tend to develop more materializing problems like rule breaking and aggression, than ladies do. That is not to say that girls and women with ADHD do not also witness hyperactivity and impulsivity symptoms. We do. The symptoms are just a little less egregious. They might take the form of contending studies, speaking before allowing, talking really snappily parlous sexual geste

and relationship problems. Also for those of us who menstruate, our ADHD symptoms may change or worsen during certain corridor of our menstrual cycle and during certain stages of life like puberty gestation,post-pregnancy and menopause when we've these big, hormonal changes. So our ADHD donation and treatment requirements may change as well. Cool. Okay. But my croaker knows all that right? presumably not. utmost exploration on ADHD has been done in males and the DSM criteria for ADHD does n’t fit the way ladies tend to present as well as it does for males. As a result, a lot of women with ADHD get misdiagnosed with depression or bipolar complaint and end up getting the wrong drug or a less effective one. Those of us who internalize our symptoms are far less likely to be appertained for opinion, less likely to admit a opinion if we're appertained, and less likely to be treated with goad drug indeed if we do get a correct opinion. despite the fact that goad drug is the first- line drug used to treat ADHD, and works just as well or ladies as it does for males. Indeed if we're diagnosed and treated with goad drug, it’s really doubtful that our hormones will be taken into consideration. tête-à-tête, no bone suspected I had ADHD as a sprat because I was a “ good sprat. ” And because I was “ smart. ” But the verity is, I went to some enough extreme lengths to hide the fact that I was floundering And I abominated myself every time I couldn't. Every time I came home without my jacket Or lost the really suitable earring someone bought me for my birthday Or did not get invited to parties or could n’t flash back the question the schoolteacher just asked. Despite my stylish sweats, I still picked up a lot of not delightful markers spacy, messy, clumsy, weird, absentminded, short, lazy, reckless. But I did n’t talk to anyone about it. I was shamed of it. I tried my stylish to hide it. It was n’t until my symptoms came more obviously problematic to others — more externalized — when I was going through puberty hormonal changes, and started rage quitting exchanges, when my managing mechanisms were n’t working presently Because the demands on my superintendent function had changed and I started doing poorly in academy — that my family indeed noticed there was a problem. -- Indeed also, the first croaker my mama took me to told her I could n’t have ADHD. Because I ’d done well in abecedarian academy. Thankfully, my mama told that croaker " thanks for your opinion, I ’d like to see a specialist." And I was diagnosed with ADHD. And thankfully, she was willing to try goad drug to see if it helped-- — which it did. A lot. But indeed after that — it felt like no bone really took my ADHD seriously, so I did n’t take it seriously. I did n’t ask for lodgment , I did n’t get guiding or remedy for it, I indeed went off my meds fully for a while because someone I trusted told me I did n’t need them. Indeed after I dropped out of community council, got into a bunch of auto accidents went through a divorce, got fired from — several jobs, ruined my credit developed generalized anxiety complaint and had my first fear attack, I was actually embarrassed to start this channel because I was so sure that my struggles were n’t all that bad. Because I was comparing them to what I saw in my family, and my kinsman. The symptoms that were more egregious to others. So indeed once I was diagnosed, did n’t get acceptable treatment for my ADHD I did n’t feel like it was okay to need redundant support for my ADHD — until my frustration with my struggles got so bad I literally started a YouTube channel about them. And I hear from a LOT of women that say their struggles were either missed fully, misdiagnosed, or that they were treated for other internal health conditions or times or indeed decades before anyone honored the underpinning ADHD. So, what can we do? Educate ourselves and others on how ADHD goods women else and make sure we ’re getting the support we need. Then’s what we know. ADHD in women is generally more severe than it looks. Symptoms are external instantiations of internal struggles. So if we've a primarily inattentive donation and we ’re tutored to mask our struggles, we ’re not going to look “ as ADHD ” as we actually are. And this is not just true for women, anyone who’s faced strong social and artistic pressures to' be good' is likely to mask and internalize their ADHD symptoms. And this is true for autism as well. We may minimize how important we ’re floundering. According to exploration, women tend to underreport their symptoms, while men tend to overreport. And if we ’ve developed comorbid anxiety or depression or other internal health conditions, those are likely to be more egregious than our ADHD. Because of this, we are more likely to self diagnose AKA be the first to fete we might have ADHD. And we might be more hysterical to go to the croaker to get checked out, especially if we ’ve been dismissed or misdiagnosed ahead. This is why I recommend going to croakers who specialize in ADHD or who are really familiar with it. And flash back that whether it’s ADHD or it does turn out to be commodity additional — if you ’re floundering, there’s a reason you ’re floundering. Our struggles being unnoticeable to others does n’t mean they ’re imaginary. Also — It’s just as important to get the support we need. While our struggles might not be as obviously problematic in the short term — perhaps we ’re doing well in academy, perhaps we ’re not getting in trouble a lot — The long- term issues women with ADHD face are significant. Like tone medicating, which can lead to dependence . Or eating diseases. STIs and unplanned gravidity. habitual pain is common in women with ADHD. tone detriment. indeed attempts at self-murder. The longer we go without getting the support we need, the longer we've to figure out how to manage on our own, and those managing mechanisms are n’t always gon na be healthy. And the longer we go without understanding why we ’re floundering the more dysfunctional beliefs we develop about ourselves and our capacities. frequently, by the time our struggles are obviously problematic to others, our core beliefs about ourselves have formerly formed. This was true for me, and I ’m still undoing the damage. My terrible tone regard set me up for vituperative connections. My difficulties fitting in created social anxiety-- I ’m still learning how to make musketeers. My symptoms might not have sounded like a big deal at the time, but the impact they've had on my life long term absolutely was. And again — hormones impact our symptoms. Anyone who menstruates has regular hormone oscillations that affect our ADHD — in addition to demanding redundant support during big transitions it’s good to be aware of how our symptoms are affecting us at different points in our cycle and talk to our croaker about options. Some people might profit from different boluses of drug at different times of the month. We ’ll talk further about hormones in another occasion, because there is a lot to go into, and also-- we need further exploration on that. Speaking of which-- — we need further exploration, on all genders. There’s not as important exploration on ADHD in women, and there’s slightly any on those who are gender different. The exploration we do have suggests neurodiversity rates are a lot advanced in the trans community, and since both natural factors and societal pressures impact ADHD it’s important we do that exploration so we can more fete and support every brain, not just the bones mwe understand so far. Because actually. no bones should have to go through life condemning themselves for how their brain works.