Girls are also less likely to be diagnosed earlier because they often display more symptoms of anxiety. Medical providers may only treat a female patient's anxiety or depression without evaluating for ADHD. Hormones, which affect the symptoms of both ADHD and anxiety, can complicate things.
Research indicates that changes in hormones during the menstrual cycle, as well as during pregnancy and menopause, may affect ADHD symptoms.
The impact of underdiagnosis
Interestingly, girls with untreated ADHD may be more likely to blame and judge themselves for these problems, leading to a higher risk for low self-esteem than boys who have ADHD. They may also be more likely to have problems with substance abuse, eating disorders, and anxiety.
In the past, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) has often been viewed as an elementary-aged male disorder, causing girls and women to be overlooked when exhibiting the same symptoms. Some studies estimate that as many as 50% to 75% of girls with ADHD are missed.
The signs of ADHD in girls are more likely to look like inattention than hyperactivity. Girls with ADHD often don't fit the stereotype of excessive energy. Instead, they have a hard time paying attention, staying organized, and managing their time. People might mistake girls with ADHD for just being spacey or lazy.
Research is showing that the symptoms of ADHD often intensify for girls during puberty when estrogen increases in their bodies. 3 As you already know, puberty is a time of great change in a girl's life as she begins the transition from childhood into adulthood.
Girls Tend Towards Introspection Rather Than Hyperactivity
Inattentive ADHD involves a lot of daydreaming, inability to focus, forgetfulness, and having trouble staying organized. Because that doesn't look like 'typical' ADHD — and can be mistaken for simple scatterbrained-ness — it's often not diagnosed as such.
Untreated ADHD in adults can lead to mental health disorders like anxiety and depression. This is because ADHD symptoms can lead to focus, concentration, and impulsivity problems. When these problems are not managed effectively, they can lead to feelings of frustration, irritability, and low self-esteem.
ADHD tends to run in families and, in most cases, it's thought the genes you inherit from your parents are a significant factor in developing the condition. Research shows that parents and siblings of someone with ADHD are more likely to have ADHD themselves.
Girls with ADHD may want to move and talk, but don't want to be seen to be misbehaving, so they keep it in. They may fidget in smaller, less recognisable ways, such as doodling or playing with jewellery, or may be overly chatty when allowed to talk.
Failing to pay attention to details or constantly making careless mistakes. Often having trouble organizing tasks and activities. Often avoiding tasks that require mental effort over a long period of time. Often losing things necessary for tasks and activities (e.g. wallets, keys, paperwork, eyeglasses, cell phones).
Many girls with ADHD tend to be hyper-talkative, hyper-social, and hyper-emotional, rather than hyperactive. Physical restlessness often manifests in fidgeting with hair or nails, rather than leaving their seats.
Treatment for ADHD in Women. A mix of both medication and therapy is the most effective treatment for ADHD. Cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), combined with mindfulness-based practices, are effective therapeutic methods.
The only way to know for sure is to see a doctor. That's because the disorder has a number of possible symptoms, and they can easily be confused with those of other conditions, like depression or anxiety. Not sure whether you should get checked by a doc? If many of these apply, you may need to get checked out.
ADHD and fatigue share a connection as they both primarily affect your brain and executive functioning. They both can have their roots in how your brain is wired and ultimately operates. As a result, people with ADHD tend to be more prone towards developing cases of regular and chronic fatigue.
They typically report feeling overwhelmed, inadequate, misunderstood, and distressed at a time in their lives when they often have the greatest demands on their time and energy.
A girl with ADHD may have impulsivity and be hyper-talkative. She may be verbally impulsive, interrupt others, talk excessively, or change topics repeatedly during conversations. She might even blurt out words without thinking about their impact on others. Girls with ADHD can also be overly sensitive.
With girls, inattentive ADHD is the most common.
One type of ADHD masking — known as mirroring — involves intentionally or unintentionally mimicking the speech, movements, or behaviors of someone else. While ADHD mirroring and body doubling may seem similar at first glance, you can work alongside a body double without imitating them in any way.
Similar to the literature, we found a strong relationship between the diagnosis of ADHD, a neurodevelopmental disorder, and nasal width and ear length. Moreover, the depth of the upper face was another measurement value that was strongly associated with the diagnosis of ADHD.