ADHD symptoms in women

Adult Women's ADHD Symptoms

• Do you get overwhelmed at stores, at work, or at social gatherings? Is it impossible for you to block out noises and distractions that don't harm you?

Is time, money, paper, or "things" taking over your life and preventing you from achieving your objectives?

• Do you ever shut down in the midst of the day because you're feeling attacked? Do pleas for "just one more thing" make you irritable?

• Are you coping, hunting for things, catching up, or covering up the majority of your time? Do you avoid certain persons as a result of this?

• Have you stopped inviting people over because you're embarrassed by the mess?

• Do you have a hard time keeping your checkbook balanced?

• Do you ever feel that your life is spinning out of control and that you can't keep up with the demands?

• Do you ever feel like you're either a couch potato or a tornado on an unregulated activity spectrum?

• Do you believe you have more innovative ideas than others but are unable to organize or implement them?

• Do you start each day wanting to get organized only to feel disappointed by the end?

• Have you ever stood there watching individuals with your intelligence and education pass you by?

• Do you ever doubt your ability to reach your full potential and achieve your objectives?

• Have you ever been accused of being ungrateful for not writing thank-you notes or sending birthday cards?

• Are you perplexed as to how others manage to live predictable, routine lives?

• Are you referred to as a "slob" or "spacey"? Is it true that you're "passing for normal?" Do you ever feel like an impostor?

• Is all of your time and energy spent surviving, remaining organized, and keeping it together, with no time or energy left over for pleasure or relaxation?

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a condition marked by inattentive and/or hyperactive-impulsive behaviors that last for at least six months. ADHD affects roughly 6% of children and adolescents, as well as 3% of adults. Because the symptoms of ADHD are identical in children and adults, it is considered that the illness is the same regardless of age. As a result, most medical professionals presume that individuals with ADHD have had the disorder from childhood and that many children with ADHD grow up to be adults with ADHD. Despite this generally held view, few research have been conducted specifically on this topic.

Terrie Moffitt, Avshalom Caspi, and colleagues published a significant piece in the American Journal of Psychiatry recently that questions these ideas. This study is appealing because it used a longitudinal design that includes over 1000 people born in Dunedin, New Zealand, between April 1972 and March 1973. This huge sample of persons has been rigorously examined on a regular basis, with the most recent evaluation taking place at the age of 38. This prospective longitudinal methodology is appropriate for assessing what happens to ADHD-diagnosed children as they grow older. It also allows researchers to look back at data obtained when persons with adult-onset ADHD were younger. Importantly, because ADHD drugs were infrequently used in New Zealand in the 1970s, the outcomes of this study were unlikely to be altered by therapy.

Only 3 of the 61 children identified with ADHD had symptoms adequate for an ADHD diagnosis when they were 38 years old, according to this research team. Only three of the 31 individuals diagnosed with ADHD at the age of 38 experienced ADHD as a child.

Other substantial disparities between children and adults with ADHD were discovered. In addition to symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity, the children with ADHD were primarily male (78 percent) and showed cognitive abnormalities. Even though the majority of the individuals were no longer sick, cognitive deficiencies in memory, processing speed, reading comprehension, and rapid visual processing remained. The IQ of this group was around 10 points lower than that of the control group. Adults with ADHD did not show cognitive abnormalities, and the proportions of females and males in this group were comparable. Furthermore, nearly half of individuals with adult-onset ADHD showed persistent substance use, compared to fewer than a third of adults with child-onset ADHD. The authors of the study observed that their data did not allow them to determine the onset of either substance addiction disorders or adult ADHD diagnoses.

These findings imply that people with child-onset ADHD and those with adult-onset ADHD are two distinct groups. ADHD symptoms include inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity, as well as cognitive deficiencies. As adults, these children still have certain cognitive deficiencies, but they no longer exhibit as many ADHD symptoms as they had when they were younger. Adults who show present symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity, or impulsivity did not frequently have many of these symptoms as children. In addition, nearly half of these adults have co-occurring substance use problems.