Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a neurodiversity that affects people’s behaviour, wellbeing and focus. It is not a mental disorder as it’s not something that is wrong with you, rather it is something that makes you different to the norm.

It is characterized by symptoms of:

• Inattention, hyperactivity (internal and external)

• Impulsivity

• Emotional dysregulation

Symptoms of ADHD can be categorized into three types: inattentiveness, hyperactivity-impulsiveness and combined.

• Inattentiveness may manifest as having a short attention span, being easily distracted, making careless mistakes, appearing forgetful, or having difficulty organising tasks.

• Hyperactivity and impulsiveness may present as being unable to sit still, having a whirring brain, constantly fidgeting, being unable to concentrate on tasks, excessive talking, acting without thinking, interrupting conversations, and having little or no sense of danger.

• Combined type presents with both hyperactive-impulsive and inattentive symptoms.

ADHD can often be missed or misdiagnosed, especially in girls and women. This is because the symptoms of ADHD in females often manifest differently than in males, with more focus on internalizing symptoms rather than externalizing symptoms. Girls with ADHD may struggle to make and keep friends, often miss social cues, and feel excluded. They may also be viewed as having anxiety or depression, leading to an incomplete or incorrect diagnosis.

It’s important, when thinking about whether you have ADHD to bear in mind that ADHD manifests differently in everyone, and so what it looks like for one person may not look the same for you.

Some of the other potential symptoms of ADHD, that are talked about less frequently in traditional healthcare, and you may recognise easier in yourself are:

• Racing thoughts

• Impulsive shopping

• Sleep issues

• Memory issues

• Hair twirling, nail biting and other physical stims

• Intrusive or self-defeating thoughts

• Overwhelm due to sensory sensitivities

• Rejection sensitive dysphoria or sensitivity to criticism

• Inability to follow or comprehend instructions

• Procrastination

• Perfectionism and a fear of being seen as lazy

• Chronic lateness, missing appointments

• Inability to fully relax

• Eating disorders and binge eating

Diagnosis

Here in the UK, you can wait a long time for NHS assessment and diagnosis. Sadly, resources are limited and waiting times are currently through the roof.

Although it’s positive that awareness is increasing around adult ADHD, especially in women, the demand is outstripping the supply of professionals who are trained in this area. If you have financial options, going privately could help decrease waiting time and get you your diagnosis quicker.

Look into the Right to Choose option we now have in the UK. There are plenty of private clinics that specialise in online assessments and diagnoses, who can also help with the titration of medication if it’s desired. Ask on support groups and shop around as prices and waiting times can vary quite widely. (source: ADHD Women’s Wellbeing)

• Depression

• Anxiety

• Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)

• Oppositional defiant disorder (ODD)

• Learning disabilities

• Auto-immune conditions

• IBS, SIBO and other stomach or bowel issues

• CFS/ME, Fibromyalgia, POTs

• Other long-term physical health conditions

How common is it?

About 5% of adults have ADHD. You can have adult ADHD even though you weren't diagnosed as a child, but you had to have ADHD symptoms before age 12. Some people are able to overcome their symptoms as children, only to find that the demands of adulthood make it harder.

What everyone with ADHD seems to have in common:

Three defining features of ADHD that explain every aspect of the condition:

1. An interest-based nervous system. “Have you ever been able to get engaged and stay engaged?” Then, “Once you’re engaged, have you ever found something you couldn’t do?” Anyone with ADHD will answer along these lines: “I have always been able to do anything I wanted so long as I could get engaged through interest, challenge, novelty, urgency, or passion.”

2. Emotional hyperarousal. Most people expect ADHD to create visible hyperactivity. This only occurs in 25% of children and 5% of adults. The rest experience an internal feeling of hyperarousal.

3. Rejection sensitivity dysphoria (RSD). 98-99% of adolescents and adults with ADHD acknowledge experiencing RSD. For 30%, RSD is the most impairing aspect of their ADHD, in part because it does not respond to therapy.

(source: https://www.additudemag.com/symptoms-of-add-hyperarousal-rejection-sensitivity/)

Women

Many women are discovering their ADHD later in life. It’s very common for them to realise they have ADHD after having children as their coping strategies they put in place earlier in life no longer work, and they can’t function as they used to.
Many women report feeling extremely overwhelmed on a sensory level and easily ‘touched-out’.

Misdiagnosis

Many people are realising that all the challenges and mental health, productivity and executive functioning issues they’ve always faced, is in fact ADHD.

Lots of people have been misdiagnosed with anxiety disorders, depression and personality disorders and have been on the wrong medications for years.

ADHD Tests:

https://psychcentral.com/quizzes/adhd-quiz

Podcasts:

The ADHD Women’s Wellbeing Podcast

I Have ADHD Podcast

Books:

UNMASKED: The Ultimate Guide to ADHD, Autism and Neurodivergence

Free Workshops and Courses:

ADHD Women's Wellbeing - FREE RESOURCES

ADHD Women's Wellbeing - offers one scholarship per workshop/course

ADHD Coaches:

Kate Moryoussef