Women with ADHD - what are the signs?

[DoTheNextRightThing]

I've been questioning for a while now whether I have undiagnosed ADHD. Problem is I don’t really know what I'm looking for. I have seen posts on some of my social media sites with people talking about their ADHD and I can always relate to what they are saying. I feel like during these last few months, more than ever before, something is just... not quite right in my head. But again, I don’t know what I'm supposed to be looking for.

I know anxiety and depression can be linked, and I've been struggling with both since I was in my early teens, so over a decade now. I also know girls can sometimes not be diagnosed as children because they don’t present the way boys do, bad behaviour and such.

Would anyone be willing to open up about their experience and help me figure out if I fit the bill?

Hopeful bump

These are the signs in girls

The following behaviors may indicate ADHD in girls:
• talking all the time, even when parents or teachers ask them to stop
• frequent crying, even from small disappointments
• constantly interrupting conversations or activities that include their friends
• trouble paying attention
• frequent daydreaming
• having a messy bedroom, desk, or backpack
• difficulty finishing assigned work

I found this very useful when I was researching the condition....

www.clinical-partners.co.uk/insights-and-news/adult-adhd-aspergers/item/adhd-in-women-why-is-it-so-undiagnosed?category_id=36

Symptoms in adults
In adults, the symptoms of ADHD are more difficult to define. This is largely due to a lack of research into adults with ADHD.
As ADHD is a developmental disorder, it's believed it cannot develop in adults without it first appearing during childhood.
But it's known that symptoms of ADHD often persist from childhood into a person's teenage years and then adulthood.
Any additional problems or conditions experienced by children with ADHD, such as depression or dyslexia, may also continue into adulthood.
By the age of 25, an estimated 15% of people diagnosed with ADHD as children still have a full range of symptoms, and 65% still have some symptoms that affect their daily lives.
The symptoms in children and teenagers are sometimes also applied to adults with possible ADHD.
But some specialists say the way in which inattentiveness, hyperactivity and impulsiveness affect adults can be very different from the way they affect children.
For example, hyperactivity tends to decrease in adults, while inattentiveness tends to get worse as the pressures of adult life increase.
Adult symptoms of ADHD also tend to be far more subtle than childhood symptoms.
Some specialists have suggested the following as a list of symptoms associated with ADHD in adults:
• carelessness and lack of attention to detail
• continually starting new tasks before finishing old ones
• poor organisational skills
• inability to focus or prioritise
• continually losing or misplacing things
• forgetfulness
• restlessness and edginess
• difficulty keeping quiet, and speaking out of turn
• blurting out responses and often interrupting others
• mood swings, irritability and a quick temper
• inability to deal with stress
• extreme impatience
• taking risks in activities, often with little or no regard for personal safety or the safety of others – for example, driving dangerously

I saw someone post this on here and it resonated with me so strongly it led me to pursue my diagnosis which I got about 6 weeks ago:

www.additudemag.com/self-test-adhd-symptoms-women-girls/

The process has been revelatory for me.