ADHD – The Female Factor

In 2022, a study that looked at women’s experience within the UK healthcare system, found that 44% of respondents felt the concerns they discussed with medical professionals were not taken seriously. 

Several factors contribute towards misconceptions around women’s health problems. One of the major hurdles being that historically, diagnostic criteria and research into medical conditions focused solely on men, without an appreciation that women do not always experience medical conditions in the same way. This is only just beginning to be rectified. In the case of Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder, (ADHD), the National Institute for Heath and Care Excellence guidelines were amended just five years ago in 2018, in order to recognise the different ways in which women and men with ADHD present. 

Males are believed to be more likely to experience the hyperactive/impulsive traits of ADHD: excessively restless, disruptive, loud, impulsive, self-centred, impatient, drawn to high-risk behaviour, with their emotional dysregulation manifesting itself as an anger issue. Such behaviours make a diagnosis of ADHD more likely during childhood.

Females tend to exhibit the inattentive aspects of ADHD: problems with focus, organisation, attention and memory. 

Some of the characteristics of attention deficit, for example, excessive daydreaming, being seen as shy, withdrawn, emotional or ‘dizzy’, are often perceived to be female personality traits, rather than potential ADHD symptoms. 

Society expects women to be sensitive, modest and socially adept. Such expectations of personality and behaviour, put females under additional pressure to hide their difficulties, rather than acting out as males might be expected to do. 

In addition, fluctuations in dopamine or the ‘happy’ hormone, during a woman’s menstrual cycle, can make her ADHD symptoms appear to be hormonal, thereby increasing the risk of mis-diagnosis.

Women make up the largest group of individuals with undiagnosed ADHD. A high proportion of these women will have been misdiagnosed with depression, anxiety and other mental health issues. Unfortunately, mental health is the secondary condition, so treatment focussing on this disorder will be ineffective. The woman’s real challenge relates to her ADHD, and when the treatment goes to the root of the problem, rather than the result of the problem, it is only then that the woman’s mental health will improve.