'That put many women into a tailspin of anxiety and depression, and in many cases, complete shut-down.'
With this in mind, ADHD has previously been stereotypically associated with “hyperactive” boys, therefore leading to women spending a lifetime having to cope with an undiagnosed and untreated neurological disorder.“I was diagnosed at the age of 25,” 31-year-old Emilie from Geneva, Switzerland, said via an Instagram direct message to the publication.
Although there have been some shifts in this perspective, the vast majority of ADHD research has historically focused on boys and men, contributing to the prevalent stereotype of ADHD being hyperactive and disruptive primarily in boys, a paper published by the “Women with ADHD often present differently from men with ADHD,” Matlen said. “Women tend to internalize their symptoms, i.e., feeling overwhelmed, anxious, depressed, self-medicating with food and/or substances like alcohol/drugs, being attracted to addictive behaviors like excessive shopping, daydreaming, not able to manage household tasks, excessive talking, etc.”“Women with ADHD often describe their lives as overwhelming,” Matlen explained. “They may struggle more with eating disorders.
“By the time a girl has reached womanhood without the benefit of a diagnosis/treatment of ADHD, there’s a huge risk of her turning those early experiences into other mental health challenges: depression, anxiety, substance abuse, eating disorders, even PTSD ,” Matlen said.She continued: “As they search for ways to improve mood, for example, could lead to substance abuse.
The Swiss musician only saw academic success upon immersing herself in social studies, a discipline she said she was completely passionate about.Masking is when a person with ADHD acts in a “socially acceptable” way to fit in and form better connections with those around them, theexplains. This usually involves camouflaging their symptoms by controlling their impulses, rehearsing responses, and copying the behaviors of those who don’t have ADHD.
A person may also be asked to undergo an electrocardiogram and take a blood test to check for irregular sleeping patterns, heart conditions, vitamin deficiencies, as well as thyroid disorders. Moreover, questionnaires, which can be found online, as well as self-identification through someone else’s description of the symptoms, can lead to dangerous misdiagnoses.
She stopped taking her treatments to preserve ADHD traits that she felt were a part of her personality.* “I think that if I was a boy, it would’ve been normalized but valued. For girls, it’s normalized and demeaning.”particular, women with ADHD: “Many women finally learn that their struggles aren’t about being lazy, incompetent, or ‘weird.’”She underscored: “Many, if not most women with ADHD, especially those who have not sought out therapy, live their lives in tremendous shame .”
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