High Functioning ADHD in Women
Women who suffer from high functioning adhd can be frustrated and misunderstood in their relationships. Symptoms may be more severe in times of hormonal changes, like the premenstrual or pregnancy periods.
Many women and girls resort to compensatory strategies to mask their symptoms and impairments could delay referral.
This group of patients has a unique set issues that need to be taken into consideration when treating them.
1. Self-esteem issues
The social and emotional challenges that come with ADHD can leave women feeling down. Even when they are successful, it's easy to feel like they're an failure due to things they can't change. This can create an unending cycle where they are constantly overwhelmed and never quite good enough, which can affect their self-esteem and mental health.
Girls who don't have treatment for ADHD are more at risk of having low self-esteem for a long time as well as anxiety, teen pregnancy, depression, and abuse of substances. As adults, they are at a higher risk of becoming single-parents to a child with ADHD and experiencing financial crisis or underemployment. They are also more likely than other people to suffer from eating disorders and to pass on their bad habits to their children.
It is crucial for girls to receive a diagnosis, because it will give them an understanding of their struggles and allow them to manage their symptoms more effectively. Many women report that they feel more confident after receiving their diagnosis, which allows them to stop blaming themselves for the little things they are unable to manage. It can also help them reframe their struggles as strengths and refocus their focus on what is important most (Waite, 2010).
As women age and approach menopause their hormone levels may change and ADHD symptoms can become more severe. It is often difficult to identify and treat women with ADHD because their symptoms may be mistakenly diagnosed and dismissed as "hormonal", "that time of the month" or "an anxiety disorder".
Untreated adult ADHD can have devastating consequences on a woman’s self-esteem and relationships with her family and friends. The symptoms can affect the woman's daily routine that can leave her feeling angry and exhausted. She might feel like she cannot turn down people, causing her to become overburdened and resentful of people around her. She may find it difficult organizing her home and work life, which can lead to missing appointments and documents getting lost. She could be more prone to being triggered when she is rejected, making her more likely to lash out at people she loves.
2. Rejection Sensitivity
Rejection sensitivity causes you to feel intensely when you are rejected, whether it is real or perceived. A disagreement with your partner or an unkind comment from a coworker at work can trigger you. Your brain's defense mechanisms naturally become over-stimulated, and the thoughts emotions, feelings, and beliefs that result can hurt your relationships and self-esteem. Sensitivity to rejection can cause anxiety, depression and mood shifts.
Although it's often attributed to ADHD Rejection sensitivity is actually a sign of emotional dysregulation that affects the way your brain manages emotions and the way you react to them. Other mental health conditions like borderline personality disorder may also show these symptoms.
RSD patients may perceive events through a filter, making them appear brighter or darker than they really are. This can cause them to interpret things as if they are related to rejection, even if they're not. RSD can also cause you to have a difficult managing your emotions which is why it's crucial to have healthy coping strategies to handle this.
You can find out more about the issue of rejection sensitivity by reading the following articles:
Although there is no cure for RSD it is possible to manage the symptoms with the assistance of a mental healthcare professional. You can use coping techniques like cognitive behavioral therapy to change your negative thinking patterns. You can also establish an alliance of support and practice mindfulness to reduce the chance of reacting negatively to rejection. This will help you overcome your RSD so that you can live a more fulfilling and happy life. Avoid relationships that are toxic, because they can cause more symptoms. If you are in an abusive relationship, seek counseling to learn how you can safely get out. This can reduce your risk of rejection related feelings, such anxiety and depression. You can also improve your self-esteem by creating healthy relationships. This will help you feel more confident about your abilities and give you an unbiased view of the world around you.
3. Sexuality
ADHD symptoms can make maintaining a healthy relationship difficult. This can cause sexual dysfunctions or risky behavior. Women with adhd that is high functioning might be more at risk of developing sexual problems. These behaviors can also cause feelings of shame and guilt and can have a negative impact on the quality of their relationships as well as their overall health.
In one study, people with ADHD were found to be more likely than people without ADHD to be sexually adventurous. interest. This was true for both males and females. This is likely due to their more impulsive levels, which could make them more likely to act on sexual desires and ideas. Specifically, the study found that women with adhd were more likely to engage in paraphilic sex fantasies and behaviours. This included submissive role play and bondage as well as sexual relations with strangers. It was also more common for them to attend sexual clubs and parties.
Both males and females with adhd had a higher rate of infidelity than people without the disorder. This was due to their lack of control of impulses and alcohol-related disinhibition. It could also be due to their higher levels of insecurity and feeling misunderstood by their partners. The survey also asked participants to share their experiences with sexual relations and sexual interactions without use of contraception. Table 6 presents the results from this section.
The study also used the Hypersexuality-Symptom Inventory-19 (HBI-19) which asked participants to describe their sexual issues. The questionnaire is comprised of 19 items that are grouped into three subscales. Each item is scored using a five-point scale, ranging between 1 (never) to 5 (very often). The higher the score, the more symptomatology it has. The HBI-19 was used to assess the sexual behaviours of adults with and without ADHD.
signs of add in adult women are important because the psychosexual outcomes of adults with ADHD have been scarcely studied. They have been linked to sexual dysfunctions, such as STI's and unwanted pregnancy, relationship dissatisfaction adult and adolescent onset infidelity and risky sexual behaviors.
4. Relationships
Many people with high functioning ADHD have trouble in their romantic relationships. Lack of clear communication and misunderstandings caused by symptoms such as forgetfulness and inattention could cause anger, frustration, and conflict within relationships. Maintaining healthy relationships can be helped by a network of family and friends who can understand.
It is also important to keep in mind that those with ADHD often have difficulty listening. They are easily distracted by their thoughts or their impulsive behavior that could result in them missing out on the primary purpose of a conversation. People with ADHD might also have difficulty multitasking, which can cause them to mute conversations or perform other tasks while another person is talking.
These battles can create a cycle where the non-ADHD partner becomes overwrought with stress and resentment, and the ADHD partner feels misunderstood, and defensive. They can then become more withdrawn, and the problem escalates from there.
Women with high functioning ADHD often feel overwhelmed and exhausted by the demands of their daily life. They may experience feelings of guilt and low self-esteem as a result of their impulsive and disorganized behavior, or feel as if they're unable to keep up with their bills and chores. They can also suffer from mood swings and sensitivity to rejection as well as low sex drive.
It is crucial that people who suffer from ADHD find a treatment and seek assistance. It is also crucial for those close to them particularly spouses, to be aware of the condition and how it affects their loved one. They can collaborate to establish clear boundaries and expectations and then formulate a plan of how they can achieve those objectives. For instance the non-ADHD spouse could be more involved in the financial responsibilities, while the person with ADHD might focus on organizing and completing housework.
Additionally, both partners should be able to communicate efficiently and clearly and establish a routine that incorporates regular sleep patterns, meal times, and time for relaxation and rest. It's also important to discover ways to make life easier for both of you by splitting household chores, or outsourcing some tasks that are difficult for the person with ADHD, such as hiring a cleaning service or using apps to manage expenses.