Adult Female ADD Symptoms
Women with ADD can suffer from various symptoms. Some are hyperactive while others are hypoactive. Women with ADD have trouble staying on top of daily chores like maintaining a clean house or attending to the needs of children or taking part in activities with the family.
Another common symptom is the difficulty in remembering names. This problem can become worse prior to or during menopause.
1. Inability to Focus
A lack of focus can be an indication that you might suffer from a mental health problem. If you're unable to complete tasks, make poor choices or miss important details at home or at work, it's time to seek out help. These symptoms can be triggered by medication side effects or stress factors. However, they can also be a sign of underlying disorders like ADHD.
Women with ADD are more likely to lose their focus rapidly. They might reminisce during conversations or struggle to finish tasks that are routine, like grocery shopping and laundry. They could also make careless mistakes or misplace items often, which could result in an unclean office, messy home, or the loss of work supplies. They may be uninformed, making poor choices that could result in serious consequences. For example they might use drugs or engage in risky sexual activities.
They could also be hyperactive or hypoactive. A person who is hyperactive might run until she collapses from exhaustion while a woman who is hypoactive can't find the energy to get through the day. Both women can struggle to keep relationships intact, keep up with family obligations, or fulfill professional obligations.
Women who suffer from ADD typically have a high-functioning symptom, which isn't a medical diagnosis, but instead describes how well they manage their symptoms. These women may still have difficulties with concentration but they don't impact their daily lives as significantly. If you notice that your symptoms are getting worse, it's an ideal idea to talk to your doctor. They can help you understand the reasons of your symptoms and suggest treatments.
2. Mood Swings
A lot of the time, women suffering from ADD are more susceptible to mood swings. They may become irritable at the slightest annoyance, feel frustrated and then explode in anger. They also tend to be more impulsive and engage in things with all their might instead of taking it slow and steady, which can lead to financial problems or relationship problems. These emotional symptoms are often mistakenly categorized as bipolar disorder but they may coexist with ADD in many cases. Mood swings may also worsen during menstrual cycles, pregnancy, or during perimenopause. ADD can make it hard to stay in the workplace, which could cause depression.
3. Distractions
Women with ADD are easily distracted by things happening around them and also by their own thoughts. They might lose themselves in a daydream or find it difficult to focus on things like grocery shopping with all the options. Seemingly simple chores require too focus on a single idea for them and they can become frustrated if their attention gets diverted.
Mood swings are also common among women suffering from ADD who are experiencing the emotional rollercoaster of the disorder. They may become annoyed by the smallest of things and blame themselves for their failures. Their impulsive behavior can cause issues at school, at work and in relationships. These mood swings can result in a misdiagnosis of bipolar disorder. This is especially the case because many women who have ADD also suffer from depression.
4. Irritability
Irritability is a typical sign of underlying mental illness. It can also be caused by an underlying physical issue, such as hormonal imbalances, lack of sleep, or food intolerance.
A person who is irritable can feel stressed, anxious and easily angry. It can cause an inability to tolerate or frustration, which can result in them snapping at people who haven't committed any wrongdoing. It can also affect their mood, and make them more prone to depression or anxiety symptoms.
Irritation is an agitated mood that involves a partial physiological disturbance. It is characterized by a higher sensory sensitivities, a noncognitively-mediated lower threshold of responding with aggression or anger to less irritating stimuli, and a more pronounced tendency to irritable behavior (Digiuseppe, Tafrate, 2007). Irritability is often triggered by hunger, fatigue, poor sleep, or discomfort. It can be a sign of hormonal changes, like those that occur during the premenstrual (PMS) syndrome.
In one study, researchers surveyed 287 college students about their levels irritability and psychiatric symptoms. They found that students with severe irritability had a higher burden of mental health issues than those who didn't have. They also had more difficulties in their daily lives than those with no the irritable episodes.
Try relaxation techniques to reduce your irritability. It is helpful to step away from a crowded or noisy area and find a quiet place to practice breathing exercises, take an afternoon bath, or listen to music. Self-care that focuses on your physical and mental requirements can help to relax your body and decrease your stress levels.
5. Here are some of the ways to reduce your risk:
Depression is a persistent low mood that can affect the person's ability to function in a daily manner. Although symptoms of add in adults is normal to feel down after a loss or other stressful event, depression is more than just feeling down. Depression is a serious mental illness that can trigger feelings of worthlessness, hopelessness and despair. Depression can affect people of any age, race, or gender. Women are more likely than men to experience depression.
Depression can manifest as constant depression, changes in sleeping patterns or energy levels, fatigue, or a feeling of despair. Other symptoms include an unflattering self-image and feeling depressed or hopeless suicidal thoughts, attempts to commit suicide, slowed movements and speech, an overall lack of clarity and difficulty making decisions. Depression can also trigger a loss in enthusiasm for hobbies and other pursuits as well as a feeling of despair and being stuck.
Depression is twice as common in females as males and it is most prevalent during puberty, pregnancy, and after the birth of a child. Depression can also manifest in perimenopause or menopause. Depression can coexist alongside other mental health conditions, such as anxiety disorders and drug abuse. Look over this NIMH fact sheet for more details about depression treatments and ways to get assistance.