Women with ADHD are some of the stronger women in the population because they must deal with all of the physical, mental and emotional strains of being a woman paired with a neurological disorder that affects their brain! All while navigating the things we are expected to do and be as a woman and they do it well, mostly. When she is alone she feels like her life is chaotic and out of control. She may be depressed and easily agitated. The expectations of womanhood may have her feel like she is literally drowning but everyday she puts on a tough face. She is like most women except she has a neurological disorder that affects how she thinks, feels and acts. Let me break down how much ADHD affects women…
The Daily Affects of women with ADHD
Daily Tasks
ADHD makes the daily tasks of just being a woman a feat. Many tasks and obligations are missed because you feel like you cannot catch up which leads to the number one trigger of ADHD chronic stress and fatigue. Women with ADHD most times have low self esteem and do their best to camouflage those issues about themselves to the point where it’s more triggering. You often have an impending sense of doom because you know you are going to misstep , make a mistake or forget something. To the point where life feels like a never ending cycle of problem solving and fixing issues you have created which limits the ability to accomplish your goals even though you really have a yearning to do better.
Organization
There is often mail clutter in your home, receipts in your purse and looking at it just adds to the stress. When it is time to find your important documents and paperwork you have forgotten where they are. Can’t even have visitors because you are ashamed of how disorganized you are. You might forget birthdays and events. To avoid stress you may overspend and buy things you do not need. You buy journals and calendars and never end up using them. Your desk may be cluttered and may continuously stay messy.
Socialization
You may overtalk in conversations and sometimes it hard to focus often times not being able to recite what people are saying. In the office you may try to avoid others and often will organize your schedule in the office to accomplish this. You try not to develop new relationships because you know you cannot handle more. You have trouble keeping up with friends and don’t really make new ones. You have a high sensitivity to rejection so you try to avoid interactions with others. You may be open to riskier kinds of sex and have an open sexuality.
Finding time out of the busy schedule is so hard for women with ADHD but it is essential. If you know a woman with these traits let her know you understand and do not put her down it’s literally how her brain is wired !
LINK TO BUY THE BOOK on AMAZON !
Citations
Davis, Sarah, and Linda Hill. Women with ADHD: The Complete Guide with Sample Tips & Strategies to Stay Organized, Overcome Distractions, Improve Relationships, Manage Emotions, and Thrive in Life. 2022.