You've heard the buzz word by now. ADHD. What does that even stand for? What does it mean? Isn't that something that only affects kids?
When I first began learning psychology back in 1998 (I know, foreverrrrrr ago!) the buzz about ADHD was that it was something that we saw in children, and then by some magical miracle, by the time you got into an adulthood (of which you were probably still grounded from your parents for not following one rule or another) ADHD just kinda POOOF! Was gone. I remember sitting as a fledgling college student thinking about how weird it was to me that someone just "lost" a disorder that affects their brain, that's written into their genetic code, about the time they turned 18 (ish). Our brain isn't fully developed until our early 20s. Well, as it turns out my gut was right, and science has learned that ADHD doesn't just go away when we hit adulthood. It morphes into other things.
When an adult has ADHD some of the symtpoms or tell tales can be undercover. This is especially true for women with ADHD. Girls with ADHD are significantly less often diagnosed than boys. Why? Because many girls aren't the kids in the classroom bouncing off of the walls, unable to sit still, or getting into trouble on the playground. For girls it looks more like the note that comes home from your teacher saying "your child is doing well with grades, but she talks excessively". Or in another case I can think of "Your daughter is very bright and finishes her work before most other students, but we had to move her again because she finishes her work and talks to peers around her." My family still laughs at that.
Some of the ways that ADHD shows up for girls and women are things like social anxiety, perfectionism, and RSD. RSD stands for Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria. If you spend time after social interactions replaying conversations and wishing you could go back in time and speak differently because you are convinced that people, even close friends or family, think you're lame (or any other negative word you want to use) or you spend a lot of time not saying things for fear of how you will be perceived by others, you may have RSD. Imposter Syndrome (feeling like no matter how much you study or work in a field you really don't know what you're doing), RSD and perfectionism are just a few ways ADHD can show up for adults. For many women. Other symptoms include:
* easily forgetting names
* often misplacing items (such as your purse or car keys)
* being overwhelmed when in environments with a lot of noise, people or activity
* being unable to read or understand direction on maps
* difficulty with math or reading comprehension
* often being late, or conversely being overly preoccupied with being early
* mood swings
* easily angered and difficulty controlling anger or frustration
* having difficulty remembering the theme of a book or movie you just read or saw
* high levels of anxiety or OCD traits
* not being able to put away that load of laundry, clean the kitchen, unload the dishwasher or other tasks we know are important but have a hard time completing
* hyperfocus-often this is on subjects we find interesting and enjoyable. You decided to learn to knit so you spend HOURS on Amazon researching supplies, spend money on supplies, watch 1,000 YouTube videos about knitting, and then get done about half of a scarf, and move on to another hobby, while chastizing yourself for spending the money on knitting
There are several other signs that ADHD may be ruling your life as well. If you feel like these describe you, therapy can be a good place to figure it out, and make a plan for change. Treating ADHD doesn't always have to mean medication (although it can). I would love to come along side you and help you manage and use the superpowers that can come with ADHD.