ADHD symptoms in women

Maybe you have trouble focusing on boring but important tasks. Or you constantly misplace your bag, lunch, glasses, phone.... You may know that these are common ADHD symptoms. But what about some of your other challenging or confusing behaviors? Are they also signs of ADHD?

It’s very possible. ADHD symptoms show up in many ways. And they can look different in different people. So, even though ADHD is common — around 3 percent of adults have it¹ — you won’t always recognize yourself or your particular struggles in others.

One of the biggest factors in how your ADHD shows up has to do with your sex. Women are less likely than men to have hyperactivity as a symptom. This is one reason they’re diagnosed less often.²

Knowing what ADHD often looks like in women can help you understand yourself better. It can also lead you to get evaluated if you haven’t already been.

3 types of ADHD and their symptoms

Your symptoms determine the type or “presentation” of ADHD you have. Mental health professionals look at the main symptoms to make a diagnosis. 

There are three types of ADHD:

• Predominantly inattentive: You have trouble with attention, focus, and organization. 

• Predominantly hyperactive/impulsive: You may feel restless or act without thinking.

• Combined: You have parts of the two other types.³

Girls and women mostly have the inattentive type of ADHD. Being inattentive doesn’t stand out like being hyperactive and impulsive does. Those symptoms are more common in boys and men. Inattentive girls and women are more likely to be overlooked or misdiagnosed.

The main symptoms that determine what type of ADHD you have are inattention, impulsivity, and hyperactivity. Symptoms can look different in different people. They can also vary in intensity.

Not everyone with ADHD has all three symptoms. But almost everyone with ADHD has inattention.²

Here are some common signs of the three key symptoms of ADHD.

Inattention

The “predominantly inattentive” type of ADHD is the most common type in adults. It’s particularly common in women.¹ Here’s what trouble with focus and attention can look like:

• Being spacey or daydreamy

• Getting distracted frequently, especially while reading or listening 

• Making mistakes that come from not paying attention to details

• Struggling to finish tasks or projects, even when they’re mostly done

• Avoiding tasks or projects that require sustained focus

• Having trouble planning and staying organized

• Losing things, like your wallet, phone, keys, or glasses

• Having a space that is messy and cluttered

• Forgetting to return calls, go to appointments, or run errands 

Impulsivity

Impulsivity means acting or talking without thinking first. It’s a lack of self-control. Here’s what it can look like:

• Risky behavior, including risky sexual behavior

• Inability to resist temptation, like too much snacking or overspending 

• Getting easily frustrated

• Being quick to anger 

• Interrupting people

• Answering questions before they’re finished being asked 

• Jumping into tasks or projects without planning

• Making decisions without thinking about the consequences 

Hyperactivity

As a woman with ADHD, you’re less likely to be hyperactive than a man with ADHD. Hyperactivity is also more common in kids than in adults. But if you were hyperactive as a child, you might still have signs now. Here’s what hyperactivity might look like:

• Feeling restless or needing constant movement (like foot tapping, squirming, pacing)

• Fidgeting and grabbing things to touch and fiddle with

• Trouble with quiet activities

• Frequently needing to get up or check your phone

• Trouble “shutting off” at night

• Trouble sleeping

• Trouble waiting your turn

• Talking nonstop or interrupting others

• Jumping from one task to another without finishing anything

Executive function challenges

ADHD is a problem with executive function. This is a set of mental skills that allow us to get things done and manage our everyday life. Here are some common executive function challenges you may see with ADHD:

• Being disorganized and messy

• Losing and misplacing items 

• Trouble starting tasks and staying focused on them

• Difficulty managing emotions

• Losing track of what you’re doing

• Not seeing other viewpoints or ways of doing things

• Trouble switching gears from one activity or situation to another

• Quickly forgetting information

• Trouble managing time/being late

• Difficulty following directions 

Signs at work and in everyday life

ADHD can cause trouble at work, especially when it comes to focusing, staying organized, and managing emotions. It can also cause challenges in your personal life. That might include your daily tasks, your home, and your relationships.

In the workplace

Here are some signs you might show at your job:

• Rushing through tasks and making mistakes

• Misplacing important items or documents

• Not being able to judge how long things take

• Crying or getting angry when frustrated or after bad feedback

• Struggling to connect with co-workers because you’re sensitive to rejection

• Putting off getting started on tasks or projects because they feel overwhelming

• Being easily distracted by chatty co-workers, notifications, and other noises 

In everyday life

Here are some possible signs of ADHD in your everyday life:

• Trouble setting limits with TV, video games, or social media

• Falling behind on bills, which can lead to bad credit

• Keeping people waiting

• Holding on to everything, causing problems with clutter

• Getting very angry with people and not being able to let go of it 

• Feeling hurt by even gentle criticism

• Finding that your tendency to get distracted interferes with intimacy

• Developing intense interests (bordering on obsession)

• Procrastinating and doing things at the last minute 

Co-occurring conditions and disorders

If you have ADHD, you may also have another condition with overlapping symptoms. This can lead to misdiagnosis. For example, you might be diagnosed with anxiety disorder when you actually have ADHD, or vice versa. Or you might be diagnosed with just one condition when you really have both.

If you don’t relate to many of the ADHD symptoms above, make sure to look into these other conditions that may co-occur with ADHD — or that can be mistaken for ADHD:

• Autism: ADHD and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are both differences in how the brain develops and functions. (Some autism advocates use the term “disability” to describe ASD.) It’s possible to have both ADHD and ASD. People may refer to this as AuDHD.

• Anxiety: Many people with ADHD have an anxiety disorder as well. Also, the challenges that come with ADHD can cause stress. And that can lead to anxiety. Anxiety is so common in people with ADHD that researchers are looking at whether there’s a genetic link. 

• Depression: Differences in brain chemistry that happen with ADHD may also cause depression. The challenges of living with ADHD, including struggling with low self-esteem, may also lead to depression.

• Substance abuse disorders: Around 1 in 4 people with ADHD also have problems with substance abuse. It’s also fairly common for people with ADHD to have alcohol abuse disorder.

• Eating disorders: Women with ADHD are more likely to develop an eating disorder, most commonly bulimia nervosa (BN) and binge eating disorder (BED). In general, women are more likely to have depression and eating disorders, while men are more likely to have substance abuse disorders.² 

Next steps

To find out if you have ADHD, you’ll need an evaluation with a trained professional. They should also look for signs of other conditions that may co-occur or that have similar symptoms. That includes anxiety and depression.

You can start by talking to your health care provider. Or you can find a professional who is trained to do ADHD evaluations. That might be a psychiatrist, a psychologist, or an advanced practice registered nurse. 

As part of the evaluation, you’ll be asked to answer a lot of questions. This may be in a one-on-one interview. Or you may be given a questionnaire or use an ADHD rating scale. It’s possible to use online ADHD testing. But without face-to-face interaction, there’s a higher risk of being misdiagnosed.

If you have health insurance, the evaluation may cost as little as a co-pay. Seeing a specialist “out of network” could cost hundreds of dollars. If you don’t have insurance, or if your insurance doesn’t cover ADHD evaluations, look into free or low-cost evaluations. 

Summary

ADHD is a common disorder caused by differences in the brain. It’s lifelong — if you have it now, you had it when you were a girl. 

The key symptoms of ADHD are inattention, impulsivity, and hyperactivity. Girls and women are more likely to have inattention as their main symptom. Not having as much hyperactivity or impulsivity makes them stand out less. That means their ADHD is more likely to go unnoticed or undiagnosed.

Symptoms and signs of ADHD are all problems with executive function. This is a set of mental skills you use to learn, work, and manage life. These skills let us focus and hold on to information. They help us organize and plan, manage time, get tasks done, solve problems, and manage emotions. 

ADHD often co-occurs with other conditions that can share some symptoms. This overlap can lead to misdiagnosis. Three conditions that often occur along with ADHD are anxiety, depression, and autism. If you don’t have many of the symptoms of ADHD, it’s important to look at other conditions, too.

You may also show signs of ADHD that aren’t directly related to executive skills. For example, you might have low self-esteem or feel like you have to be perfect to mask your challenges. 

Related resources

We have many resources to help you navigate your experience with ADHD. These include podcasts, videos, articles, personal stories, and more.

Listen: Sex, intimacy, and ADHD

Watch: MissUnderstood | ADHD and: Imposter syndrome

Read: How ADHD is diagnosed in adults