What you need to know about attention deficit disorder and how it affects women. By Kimberly Blaker
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Women with ADD can be at either end of the spectrum. Hyperactive women may go at full speed until they crash. Family life can suffer with a hyperactive mother who may be unable to sit and play games or read to her children unless she finds the activities stimulating. Many women with ADD are at the other extreme. They’re hypoactive, unable to muster the energy to do much of anything. These women often can’t keep up with life’s many demands. Maintaining a home, participating in family activities, staying in touch with friends, even holding down a job can be a significant challenge.
Characteristics of ADD in Women
Inattention vs. Hyperfocusing
Some of the many symptoms are more commonly seen in women and are opposite the more recognized symptoms seen in men. This makes detection unlikely and diagnosis difficult. While there is a multitude of characteristics, most women don’t have every symptom. Instead, each woman has a mixture severe enough to impair some areas of life.
Mental vs. Physical Disorganization
Disorganization is typical and often a severe problem for women struggling with ADD. They may be unable to organize their homes, offices or lives. To outsiders, the disorganization isn’t always visible because they may have assistants, secretaries, and cleaning services to assist them. Some ADD women have a partner who compensates for their organizational dysfunction, as well. Others find clutter and disorganization an incredible distraction. These distractions, coupled with the responsibilities of everyday life, lead to mental disorganization. The disorganized brain struggles to store, weed out and organize logically. For these women, being tidy and organized equals survival. 14
Hyperactivity vs. Hypoactivity
ccording to Sari Solden, in her book Women with Attention Deficit Disorder, “Almost all women find that life today is complex, upsetting or frustrating, but they are still able to meet most of [life’s] demands reasonably well…. For women with untreated Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), however, the demands of daily life can be crippling. It cripples their self-esteem, their families, their lives, their work and their relationships.” ADD, also known as Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD), affects 3-5% of the population. However, adult ADD, especially as it appears in women, often goes unrecognized.
Central Florida Lifestyle | May 2021
Women with ADD struggle to regulate attention. This doesn’t mean they can never maintain attention. Instead, their ability to focus is based on interest and whether the activity is stimulating. Many women daydreamed through school when they were younger. Yet the subjects or activities they found fun or interesting didn’t pose such a problem. Adult life with ADD is often the same. Hyperfocusing also poses problems and can coexist with symptoms of inattention. While it may be challenging to focus on some things, a woman may hyperfocus on that which interests her and be unable to shift her attention for hours, days, or longer. Meals may be forgotten, and family members can carry on conversations without being heard, which puts a strain on the family. If a hyperfocused woman manages to break away from what she’s engrossed in, she may wander aimlessly and forget what she’s doing.
Impatience and Impulsivity
Standing in lines, sitting in waiting rooms and being placed on hold for lengthy waits drives some women with
